SUHMRE: SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS: UPDATES TO HEALTHY MARRIAGE AND RELATIONSHIP EDUCATION PROGRAMMING

Urban Institute, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

Same-sex couples and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals who may become involved in same-sex relationships - whether adults or youth - face distinct challenges and elevated risks (e.g. of homelessness, poverty, perceived social stigma) compared with their non-LGB counterparts. These vulnerabilities highlight the importance of providing LGB-relevant Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) services, that is, knowledge and skills to form and sustain stable same-sex relationships. While substantial changes have occurred in the legal and social climate for LGB individuals and couples, HMRE programming has most often been developed in the context of opposite-sex relationships. Little is known about the extent to which grantees have or are currently serving same-sex couples or LGB adults/youth. Even less is known about promising practices to serving same-sex couples and LGB adults/youth within HMRE programming. OPRE awarded a contract to the Urban Institute (subcontractors are Public Strategies and the Williams Institute) to provide an assessment of the current state of the HMRE practice field, and to identify and promote promising approaches for serving same-sex couples and LGB individuals - whether adult or youth - who may become involved in same-sex relationships. The project includes one services component and two optional services components. Services component one will examine how HMRE programs currently approach, and could approach, serving LGB populations by conducting a wide range of data collection. From this work a series of proposed parameters for serving these populations and a series of parameters for serving these populations will be created. If awarded, in optional services component two, a small set of developers will revise their HMRE curricula to be appropriate when delivered to LGB populations. If awarded, in optional service component three, a set of organizations will implement the revised curricula. Successes and challenges in implementing the revised curricula will be tracked and a final process report will document the approaches and results from implementation of the new curricula.