Browsing by Author "McCann, Ellie"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Children in Common: Ensuring the Emotional Well-being of Children When Parenting Apart
    (St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension, Children, Youth and Family Consortium, 2015-10) McCann, Ellie; Olson, Kjersti; Hall, Eugene; Giles, Maisha; Onell, Stephen; McCullough, Rose; McGuire, Jenifer; Michaels, Cari
    Despite the growing literature on coparenting and divorce education interventions, little has been written about the practice of delivering courtmandated parent education programs for both divorced and unmarried parents living apart. Through its sustained investment in supporting Minnesota families affected by divorce or separation with its Parents Forever™1 parent education program and its partnership with Hennepin County’s Co-parent Court2 project, University of Minnesota Extension is able to explore the intersection of research about coparenting with the practice of court-mandated parent education programs for both divorcing and separating nevermarried parents. Thus, this article summarizes the latest research findings on selected coparenting issues that have practical importance to both divorcing and nevermarried parents living apart. This article also highlights recent research on the practice of parent education as it affects both divorcing and separated never-married parents, as well as a foundational discussion of coparenting issues and parent-education practice from the experiences and perspectives of parent-education stakeholders. We, the authors, also have included illustrative quotations from stakeholders in the Parents Forever™ program and in Hennepin County Coparent Court — quotations cited in recent studies of the Parents Forever™ program (PF) (Olson, Brady & Marzcak, 2012) and Co-parent Court (CPC) (Hardman, Ruhland & Becher, 2014).
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    Coparenting in the Digital Era: Exploring Divorced Parents' Use of Technology
    (Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2016) Dworkin, Jodi; McCann, Ellie; McGuire, Jenifer K.
    Purpose The current study was designed to examine how and why divorced parents use computers and the Internet for communication with their coparent and with their child(ren). Methodology/approach The current study utilized the uses and gratification perspective. A subsample of 178 divorced parents with at least one child aged 25 or younger from a larger research project participated. Parents were recruited to participate in a 15-minute online survey through email listservs with a nationwide and demographically diverse reach. Findings Analyses revealed that divorced parents are active users of technology, for communicating with their child(ren) as well as with the child(ren)’s other parent. In addition, parents were comfortable using the Internet and accessing online parenting information, citing few barriers to use.
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    Cost Benefit Analysis of Extension Family Programs Using Parents Forever as a Model
    (St. Paul, MN: University of Minnesota Extension Service, 2009-10) Tralle, Minnell; McCann, Ellie; Marczak, Mary; Da'ar, Omar
    With decreasing public funds and increasing accountability, Extension staff may be asked to justify programs as to the economic benefit they provide. This involves employing a costbenefit analysis to the program and its outcomes. This is often reported in terms of money saved but can be more challenging to apply to family and human development programs where the program benefits are not as easily quantified. An example is the Parents Forever program, a court ordered divorce education program which teaches parents how divorce impacts their children and skills for parenting to prevent negative impact such as juvenile delinquency, teen pregnancy, school dropouts, etc. Using the Parents Forever program as an example, this poster will address: 1) definition and rationale for conducting a cost-benefit analysis (CBA), 2) critical indicators determining both direct and indirect program costs, 3) identifying and monetizing both tangible and intangible benefits, 4) important aspects of analyzing cost and benefits including “sensitivity analyses,” and 5) lessons learned in the process of the cost-benefit analysis of the program.
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    Department of Corrections (DOC) Parenting Report
    (2018) Becher, Emily; Alba, Anna; Smith, Mikayla; McCann, Ellie; Powell, Sharon
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    One Message, Many Voices: Inter-Disciplinary Partnerships for Resilience Communication
    (University of Minnesota Extension, 2014-10) McCann, Ellie; Croymans, Sara
    When a record-setting flood threatened a Midwestern U.S. metropolitan area in 2009, citizen involvement in emergency mitigation averted disaster. In the wake of this event, government and non-government disaster response agencies joined forces to enhance community capacity for resilience to future flood threats. A simple, clear, and consistent message based on resilience theory was spread through multiple communication channels by partner agencies. Preliminary data support endorsement of the message applicability of the recommended resilience strategies across the disaster cycle. The authors describe development of the message and keys to success of inter-disciplinary partnerships in resilience communication. This abstract content will be presented in a journal publication, poster and presentation at the International Conference on Building Resilience in Manchester, England, September, 2014.
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    Parents Forever 2017 Annual Statewide Report
    (2018) Shanker, Vidhya; McCann, Ellie; Powell, Sharon