Delivery Formats

Please review the session formats and select the one that best fits your session structure, presentation style, and whether you would like to present in-person in Atlanta or virtually.

Note: Although NAACFRC will make every effort to honor your preference for delivery format, we reserve the right to reassign the format based on space and program balance.

• In-Person Delivery Formats
  • Demonstration: This format works best if your primary objective is to provide an overview of an innovative product, service, method, or approach. Select this format if you want to showcase a product, service, method, or approach you implemented, built, or created. These will be 75-minute in-person sessions. They may be live-streamed depending on the purpose and format. There is a maximum of four presenters per demonstration.
  • Presentation: This format is an opportunity to briefly share research findings, lessons learned, recommendations, or case-making evidence related to a program track. These will be either 15-minute or 20-minute in-person sessions. They will be live-streamed. There is a maximum of two presenters per presentation.
• Online Delivery Format
  • This virtual format is an opportunity to share lessons learned, case studies, demonstrations/simulations of a solution or research approach, and/or evidence of impact related to the proposed conference tracks. Presenters can actively engage with virtual conference attendees in the chat by answering questions and interacting with audience members.
  • Presenters must be online at their scheduled time to present. These will be 20-minute sessions. There is a maximum of two presenters per presentation.

Program Tracks

The Program Committee has identified program tracks that align with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and NAACFRC priorities. Priorities include research to understand the varied assets, needs, and experiences of African American families and children; identify promising approaches to address economic and social inequities and promote their social and economic well-being; participation of African Americans in the social services workforce, for example, as providers of child care, Head Start, and early education; and structural barriers, local implementation issues, and community factors that shape the provision of ACF programs to African Americans.

Preference will be given to the proposals that sufficiently reflect what you have done or are planning to do related to at least one of the following programs: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Head Start/Early Head Start, or Child Care Assistance. The research may include ongoing or new social, behavioral, and economic program or policy-related research projects, including, but not limited to, secondary analysis of available data sets; research syntheses, pilot and feasibility studies; or refining measurement tools or instruments. Your proposal may fit under multiple track options, choose the track or tracks that best represent your content and goals.

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Seeking proposals on research regarding the effect that services provided under TANF have on factors such as employment, self-sufficiency, child well-being, unmarried births, marriage, poverty, economic mobility, and family stability to help improve those programs and the African American individuals and families they serve.
• Head Start/Early Head Start: Seeking proposals on continuous quality improvement and the effectiveness of Head Start and Early Head Start, and research to understand the characteristics and needs of African American children and families eligible for Head Start and Early Head Start and the impact of such services on the individuals served and the communities in which such services are provided.
• Child Care Assistance: Seeking proposals on research, demonstrations, and evaluations focused on increasing access to childcare services and improving the safety and quality of childcare services for African American children and families.

Session Title

Create a short title that is creative and descriptive. Please do not use institution, company, or product names in the title.

Session Takeaways

Clear session takeaways and creative engagement strategies are essential components of every session. They should describe what participants will know or be able to do because of participating in the session. Proposal reviewers will closely examine and rate your proposal takeaways.

Session Abstract

This is a short description of your session. Abstracts are used by attendees when making decisions about which sessions to attend. What can you say that will encourage your colleagues to attend your session?

Session Description

This is a longer description of your session where you can describe the importance, relevance, value, uniqueness, and/or interest to our community of researchers, students, program staff, and community members. You should describe your research purpose, research questions, methods, the key findings or points you will present, supporting evidence, etc.

Selection Process

Proposals are selected to ensure the conference offers a comprehensive, non-promotional, commercially unbiased, objective, and diverse program. Proposals that clearly describe innovative and responsive community-engaged research will receive the highest priority in the selection process. Attention will be given to the diversity of institutions/organizations, presenters, and geographic locations.

The identity of proposal submitters and proposed presenters will be hidden from reviewers. Proposals will be reviewed by the NAACFRC using the following selection criteria:

• Relevance of Topic: Is the topic relevant, important, valuable, and/or interesting to African American child and family well-being? Does it align with NAACFRC and ACF research priorities?
• Session Outcomes Achievability: Is there alignment between the stated session outcomes and the proposal description?
• Quality of Submission: Does the proposal demonstrate quality, as measured by accuracy, clarity, comprehensiveness, and depth of demonstrated understanding of the topic?
• Engagement/Knowledge Transfer: Does the proposal provoke discussion, and audience engagement, and/or facilitate knowledge transfer and development of new ideas?