$7.75 Million Grant Awarded to National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families

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Under the co-leadership of Sanford faculty member Lisa Gennetian, the National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families (Center) has received a $7.75 million grant from the Office of Planning Research and Evaluation within the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which extends the Center’s research through 2028.

The Center is a collaboration between Drs. Guzman and Ramos-Olazagasti at Child Trends, Dr. Gennetian at Duke University, Drs. Crosby and Mendez-Smith at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Dr. Cabrera at the University of Maryland, College Park. The Center's aims include generating data-driven insights into service delivery, and program administration, supporting a pipeline of early career scholars, and amplifying the diverse strengths and needs of Latino families.

Gennetian, a faculty affiliate of Duke's Center for Child and Family Policy, recently wrote about the strengths and opportunities to invest in this population.

“I have studied Latino families for a decade, and Latino children are one of the largest groups of children living in poverty, despite usually living with two parents, at least one of whom works. Even though they are eligible, Latino families are less likely to receive government benefits,” wrote Gennetian in an Oct. 6 op-ed for The Messenger.

“To lift children out of poverty, we need an updated blueprint for policy conversations that builds on employment, two-parent households, and safety nets; and, that recognizes the myriad of ways that parents already invest in their children, to mobilize families to escape poverty.”

The grant will support the Center’s continued work on early care and education, poverty reduction, and economic self-sufficiency among Hispanic families, and related critical issues in the lives of Latinx families. New lines of research will focus on understanding the diverse strengths and needs of Hispanic families served by Head Start.

Gennetian, whose research focuses on U.S. child poverty, continues to inform and shape the Center's mission. Her work bridges poverty scholarship with policy investment and design, considering cash support and income volatility. She recently co-authored a report in EconoFact entitled “The Financial and Psychological Costs of Income Volatility." The article offered essential insights into the challenges faced by low-income families and potential solutions to address these issues.

As the National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families embarks on the next chapter of its work to inform equitable policy investments in children, Gennetian looks forward to continuing leading research contributions that hold promise for Hispanic children and youth -- a population that will shape the U.S. economic and political landscapes for years to come.

This announcement was supported by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award (Award #: 90PH0032) totaling $7.84 million with 99 percent funded by ACF/HHS and 1 percent funded by non-government sources. The contents are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACF/HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit the ACF website, Administrative and National Policy Requirements.