Cross Cutting View all reports on this topic
Topic Overview
The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation undertakes some research projects that cover multiple programmatic areas. These are included here.
Featured Resources on this Topic
Quality of Caregiver-Child Interaction for Infants and Toddlers (Q-CCIIT): A Review of the Literature
Published: August 15, 2011Client-Friendly Strategies: What Can CCDF Learn from Research on Other Systems?
Published: December 15, 2011
Projects on this Topic
An Exploratory Study: Implications of Immigration Enforcement Activities for the Well-Being of Children in Immigrant Families, 2012-2014
The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), in collaboration with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has initiated this project to explore...
Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) Research Portfolio
Many human services programs are designed such that individuals must make a series of decisions and take a number of active steps in order to realize a benefit. From deciding which programs to apply for, to completing forms, attending meetings, showing proof of eligibility, and arranging travel and child care, program designers often assume that individuals make decisions about how to proceed based on careful consideration of their options and what is best for them...
Career Pathways Research Portfolio
Career pathways programs connect education, training, and related supports in a pathway that leads to employment in a specific sector or occupation or to further training. The approach is gaining attention as a promising strategy to improve...
Center For Research on Hispanic Children & Families, 2013-2018
The National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families generates new research and translates research across three priority areas—poverty reduction and self-sufficiency, healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood, and early care and education—to build knowledge and inform ACF programs and policies to better serve Hispanic children and families. The Center has three primary goals: 1) advance a cutting-edge research agenda; 2) build research capacity; and 3) translate emerging research. Lina Guzman at Child Trends and Michael Lopez at Abt Associates lead the Center, in collaboration with university partners (University of Maryland-College Park; University of North Carolina at Greensboro; and New York University's Institute for Human Development and Social Change). In 2014, the Center launched a Fellowship program supporting emerging scholars studying issues relevant to low-income and vulnerable Hispanic children and families.
Child and Family Development Research – Annual Report
OPRE’s child and family development work includes research and evaluation projects primarily concerned with child care and child welfare. This portfolio additionally examines the culturally diverse experiences of children and families served by ACF programs.
Research focuses on five major areas, including: Child Care, Head Start and Early Head Start, Child Welfare, Cultural Diversity, Cross-Cutting Early Childhood Research...
Child Care and Early Education RESEARCH CONNECTIONS, 2013-2019
Child Care & Early Education Research Connections promotes use of high quality early childhood research to inform policy and practice. This project offers a free, comprehensive, and up-to-date collection of scholarly research, policy briefs, state and federal government reports, datasets, and instruments from a wide range of disciplines and sources. Interactive tools allow...
Development of a Measure of the Quality of Caregiver-Child Interactions for Infants and Toddlers (Q-CCIIT), 2010-2014
The goal of this project was to develop a new measure that will assess the quality of child care settings, specifically the quality of caregiver-child interactions for infants and toddlers in non-parental care. The new measure is sensitive to the...
Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Head Start Graduate Student Research Grants, 1998-2019
The Head Start Graduate Student Research grant program is designed to build research capacity in and knowledge of effective early childhood interventions with low-income children and families. The grant program does this by providing support for dissertation research conducted by graduate students working in partnership with local Head Start or Early Head Start programs. Many former grantees have become leading researchers who continue to conduct research that informs and improves Head Start/Early Head Start, other early childhood intervention practices, and our understanding of low-income populations.
Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Study (Baby FACES), 2007-2020
The Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Study (Baby FACES) continues a series of ongoing descriptive studies aimed at maintaining an up-to-date, extensive knowledge base to support Early Head Start policies and programs. Building...
Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), 1997-2022
In 1997, the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) was launched to provide descriptive, nationally representative information on the characteristics, experiences and development of Head Start children and families, and the characteristics of the Head Start programs and staff who serve them...
Head Start University Partnership Grants: Dual-Generation Approaches, 2013-2019
The overall goal of this year’s Head Start University Partnerships research grant program is to contribute to the knowledge base regarding the role that Head Start can play in promoting family well-being, including health, safety, financial...
Homeless Families Research Briefs, 2014-2018
This contract will produce a series of research briefs on issues related to the well-being and economic self-sufficiency of families and children experiencing homelessness. The briefs will be based on data collected as part of the U.S. Department of...
Human Services Research Partnership: U.S. Virgin Islands, 2014-2018
The Human Services Research Partnership of the U.S. Virgin Islands (VI) will explore issues related to social service needs and public welfare systems in the territory. This cooperative agreement will support a partnership among researchers, local...
Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation – Strong Start (MIHOPE-Strong Start), 2012-2018
The Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation-Strong Start (MIHOPE-Strong Start) was launched in 2012 to evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based home visiting for improving prenatal and birth outcomes and reducing health care...
National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE), 2010-2015
The National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) documented the nation's utilization and availability of early care and education (including school-age care) in 2012...
Network of Infant Toddler Researchers (NITR)
The Network of infant/toddler Researchers (NitR) consortium brings together leading applied researchers with policymakers and technical assistance providers responsible for overseeing and supporting early childhood programs...
Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE), 2007-2018
In 2007, ACF initiated the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education project, a multi-site, random assignment evaluation of promising strategies for increasing employment and self-sufficiency among low-income families. During the project’s development, consensus emerged that the evaluation should...
Permanency Innovations Initiative (PII) Evaluation, 2010–2015
The Permanency Innovations Initiative (PII) is a multi-site federal demonstration project designed to improve permanency outcomes among children in foster care who have the most serious barriers to permanency. This 5-year, $100 million initiative...
Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) Multi-Component Evaluation, 2011-2018
The Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) is one of multiple efforts at the Federal level to reduce teen pregnancy through the use of evidence-based programs. The goals of the PREP Evaluation are to document how programs funded...
Planning a Next Generation Evaluation Agenda for the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, 2011-2019
The John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP) was created following the passage of the Foster Care Independence Act (FCIA) of 1999 (Public Law 106-169). The program provides assistance to help youth currently and formerly in foster care achieve self-sufficiency by providing grants to States and eligible Tribes that submit an approvable plan. Activities and programs allowable under the CFCIP include help with education, employment financial management, housing, emotional support and assured connections to caring adults for older youth in foster care. In addition, the FCIA required that funding be set aside for evaluations of promising independent living programs. In response to this statutory requirement, the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) conducted the Multi-Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs, a rigorous, random assignment evaluation of four programs funded under the CFIP. This study was completed in 2011.
Poverty, Inequality, and Mobility among Hispanic Populations, 2012-2015
The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in collaboration with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded funding to the National Poverty...
Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress Series
In 2013, OPRE commissioned four interrelated reports focused on self-regulation and toxic stress from a team at the Center for Child and Social Policy at Duke University. Since then, that team and other experts have created multiple practice-oriented resources grounded in the initial reports. Together, these reports and resources comprise the ‘Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress Series.’ The goal of this series is to communicate the potential of a self-regulation...
Self-Sufficiency Research Clearinghouse, 2009-2021
The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation awarded a grant to ICF International to fund the launch and maintenance of the Self-Sufficiency Research Clearinghouse (SSRC) as a strategic part of OPRE's goal – to build and disseminate knowledge about effective approaches to helping low-income children and families. The SSRC is a virtual portal of research on low-income families and vulnerable populations. It influences policy and practice in such areas as employment, education and training, and family self-sufficiency by improving access to field-tested, evidence-informed, and evidence-based program and policy strategies and by fostering professional connectivity among its targeted audiences.
The Study of Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships, 2013-2018
The purpose of the Study of Early Head Start-Child Care (EHS-child care) Partnerships is to gain a better understanding of EHS‐child care partnerships aimed at supporting quality improvement, child development...
Tribal Early Childhood Research Center (TRC), 2016 - 2020
The Tribal Early Childhood Research Center (TRC) seeks to address gaps in early childhood research with American Indian and Alaska Natives through partnerships with tribal Head Start, Early Head Start, child care, and home visiting programs. The goals of the research are:...
ACF Youth Demonstration Development Project, 2009-2013
OPRE launched the Youth Demonstration Development Project (YDD) in 2009 to systematically review the current field of research on youth development and successful transition to adulthood. The primary objective of YDD, which is being conducted for OPRE...
Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) Capstone Project, 2015 - 2018
The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency Capstone project, led by MDRC, synthesized the work of the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project and conducted dissemination activities to ensure the results from BIAS were shared with a broad audience of research, policy, and practice stakeholders. BIAS Capstone furthered the dissemination work conducted for BIAS through a range of diverse activities and products...
Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS), 2010-2016
Many human services programs are designed such that individuals must make active decisions and go through a series of steps in order to benefit from them — from deciding which programs to apply for, to completing forms, attending meetings, showing proof of eligibility, and arranging travel and child care...
Center for Early Care and Education Research: Dual Language Learners, 2009-2014
The Center for Early Care and Education Research: Dual Language Learners (CECER-DLL) is a cooperative agreement awarded by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The primary goal of the Center...
Development of a Measure of Family and Provider/Teacher Relationship Quality (FPTRQ), 2010-2015
The FPTRQ project developed new measures to assess the quality of the relationship between families and providers/teachers of early care and education for children birth to 5 years of age. The measures examines this relationship...
Evaluation of 2010 Summer Subsidized Employment Activities for Youth, 2010-2011
OPRE jointly sponsored with the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) a study of subsidized summer 2010 employment opportunities for low-income youth operated with the TANF Emergency Fund offered as part of the American...
Evaluation of the Head Start Designation Renewal System (DRS), 2012-2016
In the fall of 2011, the Office of Head Start (OHS) significantly expanded its accountability provisions with the establishment of the Head Start Designation Renewal System (DRS). In response to requirements in the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007...
Head Start Family Voices Pilot Study, 2012-2014
The purpose of this study is to help the Administration for Children and Families better understand the experiences and perspectives of families and staff participating in Head Start and Early Head Start, particularly around the topic of family...
Human Services Research Partnerships: Puerto Rico, 2013-2016
The Research Partnerships are intended to improve understanding of the most promising human services approaches to improve the quality of life in the region, with particular focus on topics related to the Head Start and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs...
Research Development Project on Human Service Needs of LGBT Populations, 2012-2015
OPRE, supported by a contract with Mathematica and the Williams Institute, in coordination with the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), conducted extensive work to identify knowledge gaps and propose research recommendations related to the human service needs of low-income and at-risk lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations...
Study of Coordination of Tribal TANF and Child Welfare Services Grants, 2011-2016
The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) is undertaking a descriptive study to document the approaches and strategies utilized by tribal organizations awarded cooperative agreements under the Coordination of Tribal TANF and Child Welfare...
TANF and CCDF Research Synthesis, 2009-2012
The purpose of the TANF and CCDF Research Synthesis Project was to inform research planning and support evidence-based decision making related to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) programs...
Understanding the Child-Only TANF Caseload, 2010-2012
This grant to Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago is jointly administered by OPRE and ASPE. Its purpose is to document differences in state policies that affect child-only TANF cases, describe characteristics and dynamics of such cases, and...