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ERIC Number: ED571647
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Sep-29
Pages: 52
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Toward a More Equitable Future: The Trends and Challenges Facing America's Latino Children
Foxen, Patricia; Mather, Mark
National Council of La Raza
Rapid demographic change is transforming the landscape of America in exciting and challenging ways. This report, an update of the 2010 publication "America's Future: Latino Child Well-Being in Numbers and Trends," provides a comprehensive overview of national and state-level trends in the characteristics and well-being of Hispanic children over the past 15 years, covering 27 key indicators in the areas of demography, citizenship, family structure, poverty, housing, health, education, and juvenile justice. The report, and its companion web-based data tool the Latino Kids Data Explorer, allow to track changing outcomes in Latino child well-being since the year 2000. The authors compare the circumstances of Latino children with those of White and Black children, analyzing regional differences as well as variations between first-, second- and third-generation Latino youth. The report tells the story of a Latino demographic that is evolving and maturing at different rates throughout the country. The year 2008 is a useful baseline for parts of the analysis: that year marked the midpoint of the recession, a period that had a disproportionate impact on the economic well-being of Latinos, many of whom lost jobs, homes, and income. But the years following 2008 have also been marked by new legislation, policies, and programs that have contributed to progress in other areas of Latino child well-being. The authors identify several areas of improvement in outcomes over the past years, but also point to some significant remaining inequities, as well as new challenges, which will require solutions informed by solid data. Some of the key trends highlighted in the report are the following: (1) The number of Latino children increased sharply between 2000 and 2015, while the number of White and Black youth declined. Latinos make up a large and growing share of students in U.S. public schools, most are U.S.- born, and while many are children of immigrant parents, an increasing share are third-generation or higher--children of U.S.-born Latinos; (2) The poverty rate among Latino children increased sharply during the recession and has yet to return to pre-recession levels. Despite slight declines in poverty and unaffordable housing over the past five years, there remain major economic disparities between Latino and White children, and Latino child poverty is double that of White children. Latino children often have parents who are working but earning too little to lift their families above poverty. In addition, affordable housing proves to be one of the most persistent and stubborn problem facing Latino families; (3) There have been some important educational gains for Latino students in the past 15 years, in particular increased high school and maternal graduation rates; nonetheless, there are still significant educational and academic disparities between Latino and other students that begin in the early years, persist through high school and impact college readiness; (4) There has been a sharp decline in the share of Latino children lacking health insurance. Nonetheless, Latino youth still lag behind other groups in health coverage, and continue to be significantly more likely to be at risk for some health outcomes such as obesity; and (5) The youth incarceration rate for all racial and ethnic groups has decreased over the past few years for all racial and ethnic groups, though it has declined more slowly for Latino youth.
National Council of La Raza. 1126 16th Street NW 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-785-1670; Fax: 202-776-1792; e-mail: publications@nclr.org; Web site: http://www.nclr.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: National Council of La Raza
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A