Marriage/Relationship and Fatherhood Funding Announced
This is your one stop resource for all information necessary to complete your grant proposals. On this page you will find research conducted on the PICK a Partner (aka How to Avoid Falling for a Jerk(ette)) & Marriage LINKS program, instructor evaluations, and important coalition and grass-roots organization discount information. Our evidence-based and theoretically grounded curricula meet the grant requirements for:
- Healthy relationships
- Adolescent development
- Parent child-communications
- Healthy life skills
Discounts & Special Offer Available for Coalitions and Grass-Roots Organizations
As you consider courses for your grant proposals, John Van Epp and the Love Thinks team would like to support non-profit coalitions and grassroots organizations by discounting and streamlining instructor trainings for PICK and LINKS for those who cannot or do not want to conduct a live training. There is a minimum of 5 instructors required.
First, purchase instructor training packets for either PICK or LINKS for each instructor.
Second, have your trainers watch the DVD instructor course together with a certified trainer facilitating brief discussion and application (if your organization has one; if not, then still have the trainers watch the course in a group).
Third, after facilitating this DVD Instructor course, John will coordinate a 1-hour video conference with the group of trained instructors to provide personal and deeper instruction.
This non-profit and grassroots organization offer of either the PICK or LINKS Instructor Certification Packets (ICPs) is for the discounted rate of $275 for each instructor packet (includes regular ground in continental US) and you must purchase ICPs for a minimum of five instructors.
PICK & LINKS Resource Section (PICK & LINKS are also available in Spanish)
Please feel free to download the documents below to help you through your grant writing process. Also, feel free to contact us at info@lovethinks.com for any guidance needed along the way. We would be happy to assist with:
- Ideas/suggestions for program implementation
- Training information
- Letters of support
- Evaluation instruments for our programs. Please email us for evaluation instruments. In your email please indicate whether you are interested in PICK or LINKS.
PICK a Partner Resources
The PICK a Partner sample write-up for grant proposals. This document includes:
- PICK program description
- Appropriate target populations
- An overview of the content
- Formats
- Training and Provider information
PICK Sessions. This document outlines the 5 sessions of the PICK program. A 10-lesson PICK program is also available.
PICK Populations. This document outlines the appropriate populations for the PICK program.
Overview of certification. This document explains the certification process for the PICK program.
Promotional Packet. This document contains all the pages from our promotional packet which provides general information about PICK, it's credibility, it's uses, and an overview of quick stats.
PICK Research Study. This is a published research study on the PICK program. An here is a quick explanation of the methods and findings.
PICK Research from Grand Rapids, MI. Here is the final report from Healthy Relationships and Healthy Marriages in Grand Rapids, MI.
PICK Research from Michigan Healthy Marriage Coalition who used the PICK & LINKS programs in their previous grant.
PICK Longitudinal Preliminary Findings, Kansas State University.
PICK Pre & Post Test Findings from Marriage Works! Ohio. Elizabeth New Life Center. This is an overview of the pre and post test findings from the use of the Love Thinks program, a combination of PICK & LINKS.
PICK Instructor Evaluations from United States Military.
PICK research summary. Here is a written summary statement of the research on PICK.
The PICK a Partner program has been evaluated with several populations, all yielding positive results. Approximately 57 participants of the PICK Program were examined longitudinally by the Center for Family and Demographic Research at Bowling Green State University. Results indicated that program participants learned: how to set boundaries for current and future partners; how to raise relationship standards with current and future partners; how to keep "jerks" at a distance; and the importance of taking time to get to know a potential partner's background. Results found that these participants continued to implement these lessons at the six month follow-up (Manning, Trella, Lyons, Gulbis, & du Toit, 2008). Similarly, longitudinal data from by Marriage Works! in Dayton, Ohio found that participants were significantly more satisfied with the communication in their relationships and their overall relationships following participation in the PICK program. Additionally, 95% of the participants reported that they planned to use the information they learned in their relationships and 94% reported being very satisfied with the program. Finally, in a study of single Army soldiers PICK participants were compared to a control group and PICK participants placed significantly more importance on getting to know a partner's background, reported less constraining beliefs about marriage, felt more knowledgeable about developing a healthy relationship that will lead to a healthy marriage, and felt more confident in how to choose a partner. (Van Epp, Futris, Van Epp, & Campbell, 2008). Instructors trained in the PICK program also indicated their satisfaction with the program. Out of 631 military Chaplains trained in PICK a Partner, 97% believed that the PICK program will help singles build healthy relationships, 98% strongly agreed that the PICK program addresses relevant issues singles face, and 96% agreed that they were very satisfied with their training in the PICK program.
Marriage LINKS Resources
The Marriage LINKS sample write-up for grant proposals. This document includes:
- LINKS program description
- Appropriate target populations
- An overview of the content
- Formats
- Training and Provider information
LINKS Populations. This document outlines the appropriate populations for the LINKS program.
Overview of certification. This document explains the certification process for the LINKS program.
LINKS Pre & Post Test Findings from Marriage Works! Ohio. Elizabeth New Life Center. This is an overview of the pre and post test findings from the use of the Love Thinks program, a combination of LINKS & PICK.
LINKS Research from the Michigan Healthy Marriage Coalition who used both PICK & LINKS programs in their previous grant.
LINKS Instructor Evaluations from the United States Military.
**Again, please contact info@lovethinks.com with any questions.