National Research Center by and for African Americans Hosts Conference On Research Collaborations

NAACFRC is the first ACF-funded research center to be primarily focused on the African American population.

Atlanta, GA – The National African American Child and Family Research Center (NAACFRC) provides national leadership and excellence in community-engaged research to better serve African American children and families. The 2023 theme of the NAACFRC’s Annual Community-Engaged Research Conference is Co-creating Research to Support Black Resistance and Joy. The Conference will highlight current community-engaged research that is being done by community leaders and academicians in the areas of economic/social mobility and early education and care through programs that affirm, strengthen, and create positive outcomes for African American children and families (joy) often in the presence of unjust circumstances (resistance). Researchers, agency staff, students, and community members can register for free at naacfrc.org.

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 NAACFRC 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, Co-Lead, Communications, and email here.

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.