NAACFRC is the first ACF-funded research center to be primarily focused on the African American population.
Nationwide — Dr. Latrice Rollins, Director & Principal Investigator of the National African American Child and Family Research Center (NAACFRC) has announced that the theme of the 2023 NAACFRC’s Annual Community-Engaged Research Conference is “Co-creating Research to Support Black Resistance and Joy.” The organization is known for its work in providing national leadership and excellence in community-engaged research to better serve African American children and families.
The hybrid conference will be held on Thursday, June 8, 2023, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EDT at the Morehouse School of Medicine which is the home of the NAACFRC. What differentiates this conference, and the NAACFRC as a whole, is the elevation of community voices in research relevant to Administration for Children and Families (ACF) programs.
Topics to be covered include:
• The Role of Community-Engaged Research in Advancing Equity
• Community-Engaged Research in Early Care & Education
• Community-Engaged Research in Economic Mobility and Poverty Alleviation
• NAACFRC Community Pilot Projects Program Showcase: Community-Engaged Research in Fatherhood
• NAACFRC Emerging Scholars Showcase
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) Simulator
• Using Data and Research to Advance Equity and Improve Services
• Black Mothers’ Perspectives of Family Engagement in an Early Childhood Setting
The NAACFRC is the first center to be funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation within ACF to focus exclusively on African American children and families. The NAACFRC conducts community-engaged research with African Americans, who participate or are eligible to participate, in ACF programs with a focus on TANF, Head Start, Early Head Start and Child Care. Black families’ experiences, whether in urban or rural settings, often go unheard. Add to that the rising clarity of social and health inequities and the existence of the NAACFRC becomes imperative.
The NAACFRC uses Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) as the framework for its research priorities. The key to CBPR is the elevation of the communities’ perspectives, preferences, and priorities for whom programs & policies are developed. One of the CBPR tactics that the Center employs is listening sessions to prioritize the communities’ viewpoints which helps to define the areas of research that require the most attention. The Center then uses these focus points of need to inform its research agenda.
Speaking about the mission of the NAACFRC, Director & Principal Investigator Dr. Latrice Rollins said, “It is my honor and privilege to lead the Center in its innovative and necessary work to address the needs and strengths of African American children and families while advancing the best practices in community-engaged research. It is important that African American children and their families not only survive but thrive.”
To learn more about the National African American Child and Family Research Center, visit NAACFRC.org. Be sure to follow them on social media @naacfrc.
For press inquiries, contact Leris Bernard at leris@naacfrc.org
This project is supported by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award (Grant #: 90PH0031-01-00) totaling $1.8 million with 100 percent funded by ACF/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, ACF/HHS or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit the ACF website, Administrative and National Policy Requirements.