Kansas Family Strengthening Summit-Day 1
I had the privilege of attending the Kansas Family Strengthening Summit on the campuses of Kansas Newman & Friends University on June 8-9. This was the first summit and from my standpoint was a great success.
There were several key leaders from Topeka in attendance. We heard from Mike Pompeo, congressman from 4th district. To be honest, his wife stole the show. He was followed by Rob Siedlecki, Kansas SRS Secretary who shared about elements of the Kansas Healthy Marriage Initiative. Some things included will be broad based survey, inventory of marriage resources available, public relations campaign, & training SRS staff.
Bill Coffin had the unenviable task of sharing a history of marriage and family programs around the country. He did a great job summarizing a lot of history and keeping it interesting. He shared about 3 essential elements in a healthy marriage and they are commitment, communication, and conflict resolution. He guessed that only about 25% of marriages have all 3.
Next up, was Bill Doherty, from University of Minnesota. He talked about the importance of showing compassion to all but not giving up on ideals. Studies show that the more transitions a child goes through, the worse it is for kids. He said for too long we have used the teach or treat approach meaning we either are educators or counselors. His belief is that we need to do both well not either or. He also shared some research he conducted which showed that 30% of divorcing parents are open to reconciliation. He stressed the importance of creating a grassroots effort to engage citizen married couples to reclaim marriage for their generation in conjunction with what is occurring in the professional marriage environment.
Governor Sam Brownback spoke for about 15 minutes with about 15 minutes of questions. He stressed that this was not just an ideological issue, but needed broad base support throughout the state. He shared something he learned early in his political career and that is we must start with relationships. We cannot judge based on position or political party. To see improvement, we must decide what are the core issues that we can all work together on. For example, all of us have 20% of ideas that are really important to us that are less important to others. So, if two people are trying to work together we need to focus on the 60% rather than our individual 20%.
Following the governor, we heard from a national panel who have resources for marriage/family initiatives. They were Peter Larson from Prepare/Enrich-an inventory to be used with premarital couples or couples. Lief Noll from Prep which is marriage education resources to help couples. Kay Reed from the Dibble Institute shared about her work in schools to help teens develop good relationship skills. Courtney Harrison from National Healthy Marriage Resource Center shared about their website which is to be a one stop shop for marriage/family resources.
After lunch, we had a regional panel. This group is individuals from other states who are experiencing success in the area of marriage & family. Jennifer Baker from Ozarks Marriage Matters shared about what is going on the Springfield, MO area. Ryan Carlson & Matt Munyon of University of Central Florida shared about their research, meetings, counseling, and recruiting strategies in Florida. Kendy Cox from Oklahoma Marriage Initiative shared about 6 things they have learned. They are: 1. Public/Private partnerships work, 2. Building Supply is Highest Priority, 3. A Single Curriculum Creates a Common Language, 4. Strategies Were/Are Grounded in Research, 5. Effective Service Delivery System Includes Agency Staff & Community Volunteers, 6. Safety is of Utmost Concern. Jack Myrick also from Oklahoma Marriage Initiative shared about this need from the work place's perspective. Dr. Robert Moser from Kansas Department of Health & Environment talked about the collective impact of working together.
To end the day, we heard from a Kansas panel of experts. Sherdeill Breathett from Kansas African American Marriage Initiative shared about "Real Men Are Heroes". Charlotte Shoup Olsen from Kansas State Extension shared about resources available on their website www.ksre.ksu.edu. Joyce Webb (one of the people responsible for putting on the summit) shared about the Kansas Healthy Marriage Initiative. Curtis Whitten from Juvenile Justice Authority talked about what is being done. Deborah Zelli from the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence had an excellent presentation on "Reweaving the Social Fabric". Mike Duxler (another responsible for the summit) shared about Marriage for Keeps.
As you can see, it was a day packed full of great speakers and resources. Judie Willems and I enjoyed talking about what all this information meant for our ministries, our church, and our community. Tomorrow, I will post about workshops I attended on Day 2.
There were several key leaders from Topeka in attendance. We heard from Mike Pompeo, congressman from 4th district. To be honest, his wife stole the show. He was followed by Rob Siedlecki, Kansas SRS Secretary who shared about elements of the Kansas Healthy Marriage Initiative. Some things included will be broad based survey, inventory of marriage resources available, public relations campaign, & training SRS staff.
Bill Coffin had the unenviable task of sharing a history of marriage and family programs around the country. He did a great job summarizing a lot of history and keeping it interesting. He shared about 3 essential elements in a healthy marriage and they are commitment, communication, and conflict resolution. He guessed that only about 25% of marriages have all 3.
Next up, was Bill Doherty, from University of Minnesota. He talked about the importance of showing compassion to all but not giving up on ideals. Studies show that the more transitions a child goes through, the worse it is for kids. He said for too long we have used the teach or treat approach meaning we either are educators or counselors. His belief is that we need to do both well not either or. He also shared some research he conducted which showed that 30% of divorcing parents are open to reconciliation. He stressed the importance of creating a grassroots effort to engage citizen married couples to reclaim marriage for their generation in conjunction with what is occurring in the professional marriage environment.
Governor Sam Brownback spoke for about 15 minutes with about 15 minutes of questions. He stressed that this was not just an ideological issue, but needed broad base support throughout the state. He shared something he learned early in his political career and that is we must start with relationships. We cannot judge based on position or political party. To see improvement, we must decide what are the core issues that we can all work together on. For example, all of us have 20% of ideas that are really important to us that are less important to others. So, if two people are trying to work together we need to focus on the 60% rather than our individual 20%.
Following the governor, we heard from a national panel who have resources for marriage/family initiatives. They were Peter Larson from Prepare/Enrich-an inventory to be used with premarital couples or couples. Lief Noll from Prep which is marriage education resources to help couples. Kay Reed from the Dibble Institute shared about her work in schools to help teens develop good relationship skills. Courtney Harrison from National Healthy Marriage Resource Center shared about their website which is to be a one stop shop for marriage/family resources.
After lunch, we had a regional panel. This group is individuals from other states who are experiencing success in the area of marriage & family. Jennifer Baker from Ozarks Marriage Matters shared about what is going on the Springfield, MO area. Ryan Carlson & Matt Munyon of University of Central Florida shared about their research, meetings, counseling, and recruiting strategies in Florida. Kendy Cox from Oklahoma Marriage Initiative shared about 6 things they have learned. They are: 1. Public/Private partnerships work, 2. Building Supply is Highest Priority, 3. A Single Curriculum Creates a Common Language, 4. Strategies Were/Are Grounded in Research, 5. Effective Service Delivery System Includes Agency Staff & Community Volunteers, 6. Safety is of Utmost Concern. Jack Myrick also from Oklahoma Marriage Initiative shared about this need from the work place's perspective. Dr. Robert Moser from Kansas Department of Health & Environment talked about the collective impact of working together.
To end the day, we heard from a Kansas panel of experts. Sherdeill Breathett from Kansas African American Marriage Initiative shared about "Real Men Are Heroes". Charlotte Shoup Olsen from Kansas State Extension shared about resources available on their website www.ksre.ksu.edu. Joyce Webb (one of the people responsible for putting on the summit) shared about the Kansas Healthy Marriage Initiative. Curtis Whitten from Juvenile Justice Authority talked about what is being done. Deborah Zelli from the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence had an excellent presentation on "Reweaving the Social Fabric". Mike Duxler (another responsible for the summit) shared about Marriage for Keeps.
As you can see, it was a day packed full of great speakers and resources. Judie Willems and I enjoyed talking about what all this information meant for our ministries, our church, and our community. Tomorrow, I will post about workshops I attended on Day 2.
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