Racial and Ethnic Differences in Child Well-Being

Parents and policy makers have long looked to close the educational, health, economic and other gaps in child well-being between children of different backgrounds. As the 2008 campaign heats up, many are wondering about the increasingly diverse generation of America’s children and asking: Where is policy helping and failing to close the gaps between children of different backgrounds? Where do the gaps currently exist? What changes could have the greatest impact?

On January 29th, we released a report detailing some surprising results about the true state of the disparities between children. This new report is the first to analyze trends in the well-being of black, Hispanic, and white children over a nearly two-decade span.

At the New America event, hosted by the Workforce and Family Program, Dr. Donald Hernandez of the University of Albany presented the results of his new study. Among the key findings:

• Black, Hispanic, and white children experienced overall improvements in the quality of life.
• Both black children and Hispanic children were advantaged compared to white children in the emotional/spiritual well-being domain.
• Black and Hispanic children also benefited from advances in the safety-behavioral domain, including reduced cigarette smoking, drinking alcohol, and use of illicit drugs.
• Gaps in family economic well-being narrowed for both black and Hispanic children as parental employment and health insurance coverage increased.

According to Dr. Hernandez’ research, gaps in the well-being of our children are not intractable. Pending the pace of progress, racial and ethnic gaps in child well-being could be closed in as little as 18 years, in more than 50 years, or not at all. Dr. Hernandez used this finding to emphasize that progress is in no way guaranteed, and that the well-being of children must remain an issue at the fore of our consciousness.

Following the presentation of the report, Rev. David Gray moderated a distinguished panel of experts in a discussion that explored the survey results and implications.

Ms. Melissa Pardue, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Services Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services gave an in-depth overview of the child-focused programs run by HHS. She focused specifically on the TANF program and the changes in child well-being since the enactment of welfare reform legislation. Other areas where she cited progress include the increasing number of children served in Head Start since the mid-1990’s and the large increase in State-funded pre-Kindergarten programs. Ms. Pardue also expressed the Department’s pleasure at the continuing drop in teen birth rates since the early 1990’s and improvements in the Child Welfare system, including an increase in the adoption rate for Hispanic children in foster care.

Ms. Miriam Calderon, Associate Director of the Policy Analysis Center at the National Council of La Raza emphasized the growing population of Hispanic and black children, noting that America will become a “majority minority” country in the future. A major issue for all children is the potential for economic downturn, as many issues of child well-being are clearly related to family economic status. In addition, Ms. Calderon pointed out NCLR’s commitment to working on issues of immigration, including the challenges faced by citizen children with non-citizen parents. A looming issue for many children whose parents do not speak English is the coming reauthorization of No Child Left Behind and its programs directed at English Language-Learners.

Dr. Joseph Youngblood, Director of the John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy at Thomas Edison State College brought a state-wide perspective to the discussion, focused on New Jersey, one of the most populous and diverse states in the nation. Dr. Youngblood talked about a vision of education and services for children that is multi-generational, multi-institutional, and focused on the whole family. He emphasized the need to raise expectations and create the conditions necessary for success in the educational field. Through his experience with the Abbott districts and education in general in New Jersey, Dr. Youngblood talked about the need for teachers to be both of high quality and possessing of cultural competencies that will allow them to effectively reach and teach their students. He also emphasized the need for federal policy to be effectively communicated to and connected with local decision-making units, especially mayors, as they control many of the levers of power needed to create positive change at the local level.

Julia Isaacs, Child and Family Policy Fellow at the Brookings Institution presented results from her recent study on economic mobility across generations of Americans. Her findings show that, in general, two of three Americans do better economically than their parents. However, much of this growth in recent decades has been due to women entering the workforce, and that these gains have generally not manifested themselves among African-Americans. Ms. Isaacs entire study is available at the Brookings Institution’s website. As a policy matter, Ms. Isaacs highlighted the importance of high-quality pre-Kindergarten and education generally.

The presentations of the panelists were followed by a lively question and answer session with the audience that covered a wide variety of topics and engendered some excellent discussions among the panelists. To view this discussion, please click on the video at right.

Participants

• Dr. Fasaha Traylor
  Senior Program Officer
  Foundation for Child Development

• Dr. Kenneth Land
  Duke University

• Dr. Donald Hernandez
  University of Albany, SUNY

• Ms. Melissa Pardue
  Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Services Policy
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

• Ms. Miriam Calderon
  Associate Director, Policy Analysis Center
  National Council of La Raza

• Ms. Julia Isaacs
  Child and Family Policy Fellow
  The Brookings Institution

• Dr. Joseph Youngblood II
  Director, John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy
  Thomas Edison State College

• Rev. David Gray (Moderator)
  Director, Workforce and Family Program
  New America Foundation