Community-Based Organizations as Resource Brokers for Latinx Families in North Carolina during Covid-19

• In Event: Promoting Access to Social Supports and Resources Throughout COVID-19 for Latine Families with Young Children

Abstract

Community-based organizations (CBOs) often act as resource-brokers for families, providing them connection and access to resources, such as child care, that support their needs (Curley, 2010; Small, 2006). Researchers posit that resources are brokered through organizational ties that organizations have with other formal programs as well as through social ties. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted daily routines of organizations and families moving many to remote interactions. These changes present barriers to the potential mechanisms behind CBOs as resource-brokers, presenting challenges to the ways that they can foster social trust and connection to resources. This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 how well CBOs who serve Latine families in low-income communities in North Carolina were able to offer their services, and what creative solutions they developed during this time to support Latine families.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 Latinx community-based organizations or Latinx advocates in government positions to better understand the impact of COVID-19 in serving Latinx families and its influence on Latinx’s family care systems for their children. Interviews were conducted in English or Spanish, depending on participant preference. Interviewees represented CBOs in multiple counties across North Carolina, hailed from small (3-10 staff) to medium sized (10-23 staff) organizations, and ranged in 8 months to 31 years of experience working in CBOs. The interview included questions on service changes or interruptions due to COVID-19 and the pandemic’s impact on families’ ability to find child care or other support for their children’s development during the Delta wave of the pandemic (e.g. July-August, 2011). Interviews averaged 57 minutes and were transcribed by multilingual researchers. Transcripts were coded utilizing thematic analysis of the interviews using both deductive and inductive codes to capture themes regarding organization service changes, new resource provision, and observed changes in Latinx family clients as a result of the pandemic (Braun & Clark, 2009).

Preliminary results identified that the CBOs acted as central resources for Latinx families, connecting them with housing, medical, educational and financial support. CBOs interviewed moved their services from in-person to online during the onset of the pandemic. Interviews revealed that CBOs quickly retooled themselves to engage with families by utilizing technology, such as the messaging and video calling app, WhatsApp,to foster connections between families or connect directly with clients although this was difficult for some families. Moreover they organized new services, such as diapers and food drop-offs to families. Interviewees reported continuing to refer families to other services and increasingly relying on referrals to other agencies. Lastly, the importance of creating and sustaining trusting relationships was highlighted as a critical strategy for helping families cope with the pandemic-related stressors.

Findings regarding how CBOs adapted to the pandemic to reach Latinx families may illustrate broader themes critical to engaging hard to reach populations around child wellbeing, health, educational, and safety issues in the future. Implications for the role of community-based organizations as a resource-broker between services, which include government programs, and Latinx families will be discussed.

Authors

• Julia Mendez, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
  Presenting Author

• Kevin Ferreira van Leer, University of Connecticut

• Yasmin Torres, University of North Carolina Greensboro

• Maricela Porras Velazquez, California State University at Sacramento