Crossposted from CDC

Now available! CDC’s comprehensive teen dating violence prevention model

Explore the new Dating Matters Toolkit and learn how Dating Matters can help your community prevent teen dating violence before it starts.

Dating Matters®: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships includes prevention strategies for individuals, peers, families, schools, and neighborhoods. It focuses on teaching 11-14-year olds the skills they need to have healthy relationships and prevent negative relationship behaviors early in life. A recent evaluation found that it works to prevent teen dating violence in middle school.

The new Dating Matters Toolkit includes everything you need to carry out Dating Matters in your community. Learn more today! Visit the Dating Matters Toolkit website.

What’s New?

The Dating Matters Toolkit includes all of the materials and tools you need to carry out Dating Matters, including an online training for youth and parent program facilitators and guidance for organizations leading implementation in their community. It includes:

1. Implementation Guidance

• Guide to Implementation helps communities build a strong foundation for implementing Dating Matters
• Coaches’ Playbook guides Dating Matters Coaches in the supervision and support of parent and youth program facilitators
• At-A-Glance briefs highlight the goals and resources needed to implement each component of Dating Matters to help engage partners and decision-makers
• Online Facilitator Training provides free, online access to interactive training for youth and parent program facilitators
• Team Up! creates a free online community of practice for staff involved in Dating Matters implementation to share ideas and experiences

2. Programs for middle school youth and their parents
3. A youth communications program
4. A training for educators      
5. Tools to help communities build capacity, track indicator data, and inform local policy 

All of the components of Dating Matters work together to reinforce healthy relationship messages and reduce behaviors that increase the risk of dating violence.