Child Trends Incorporated

IMPROVING THE LIVES OF CHILDREN BY CONDUCTING RESEARCH AND PROVIDING SCIENCE-BASED INFORMATION.

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT CHILD CARE AND EARLY EDUCATION POLICY AND RESEARCH ANALYSES (CCEEPRA) COMPETITIVE TASK ORDER (TO) WAS AWARDED TO CHILD TRENDS (CT) ORIGINALLY IN 2005 AND RENEWED IN 2008, 2013 AND AGAIN IN 2020 TO CONDUCT RESEARCH AND SUPPORT ACTIVITIES IDENTIFIED BY THE OFFICE OF PLANNING, RESEARCH, AND EVALUATION (OPRE) THAT INFORM THE ACTIVITIES OF PROGRAMS PROVIDING SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME, AT-RISK CHILDREN AND FAMILIES. THE ACTIVITIES INCLUDE PROVIDING EXPERT ADVICE, ASSISTANCE, AND CONSULTATION; IMPROVING THE MEASUREMENT AND COLLECTION OF DATA RELATED TO PROGRAM POLICIES, PRACTICES, AND OUTCOMES; PROVIDING TA AND EXPERTISE IN THE PREPARATION OF WRITTEN MATERIALS; AND CONVENING OF EXPERTS AND STAKEHOLDERS ON CHILD CARE ISSUES OF RELEVANCE TO THE CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND AND OTHER EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS IN STATES, TERRITORIES, AND TRIBES. ALTHOUGH LICENSING HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN VIEWED AS THE FOUNDATION OF QUALITY, MORE RECENT WORK HAS CONCEPTUALIZED LICENSING IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE LARGER EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION (ECE) SYSTEM ALL ALONG THE QUALITY CONTINUUM (MAXWELL & STARR, 2019). THIS 5-YEAR PROJECT, UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF LICENSING IN EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION, IS DESIGNED TO SYNTHESIZE THE LITERATURE, REFINE A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, ASSESS THE INFORMATION NEEDS OF STATES AND TERRITORIES REGARDING THEIR LICENSING SYSTEMS, IDENTIFY GAPS, AND CONDUCT RESEARCH TO ADDRESS GAPS AND BUILD KNOWLEDGE OF THE ROLE OF LICENSING IN ECE.CHILD TRENDS IS IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM PERFORMANCE EVALUATION (PPE) FOR NORTH CAROLINA'S PRESCHOOL DEVELOPMENT GRANT BIRTH-5 (PDG B-5). THIS EVALUATION WILL SUPPORT THE NC DEPARTMENT OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND EARLY EDUCATION IN OBTAINING INFORMATION AND PROVIDING FEEDBACK THATCAN BE USED FOR CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT (CQI); COLLECTING AND ANALYZING DATA TO BEST UNDERSTAND HOW TO SCALE AND SUSTAIN PDG B-5 ACTIVITIES; AND EVALUATING WHETHER ACTIVITIES RESULTED IN INTENDED OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN, FAMILIES, PROVIDERS AND THE EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION (ECE) SYSTEM. THROUGHOUT THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PPE, CHILD TRENDS WILL CONTINUE PLANNING FOR COLLECTING AND ANALYZING DATA FOR THE EVALUATION, INCLUDING IDENTIFYING EXISTING DATA SOURCES THAT CAN BE USED TO EVALUATE IF INTENDED IMPROVEMENTS ARE BEING MADE AND OUTCOMES ARE BEING MET, AS WELL AS DEVELOPING DATA COLLECTION TOOLS AND PROCESSES FOR INSTANCES WHERE NEW DATA SOURCES ARE NEEDED. WE WILL INITIATE DATA COLLECTION TO LEARN ABOUT EARLY IMPLEMENTATION EXPERIENCES.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND FAMILY FORMATION SINCE 2010, CHILD TRENDS HAS SERVED AS THE LEAD COMMUNICATIONS PARTNER TO THE OFFICE OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH (AND NOW THE OFFICE OF POPULATION AFFAIRS, FOLLOWING THE 2019 MERGER OF THESE TWO OFFICES), WITHIN THE OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. IN THIS ROLE UNDER THE FIRST OF THREE CONTRACTS, CHILD TRENDS WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING AN INFORMATION-RICH WEBSITE WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART DESIGN AND FUNCTIONALITY. CHILD TRENDS DEVELOPED RESEARCH-BASED WEB TEXT, NATIONAL AND STATE DATA SHEETS, AND RESOURCES ON MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH. DURING THE SECOND CONTRACT, CHILD TRENDS WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AND SUPPORT TO ADVANCE AND PROMOTE THE VISION, STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES OF OAH. THE WORK UNDER THIS TASK ORDER FOCUSED ON BUT WAS NOT LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING: ADOLESCENT HEALTH CONTENT DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH WRITING; STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING AND EXECUTION; WEBSITE SUPPORT, MAINTENANCE, AND ENHANCEMENT; SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPORT, DEVELOPMENT, AND MAINTENANCE; PARTNERSHIP SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT; COMMUNICATIONS TO SUPPORT OAH GRANTEES; MEDIA AND MARKETING SUPPORT; AND PLANNING AND COORDINATION OF PROGRAMMATIC MEETINGS AND INITIATIVES. CURRENTLY, UNDER THE THIRD CONTRACT, CHILD TRENDS CONTINUES TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES TO SUPPORT THE GOALS OF THE OFFICE OF POPULATION AFFAIRS (OPA). CHILD TRENDS LEADS STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING FOR THE OFFICE, INCLUDING DEVELOPMENT OF ANNUAL COMMUNICATIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA PLANS AS WELL AS SPECIFIC PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS FOR OPA RELEASES AND INITIATIVES. CHILD TRENDS MANAGES OPA'S COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS, INCLUDING ITS 44,000 SUBSCRIBER E-UPDATE LISTSERV AND ITS 17,000+ FOLLOWER TWITTER PRESENCE. CHILD TRENDS STRATEGIZES AND EXECUTES OUTREACH TO OPA'S GRANTEES IN THE TITLE X FAMILY PLANNING, TEEN PREGNANCY PREVENTION (TPP), EMBRYO ADOPTION AWARENESS (EAA), AND PREGNANCY ASSISTANCE FUND (PAF) PROGRAMS, INCLUDING DEVELOPING WEEKLY E-UPDATES, WEBSITE CONTENT, ONE PAGERS, INFOGRAPHICS, VIDEOS, ETC. CHILD TRENDS HAS DEVELOPED AWARD-WINNING MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTS TO PROFILE OPA GRANTEE PROGRAMS AND THE ADOLESCENT HEALTH: THINK, ACT, GROW INITIATIVE. IN 2019-20, CHILD TRENDS LED WEBSITE MERGER AND REDESIGN ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING SITE MAPPING AND THE REVIEW, REWRITE AND RESTRUCTURE OF HUNDREDS OF PAGES OF WEBSITE CONTENT. CHILD TRENDS ALSO LEADS GRAPHIC DESIGN AND EVENT PLANNING FOR OPA INITIATIVES, WHICH HAVE INCLUDED IN-PERSON EVENTS, WEBINARS, TWITTER CHATS, YOUTH-LED CONTENT SUBMISSION CALLS, ETC. CHILD TRENDS CONDUCTS REGULAR METRICS ANALYSIS ON OPA COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS, TAKING A CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT APPROACH TO CONSTANTLY ENHANCE OPA'S OUTREACH TO STAKEHOLDERS AND GRANTEES. CHILD TRENDS ALSO ENSURES SECTION 508 COMPLIANCE ACROSS OPA PRODUCTS, REMEDIATING HUNDREDS OF PAGES OF PDFS AND WEB PAGES EACH YEAR. CHILD TRENDS CONTINUES TO MANAGE AND ENHANCE THE OPA WEBSITE, KEEPING INFORMATION ACCURATE AND UP-TO-DATE. CHILD TRENDS ALSO LEADS OPA'S STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY, REGULARLY EXECUTING OUTREACH THROUGH TARGETED EMAILS AND SOCIAL MEDIA.HISPANICS REPRESENT THE LARGEST AND ONE OF THE FASTEST-GROWING MINORITY POPULATION SUBGROUPS IN THE UNITED STATES. HISPANICS ALSO HAVE ONE OF THE HIGHEST POVERTY RATES. TO HELP PROGRAMS AND POLICIES BETTER SERVE LOW-INCOME HISPANIC CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, CHILD TRENDS AND ABT ASSOCIATES TOGETHER WITH UNIVERSITY PARTNERS, LAUNCHED THE NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER ON HISPANIC CHILDREN & FAMILIES (CENTER). THE CENTER WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2013 BY A FIVE-YEAR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF PLANNING, RESEARCH & EVALUATION, AN OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES IN THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. THE CENTER IS A HUB, CONDUCTING, TRANSLATING, AND PROVIDING RESEARCH-BASED INFORMATION ACROSS THREE PRIORITY AREASPOVERTY REDUCTION AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY, HEALTHY MARRIAGE AND RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD, AND EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION. THE CENTER HAS THREE PRIMARY GOALS: 1) ADVANCE A CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH AGENDA, 2) BUILD RESEARCH CAPACITY, AND 3) IMPLEMENT AN INNOVATIVE COMMUNICATION AND DISSEMINATION APPROACH.IN 2018, CHILD TRENDS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL OPINION RESEARCH CENTER (NORC), UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK (UMD), UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, GREENSBORO (UNCG), AND DUKE UNIVERSITY, WAS AWARDED AN ADDITIONAL 5-YEAR PROJECT TO BUILD ON WORK WE BEGAN IN 2013 WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER ON HISPANIC CHILDREN & FAMILIES. THE CENTER HAS THREE PRIMARY GOALS: 1) ADVANCE A RIGOROUS RESEARCH AGENDA; 2) BUILD RESEARCH CAPACITY; AND 3) DISSEMINATE WORK TO AN INCREASING AUDIENCE OF STAKEHOLDERS. OUR FOCUS WILL BE LOW-INCOME HISPANIC CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.CHILD TRENDS, ALONG WITH OUR PARTNERS AT PROMUNDO AND THE LATIN AMERICAN YOUTH CENTER (LAYC), PROPOSES TO RIGOROUSLY EVALUATE MANHOOD 2.0/SISTERHOOD 2.0, AN INNOVATIVE GENDER-SYNCHRONIZED AND GENDER-TRANSFORMATIVE SEXUAL HEALTH PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM COMBINES EXISTING CONTENT FROM THE PREVIOUSLY PILOT-TESTED GENDER-TRANSFORMATIVE MANHOOD 2.0 AND SISTERHOOD 2.0 CURRICULA AND HAS BEEN CREATED FOR INDIVIDUALS OF ALL GENDER IDENTITIES AND SEXUAL ORIENTATIONS. THE PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO SHIFT UNEQUAL GENDER ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS AND PROVIDE SKILL-BUILDING ON MAINTAINING HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS, MAKING HEALTHY AND INFORMED DECISIONS AROUND SEX, AND AVOIDING RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIORS.THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO REDUCE DISPARITIES IN UNINTENDED ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY AND STIS BY PILOTING AND RIGOROUSLY EVALUATING THE MANHOOD 2.0/SISTERHOOD 2.0 PROGRAM AND DISSEMINATING FINDINGS, ALONG WITH THE MANUALIZED AND PACKAGED INTERVENTION, TO KEY STAKEHOLDERS AND PROGRAM IMPLEMENTORS. THE TARGET POPULATION FOR THIS STUDY WILL BE BLACK AND LATINO ADOLESCENTS AGES 15-19 IN METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON, DC, A REGION WITH SOME OF THE HIGHEST STI AND TEEN BIRTH RATES IN THE COUNTRY, AS WELL AS DISPROPORTIONATELY HIGH TEEN BIRTH RATES AMONG YOUTH OF COLOR.

CHILD WELFARESINCE 2016, CHILD TRENDS HAS SERVED AS THE EVALUATION PARTNER TO THE JIM CASEY YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES INITIATIVE. CHILD TRENDS OPERATES AND MANAGES THE JIM CASEY YOUTH OPPORTUNITIES INITIATIVE DATABASES (THE OPPORTUNITY PASSPORT DATA SYSTEM (OPDS) AND THE OPPORTUNITY PASSPORT PARTICIPANT SURVEY (OPPS), CONDUCTS ALL ANALYSES OF THE DATA, AND PROVIDES ALL ASPECTS OF SITE-LEVEL AND INITIATIVE-LEVEL EVALUATION TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR INITIATIVE-LEVEL ADMINISTRATION OF THE BI-ANNUAL OPPS (APRIL AND OCTOBER), PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO ALL SITES TO ENSURE THAT PARTICIPATING YOUNG PEOPLE RESPOND TO THE OPPS. CHILD TRENDS PROVIDES FULL SUPPORT OF ALL SELF-EVALUATION ACTIVITIES OF THE JIM CASEY INITIATIVE, INCLUDING INITIATING, DESIGNING, AND CONDUCTING ANALYSES OF ALL JIM CASEY INITIATIVE DATA, AND PROVIDING ALL SITE-LEVEL AND INITIATIVE-LEVEL TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE RELATED TO THE USE OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTED IN THE DATABASES. IN ADDITION TO COLLECTING, MAINTAINING, AND ANALYZING THE OPPS AND OPDS DATA, CHILD TRENDS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR REFINING THE JIM CASEY POLICY MATRICES, SUPPORTING SITES IN THEIR EFFORTS TO COLLECT AND INPUT POLICY INFORMATION INTO OPDS, AND COLLECTING INFORMATION ON IMPLEMENTATION VARIABILITY OF THE OPPORTUNITY PASSPORT ACROSS THE JIM CASEY SITES. FINALLY, CHILD TRENDS, IN CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH JIM CASEY STAFF, DEVELOPS A VARIETY OF PRODUCTS TO WIDELY DISSEMINATE AND COMMUNICATE FINDINGS FROM THE ANALYSES TO INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL AUDIENCES.