Our website is still under construction, and we are adding more information about our initiatives, partners, and resources every day.  Please check back soon!

In spite of decades of anti-obesity programming, awareness of negative health outcomes associated with obesity, and attention from very important individuals – including First Lady Michelle Obama – the obesity epidemic continues to worsen nationally, hitting African-American and Latino families the hardest.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every four black children is overweight, compared to one in seven white children.  A study published in April 2009 indicates that over 20% of 4 year

Love to Read is the National Black Child Development Institute’s (NBCDI) national early literacy public education initiative designed to help parents and other caregivers improve African American children’s academic performance. Love to Read is targeted towards parents and caregivers of children ages 0 through 6. NBCDI has partnered with Reading is Fundamental (RIF) to offer an early literacy training program to early childhood educators to build their capacity and resources to develop and enhance early literacy skills of African American

  Entering the College Zone (ECZ) empowers disadvantaged middle school students and their parents by equipping them with the skills and resources that will allow them to successfully navigate through the college application process. The program was founded on the premise that access to information is the key to opening the doors of opportunity and closing the achievement gaps. Since 1995, NBCDI, in collaboration with its affiliate network and with the support of State Farm Insurance, has implemented the ECZ

PEP is a program that seeks to educate, motivate and inspire parents to excellence as their Child’s first teacher The National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) introduces an exciting curriculum for parent education.  Parent Empowerment Project (PEP) is a unique program that seeks to educate, motivate and inspire parents to excellence as their child’s first teacher.  Under the auspices of NBCDI, PEP was designed by and for lower income African Americans, but hasdemonstrated effectiveness with a broad spectrum of parents.

Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago is now accepting applications for the Doris Duke Fellowships for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.  The application period runs through December 15, 2010. The fellowships will provide stipends of $50,000 over two years to 15 doctoral students from a variety of academic disciplines to conduct research on the prevention of child abuse and neglect.  In addition to financial support, the fellows will receive mentoring and professional development, and participate in peer-to-peer