Over the past few years, members of CALDO have noticed a marked increase in the number of university research and agency assessments focused on the local Latino community.  We have witnessed the rich benefits gained from such professional interest and urge continued work that engages and assists the community.  While we are supportive of the importance of community based education for students, and are grateful for the interest of researchers and other agency professionals, we are also concerned about how studies may affect the community.  We want to be careful to not overburden community members or service providers.  As such, we are requesting that interested parties consider the following suggestions:

1. Review the list of reports listed below and consider if your issue has already been covered in Orange County. Consult with other professionals in the area to see if they know of additional studies. Consider reaching out to other parts of North Carolina.

2. Utilize the data already gathered and build upon that knowledge to avoid duplication.

3. If possible, work with the community from the inception of your project so that they are invested and included in all aspects of the study. Consider up front how you will share the results with the community.

4. When you set the budget for your study, consider setting aside funds to cover: reimbursement of community meeting space, compensation for community participants, compensation for community staff assisting you with recruitment or other project efforts, child care, written translation and oral interpretation.

5. If you decide to pursue a research project, contact Bilingual Parent Advocate Mariela Maldonado at Autism Society of North Carolina at mmaldonado@autismsociety-nc.org (919-743-0204 ext. 21) or Ben Balderas at El Centro Latino bbcentrol@bellsouth.net (919-932-4652) to request a time to visit CALDO and inform agency representatives about your proposed study.

6. Please submit your findings/results to CALDO to assist us in communicating the results to other agency representatives or service providers. Also include a component where you provide the results directly to the Latino community.

Studies and Reports of Local Interest.