Grant Information

CRE Receives $2.7 Million Grant for New Initiative

Innovative Ideas and Programs Bring About Change

Siloam Springs, Ark. — The Center for Relationship Enrichment (CRE) at John Brown University was recently awarded a $2.7 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families to support research and development of healthy marriages in Northwest Arkansas. CRE is the only Arkansas recipient of the grant.

“CRE is extremely privileged to receive this grant for the healthy marriage initiative,” Dr. Gary Oliver, executive director of CRE, said. “The potential impact that these initiatives can make here in Northwest Arkansas is very encouraging.”

Arkansas has one of the highest divorce rates in the nation at 57 percent compared to the national average of 48 percent. The goal of CRE's initiative is to prepare unmarried couples for successful, healthy marriages and to strengthen existing marriages. The initiative should result in a reduced divorce rate while increasing marital satisfaction in Arkansas.

“We want to help those who choose to get married gain knowledge and skills to increase their ability to build and sustain a healthy, satisfying and lifelong marriage,” Dr. Greg Smalley, project director of NWA Healthy Marriages, said.
Over the next five years, CRE plans to impact over 13,000 couples in six counties (Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Madison, Sebastian, and Washington) through four objectives: to provide premarital training, to train volunteer premarital facilitators, to provide marriage enrichment activities, and to train marriage enrichment leaders. CRE will partner with area churches and service agencies (government and nonprofit) to extend these opportunities to the Northwest Arkansas community at low-cost.

Part of CRE's objective to provide premarital training includes the development, implementation, and testing of a premarital and marriage enrichment program that include insights from research on the significance of one's “emotional intelligence quotient” (EQ) in relationships.

“This innovative approach uses concepts of EQ that are not currently applied in premarital training or marriage enrichment seminars,” Dr. Oliver, said. “The EQ-related program integrates the element of understanding and managing one's emotions with traditional premarital skills such as how to communicate, manage conflicts and strengthen their commitment.”

Results from the new program will be measured, tested, and compared to other well-known premarital and marriage enrichment curriculums.

In addition to the EQ program, CRE will offer one-day, community-wide premarital and marriage enrichment seminars and provide training and certification in these programs so that volunteer project leaders can take the seminars into their local church and community.

The Center for Relationship Enrichment at JBU was founded in 1998. The Center's mission is to educate, equip and enrich people for developing healthy relationships through consulting, education, enrichment, resources, research and assessment. CRE serves college students and the public with its marriage preparation, marriage enrichment, and relationships skills services.

John Brown University is a private Christian university, ranked sixth by U.S. News & World Report in the Southern Region. JBU enrolls more than 2,000 students from 40 states and 45 countries. JBU is a member of Arkansas' Independent Colleges and Universities and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

Funding for NWA Healthy Marriages was provided by The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (US DHHS), The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Grant: 90FE000401. Any opinions, finding and conclusions are those of CRE.

ACF Mission

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is responsible for federal programs that promote the economic and social well-being of families, children, individuals, and communities. ACF programs aim to achieve the following:

• families and individuals empowered to increase their own economic independence and productivity;
• strong, healthy, supportive communities that have a positive impact on the quality of life and the development of children;
• partnerships with individuals, front-line service providers, communities, American Indian tribes, Native communities, states, and Congress that enable solutions which transcend traditional agency boundaries;
• services planned, reformed, and integrated to improve needed access;
• and a strong commitment to working with people with developmental disabilities, refugees, and migrants to address their needs, strengths, and abilities.

For more information, go to http://www.acf.hhs.gov