Shaping new possibilities for Latino children and the nation's future

Future of Children

Volumn 14, Issue 2, 2004, Pages 122-126

  Pérez, Sonia M ^a  

^a National Council of La Raza   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT; BIRTH RATE; DEMOGRAPHY; EDUCATION; ETHNIC GROUP; HEALTH CARE QUALITY; HEALTH ECONOMICS; HEALTH INSURANCE; HIGH SCHOOL; HISPANIC; HUMAN; IDEOLOGY; IMMIGRANT; IMMIGRATION; INCOME; LANGUAGE; POLICY; POPULATION; POVERTY; RACE; REVIEW; SOCIAL STATUS; STUDENT; UNITED STATES; WELLBEING;

EID: 29344435562     PISSN: 10548289     EISSN: 15501558     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/1602798     Document Type: Review

References (28)

1. The terms "Latino" and "Hispanic" are used interchangeably by the U.S. Census Bureau to identify persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South American, Dominican, and Spanish descent; they may be of any race.
2. U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Summary File 1 (SF1)-100 Percent Data, Table P12. Sex by age (Hispanic or Latino).
3. Data from the 2000 Census show that 59.8% of Latinos were born in the United States. With the addition of naturalized citizens, about 70% of Latinos are citizens. This does not include the 3.8 million residents of Puerto Rico who are U.S. citizens by birth.
4. Urban Institute. Children of immigrants fact sheet. Washington, DC: UI, 2001.
5. Polling data show that nearly nine in ten (87%) Latinos consider education a critical component to expanding life opportunities for Hispanic children. 2002 AOL Time Warner Foundation/People En Español Joint Hispanic Opinion Tracker Study. Available online at http://www.hispanicprwire.com/ print_AOL_Tracker_ENG.htm. Also, in a May 2002 poll ("National Hispanic Electorate") by Bendixen and Associates for the New Democrat Network, almost half of Latinos rated education as their first or second choice as the most important public policy issue for the community.
6. National Household Education Surveys Program. Parent interviews. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, 2001.
7. For further discussion of this topic, see the article by Takanishi in this journal issue.
8. For further discussion of this topic, see the article by Fuligni and Hardway in this journal issue.
9. National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Educational Programs. The growing number of limited English proficient students: 1991/92-2001/02. Washington, DC: NCELALIEP, October 2002.
10. National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Educational Programs. Language backgrounds of limited English proficient (LEP) students in the U.S. and outlying areas: 2000-2001. Washington, DC: NCELALIEP, May 2002.
11. The Center on Education Policy. From capital to the classroom: Year 2 of the No Child Left Behind Act. Washington, DC: CEP, January 2004.
12. According to the National Council of La Raza, Institute for Hispanic Health, one in ten adult Latinos has diabetes; of particular concern is the increase in the number of young people who are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Research shows that Puerto Ricans and Mexican Americans are two to four times more susceptible to developing diabetes than the general population. More information available online at http://www.nldi.org/opt03-01E.asp?Id=E.
13. Overall, Hispanic children in the United States have a rate of asthma (10.3%) comparable to or lower than that of other peer groups (11.4% and 17.7% for white and black children, respectively). See National Center for Health Statistics. Summary health statistics for U.S. children: National health interview survey. Vital and Health Statistics (March 2004) 10(221):7-8. However, data by ethnic subgroup show that as many as 20.1% of mainland Puerto Rican children have had asthma at some point in their lives, compared to 6.4% of non-Hispanic white and 9.1% of non-Hispanic black children. Evidence also suggests that all Latino children, but especially Puerto Rican children, experience high levels of asthma morbidity. In other words, when they do have asthma, the symptoms these children experience are more likely to be severe and to cause functional impairment, such as missed school days.
14. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, although Latinos composed 15% of the U.S. teenage population in 2001, they accounted for 21% of new AIDS cases reported among adolescents that year. See The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. HIV/AIDS policy fact sheet: Latinos and HIV/AIDS. Menlo Park, CA: KFF, July 2003. Available online at 3029-03.cfm.
15. In 2001, Hispanic females had the highest teenage birth rate in the nation (88 per 1,000 women), compared to 76 per 1,000 for black teenagers, and 31 per 1,000 for non-Hispanic white teens. See Hamilton, B.E., Sutton, P.D., and Ventura, S.J. Revised birth and fertility rates for the 1990s and new rates for Hispanic populations, 2000 and 2001: United States. National vital statistics report, vol. 15, no. 12. Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, August 4, 2003, pp. 15-16. Moreover, while the teen birth rates for other major ethnic groups have dropped by 30% or more over the last decade, the rate for Hispanic teens has dropped by only 13%, with most of that change occurring prior to 1998 and almost no further decrease since that time.
16. Pérez, S.M. U.S. Latino children: A status report. Washington, DC: National Council of La Raza, 2000.
17. U.S. Census Bureau. March 2001 Current Population Survey, Table HI01. Health insurance coverage: Status and type of coverage by selected characteristics: 2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau, as revised September 23, 2002. Available online at http://ferret.bls.census.gov/macro/032002/health/ h01_000.htm.
18. See note 17, Census Bureau, 2002.
19. For further discussion of this topic, see the article by Nightingale and Fix in this journal issue.
20. Lessard, G., and Ku, L. Gaps in coverage for children in immigrant families. The Future of Children: Health Insurance for Children (Spring 2003) 13(1):101-115.
21. Data from U.S. Bureau of the Census. Poverty in the United States: 2002. Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2003. Calculations by National Council of La Raza.
22. National Council of La Raza. NCLR agenda for Hispanic families: A public policy briefing book. Washington, DC: NCLR, 2002. Available online at http://www.nclr.policy.net/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=23182.
23. Sorensen, S., Brewer, D.J., Carroll, S.J., and Bryton, E. Increasing Hispanic participation in higher education: A desirable public investment. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1995,
24. as cited in Moving up the economic ladder: Latino workers and the nation's future prosperity. S.M. Pérez, ed. Washington, DC: National Council of La Raza, 2000.
25. López, E., Ramírez, E., and Rochín, R.I. Latinos and economic development in California. Sacramento, CA: California Research Bureau, June 1999,
26. as cited in Moving up the economic ladder: Latino workers and the nation's future prosperity. S.M. Pérez, ed. Washington, DC: National Council of La Raza, 2000.
27. Fisher, M., Pérez, S.M., González, B., et al. Latino education: Status and prospects: State of Hispanic America 1998. Washington, DC: National Council of La Raza, 1998, pp. 87-109.
28. Holahan, J., Dubay, L., and Kenney, G. Which children are still uninsured and why. The Future of Children: Health Insurance for Children (Spring 2003) 13(1):55-97.