Topics

Abuse, Neglect, Adoption & Foster Care

The child welfare research portfolio includes research on children who are maltreated or who are at risk for child maltreatment; children and families who come to the attention of child protective services; and children and families who are receiving...

ACF Performance Plans & Reports

As required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, ACF develops an annual performance plan and report that establishes performance goals and annual targets and reports on progress...

Administrative Data for Research and Improvement

Administrative data are widely recognized as an underutilized resource for building knowledge to inform social service policy and program design. It is also potentially a more cost-effective source...

Child Care

Research in this area furthers our understanding of child care as a support for parental employment and for children’s developmental well being, and of the role of child care subsidies in allowing low-income working parents to balance work and...

Early Head Start

Since the program was first authorized in 1994, Early Head Start research has examined the program’s implementation, its impacts on children and families, and a variety of special topics such as infant and toddler mental health, fatherhood and...

Head Start

Research sponsored through Head Start funding over the past decade has provided valuable information not only to guide program improvement in Head Start itself, but also to guide the field of early childhood programming and early childhood...

Home Visiting

OPRE manages research and evaluation activities related to the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program. The MIECHV program is administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, in collaboration with the Administration for Children and Families. Major research and evaluation projects include the Multi-Site Implementation Evaluation of Tribal Home Visiting (MUSE), the Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) project, and the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE).

Human Trafficking

This portfolio includes research and evaluation projects intended to improve services for victims of human trafficking; to inform the development of anti-trafficking strategies, policies, and programs to prevent and respond to human trafficking; and to guide future evaluation. OPRE partners with the Office on Trafficking in Persons, in addition to other ACF program offices, on these efforts.

Interoperability and Data Sharing

This portfolio promotes data sharing and collaboration to enable data-driven service delivery and program administration. Examples include...

Methods and Tools

OPRE is responsible for generating information and answering empirical questions related to the human services provided by the Administration for Children and Families, and promoting the use of that evidence to inform policy and practice. To do so, OPRE uses a variety of research and evaluation methods that are rigorous, relevant, transparent, independent, and ethical. This set of work...

Self-Sufficiency, Welfare & Employment

This portfolio addresses innovative approaches for increasing economic self-sufficiency and reducing public assistance dependency...

Strengthening Families, Healthy Marriage & Responsible Fatherhood

This portfolio includes research and evaluation on topics such as family formation and stability, co-parenting, marriage, fatherhood, and violence in relationships. Studies include a focus on the implications of programs and policies (including welfare policies)...

Youth Services

This portfolio includes evaluations of approaches for helping youth make healthy choices that lead to self-sufficient adult lives. Efforts include evaluations of teen pregnancy prevention and sexual risk avoidance education strategies...