The Latino Families Flourishing (LFF) project harnesses the power of data to uplift the strengths, diversity, and voices of Latino families. Our goal is to highlight the rich tapestry of the Latino population in the United States and drive systems change by recognizing the power rooted in the size and significance of this growing population. By collaborating with communities, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, we aim to inform and transform systems, ensuring that Latino families and communities have access to the opportunities and resources they need to thrive. Support for the multi-year LFF Project is provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

Background

Today, one in four U.S. children are Latino, a figure estimated to rise to one in three by 2050. Given the size and growth of the Latino child population in the United States, our nation’s success will depend on supporting Latino families and their children.

All Latino families and children can flourish—and most Latino families have the key ingredients to live healthy, happy, and successful lives—but narratives often elevate their deficits rather than their strengths.

Data scans from the National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families have identified important gaps in the field’s understanding of who makes up Latino families in the United States today, including their recent growth and diversification, their family life and dynamics, and more.

Who do we mean by Latino families?

We adopt a broad, inclusive definition: A Latino family is a group of at least one self-identified Latino or Hispanic adult and/or child(ren), related by birth, marriage, adoption, or choice (who may range from infancy to young adulthood).

We need more comprehensive national data on Latino families to present a complete picture of who they are, what their strengths are, and how the systems they interact with promote or hinder their opportunities to flourish. This will inform more effective, responsive policies and interventions to support flourishing among Latino families and communities.

Our Approach

Research

To bolster the research data infrastructure to examine Latino families’ strengths and diverse characteristics, we will develop and administer a national survey of Latino families. The survey development process will be iterative and collaborative, and informed by available literature, input from advisors and partners, focus groups with caregivers, and cognitive interviews. We will also interview caregivers to contextualize early findings from the survey.

The goal is to build the infrastructure needed to sustain an ongoing national survey that can monitor trends in well-being at the population level, observe developmental changes within Latino families over time, and capture economic and social shifts in real time.

Partnership, collaboration, and communications

Starting with a listening tour in Year 1, we will conduct continuous outreach to Latino-serving organizations, researchers, program administrators, advocates, and those who work in policy to ensure that our efforts are supporting Latino families’ needs. We will establish regular working groups to collaboratively shape survey content, interpret findings for policy and program implications, and promote data use to drive change. We will also create and disseminate resources—such as a user’s guide, briefs, and profiles of Latino families—that support the use of LFF survey data for informing programs and policies.

Community mobilization

We will partner with national organizations and community leaders to translate our survey findings into actionable insights and ensure that those insights are accessible to community members, policymakers, and communicators. We will build capacity within communities and help them conduct (or add) their own analyses and fully leverage the findings to support narrative change and systems reform within their contexts.

About the LFF Logo

LFF’s logo draws inspiration from the image of a family gathered around the dinner table—a cherished tradition among many Latino families that symbolizes unity, shared values, and well-being. This everyday act reflects strong family bonds and a culture of generosity, embodied in the saying, “Donde comen dos, comen tres”— “Where there is enough food for two, there is enough for three.”

The circular form of the logo represents the protective nature of family, while the sun at its center symbolizes the broader systems that nurture and support family flourishing. Vibrant colors celebrate the richness and vitality of Latino culture, honoring its warmth, resilience, and spirit of togetherness.

Timeline

Our Team

• María A. Ramos-Olazagasti, principal investigator
• Katy Falletta, research project manager
• Lina Guzman, senior advisor
• Doré LaForett, constituent engagement and collaboration lead
• Alondra Medina, research assistant
• Laura Ramirez, research assistant
• Lauren Zarick, communications & dissemination lead

Contact Us

For questions and to engage with our work, please contact us at lff@childtrends.org.

LFF is launching alongside a parallel but distinct effort also funded by RWJF—the Black Families Flourishing (BFF) Project—a project with principles and objectives that are aligned with those of the LFF Project.