By Office of Head Start and the National African American Child and Family Research Center
April is National Minority Health Month, a time dedicated to addressing the health disparities faced by racial and ethnic minorities. This year, the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Office of Head Start (OHS) is working with the National African American Child and Family Research Center (NAACFRC) to highlight and address these issues. Community engagement and research can work together to improve African American families’ health outcomes and well-being.
“Understanding and prioritizing the needs of children and families for Head Start programs starts with a solid foundation of data” said Khari Garvin, director of OHS. “The mission of community-engaged research and outcomes from the NAACFRC plays a profound role and impact on the informed data-driven decisions OHS makes to assist communities most in need.”
The NAACFRC provides national leadership in community-engaged research to better serve African American families by conducting and sharing research that focuses on child development, child care assistance, and social and economic mobility. The NAACFRC has ongoing research projects with Head Start programs. These projects are funded by the ACF Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation.
The NAACFRC’s work recognizes the profound impact of health on overall family and child well-being. The center has adopted a holistic approach similar to the Head Start program. "Health is one of the cross-cutting research areas of the NAACFRC," said Latrice Rollins, PhD, MSW, director and principal investigator for NAACFRC. "While we don’t focus specifically on health, we understand that a comprehensive, holistic approach is needed to understand and support families."
NAACFRC research strategies around Head Start families align with the four-step process the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends for organizations to begin addressing inequities and social determinants of health.
1. Convene
Bring together community members and organizations to identify local concerns. NAACFRC utilizes community-based participatory research methods to elevate the perspectives of Head Start caregivers and develop a community-driven research agenda. Community surveys ask caregivers to share challenges with various social determinants of health (i.e. healthcare, childcare, health insurance, medication, transportation, housing, etc.) and are followed up by qualitative interviews in our Community Listening Sessions.
2. Integrate
Collect and use multiple sources of data to help develop strategies to set direction. NAACFRC combines the use of primary data analysis, like the community survey and listening sessions, along with secondary data sets like the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) and mapping to identify inequities that need to be addressed to better serve these families.
3. Influence
Leverage funding to implement and expand community research. NAACFRC funds Community Pilot Project Programs to support community-based organizations’ research that is both responsive and relevant to the well-being of African American children and families.
4. Contribute
Collaborate with others to share innovative research and solutions. The theme for NAACFRC’s 2024 community-engaged research (CER) conference is CER Pathways to Equitable Programs and Policies. The annual conference provides a space for researchers, practitioners, community members, and policy makers to collaborate and showcase community-engaged research including innovative research approaches, stories of successful research collaborations, and lessons learned. Registration for this free, hybrid conference is currently open.
As National Minority Health Month wraps up, NAACFRC’s Head Start research highlights the critical role of holistic, community-focused approaches in addressing health disparities. By integrating health into broader social and developmental research, NAACFRC and Head Start programs are paving the way for more inclusive and effective health strategies that promise better outcomes for minority families across the nation.
The Office of Head Start is working in partnership with the National African American Child and Family Research Center.