Family Support Research: Future Research

Share On Social!

This is part of our Building Support for Latino Families: A Research Review »

Addressing Latino Subpopulations

This research review has emphasized several policies and programs that could benefit Latino families as a whole.

However, it is important to point out that future research will need to:

• Determine how programs need to be catered to fit the different Latino subpopulations that they serve across the United States;
• Carefully assess community needs and the initiation of collaborations with community leaders, stakeholders, and activists for development of contextually appropriate policies that will be successful in the target population; and
• Continue reviewing and assessing the inclusion of cultural considerations that will allow final adaptation of programs into a form that will be embraced in their target groups, which is particularly true when designing interventions that deal with parenting, mental health, and other sensitive topics.

Additional Program and Policy Research

Furthermore, while the emphasis of this research review has been on family and social support that allows for optimal child development, there are several other aspects of family support that must be analyzed for their role in support of Latino families as a whole.

This includes further study into which entitlement or government assistance programs have a large impact on low-income Latino families in the United States.

For example, the following questions should be reviewed:

• Are there government assistance or entitlement programs that Latino families tend to qualify for and use?
• Are there federal versus state programs that are particularly useful for Latino families?
• Are there particular tax credits (for example, Earned Income Tax Credits) that are helpful for Latino families?
• Regarding healthcare and insurance programs, how many Latino children are covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)?
• What factors affect Latinos’ accessibility to such programs?

Answers to such questions could aid leaders in developing priority programs and policies to further strengthen Latino families in the United States.

More from our Building Support for Latino Families: A Research Review »

• Introduction & Methods
  
• Key Research Finding: Latinos’ Big Healthcare Gaps
• Key Research Finding: Early Cognitive Development
• Key Research Finding: ECE Programs
• Key Research Finding: Disconnected Latino Parents
• Key Research Finding: Head Start Centers as Resource Hubs
• Key Research Finding: Promotores de Salud
• Key Research Finding: Latino Medical Homes
• Key Research Finding: Latino Community Schools
• Policy Implications
• Future Research Needs (this section)

References for this section »

None