New Reports Focus On Children Of Immigrants

Aug 15, 2007

Two new reports, from Children Now and Latinos United, emphasize the importance of focusing attention on how children of immigrants are accessing early care and education, the subject of CLASP's recent report, The Challenges of Change. From California to Illinois (and across the rest of the nation), children of immigrants are a growing group of young children and yet, they are being left out of preschool programs. A data brief provides basic information on California's immigrant families, including that children of immigrants in that state are 10 percent less likely to attend preschool compared to children in non-immigrant families. (In April, another analysis of Census data found that the same was true in 37 other states, to varying degrees.)  The second report, A Critical Policy Imperative, identifies the access barriers preventing Latino families, the largest immigrant group in Illinois, from participating in early care and education programs, including a deficit of programs and facilities in Latino communities. 

As CLASP's research shows, immigrant families face an overwhelming number of barriers to accessing high-quality early care and education. Yet, there are steps that can be taken to improve access for families. We hope that policymakers are paying attention to all of the critical information coming out!