DIVERSITY NETWORK COMMITEE INVITED SYMPOSIUM, STRENGHTING HEAD START RESEARCH AND POLICY ENDEAVORS WITH ETHNOCULTURAL COMMUNITIES

Strengthening Head Start Research and Policy Endeavors with Ethnocultural Communities

Preventive and early intervention initiatives in the early years of life continue to expand nationally and internationally. Concomitantly, Head Start, a federally-funded comprehensive program for young children and families, increasingly serves diverse communities from an array of cultural and linguistic heritages.  In order to maximize positive outcomes of early childhood initiatives with ethnocultural communities, attention is needed in a variety of areas within and across the prevention science and policy fields. These include measurement/ assessment, sampling, recruitment/outreach, engagement, and programmatic activities.

Developed by the Diversity Network Committee (DNC) of SPR, this symposium brings together key experts in the field across research and policy. The symposium will begin with an introduction to the session by the Chair of the DNC, who will provide an overview of the present needs to strengthen research and policy endeavors with ethnocultural communities. Subsequently, a university-based researcher with federal agency experience will discuss a present study within Early Head Start that aims to strengthen culturally- and linguistically- diverse families. Methodological and intervention considerations will be described. A federal researcher will then provide a national perspective on engaging with ethnocultural communities in large-scale Head Start investigations.  A variety of initiatives to improve methodological approaches will be described, along with reflections on the integration of prevention science and science at the federal level.  The symposium also includes a national policy and programmatic perspective with a presentation by the former Director from the Office of Head Start.  The national landscape of the research and policy needs of Head Start programs serving ethnocultural communities will be considered.  Finally, a researcher with extensive experience in Head Start research with diverse communities, as well as community and federal collaborations, will serve as a discussant.  Implications and recommendations for advancements in the research and policy fields will be highlighted.

PRESENTERS

Brenda Jones Harden, Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park: Integrating parenting intervetions into early childhood prevention programs: An exploration of enthocultural families enrolled in Early Head Start

Ann Rivera, Ph.D.;  Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services: How do you catch a cloud and pin it down? Measuring Culture in Head Start Resea

Yvette Sanchez Fuentes, National Alliance for Hispanic Families: The Impact of Research on HS Policies and Practice...Or not