The mission of the Native Children’s
Research Exchange NCRE is to bring together researchers studying child and
adolescent development in American Indian and Alaska Native communities in the
U.S. and Canada. We gather annually to share in an open exchange of information
and ideas, build collaborative relationships, mentor new scholars, and
disseminate knowledge about Native child and adolescent development.
NCRE was founded in 2008 with
funding from the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). With support
from SRCD, the first conference was held in 2008 and a second in 2009. In 2010,
the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded five additional years of
funding to support annual conferences from 2010 to 2014, with a specific focus
on understanding Native children’s development within the context of substance
use (R13DA029391).
Starting in 2015, NCRE has been supported by the Tribal Early Childhood
Research Center (TRC; www.tribalearlychildhood.org)
which is funded by the Administration for Children and Families, Office of
Planning, Research and Evaluation (90PH0017 and 90PH0027). With TRC support, the NCRE has expanded to
include an additional focus on early childhood in Native communities and a
broader network of participants from the fields of Head Start, Maternal,
Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting, and Child Care.
Collectively,
NCRE members’ work aims to address the following priorities:
- Development of scientifically- and culturally-grounded
theories and methodologies for Native child development research
prenatally through emerging adulthood.
- Critical evaluation of measurements, assessments, and
diagnoses for Native youth.
- Development of culturally-adapted and culturally-based
interventions effective for Native youth.
- Training and mentorship of scholars whose work focuses
on Native child and adolescent development.
- Education of funders and the research community about
the unique context of research in Native communities and the critical
importance of community-based participatory research methods.
- Building collaboration among all scholars and practitioners
interested in Native child and adolescent development.