Extension Resources: Programs & Resources

Below are various curricula and professional development resources developed by Extension to support the development and maintenance of healthy couple and marital relationships for diverse audiences. To share an Extension-developed program, please email us.

NEW!  Cultivating Healthy Couple and Marital Relationships: A Guide to Effective Programming. This 80-page guide (click on title to see sample and introduction), the first official publication from the National Extension Relationship and Marriage Education Network is based on presentations from the 2006 Family Life E-Seminar and papers later published in the May 2007 special issue of The Forum for Family and Consumer Issues. The guide, authored by members of NERMEN and developed/ published out of The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, offers theoretically and empirically informed implications for designing, delivering, and evaluating relationship and marriage education programs for diverse audiences. While supplies last, order a printed and bound, high resolution color copy of the guide for only $10.00 Click here for Order Form.

NEW!  The Healthy Marriage Handbook. This colorful, 44-page resource is an educational “handbook” for a healthy marriage. It is designed to share information learned from studying healthy marriages. Helpful tips as well as additional publications, resources, and Web sites are provided in a reader friendly format. Useful in family and child programs and services as well as premarital and marriage enrichment programs.Topics covered include: How you think and what you do; Managing your money; Remarriages and stepfamilies; Issues that hurt relationships; and Domestic violence. Click here to learn more and order copies.

Caring for my Family. Developed by Michigan State University Extension, Caring for my Family is a free curriculum that helps mothers and fathers of newborns to learn about building healthy relationships with each other and their children through a series of interactive educational experiences. The purpose of the program is to equip unmarried mothers and fathers with skills for making healthy decisions and to explore future options for their relationship including the potential of getting married.

CoupleTALK. Developed by Kansas State University Extension, CoupleTalk is a free, non-credit, Internet-based distance education course designed to help couples build skills to make their relationship stronger and more satisfying.

The Impact of Couple and Marital Relationships on Parenting and Child Outcomes: Going Further. Developed by University of Minnesota Extension and Iowa State University Extension, this 27-page lesson guide provides strategies to begin or strengthen current community efforts focused on healthy couple and marital relationships. This lesson guide is based on information shared during the 2005 Iowa State University Extension satellite broadcast.

Intentional Harmony: Managing Work and Life. Developed by University of Illinois Extension, this research-based, multidimensional curriculum is designed to help adults manage the challenges of contemporary working life. The program includes modules that correspond to managing work and multiple domains of nonwork life, including the partner or spousal relationship.

Married and Loving It! Developed by University of Idaho Cooperative Extension, the Married and Loving It! program consists of 5-sessions designed to strengthen marriage relationships by presenting the research findings about successful and happy couples to the general public.

Marriage Matters. Developed at the Ohio State University Extension, the Marriage Matters newsletter series provides research-based information, suggestions and activities to help couples enhance the quality of their relationship. Each stand-alone article addresses topics for couples at various stages in their relationship-dating, engagement, newlywed, mid and later life, remarriage-and the transitions associated with these stages.

Saying "I Do": Consider the Possibilities. Developed by Utah State University Extension, this on-line, self-paced course provides instruction, resources, skills, and hope to couples who are considering marriage as well as couples desiring to strengthen their marriage. This course addresses the issues that newlywed couples struggle with most often in their relationships and covers topics related to finances, employment, communication, conflict, commitment, personal interests and expectations, sexual relations, and things to watch out for are discussed.

Smart Steps for Stepfamilies. Developed in partnership between Cornell Cooperative Extension, Auburn University and Alabama Cooperative Extension, and the National Stepfamily Resource Center, this 6-session curriculum addresses the unique needs and issues that couples in stepfamilies face and provides strategies for building healthy relationships and stable stepfamilies. A parallel series of lessons is also included in this program for children in stepfamilies.