The National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) and the National Dating Abuse Helpline (NDAH), which are supported by the Division of Family Violence Prevention and Services within the Family and Youth Services Bureau, serve as critical partners in the intervention, prevention, and resource assistance efforts of the network of family violence, domestic violence, and dating violence service providers. They provide crisis intervention and support services; information about resources on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and other forms of violence; and nationwide referrals and direct connections to domestic violence shelters and programs. The purpose of this contract is to describe the activities and accomplishments of the two hotlines and develop ways for the NDVH and NDAH to collect information on their activities and performance on an ongoing basis. To accomplish these goals, the research team will access extensive existing data collected by the hotlines on the services they provide, the needs and requests of those who contact them, and the anonymous transcripts of on-line chats, texts, and calls. Because all contacts are anonymous and no personally identifying information is collected by the NDVH and the NDAH, this project will maintain the highest standards of confidentiality while utilizing vast amounts of informative data. In addition, new data will be collected as necessary, while still maintaining confidentiality.


Improving outcomes for low-income fathers and their children is an important goal, but there is limited evidence about which approaches are most effective. Building Bridges and Bonds (B3) is a rigorous evaluation study of responsible fatherhood programs designed to answer multiple practice-relevant research questions about individual program components. The broad goals are to build substantive knowledge about the effective practices and components of responsible fatherhood programs, and identify strategies to improve program effectiveness. The specific research questions will be determined in the first year of the project, with input from fatherhood research and practice experts on the highest priority questions in the field. Potential directions include rigorously testing implementation features such as recruitment and retention, sequencing of services, building coalitions with community partners, testing the efficacy of program components (e.g., innovative employment services, parenting and coparenting skills development, or couple/relationship education), etc. Six fatherhood programs will be involved in impact and process studies. All impact tests will be conducted through efficient random assignment designs, such as factorial and multi-arm trials, and will focus on short-term impacts. Data sources will include the program's management information system, participant surveys at baseline and 6-month follow-up, and administrative records. The process studies will highlight operational lessons for the field and provide context for understanding the impact results. They will include both quantitative and qualitative data, which will be collected through observation, surveys, interviews, and focus groups with program staff and participating fathers.


This project is implementing 36-month follow-up studies to the federally-sponsored Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Impact Study and the Innovative Strategies for Increasing Self-Sufficiency Project, both of which are examining outcomes at 15 months after entry into the study. The goal of the 36-month follow-up studies is to rigorously evaluate the intermediate impact of career pathways program models on the educational progress and self-sufficiency of individuals who participate in the programs. Key evaluation questions that will be addressed in these studies include: ? What are the longer-term effects of the HPOG and Innovative Strategies for Increasing Self-Sufficiency programs on their populations of interest? ? How do effects of career pathways programs vary over time, across outcomes or domains, by occupational sector, by program model and by participant characteristics? ? Do different models, strategies or components, (e.g., a particular curricular model, such as I-BEST, particular recruitment strategies or support services, etc.) lead to different impacts for participants? ? How can career pathways models be adjusted to promote longer-term outcomes for participants? To assess these research questions, a survey will be fielded approximately 36 months after study participants are assigned to either the treatment or comparison group. The survey will document respondents' education and training experiences, employment experiences, and parenting practices and child outcomes for those with children. The survey data will be used with administrative data from the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH), the HPOG Performance Reporting System, and a variety of national and local data sources to assess the 36-month impacts.


The CCDF Policies Database is a source of information on the detailed policies used to operate child care subsidy programs under the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). Since 2008, The Urban Institute has collected, coded, and disseminated the CCDF policies in effect across the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories and outlying areas, using consistent methods across places and over time. The information in the CCDF Policies Database is based primarily on the documents that caseworkers use as they work with families and providers, as well as the biennial CCDF Plans and amendments submitted by States/Territories to ACF, state law, and regulations used by the staff operating the program. The Database captures detailed information on eligibility, family payments, application procedures, and provider-related policies, including dates of enactment and some of the policy variations that exist within states/territories. The information collected by the project is being disseminated in different forms to meet the needs of different users - quantitative and qualitative researchers, policymakers, and administrators at all levels of government. One product is a complete set of data files, containing the full detail of the database, periodically extracted from the database. Access to the data files allows researchers and others to address important questions concerning the effects of alternative child care subsidy policies and practices on the children and families served, specifically parental employment and self-sufficiency, the availability and quality of care, and children's development. The data files are publicly available at . A second product is a set of reports, or books of tables. Each book of tables allows easy access to key policies for all states and territories, focusing on a specific point in time. The tables from each report are also available, in various formats suitable for analysis, at . These tables are also updated to reflect any corrections made in the database after the release of the reports.


The overall purpose of this project is to inform the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) on its efforts to improve services for victims of human trafficking. In 2014, ACF's Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) awarded three grants to carry out demonstration projects to provide coordinated case management and comprehensive direct victim assistance to domestic victims of severe forms of human trafficking. The intent of the grant program is to improve organizational and community capacity to deliver trauma-informed, culturally relevant services for domestic victims of human trafficking. The grantees are expected to build and sustain coordinated systems of agency services and partnerships with allied professionals in community-based organizations, such as runaway and homeless youth, domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking victim services programs. Each grantee will conduct a community-specific assessment related to victim service needs, gaps, and referral options, and an organizational capacity assessment to determine what resources, training, technical assistance, and partnerships are needed to meet the needs of domestic human trafficking victims in their communities. To meet the needs identified, grantees will expand their partnerships with relevant organizations and agencies, and they will expand their existing case management services to include all aspects of a fully comprehensive victim assistance model. The demonstration projects will be implemented in Salt Lake City, New York City, and the metropolitan areas of Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. Working closely with FYSB, OPRE is overseeing a cross-site process evaluation of these new demonstration projects. RTI International is carrying out the evaluation. Key questions of interest are related to the use of the community needs assessment, the necessary conditions for partnership expansion, factors associated with the provision and receipt of comprehensive victim-centered services, survivors' experiences with the program and their short-term outcomes, and the costs of program components. Additional project activities include working with grantees to improve performance measurement and informing ACF's decisions regarding future evaluation activities. Future activities may include developing instruments and planning and executing additional evaluation activities.


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 Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Family Options Study, a multi-site random assignment experiment designed to study the impact of various housing and services interventions on homeless families. Between September 2010 and January 2012, over 2,200 homeless families across twelve communities enrolled in the Family Options Study and were randomly assigned to one of three interventions (permanent housing subsidy, project-based transitional housing, community-based rapid re-housing) or to usual care. Data on these families have been collected at multiple points in time using a variety of instruments including surveys, qualitative interviews, and child assessments. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), both within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, have contracted with Abt Associates, HUD's contractor for the Family Options Study, to produce a series of research briefs that build on the data and analysis already being conducted for HUD to answer additional questions related to the well-being and economic self-sufficiency of homeless families and children experiencing homelessness. This project is co-funded by ACF and ASPE.


The purpose of the MIHOPE Check-In project is to annually update contact information for families who participated in the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE; ). MIHOPE is examining child and family outcomes for participants in the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program when the child is 15 months old. Previous research on home visiting programs has also found impacts on child and family outcomes when the children are even older (i.e., preschool age, school age, teenagers, etc.). To ensure that it is possible to examine the long-term impacts of the MIECHV program with future follow-up studies, up-to-date contact information must be maintained for study participants. In addition to maintaining current contact information for MIHOPE participants, the MIHOPE Check-In project may also administer a brief survey to gather information on a small set of family and child outcomes, and may collect consent forms to allow for future analysis of administrative data.


The purpose of this project is to explore how emerging insights from psychology can strengthen programs aimed at helping families achieve self-sufficiency. In particular, the project will review the implications of existing research on psychological processes associated with goal-directed behaviors, including socio-emotional and cognitive development, executive functioning, soft skills and related areas. The project will then synthesize current research on these topics, addressing how insights gained from research can be used to promote economic advancement among low-income populations; identify promising strategies for strengthening underlying skills in these areas; and enhance measurement of changes and developments in skill acquisition. As a secondary purpose, the project will examine the extent to which insights in these areas may improve programs aimed at supporting positive parenting. The project will also develop logic models mapping how programs could incorporate psychology informed frameworks into interventions to support family self-sufficiency, employment training, career and technical education and positive parenting practices for low-income adults, and how evaluators may measure outcomes of interest. This project will conduct fieldwork to learn about existing programs that are currently integrating these frameworks into employment and training and parenting programs. The results of this project will inform future programmatic and evaluation efforts in the areas of strengthening and supporting goal-directed behavior for families. The research design includes a literature review, surveys and site visits. Mathematica Policy Research is conducting the study.


Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant problem for women and men in the United States, with one in four women and one in seven men experiencing severe physical violence by an intimate partner in his or her lifetime. Furthermore, the prevalence of IPV is higher among low-income populations and populations of color (specifically African American, American Indian, Alaska Native and multiracial persons). Because healthy relationship programs often serve low-income and diverse populations, their participants are at particular risk for IPV. Given the goal of healthy relationship programs (which are administered by the Office of Family Assistance at the Administration for Children and Families) to strengthen and improve the quality of marriages and relationships, addressing IPV for healthy relationship program participants is of critical concern. Therefore, the broad, long-term objective of the Responding to Intimate Violence in Relationship Programs (RIViR) project is to understand how to best identify and address IPV in the context of healthy relationship programming. The specific aims of RIViR are 1) to describe IPV experiences and service needs among healthy relationship program participants; 2) to summarize existing healthy relationship programs' approaches to addressing IPV; 3) to develop a theoretical framework to understand how best to identify and best serve healthy relationship program participants who are experiencing IPV; and 4) to develop protocols for serving for the diverse range of healthy relationship program participants who are experiencing IPV. To accomplish these goals, the research team will synthesize and review existing empirical and programmatic data, conduct interviews with healthy relationship program evaluation contractors and healthy relationship program staff, and consult with leading experts in the field of IPV and healthy relationship programming. Subject to availability of funds and other considerations, a follow-on component of the project will test IPV screening instruments and protocols in healthy relationship programs.


ACF's Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) administers a variety of social service programs intended to connect newly resettled refugees with critical resources, help them become economically self-sufficient, and help them integrate into American society. One such program is the Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) program, which provides both financial support and social services to newly resettled refugees. Refugee Cash Assistance is similar to TANF in that both are cash assistance programs that provide services aimed at promoting self-sufficiency; however the content, mode of delivery and rules surrounding these services vary significantly by state and locality. Some counties and states have reportedly integrated the delivery of TANF and RCA in a purposeful way to better serve refugees. However, there is little documented information on the extent to which refugees access benefits and services through TANF and RCA, differences in refugee characteristics between the two programs, how outcomes compare for refugees served under these two programs, whether integration of these programs holds promise for refugee self-sufficiency, and whether data is available to answer these questions. The Understanding the Intersection Between TANF and Refugee Cash Assistance Services project aims to improve understanding of how RCA and TANF serve refugee populations, how these programs intersect, and how these programs may be related to refugee self-sufficiency and employment outcomes. In fall 2014 ACF launched this descriptive study to document the similarities and differences between cash assistance and associated social services offered under RCA and TANF across different selected jurisdictions. The study aims to better understand the population of refugees served by TANF and RCA, and the major differences in programmatic services associated with these two programs. The study will also explore how states and localities have coordinated TANF and RCA programs to deliver social services to refugees and whether these approaches hold promise for long-term job stability and economic self-sufficiency among refugees. This field study will provide a deeper understanding of current social service delivery systems serving refugees and will help to identify gaps in existing knowledge and data around these systems. By improving knowledge of these programs and participant experiences, ACF hopes to move toward better serving this population. The project is being conducted by Abt Associates and MEF Associates.


The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Two Parent Families Study is a descriptive study that will collect information about two parent families who receive or are eligible to receive TANF. This study will document: 1) the characteristics of two-parent families participating in or eligible for TANF; 2) the variety of services TANF two-parent families are receiving through TANF; 3) how state policies help or hinder families' participation in TANF; and 4) how beliefs, attitudes and perceptions of staff and eligible families help or hinder families' participation in TANF. The primary goals of this study are to understand the characteristics of two-parent families on TANF or TANF eligible families, as well as to understand how policies impact the types of services two-parent families receive. A combination of research methods will be used to achieve the goals of the study, including the collection of administrative data, interviews with state administrators, as well as focus groups and interviews with TANF two-parent families or families eligible to receive TANF.


Investing in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) is based on assumptions that programs will strive to raise their quality ratings and parents will use ratings to select higher quality programs. However, research examining these potential levers of quality within QRIS is limited. Therefore the purpose of the proposed study is to examine processes by which QRIS may drive improved quality in early childhood education (ECE). Two approaches will be taken to accomplish this goal. First, a secondary analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, and will be using the Nebraska QRS Pilot Study data and the SWEEP (Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten and Study of State-Wide Early Education Programs), will provide insight about the configuration of quality within programs as well as information about predictors of membership in different quality profiles. Second, qualitative data from focus groups with parents and teachers/providers who are participating with the newly implemented Nebraska QRIS will provide valuable information about the key aspects of theory of change undergirding the QRIS. This research project will coincide with the first two years of the Nebraska QRIS (NEQRIS), during which programs receiving substantial CCDF subsidy funding are required to participate. Sample: The quantitative study will include the Midwest Childcare Research Consortium QRS Pilot Study and the State-Wide Early Education Programs (SWEEP) data sets. The qualitative study will include professionals and parents who participate in the first two years of NEQRIS implementation. Measures: Quantitative The following measures from the Midwest Childcare Research Consortium QRS Pilot Study and the SWEEP data sets will be used. ECE Quality Measures ? ITERS-R ? ECERS-R ? SACERS ? ECERS-E ? ELLCO ? Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) ? Emerging Academics Snapshot (SNAPSHOT) Teacher/Provider Characteristics ? Demographic Surveys ? KONTOS Scale ? Modernity Scale Qualitative Focus Group questions will be open ended in nature and designed to give voice to parents and their experiences and perceptions of the NEQRIS.


Current developmental policy reports and empirical articles stress the importance of supporting Spanish (L1) in English-dominant (L2) child care programs as well as promoting the linguistic context in which Dual Language Learners (DLLs) are served. Yet, little is known whether teachers actually use L1 in early care and education (ECE) settings and for what purposes, and prior research has not sufficiently investigated whether the effects of Head Start vary based on such L1 use. This mixed-methods study addresses several kindergarten-readiness topics of interest to the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF). Specifically, the study first seeks to understand the role of linguistic cohesion between staff and Spanish-speaking DLL families to answer: 1) What child, family, and institutional factors are associated with selection into ECE environments that use L1?; and 2) a) Are there main effects of L1 use on academic school readiness skills? b) Does Head Start differentially benefit children spoken to in L1 and/or instructed in L1? To address these research questions, two nationally representative samples of Head Start children, families, and programs - the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS) and the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES, 2009 Cohort) - will be analyzed. Using the results from these secondary data analyses on the role of L1 use in ECE for children's academic skills, classroom observations will then be conducted in local Orange County, CA Head Start centers to better understand the nuanced mechanisms and patterns surrounding such L1 use to answer: 3) How is L1 used in local Head Start classrooms, who uses it, for what purposes, and how does L1 contribute to children's active engagement? Sample: ? Spanish-speaking DLLs from HSIS (N = 1,141) and FACES-2009 (N = 512) study samples ? Orange County Head Start classrooms in which Spanish-speaking DLLs interact with lead teachers, assistant teachers, aides, parent volunteers, and other children (N ? 3,400). Measures: Spanish-speaking DLL Status ? The HSIS (baseline Fall 2002 child's primary caregiver and child)and FACES-2009 (Baseline Fall 2009 & Spring 2010 child language screener) datasets L1 Use ? Child's teacher/caregiver from the HSIS (Spring2003) and FACES-2009 (Spring 2010) datasets Academic Achievement Baseline ? Woodcock-Muoz (WM) Identificacin de letras y palabras (Woodcock & Muoz-Sandoval, 1996) ? WM Problemas aplicados ? Test de Vocabulario en Imgenes Peabody (TVIP; Dunn, Lugo, Padilla, & Dunn, 1986) Academic Achievement Outcomes ? Woodcock-Johnson (WJ) III Letter-Word Identification (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001) ? WJ III Applied Problems ? HSIS: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), 3rd Ed. (Dunn & Dunn, 1997) FACES-2009: PPVT, 4th Ed. (Dunn & Dunn, 2007) Selection Variables ? Maternal Proficiency with English ? Lead Teacher Speaks L1 ? Lead Teacher of Hispanic Ethnicity ? % of Spanish-speaking DLL Students Per Center ? Maternal Immigration Status ? Child's Previous ECE Experiences ? Availability of Other ECE Options Demographic Covariates ? Child Gender ? Child Classified as Special Needs ? Child Age (weeks) ? Child Age (years) ? Maternal Depression ? Highest Level of Maternal Education ? Whether Both Biological Parents Live with Child ? Maternal Marital Status ? Whether Mother was Teenaged at Child's Birth


The proposed dissertation will draw largely on economic theory and strategic management research to model predictors of provider participation in the subsidy system. Specifically, the quantitative portion of the study will utilize administrative data and U.S. Census data to test three empirical models that examine factors associated with provider decisions about 1) whether or not to participate in the subsidy system, 2) how many subsidy recipients to serve and 3) whether to accept vouchers and/or contract with the state for subsidized child care slots. The qualitative portion of the study includes interviews with center-based provider directors to explore pathways to subsidy participation and identify additional factors not examined in the quantitative models that affect providers' subsidy decisions Results from this dissertation will not only make a significant contribution to the current gap in the child care supply literature by adding new knowledge to the field, but will also provide subsidy policy-makers and administrators with a better understanding of 1) the characteristics of child care providers participating in the subsidy system compared to those that do not, 2) potential sources of motivation for and barriers to participation, and 3) how differential participation may contribute to inequitable access to a full range of care options for subsidy recipients. Sample: The quantitative methods sample will include administrative data from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care on over 8,500 licensed and center-based providers and 3,900 of whom accept subsidies. The qualitative methods samples will include 20 center-based child care provider directors/staff Measures: Quantitative Methods Measures Provider Participation. ? Massachusetts' Child Care Information Management System (CCIMS) and Electronic Child Care Information Management System (eCIMMS) Provider Characteristics & Types of Services Offered. ? Massachusetts' licensing, NACCRRAware, and QRIS data Local Child Care Market & Regional Policy/Practice. ? U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 2008-2012 5-year sample ? U.S. Census Bureau's Zip Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) ? U.S. Census Bureau's Tiger/Line shape files ? Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care licensing data Qualitative Methods Measures ? A semi-structured interview guide for provider decision-makers


As the US population continues to diversify, early childhood programs serving the nation's youngest citizens strive to meet the needs of culturally diverse families. The current study seeks to examine the racial-ethnic socialization of preschool-age children in home and school contexts by multiple caregivers. Using cultural-ecological models as a guide, the study looks at four components within each socialization setting: parents/teachers, family/peers, physical environments, and the racial-ethnic composition of neighborhoods/child care programs. Utilizing a proposed sample of approximately 200 three- to five-year-old children and their families that participate in Head Start programs in Upstate New York, the effects of match or mismatch of home and school racial-ethnic socialization on children's racial attitudes, and socioemotional and cognitive development will be examined. The racially and ethnically diverse population of Head Start families will allow for the definition of typologies of socialization between groups and will speak to the variation of child care needs by cultural orientation. Structural equation modeling techniques will allow for examination of the latent constructs of home socialization and school socialization via multiple informants and measures and will determine the pathways of influence between these multidimensional constructs and young children's development. The study's findings have the potential of laying bare the importance of ethnic socialization, regarded as a protective factor, in Head Start children's early academic and social development and for informing early childhood practices. Sample: A minimum of 200 families and teachers of three- to five-year-old who participate in Head Start programs and child care partnerships in Upstate New York Measures: Demographic information ? Parent Demographic survey Home racial-ethnic socialization ? Parental Racial-Ethnic Socialization Behaviors ? Family Socialization ? Africentric Home Environment Inventory ? Neighborhood Racial Composition School racial-ethnic socialization ? Teacher Demographic information ? Teachers will complete a modified version of the Parental Racial-Ethnic Socialization Behaviors measure ? Peers - observation of free play ? Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised [ECERS-R] ? Head Start Administrator School Racial Composition Racial Attitudes ? Intergroup Attitude Measure Socioemotional Development ? Child Behavior Checklist [CBCL-1 -5] Cognitive Development ? Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children [KABC-II]


Through employing a bio-ecological systems approach, this project examines two plausible developmental mechanisms of Head Start (HS) preschoolers' peer collaboration. Given the ubiquity and importance of preschoolers' peer collaboration (i.e. the coordination of actions and verbalizations to achieve a shared goal) in classroom settings, this research seeks to identify environmental, physiological, and social- cognitive factors that support low income preschoolers' ability to collaborate. Specifically, the project investigates two primary research questions. The first question is whether measures of children's home environments (i.e. caregiving practices, home chaos, family demographics) and preschool environments (i.e. caregiving practices, student-teacher relationship, classroom demographics) relate to child factors (i.e. physiological arousal and social cognition). The second question concerns whether children's arousal and social cognition support their ability to collaborate with a peer to overcome cognitive and motoric challenges. It is anticipated that the results of this project will support the development of improved Head Start classroom and teacher practices in addition to informed interventions. Sample: 60 dyads of HS preschoolers from Tompkins County, New York aged between 48 and 66 months (i.e. 120 children). Dyads will consist of unfamiliar children within 6 months of age of one another. Measures: Children's Home Environment and Social Experience ? Parental Background Sheet: Income, Education, Crowding, etc. ? Child Background Sheet: Duration in Preschool, etc. ? Home Chaos ? Parental Sensitivity and Responsiveness Children's Preschool Environment and Social Experience ? Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) ? Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) ? Classroom Demographics Children's Arousal ? Skin Conductance (SC) ? Cortisol and Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) ? Children's Sustained Attention and Attention Shifting Children's Social Cognition ? Theory of Mind ? Sociability- Parental Report ? Sociability- Observational Coding


The proposed mixed-method study will build on and expand an ongoing Early Head Start (EHS)-University Partnership addressing the prevention of toxic stress through attachment-based intervention. Guided by a strengths-based, developmental-ecological framework, the proposed study will examine the influence of individual, occupational, and organizational factors on compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue in EHS home visitors. Home visitor compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction data will also be examined as predictors of home visitor turnover and family engagement. In the first, quantitative phase, in collaboration with current EHS program partners, a Home Visitor Survey will be designed. Approximately 70 EHS home visitors, representing all EHS home visitors in the state of Maryland, will be recruited to complete the survey. Survey data from a subsample of 28 home visitors will be linked with family-level data from the Buffering Toxic Stress study in order to examine effects of family risks on home visitor wellbeing. Home visitor wellbeing will also be linked with home visitor job turnover at 6 to 9 months post-survey and with several indicators of EHS family engagement, including mothers' perceptions of their working alliance with their home visitor, and EHS program participation. Data will be analyzed using multilevel modelling techniques. In the second, qualitative phase, 4 to 6 EHS home visitors with different degrees of wellbeing will be selected to complete an interview addressing occupational stress. Thus, findings are anticipated to contribute to EHS research, practice, and policy, particularly by addressing the large gap in knowledge about the wellbeing of home-based staff and its relation to family risk engagement. Sample: All home visitors (approximately 28) from five local EHS programs that are currently participating in the Partners for Parenting will be invited to participate in this study additionally; up to 40 home visitors from nine EHS programs in Maryland will be recruited. Measures: Home Visitor Survey ? Demographics ? Educations and Experience ? Physical Health and Mental Health ? Trauma History ? Personal Resources Occupational Characteristics (Home Visitor Survey, Partners for Parenting Project) ? EHS Family Cumulative Risk ? Job Characteristics ? Perceived Working Conditions ? Home Visitor Perception of the Working Alliance Organizational Characteristics (Home Visitor Survey, Program Administrators' Reports, Program Information Reports) ? EHS Program size, urban/rural, overall client demographics, frequency of supervision, other supports Proximal Outcomes (Home Visitor Survey) ? Professional Quality of Life ? Intent to Leave/Job Withdrawal Distal Outcomes (Program Administrators' Reports, Partners for Parenting Project) ? Home Visitor Turnover ? Family Engagement


To better serve Dual Language Learners (DLLs), research needs to focus on how having access to two languages uniquely affects their learning and development. The overarching purpose of this project is to increase the understanding of classroom factors and processes that can support the language and socio-emotional development of DLLs. Toward this end, this project will examine teacher-child interactions occurring with Spanish- English DLLs and their relations to children's school readiness. The proposed project will be guided by the following objectives: 1) To employ a mixed-methods approach using both primary data and a secondary dataset, the Head Start Family and Child Survey (FACES) 2009 cohort, to better understand the relations between teacher-child interactions, classroom context, and DLLs' school readiness; 2) To describe associations between Spanish use by Head Start teachers in the classroom and measures of classroom quality on DLL children's school readiness using secondary data from the FACES 2009 cohort study and a local sample; 3) To examine whether the associations between teacher-child interactions and DLL children's school readiness differ depending on classroom setting and DLL classroom composition, controlling for child and family characteristics using secondary and primary data; 4) To describe teachers' language ideologies and understand possible links to classroom practice and DLLs' student success through collection of primary qualitative data and analysis using qualitative methodology. Findings from this study will inform ways to support the language and socio-emotional development of DLLs. Sample: Primary Data: East Boston Head Start, a program consisting of 12 preschool classrooms with 221 children enrolled. The predominant language and culture is Spanish/Central and South American (73% of families identify as Hispanic). Observations of teacher-child interactions, DLLs' English and Spanish proficiency, and teacher ratings of children's socio-emotional competence will be collected for 120 -140 Latino DLLs. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with at least 12 teachers and/or teacher assistants. Secondary Data: Participants in the FACES 2009 cohort which included 60 programs, 129 centers, 486 classrooms, and 3,149 children. Included were 919 children whose first language was Spanish. Measures: Child-level assessments of school readiness ? English and Spanish language abilities ? Socio-emotional skills ? Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale (PLBS) Teacher-child interactions ? Classroom quality at the individual level (Primary Data) ? Global classroom quality (Secondary Data) ? Teachers' use of Spanish in the classroom Classroom context ? DLL classroom composition ? Amount of time spent on activity setting (Primary Data); Language used by activity setting (Secondary Data) Family and child demographics ? Demographic questionnaire(Primary Data)Child gender, age, special education status (Secondary Data) ? Child's initial level of English and Spanish proficiency (Secondary Data) ? Family Socioeconomic Status [SES] (Secondary Data)


A long standing research partnership between the University of Miami and one of the largest Head Start (HS) programs in the nation, serving an urban population of at-risk young children in Miami-Dade County, has facilitated collaborative research focused on narrowing the academic achievement gap between children from low- and middle-income families. This project leverages the Miami partnership's focus on improving domain-general school readiness skills, such as motivation, persistence, and preference for challenge, which are critical for improving school readiness, and support learning regardless of content area. Interventions targeting motivation orientation (encompasses mastery and performance motivations) have successfully improved academic outcomes in older children; however, attempts to extend this research downward to early childhood have yielded mixed results due to the absence of developmentally appropriate measures. The current study will build upon prior research to fill a gap in this literature by assessing a newly developed measure of motivation orientation specifically designed to be sensitive and appropriate for pre-school children from low-income families. Results will allow for evaluation of early childhood interventions that aim to close the national school readiness achievement gap by targeting this powerful domain-general skill. Sample: 350 children across 35 HS classrooms from the Miami-Data County Head Start program will be randomly selected, stratified by age and gender. Measures: STEM ? Lens on Science assessment (Lens) Language ? The Preschool Computerized Language Assessment (PCLA) Approaches to learning ? The Learning-to-Learn Scales (LTLS) Motivation orientation ? The Computer Administered Battery of Observable Motivation (CABoOM)


Little is known about whether home visitors recognize the association between risk factors (e.g., parental mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence) and maltreatment. There is a critical need to understand how home visitors identify the behaviors that constitute maltreatment and the factors that place families at increased risk for experiencing maltreatment. The primary objectives of the proposed study are to: (a) identify how Early Head Start (EHS) home visitors understand maltreatment, determine risk for maltreatment, and refer families identified as at-risk to relevant EHS program and community-based services; and (b) identify the association between presence of risk factors and court-substantiated child maltreatment in order to develop the model that best predicts maltreatment occurrence. Archival data on approximately 600 EHS families will be utilized in this study. Records include EHS services received, mental health services received, and juvenile court records of substantiated instances of maltreatment. In addition, qualitative interviews exploring identification and determination of risk for maltreatment will be conducted with all EHS home visitors and supervisors employed by the program. Analyses will utilize mixed methodology in a sequential design to identify the presence of risk factors and predict occurrence of maltreatment. The findings will inform EHS researches, practitioners and policy makers on how to better serve families within the context of an ongoing intervention; provide information about the role that home visitors play; conduct effective training for staff to successfully assist and engage families in services; and engage families and deliver services that reduces risk for and prevents maltreatment. Sample: Approximately 600 families enrolled in EHS home-based services between 2008 and 2015. All EHS home visitors and supervisors (n=17) employed during the identified recruitment periods will be invited to participate in the qualitative component of the study. Measures: ? Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) ? Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Screening (BESS) ? Semi-Structured Program Interview ? EHS Records ? Mental Health Clinical Records ? Nebraska JUSTICE Records


The Human Services Research Partnership of the U.S. Virgin Islands 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 governments and community-based organizations to define and evaluate research questions relevant to low-income people in the U.S. Virgin Islands and to the Head Start and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs. This project will examine issues relevant to the social and economic well-being of low-income children and families in the U.S. Virgin Islands to improve understanding of the service needs, policy, and the most promising approaches within ACF programs to improve the quality of life in the region. Projects must address topics of importance to the Office of Head Start and the Office of Financial Assistance within ACF.


The study hypothesizes that the Building Strong Families (BSF) program will positively impact marriage for those couples who met the economic bar, but not the couples who did not meet the economic bar and that meeting the economic bar will moderate BSF treatment impacts in other areas, like parenting and child well-being. BSF survey data from the baseline, 15, and 36 month waves will be utilized to address the following goals: (1) Create an economic bar to marriage index, based on employment, earnings, job characteristics, material hardship, and asset ownership; (2) Develop propensity scores using baseline characteristics to predict which treatment and control couples were likely to meet the economic bar; and (3) Examine BSF program impacts on those couples predicted to meet the economic bar, compared to those couples predicted not to meet the economic bar, on measures of marital status, relationship quality, parent-child interactions, and child well-being. This study addresses a gap in the research literature by examining who, among low-income parents, meets the economic bar to marriage. It also addresses an unanswered question, namely, how BSF program impacts varied by couples' experiences of meeting the economic bar. The findings will benefit family strengthening policies by suggesting that future programs have both a financial and relationship-skills training component or that relationship-skill training programs be targeted to couples who have met the economic bar. Sample: All the couples who participated in at least one follow-up round (either 15 or 36 months) in the BSF impact evaluation dataset; a large sample of low-income, unmarried parents or couples who are expecting a child and who were interested in a relationship skills program. Measures: The economic bar to marriage index: ? Employment ? Health insurance ? Earnings growth ? Home ownership ? Bank Account ? Material hardship ? Public assistance Baseline covariates ? Mothers' and fathers' ages ? Mothers' and fathers' race and ethnicity ? Mothers' and fathers' education ? Whether the mother was pregnant ? Whether the couple was living together ? The number of children the couple has together ? Whether the mothers and fathers were currently employed ? Mothers' and fathers' earnings ? Whether the family received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and/or Food Stamps (SNAP) in the last month ? Mothers' and fathers' depression scores ? Mothers' and fathers' perceived relationship quality Primary outcome variables ? Marriage ? Relationship quality Secondary outcome variables o Parenting outcomes o Parental responsiveness o Hostile parenting o Parental warmth o Parent's engagement in cognitive and social play o Parent's use of harsh discipline o Parenting stress and aggravation o Child outcomes o Behavior problems o Emotional insecurity o Empathy o Receptive language o Sustained attention


Despite the often small effects found when implementing marriage and family strengthening programs, these programs can be shown to have very large and important financial impacts on the population. Expected Value-Return on investment (EV-ROI) models previously developed by the project team will be expanded and applied to an evaluation of the Support Healthy Marriage (SHM) program funded by the Administration for Children and Families. These EV-ROI analyses will be compared to an analysis of program effects using more conventional tests of statistical significance and effect size calculations, similar to those already reported. The SHM data will allow an assessment of whether outcomes targeted by the SHM program (relationship dissolution and relationship distress) and secondary outcomes that co-occur with these outcomes (unwed pregnancy, alcohol/drug problems, depression, domestic violence, financial contribution to children, income, and use of public assistance) changed at 30 months as a result of the intervention. These data will be used to produce local average treatment effect estimates for each of these outcomes to determine the number of persons positively impacted by the program. The Return on Investment (ROI) analysis will also be used to suggest an upper limit on what the federal government should be willing to pay for SHM programming. The proposed study will examine the following hypotheses: (1) The effects of family and marriage strengthening initiatives on relationship outcomes yielded by traditional statistical significance tests and effect sizes are small; (2) Positive evidence of change in outcomes using conventional tests, while important, underestimates the true, practical significance of programs as suggested by ROI analysis; (3) ROI estimates suggest that marriage and family strengthening programs are indeed effective and have a much larger ROI than those achieved by for-profit businesses. Sample: SHM couple survey data that includes 6,298 couples (12,596 individual survey completers) at baseline who had a low to modest income level and a child under 18 or were expecting a child. Measures: Directly Targeted Relationship Outcomes ? Prior Marital Status ? Marital Status ? Living Together ? Relationship Distress Relationship Outcomes that Co-Occur with Distress/Dissolution ? Unwed Pregnancy ? Alcohol/Drug Problem ? Depression ? Domestic Violence ? Financially Contribute to Child's Upbringing ? Income ? Use of Social Services


Federal initiatives like the Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) initiative do provide a wealth of information about the couples in these programs, the nature of their relationships, and the well-being of their children-for some of the most vulnerable populations. This is useful because dramatic changes in the structure of U.S. families have created challenges for programs serving low-income families. This is particularly the case for Hispanic populations, who don't always conform to assumptions about what families in need look like. Thus, the SHM data provide a unique opportunity to examine the marriages of low-income Hispanic families in depth, helping to identify what characteristics-programmatic and/or otherwise-are contributing to the health and stability of these families or not. The goal of this project is to develop a strong foundation of knowledge about low-income Hispanic couples through descriptive and exploratory research. Specifically, the study proposes to (1) Describe the levels of marital stability, marital quality, and risk of dissolution for married Hispanic couples in the SHM evaluation; (2) Identify the critical characteristics linked to marital stability, marital quality, and risk of dissolution among Hispanic couples, additionally determining whether any of these characteristics are mediated by relationship quality or change in quality; and (3) Identify which program participation characteristics-such as dosage or specific services/activities-are linked to marital stability, marital quality, or risk of dissolution among Hispanic couples who received treatment. Sample: 3,000 couples from the SHM Evaluation dataset in which both partners are Hispanic and at least one partner is Hispanic. Measures: Dependent Measures ? Marital stability ? Risk of dissolution ? Marital quality at 30 months Independent Measures ? Hispanic ? Preferred language ? Born in the U.S. Predictors of Marital Stability/Dissolution ? Structural Characteristics ? Socioeconomic Characteristics ? Social Support and Values ? Martial Quality Program Participation and Services ? Dosage of treatment ? Types of activities ? Participation in extended activities ? Contact with Family Support Coordinator ? Payments to the couple ? Referrals


The findings reported to date from Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) and related studies have caused others to conclude that healthy marriage initiates are not effective (Johnson, 2014). After reviewing the prior analyses with SHM data, it is premature to conclude that SHM and related programs are not effective for improving marriages and children's lives. The overall objective of this study is to use advanced longitudinal data analysis (derivatives, differential equations) to test theoretically driven hypotheses regarding how and why family strengthening programs work, and when and for whom these programs are maximally effective. The central hypothesis is that using these advanced methods, which can test more nuanced and overlooked theoretical questions about change processes, will advance the field of family strengthening initiatives forward by uncovering relations that may be masked by traditional statistical methods. The specific aims of the study are: (1) Identify the mechanisms through which family strengthening programs improve children's well-being; (2) Identify the optimal time during children's lives when family strengthening programs provide the maximum benefit for their well-being; and (3) Identify existing family vulnerabilities that may constrain the effectiveness of family strengthening programs for children's well-being. Samples: Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) dataset which includes 6298 low income couples and their child. Measures: Marital Quality ? Survey data ? Survey item data reduction ? Observational data Child Outcomes (children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and reactions to inter-parental conflict) Parental Psychological Distress Financial Strain/Economic Security Parenting Marital Stability Program Enrollment/Engagement


Many studies document large differentials of marriage success by race and age, but the causal predictors, the factors that reliably identify outcomes and point to the factors that contribute to marriage success have yet to be clearly articulated or are contested. In this project, Howard University researchers will study three research questions drawing on three rich longitudinal datasets generated through the Health and Human Services/Administration for Children and Families supported family strengthening programs. Secondary analysis of these databases will provide additional analysis and reporting on impacts of race, ethnicity, location, socio-economic conditions, and age on understanding the success rate of the three programs. The expected outcomes will help agencies craft improved and culturally competent programming aimed at family strengthening. The research questions this study will address are: (1) Did race and ethnicity-neutral outcome measures generate biased estimates of program impacts in the evaluation of the three programs?; (2) Do local social and economic conditions affect the distribution of program impacts?; and (3) Were program interventions more effective on Hispanic participants than on African American and white participants? Hypotheses related to these research questions will be tested through more detailed factor analysis and econometric applications than that done in previous research studies. The goal of this work is to enrich our knowledge of drivers of program success across various sub-populations. Sample: Data samples from the Supporting Healthy Marriage and Building Strong Families programs and the U.S. Census Bureau Measures: The study will estimate regression equations to test the hypotheses. The coefficients from the estimation and their comparisons are the measures used to test the hypotheses and thus provide answer to the three research questions. The study will reconstruct the outcome variables of interest for blacks, whites and Hispanics separately to improve their internal consistency and reliability.


The goal of this study is to examine how participation in the Building Strong Families (BSF) intervention caused families to experience reductions in three different forms of familyinstability (e.g., financial, family structure, romantic relationship quality), that in turn bolster child development via stronger father involvement and higher quality coparenting relationships. This project includes three specific aims: (1) To examine the associations between participation in BSF and financial, family structure, and romantic relationship instability out to 36 months post-intervention; (2) To examine the extent to which reductions in each form of family instability mediate the effects of the BSF intervention on father involvement and coparenting quality at 36 months post-intervention; and (3) To examine the extent to which father involvement and coparenting quality mediate associations between each form of instability and children's behavior problems and language development at 36 months post-intervention. By examining multiple forms of family instability as intervention pathways, the study will inform future intervention work aimed at strengthening relationships and wellbeing among economically disadvantaged families across the transition to parenthood. Sample: Participants in the BSF dataset that have data on all relevant study variables Measures: Financial Instability Indexes ? Financial Instability ? Family Structure Instability ? Romantic Relationship Quality Instability Family Processes - Father Involvement Responsibility - Accessibility -Engagement - Coparenting Child Development Outcomes ? Behavior Problems ? Child Language


Material hardship is an important measure of economic well-being, especially for disadvantaged households, and has been part of attempts to understand the relationship between family structure, household well-being and poverty. In this study advanced econometric techniques to analyze longitudinal data from the Building Strong Families (BSF) 2002-2012 dataset will be used, in order to increase policymakers' understanding of the relationship between material hardship and family formation, and in particular, to understand how family strengthening programs mediate that relationship. The project has three specific aims: (1) Explore whether material hardship acts as a selection factor in family formation and relationship satisfaction. In other words, are strengthening family programs more successful for families with lower levels of material hardship? (2) Explore the effects of family formation on economic strain. In other words, do family formation and improved relationship quality reduce material hardship? (3) Explore the effects of social safety net participation on the success of family strengthening programs and families' economic strain. In other words, does participation in social safety net programs improve relationship and economic outcomes for families? This proposal will take advantage of the unique BSF data to address inconsistencies and limitations in the prior research. In particular, the study will disentangle the causal direction; it will look at whether economic well-being exerts a strong effect on selection into marriage or whether it is more accurate to say that some aspects of marriage cause, or make more likely, certain economic outcomes. Because the BSF data is longitudinal, this research will use stronger causal modeling strategies than have been applied to these questions before. Sample: BSF data which includes 5,100 couples. Measures: Marriage (married or cohabitating) Relationship Quality ? Happiness ? Support & affection ? Constructive conflict behaviors ? Destructive conflict behaviors ? Fidelity Economic Strain ? Household income is below the monthly poverty line ? Household had utilities disconnected in the last year ? Household did not pay all of their rent in the last year ? Household was evicted in the last year Social Program Participation (income from TANF or SNAP) Control Variables ? Initial relationship status and quality (e.g. the outcome measures described above, the probability of marrying current partner, and whether individuals have previous children from other partners) ? Baseline demographic characteristics (e.g. race and ethnicity, age, education level, and English language proficiency) ? Contextual characteristics (e.g. religiosity, income, employment status, psychological distress, and social support) ? Length of time (in weeks) between follow-up interviews


There have been several initiatives at the Federal, State, and local levels that have identified fathers as important figures in combating poverty, attenuating the lost developmental potential of young children, improving the nutritional status and safety of children, and reducing experiences with violence during the early childhood years. Researchers from diverse disciplines have identified risks and protective factors within and external to the family that are associated with different dimensions of father engagement and child development outcomes. Despite these advances, little is known about how paternal proximal processes are linked to childhood outcomes and what factors within the family potentially mediate these links in families who participate and do not participate in relationship education. Using cultural-ecological, risk and resilience, and parenting theories/models and complier average causal effect estimates, the study proposes to use secondary data from the Building Strong Families (BSF) project to examine the associations between fathers' responsiveness, depressive symptoms, and experiences of inter-partner violence (IPV) and young children's social and language skills, and whether social support networks and relationship quality mediate these associations differently for families who participated and did not participate in relationship education. The findings from the proposed analyses should build on the preventative scientific approach to family interventions by providing insights into factors within families that serve a protective function against multiple paternal risks on childhood development. The results should be of interest to state and local agencies that focus on preventing developmental risks to children that are attributed to challenging home and neighborhood environments. Sample: BSF 15-month and 36-month data set of low-income families and children from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The total sample at baseline consisted of 5,102 unmarried, romantically involved couples. Measures: Paternal Responsiveness Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Depressive Symptoms Relationship Quality Support and Affection Constructive and Avoidance of Destructive Conflict Behaviors Support Network Program Participation Childhood Outcome Measures ? Language Skills ? Behavior Problems Control Variables ? Co-Parenting ? Family Stability ? Poverty Status and Material Hardship ? Father's Age and Ethnicity


In the proposed study, the effects of the OurRelationship.com program on African-American, Hispanic/Latino, lower-income, and rural couples will be examined. Within a nationally-representative sample of 300 couples, OurRelationship.com demonstrated the ability to attract and retain a diverse population of couples. However, it is unclear whether results for the general population will hold for these underserved groups. To investigate this question, the proposed study has three aims: (1) Determine differences in couples' qualitative experience, program evaluations, and retention; (2) Examine how underserved couples differ in change in relationship functioning, mental health and quality of life, and important child outcomes; (3) Estimate the cost-effectiveness of OurRelationship.com. This study has the potential to demonstrate the ability to improve the romantic relationships of couples currently struggling or unable to reach couple intervention services. By testing OurRelationship.com, the proposed study will be able to show whether or not it is able to improve lives through the increasing romantic relationship functioning. Improvement in this domain has consistently shown positive downstream effects to mental health, physical health, and overall quality of life. Sample: 300 couples (600 individuals) who enrolled in the recently-completed National Institute of Health (NIH) study of the OurRelationship.com program. For being eligible for this study, both partners needed to be 21-65 years old; heterosexual; residing in the United States; cohabiting for at least 6 months; engaged or married; and at least one partner needed to score below the standardized distress cut off on the Couple Satisfaction Index. Couples were excluded if they were dating, separated, divorced, having an affair, engaged in moderate to severe or fear of physical aggression and at risk for suicide. Method: Couples are enrolled to either receive the treatment or control condition. Following the completion of the program, couples are asked to complete a variety of measures at 3 months post treatment and one year post treatment. Measures: Demographic Information Relationship Functioning ? Couples Satisfaction Inventory ? Relationship Commitment ? Emotional Intimacy ? Communication Patterns Questionnaire ? Physical Aggression ? Coparenting Individual Functioning ? Depressive Symptoms ? Suicidal Ideation ? Generalized Anxiety Disorder Symptoms ? Alcohol and Drug Use ? Stress ? Physical Health Child Functioning ? The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire Reactions to Program ? Quantitative Program Evaluation ? Qualitative Program Evaluation


Research among Latino families, particularly Mexican-origin families, has documented the critical role cultural values play in influencing family relationships and parenting. However, this work has primarily focused on mothers. The proposed project design involves testing an adapted family stress model by recruiting 80 Mexican-origin fathers to participate in in-depth interviews that include surveys on cultural values (familismo, machismo and respeto), father involvement (engagement, accessibility and responsibility), cooperative co-parenting, romantic relationship socioemotional support, sociocultural contextual stressors (discrimination, social isolation, economic pressure, English competency pressures), and depressive symptomatology. The proposed study will contribute to research in two important ways by: 1) identifying specific cultural factors buffering Mexican-origin fathers' psychological health from the influence of sociocultural contextual stressors and 2) examining the role of cultural factors in moderating the influence of Mexican-origin fathers' psychological distress on fathers' parenting and marital relationships. Examining culturally specific risks and strengths for family process pathways will pinpoint key information to inform future intervention work aimed at strengthening healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood among Mexican-origin families. Sample: 80 biological fathers self-identified as of Mexican-origin with 3 to 6 year old children and who are married and/or cohabiting with the child's mother. Measures: Sociocultural Contextual Stressors ? Economic Pressure ? English Competency Pressures ? Discrimination Psychological Distress ? Fathers' Depressive Symptoms Family Processes ? Fathers' Parenting ? Coparenting Cooperation ? Relationship Quality Cultural Values ? Caballerismo ? Familismo beliefs


The goals of this study are to address research gaps in the long-term effects of preschool programs for Latino children. It aims to characterize the early care and education utilization behaviors of Latino families in the first five years of life; solicit Latina immigrant mothers' perceptions of the factors that influence their decisions around preschool, including their personal and perceived barriers.; and determine whether and why parents' decisions about early care and education have implications for children's short- and long-term school success. The research questions guiding this study are: What are the processes by which Latino families select into formal preschool education? How do these selection factors differ for Latino families versus non-Latino families? What are Latina immigrant mothers' perceptions of preschool education and what obstacles, if any, do respondents perceive regarding their search for preschool or child care? To what extent are these decisions based on passive versus active agency? Are there short- or long-term associations between different types of preschool programs and children's school success and, if so, are these moderated by racial/ethnic group membership? Are the associations between early care and education programs and long-term development mediated by child- and adult-focused mechanisms? Are the associations between early care and education programs and children's short- and long-term functioning moderated by children's propensity for child care enrollment? To address these questions, this study will use a mixed-method strategy that integrates quantitative data from two nationally representative datasets, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth (ECLS-B) and Kindergarten Cohorts (ECLS-K), with in-depth interviews with immigrant Latina mothers in the Austin, Texas, community. Research questions will be addressed using regressions analysis, growth curve modeling, as well as propensity score analysis to explore the relations between children's child care arrangement at age 4 and their subsequent school success, as well as the factors that are associated with preschool participation. The qualitative data will be analyzed through both a priori themes from the extant literature as well as the themes that emerge more organically throughout the interview process.


The purpose of this project is to develop our field's understanding of the current knowledge and experiences of child care and early intervention providers with infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities and delays in child care settings. Specifically, it will examine how child care and early intervention programs collaborate to support these young children. Additionally, it will identify training needs of child care and early intervention providers to better support infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families in child care settings as well as find and create opportunities to support collaboration between these groups. This study will employ a sequential mixed method approach and include both quantitative factor and comparative analysis as well as qualitative thematic analysis. Participants will be recruited through statewide professional development entities of child care and early intervention providers in a Midwestern state. Participants will be invited to take part in a survey about their knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and experiences related to infants and toddlers with disabilities in child care as well as their experiences collaborating with other professionals. Participants will also be asked to describe their interests in professional development opportunities. Results of this study will begin to address the need for high quality, inclusive care for very young children with disabilities and their families in child care settings. By developing a better understanding of the experiences, barriers, and needs of child care and early intervention providers who serve this unique population, programs and policy leaders at the local, state, and national level can begin to address the professional development needs of child care, early intervention, and other related service providers to enhance lifelong outcomes for children and families.


This research study examines the amount and types of professional development North Carolina caregivers have received, and whether their participation varies by sector. Furthermore, the study explores caregivers' knowledge of The North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development (Foundations), as well as their use of standards in their work with families and children, including children with disabilities and dual language learners (DLL). These topics will be further explored to examine whether caregivers' knowledge and use of Foundations vary by the type and amount of professional development they receive. Additionally, the study will identify caregivers' self-reported barriers or challenges to using Foundations as well as supports they believe will help them to use standards more effectively. Using a community engaged research approach, this descriptive study will use mixed methods design to explore these topics using survey data collected from 150 caregivers and interview data collected from nine caregivers who have engaged in different forms of Foundations professional development within the last year. Data generated from this study can be used to inform CCDF Administrators as they plan for Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS) implementation as well as make decisions about requirements and resources to support ELDS implementation.


This project will specifically address delays in early literacy and fundamental motor skill development as being two important factors that impact school readiness (Engle & Black, 2008). It will examine the effectiveness of the Reading and Motor Program for Preschoolers (RaMPP), an integrated curricula model designed to improve child outcomes in early literacy and fundamental motor skill development. Two primary research questions will be addressed: (1) To what extent does the RaMPP intervention impact letter knowledge, phonological awareness, and fundamental motor skill development of Head Start preschool children relative to Head Start business-as-usual instruction? and (2) To what extent are the intervention effects on children's literacy and motor outcomes impacted by child-level characteristics (age, race, gender, attendance, and minority language status)? The data analysis using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) will account for nesting of the data in center and classroom to examine intervention effects on child literacy and motor outcomes. Additionally HLM will enable estimation of the separate effects of child age, gender, race, minority language status, classroom, and the treatment condition on outcomes at posttest. Descriptive and correlational statistics will also be included.


The purpose of the this study is to examine Navajo narratives and language characteristics using Dynamic assessment of narratives (DAN) to differentiate Navajo Head Start children as being at-risk for language impairment or typically developing. The main aim of the study is to examine whether DAN is sensitive to changes in narrative structure from pre to post-test in Navajo children, to examine whether DAN discriminates accurately to those with language differences from language disorders, and to determine the best ability group predictors, whether it is change scores, pretest performance, posttest performance, or a combination of these. A One-Way ANOVA with repeated measures analysis will be run to determine whether there are significant changes from pre- to post-dynamic assessment in the measures of total score, story structure, use of subordinating conjunctions and emotion terms. Further, a discriminate analysis will be run using external measures to classify children to examine classification of accuracy. Also, a multiple regression analysis will be run to test whether pretest scores, gain scores, and responsiveness scales significantly predict the difference in the ability of the groups' performance on the task. The study will provide information about whether DAN is sensitive to narrative changes and whether it differentiates those truly at risk from those developing typically.


The aim of the study is to conduct secondary analyses on the Building Strong Families (BSF) dataset, using propensity score analysis to control for selection effects and allow for causal inferences to be made. Four research questions will be addressed: 1) Do economic interventions improve relationship outcomes? 2a) Is the effectiveness of economic interventions dependent upon relationship satisfaction? 2b) Is the effectiveness of economic interventions dependent upon concurrent receipt of relationship interventions? 3) Is the effect of economic interventions mediated through improved finances or improved perception of partner's marriageability? The results of this study will determine whether helping improve economic conditions leads more couples to marry. It will also address whether economic improvements are sufficient, or whether the relationship must also be improved concurrently or be high-quality already for the economic interventions to work. These results will inform public policies aimed at supporting healthy marriages by indicating the best types of interventions to invest in and which couples they are most likely to work for.


This project will rely on two nationally representative surveys of the supply and characteristics of child care in the U.S., and of the children and families who could use child care: The Profiles of Child Care Settings study, conducted in 1990 (immediately prior to passage of the CCDBG) and the National Survey of Early Care and Education, conducted in 2012. The aim is to portray how the center-based child care options available to families have changed over this 22-year period, where centers receiving public funds fit on this changing landscape, and whether and how the characteristics of these centers and the children and families they serve have changed over this period of substantial change in the nation's subsidy policies. The specific research topics this project will address focus on changes in the supply and features of child care centers receiving and not receiving public funds, the characteristics and mix of children (including children with special needs and dual language learners) and families served by these centers, and the workforce they employ. Fundamental questions will be addressed regarding what it now means to be a center that receives public funds given the increasing complexity of funding streams and center types, about the features of publicly-funded centers that serve differing subgroups of children as they may have changed over time, and about widening or narrowing disparities in the features, workforce, and mix of children in centers that receive and do not receive public funds. Across all questions, how the findings vary depending on three different conceptualizations of publicly-funded child care dictated, in part, by the characterizations of center-based care in the two surveys: all centers that receive government funds, centers other than Head Start-funded programs (and, if possible, state pre-k programs) that receive public funds, and, in the 2012 survey, centers that serve children funded with Child Care and Development Fund subsidies will be considered. Findings will inform federal and state efforts to ensure that the center-based child care programs that serve low-income children and families are moving in the direction of improved access, higher quality, and reduced disparities between programs receiving and not receiving public funds with regard to their teaching workforce and characteristics of enrolled children.


The principal objective of the project is to describe the nature and impact of child care subsidy use by low-income families eligible for subsidies who have children with special needs. To achieve this objective, the following three subordinate objectives are: (1) To describe patterns and predictors of subsidy use among children with disabilities or delays relative to typically developing children within the population of subsidy-eligible low-income families; (2) To identify differences in care types and quality and predictors thereof between children with special needs and typically-developing children from low-income families who do and do not receive subsidies; (3) To ascertain the extent to which subsidy receipt, care type, and care quality are related to school readiness of children with special needs who come from subsidy-eligible families. A secondary analysis of nationally representative data drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort using a variety of descriptive and multivariate statistics will be conducted. This project addresses several notable gaps in the field. First, it provides much needed information on subsidy use by families of children with special needs, a topic that has received little attention in research. Second, this project will be the first to provide nationally representative estimates of subsidized care for children with special needs, as well as the predictors of subsidy receipt for this subpopulation. Third, this will be the first project to compare the type and quality of care received by children with special needs who do and do not receive subsidies. Fourth, this the first study of this kind to consider the relations of subsidized care to early educational outcomes for children with special needs. Finally, this study will identify any differences in subsidy receipt, predictors, and outcomes of subsidized care for children with and without special needs.


This project seeks to delineate the role of an understudied component of ECE contexts- the role of peers. Based on theoretical frameworks arguing for the central role of peers in affecting both children and adults, this study will specify and test a conceptual model delineated specific paths through which peer effects operate. Specifically, it is hypothesized that peer skills and behaviors within a classroom will predict shifts in individual child skills through the preschool year, and will also predict shifts in teacher instructional practices, which in turn are hypothesized to predict individual child functioning in kindergarten. As the first study to assess the potential for peers to affect both individual children and teachers, this research has the potential to provide essential insights into classroom composition effects, which in turn will inform ECE policies regarding targeted versus universal programs and efforts to improve ECE quality and children's development. This project will employ a broad array of dissemination and collaboration strategies in order to increase connections and collaborations in the ECE field, and to assure a bidirectional transfer of knowledge and ideas between policy, practice, and research. This project seeks to expand knowledge of peer effects and address issues of central concern to early education decision makers.


The objective of this study is to determine which features of ECE, from infancy through preschool, together with family experiences, predict the development of prosocial behavior. Data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development will be used to address this objective. This national sample of more than 1200 families was followed from birth through adolescence, using an extensive array of well-validated, reliable questionnaire, interview, and observational measures of child, family, and ECE environments. Using SEM, the study will model how structural and process quality in ECE in infancy and toddlerhood (6 - 24 months of age) as well as over the preschool years (through 54 months of age) predict children's prosocial behavior in 1st grade, and how the associations vary as a function of amount and type of ECE that children experienced. The study will control for child characteristics that are likely to influence socialization processes in ECE, and for family characteristics that are known to influence children's ECE experiences. Family SES as a potential moderator of ECE effects will be examined. Second, the study will model how static and dynamic family factors in infancy and toddlerhood (6 - 24 months) as well as over the preschool years (through 54 months) predict prosocial behavior in 1st grade, and how these associations are affected by ECE experiences previously identified as predictive, with child characteristics again controlled. Finally, the patterns of growth (trajectories) in prosocial behavior over three time periods: prior to school entry; K - grade 6; grade 7 - 15 years will be examined. By providing meaningful, well-grounded, robust and generalizable answers to these important questions this study will inform future practice-relevant research that seeks to enhance positive developmental outcomes for children in ECE and inform policy-relevant issues concerning the role of universal provision of ECE as a means to advance social success and community welfare.


This study aims to inform ECE policy by exploring whether QRIS are promoting fair and equal access to high quality care. Specifically, this study seeks to explore how cross-state variation in the structure of QRIS (e.g., financial incentives offered to providers, methods used to promote public awareness of QRIS to parents) relates to: (1) the supply of quality ECE available; and (2) parents' demand for quality ECE. The study will then examine whether the relation between QRIS components and market forces - both the supply of ECE and parental demand for ECE - operate similarly or differently based on individual and community level characteristics (e.g., proportion of children who are low income, the density of minority and/or immigrant families). The National Survey of Early Care & Education (NSECE), funded by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), will serve as the key data source for variables related to the supply of and demand for quality ECE. With these data the study team will conduct a series of regression analyses, including a series of sensitivity analyses, to examine the relations between QRIS components and the supply and demand of quality ECE within different state policy contexts. By exploring these questions the study aims to address ACF's commitment to producing relevant research related to ongoing child care quality improvement for decision makers at the local, state, and national levels.


This study will explore whether a novel pooled-survey methodology can be employed to improve inferences about ECE environments in child obesity and related nutritional and physical activity antecedents. The specific attention to the relative effectiveness of HS compared to subsidized care and other ECE environments is designed to inform federal policy by the CCDF in the research area of Child and Family Wellbeing. A critical barrier to previous research on ECE environments and child obesity has been the inability of existing surveys to meet the high demands of both sample power and substantive detail. This study will employ statistical methods to evaluate whether a nationally-representative sample of children followed in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Surveys Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) can be appropriately matched with a nationally representative sample of children enrolled in HS who were followed in the 2006 Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES). This study will then use quasi-experimental methods to examine the effectiveness of HS relative to subsidized care and other ECE environments in altering the trajectory of child outcomes. This study will identify vulnerable subpopulations, evaluate potential bias from selection into ECE environments, and explore differences by the duration, intensity and quality of the care environment. The study findings and methodological insights will be disseminated in peer-reviewed papers, a policy brief, and presentations to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, and will have implications for the potential enhancement and expansion of successful early care strategies to prevent child obesity and obesity disparities.


This project aims to shed new light on the facilitators and obstacles to immigrant and limited English proficient (LEP) families' access to child care subsidies and to high-quality, regulated child care. In doing so, this study will focus on how (1) parent preferences shape child care choices, (2) state child care subsidy policies influence eligible immigrant families' take-up of subsidies, and (3) subsidy uptake influences immigrant families' child care settings. Given that children of immigrants and LEPs form a large and growing share of all US children, state and local subsidy administrators and early care and education directors increasingly need to ensure their programs meet the needs of immigrant families in their communities, and work to overcome such families' barriers to seeking child care subsidies and high quality child care. This study will make use of the just-released National Study of Early Care and Education (NSECE), which contains a large, nationally-representative sample of families with children, to (1) document the parental preferences and child care choices of immigrant families with young children; (2) determine the factors that predict immigrant families' child care settings, including the relative roles of parental preferences for different care types, family characteristics, employment characteristics, the local community context, and local child care marketplace characteristics; (3) identify the state subsidy policies that promote subsidy participation among eligible immigrant families, and (4) estimate the extent to which subsidy receipt facilitates access to regulated care settings for immigrant families. Answers to these research questions are of vital for federal policymakers, state administrators, and local service providers as they seek to expand immigrant families' access to child care subsidies and regulated, high-quality care, while honoring parental choice. The project will result in a report of findings, a methodological brief, a user-friendly policy brief, and presentations at key policy research conferences.


The federal child care subsidy program (the Child care and Development Fund [CCDF]) is among the government's largest investments in the early care and education (ECE) of low income children, yet associations between CCDF-subsidized care use and children's developmental outcomes are poorly understood. These findings raise unanswered questions about the specific ECE teacher and classroom characteristics in programs that serve subsidized children, and how variation in those teacher and classroom-specific features may give rise to variation in child outcomes. Using three recent nationally representative data sets, this project will address the following questions: What were the cognitive and social-emotional school readiness gaps at kindergarten entry in 2011 between children whose pre-kindergarten year ECE was funded with CCDF subsidies and children whose pre-kindergarten year ECE was not funded with CCDF subsidies, and have these gaps narrowed, widened, or remained stable since 2006-2007? Are there differences in workforce characteristics (caregiver knowledge, skills, attitudes, experience, and compensation) between ECE providers serving subsidized versus unsubsidized children? Are there differences in classroom characteristics (materials, activities, instructional time and context) between ECE providers serving subsidized versus unsubsidized children? Are associations between subsidy status and school readiness mediated by the workforce and classroom characteristics examined in Questions 2 and 3? Across all questions, this study will consider three different conceptualizations of unsubsidized status (private pay; free, other publicly-funded care such as Head Start and public pre-k; and both). This study will also consider contrasts within and between different types of care settings (center versus home). Findings will be particularly informative to states and policymakers as they determine how to spend funds earmarked for quality improvement within the Child care and Development Block Grant legislation. Results will point to specific aspects of subsidized children's classroom experiences that might be well suited for quality improvement initiatives.


The project will examine contextual pathways that link state-level policy decisions to the development of low-income children. The first goal of the project focuses on understanding how variations in both child care subsidy and TANF policies influence the likelihood that an eligible family will receive benefits. This study selected policy characteristics that are likely to matter to low-income families and also malleable and of interest to policymakers at state- and local-levels. The goal of the second aim is to understand how receipt of the benefits influences low-income children's development; through its influence on the proximal contexts they experience-namely, their child care setting and their family environment. Lastly, this study will explore across these two aims to provide a better understanding of how variations in state policies alter the potential associations between benefit receipt, children's developmental contexts, and ultimately, their developmental outcomes in both the short- and long-term. A primary strength of this project lies in the use of two national datasets of young children-the Fragile Families Child and Well-Being Study (FFCW), which follows a sample of primarily low-income children from urban areas from birth to age 9 and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), which follows a nationally representative sample of children from birth to age 5. Both datasets provide information that will allow us to link them to their states' policy characteristics. This study will use advanced statistical modeling, with careful attention paid to both eligibility criteria and potential selection bias, to address the three aims. Through understanding the complex pathways through which these policies and benefits can improve or hinder optimal child development and family functioning, policymakers will be better able to make decisions about future policies, reforms to current policies, and changes to the implementation of current policies. Ultimately, low-income children and families will benefit from the findings of this research, as it will provide new insights that can be used to improve policies aimed at reducing poverty and its harmful consequences.


Child care quality is associated with child outcomes, but high-quality child care is rare. The goal of this project is to improve the understanding of the quantitative relationship between child outcomes and a measure of teacher-child interactions (the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, or CLASS) that is increasingly used in program improvement and in high-stakes applications such as quality rating and improvement systems and Head Start designated renewal. The study will use monotonic generalized additive models (monotonic GAM) to analyze the possibly curvilinear relationship between CLASS (and specific domains and dimensions within CLASS) and child outcomes in existing datasets available from Research Connections. The analysis plan includes specific hypotheses about curvilinear relationships between CLASS and child outcomes that will allow us to test for the presence of low thresholds for achieving strong relationships, high thresholds beyond which diminishing returns are seen, and differences in curvilinear relationships among specific domains and dimensions of the CLASS. By addressing the nature of the link between child care observation tools and child outcomes, this proposal addresses two research topics of current relevance to decision makers at local, state, and national levels: ongoing child care quality improvement and child wellbeing.


Early environmental stressors are frequently experienced in low-income families and impact outcomes across the lifespan, including academic achievement, mental and physical health, and ultimately result in both earlier mortality and reduced quality of life. Characterizing specific risk trajectories and points of intervention would make more efficient and effective use of limited federal resources. The current proposal works toward these goals with four broad aims. Aim 1. To identify subpopulations with different early environmental risk profiles. This study will identify subpopulations of children who are characterized by different profiles of exposure to a wide range of environmental risks factors (e.g., TANF eligible but not enrolled, poverty threshold, family conflict, birth/prenatal complications, housing instability, low maternal education, and household composition) at/near birth, at/near age one, and at age three using data combined from the NICHD SECCYD, ECLS-B, Baby FACES, and Fragile Families. This study will also examine duration and timing of environmental risks across the first three years of life. Aim 2. To examine the effects of early risk and support profiles on later child outcomes. This study will test the utility of early risk profiles in predicting later academic, health, and socio-emotional child outcomes. Specifically how risk profiles present at birth are predictive of age five and nine outcomes, and how the chronicity/stability of risk profiles from birth to age three is associated with age five and nine outcomes. Further, this study will examine whether there are children who are more or less susceptible to the negative effects of early risk exposure on later child outcomes. Aim 3. Examine the potential role of modifiable maternal characteristics in the effects of early risk profiles on later child outcomes. Many interventions focus on improving parenting, and two-generation solutions suggest that improving maternal mental health and education/job training may also help break the link between environmental adversity and negative child outcomes. This study test whether the effects of the risk profiles on outcomes are mediated by maternal depression and/or positive parenting, hypothesizing that early adversity will contribute to maternal depression, and exacerbate poor child outcomes, while positive parenting will be protective. This study will also test whether changes in maternal education/job training are protective. Aim 4. Examine the potential moderating role of child care factors on the relationship between risk profiles and later child outcomes. Positive early education experiences are a critical support for families experiencing environmental adversity. Conversely, long hours in low quality care can exacerbate family-level risk. Thus, this study will examine moderation of risk trajectories by child care factors. This study hypothesizes that high quality early child care will serve as a buffer against negative child outcomes, but that poor caregiver mental health, lower quality care and longer hours will exacerbate risk. Further, this study hypothesizes that child care subsidy usage will increase the likelihood of better outcomes, but only when it provides access to higher quality care.


The goal of this project is to inform the understanding of state subsidy policies, practices, and procedures that are associated with the accessibility and availability of high quality child care for subsidy eligible children locally as well as nationwide. This project will develop a deeper understanding of accessibility to high quality child care in the context of availability, parental choices and subsidy utilization. Data used in this project are population-level longitudinal South Carolina administrative databases containing information primarily from the state child care licensing and state child subsidy systems, linked with other secondary data such as data from the Census Bureau and additional geo-spatial information on available child care providers. This project will present an application of innovative analyses more commonly used in other disciplines such as geography, economics and transportation as well as early childhood research to develop a Child Care Accessibility Index (CCAI) that would serve as a reliable tool to quickly assess accessibility in geographic regions based on key variables available in the de-identified state administrative databases. The study is grounded in previous research from the field, based on extensive descriptive analyses and will be developed in close collaboration with the Division of Early Care and Education (DECE) in the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS) and other stakeholders with a focus on functionality of the research findings and its application in the field.