National African American Child and Family Research Center

The National African American Child and Family Research Center, supported by a five-year (2021 — 2026) OPRE cooperative agreement with the Morehouse School of Medicine, will provide national leadership and excellence by investigating the assets, needs, and experiences of the diverse population of African American families and children served (or potentially served) by ACF programs, as well as exploring promising approaches to address economic and social inequities and, ultimately, promote social and economic well-being.  The primary focus of this Center will be on child care assistance, TANF, and Head Start and Early Head Start programs and the populations those programs serve. The work of the Center will draw on interdisciplinary approaches to accomplish the three goals listed below. 

1. Advance Research 

The Center will plan, initiate, and maintain a community-engaged, focused, and high-caliber research program. The Center’s program of research will build on the existing literature related to African American children and families and will be directly relevant to the needs and interests of ACF areas of programmatic concern.  

2. Build Research Capacity 

The Center will build research capacity and infrastructure to conduct research relevant to ACF program and policy goals that is culturally rigorous and informed by an understanding of current and historical circumstances that shape the experiences of African Americans. In addition, the Center will contribute to the development and expansion of the pool of researchers reflective of the communities being studied by the Center.  

3. Communicate Research 

The Center will develop and implement a dissemination strategy that broadly and efficiently communicates findings from research conducted within and outside of the Center and promotes the use of research, data, and relevant resources to a wide audience, including researchers, federal and state policymakers, ACF grantees, program administrators, and communities participating in the research.  

The grantee is the Morehouse School of Medicine. 

The OPRE point of contact is Megan Reid.