Systems-Level Approaches

We recognize the importance of working with the community to address systems-level issues that impede equity. We focus this work on the social service, education, and healthcare systems to advance the health of young children and their families in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Community Coalition

In response to the increasing concern about food insecurity in the community and among community-based organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, Together Growing Strong and the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone spearheaded the Sunset Park Community Coalition, which comprises nonprofit community-based organizations, food distributers, and schools in the neighborhood. The coalition facilitates a cross-sector, integrated system of care for families by identifying gaps in services, leveraging resources, and coordinating responses to widen the safety net system and address unmet needs. The coalition has shared food and grant money across communities in Sunset Park, making healthy and culturally relevant food more widely accessible to the community, and used available resources to purchase refrigerators and other equipment for all members. To learn more, contact Katie Barth at Kathleen.Barth@NYULangone.org.

Early Childhood Research Collaborative

The Sunset Park Early Childhood Research Collaborative holds bi-monthly meetings, where researchers and practitioners present together; researchers share study designs and findings, and practitioners provide context and reflection based on their community-based expertise. An additional aim of this group is to forge collaborations between researchers and practitioners for future projects. The collaborative also has a shared data platform where participants can share resources. To learn more, contact Mary Crippen at Mary.Crippen@NYULangone.org.

Community Dashboard

The Community Dashboard is a community-partnered dashboard that provides searchable resources (maps and lists), community events, and local news. To learn more, contact Mary Crippen at Mary.Crippen@NYULangone.org.

Education System Workgroups

Based on topics informed by our community partners, workgroups focus on different systems-level issues such as early intervention services access, early childhood education to kindergarten transition, and racial equity. To learn more, contact Natalia Rojas at Natalia.Rojas@NYULangone.org.

Healthcare Workgroups

Based on topics informed by our community partners, workgroups focus on different systems-level issues such as mental health care access, pediatric practice, and pregnancy and postpartum support. To learn more, contact Jacqueline Montesdeoca at Jacqueline.Montesdeoca@NYULangone.org.

Policy Advocacy

Together Growing Strong works with policymakers to advocate for policies that support families with young children. Without addressing issues such as digital inequity and food insecurity, it would not be possible for families to access critical services and provide optimal learning environments for their children. In addition, without appropriate insurance coverage, families cannot receive the healthcare that is essential to their growth and development. We work with local and state policymakers to ensure that issues that are of importance to the community are on their radar, and to discuss ways to better support families with children. We have also written letters and shared data collected in our community with public agencies who are making decisions that impact our community. To learn more, contact Bonnie Kerker at Bonnie.Kerker@NYULangone.org.

Outcomes Research

Monitoring our progress is essential to understand which parts of the initiative are working, and for whom, and for the model to be scalable and replicable in other settings.

Together Growing Strong has both short- and long-term outcomes. Our short-term outcomes include enhancements in early relational health, family health and wellbeing, and nurturing and responsive non-parental care. Our long-term outcome is school readiness, defined as pre-academic skills, self-regulation, and social-emotional health.

We are conducting two separate outcome studies of families living in or receiving services in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Collectively, these studies include 1,350 families and are known as the Children, Caregivers, and Community (C3) Study. The first study is a longitudinal observational cohort study with consecutive enrollment of 900 pregnant women over 3 years (n = 300/year) with follow-up of 1-2 assessments per year through age 6. Qualitative interviews, which will be conducted with a subset of the longitudinal sample, are an important component of this study to better understand the quantitative data collected. This study will allow us to examine our program participation, as well as participation in different systems, and understand children’s and families’ developmental trajectories in that context.

The second study is a cross-sectional study of 450 parent-child dyads at age 2 years (n = 150), 4 years (n = 150), and 6 years (n = 150) for a one-time data collection (interviews, observations, and assessments), which will provide an indication of baseline functioning and serve as a historical control for the longitudinal study. For more information, contact Elizabeth Miller at Elizabeth.Miller@NYULangone.org or Caitlin Canfield at Caitlin.Canfield@NYULangone.org.