Community
Community is the heart of the NAACFRC. Our purpose is to improve the effectiveness of service delivery to African American children and families and thereby strengthen the African American community as a whole. We believe in Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR). We want our research to be informed by the perspectives, preferences, & life priorities of African Americans.
Because
There Will Be Nothing About Us
Without Us.
We can’t do our work alone. We need community partners to extend our reach to the people whose voices need to be heard. They reach out and we reach back with our community surveys, community listening sessions and Community Pilot Project Program.
Community Surveys
The community survey is administered online via Qualtrics to African American parents who receive or applied to receive TANF, Head Start, or Child Care assistance. The survey asks parents to share demographic and family characteristics, ACF program participation, challenges with various social determinants of health (i.e., healthcare, childcare, medication, transportation, housing, employment, bills), and recommendations to improve ACF programs. The goal of the survey is to identify needs, assets, barriers and facilitators to the utilization of ACF services by African American populations. Responses to the survey will be compiled and evaluated to assess the need for further research or investigation to inform programs and policies.
Community Listening Sessions
Identified through the community survey or selected by community-based organization partners, African American parents/caregivers who participate or applied for TANF, Head Start, or Child Care assistance in selected states meet with NAACFRC researchers to share their program experiences Topics covered include community-level resources, geographic location/residential factors, economic mobility, health & family wellness, education & school readiness and engagement as well as community perceptions.
So far, we have had listening sessions in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland and Washington, DC. Here is a timelapse video of a graphic recording of the feedback given in Macon County, AL.
Community Pilot Project Program
NAACFRC’s Community Pilot Project Program aims to build community capacity to conduct research that is within NAACFRC priorities and both responsive and relevant to the well-being of African American children and families. This community program is designed to meet this aim through the provision of funding and technical assistance to community-based organizations (CBOs). If selected, the CBO will conduct a pilot study that positions them for future collaborative research. For the inaugural year of the program, NAACFRC selected three community-based organizations: Father’s Incorporated, Children’s Home & Aid, and the Brooklyn Perinatal Network.
The deadline for applications for the next cohort of Community Pilot Project Program is April 17, 2023.
For more information about NAACFRC’s Community Pilot Project Program, see here.
Subscribe Now
Learn more about upcoming projects and listening sessions by subscribing to our monthly newsletter.
