The Invisible Children

1. The Invisible Children A History of Neglect: Latino Children and Child Welfare Presented by Elba Montalvo The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Inc.

2. We combine education and advocacy to expand opportunities for Latino children and families, amplify their voice, and promote participation that strengthens Latino communities.

3. “Leadership is about reading reality and acting responsibly.” Susan Block

4. Historical Perspective As Americans, we have had approximately 350 years of segregation, much of it reinforced by legislation. Only since the Civil Rights era (1954-1968) have we all been considered equal under the law.* In the early 1900s, Native Americans could not attend schools for whites or schools for blacks. Some who wanted a formal education chose to attend one of the new state-funded "Indian" schools like this. * Robinson, J., Bowman, R, et al. (1977). Building Cultural Bridges-Leader's Guide. Bloomington, IN. National Education Service.

5. Social policy can help exploited and oppressed groups achieve their legal rights and rightful positions in a society, or it can maintain that exploitation and degradation, as the Jim Crow segregation era did for Blacks in the American South.* * Keith M. Kilty & Maria Vidal de Haymes(2000): Racism, Nativism, and Exclusion, Journal of Poverty, 4:1-2, page.3

6. Historical Perspective Three civil rights workers, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman, all shot in the dark of night on a lonely road in Neshoba County, Mississippi. Throughout our history there were individuals and groups who tried to bring everyone together, but their numbers were too few to affect change. * * Robinson, J., Bowman, R, et al. (1977). Building Cultural Bridges-Leader's Guide. Bloomington, IN. National Education Service.

7. From 1964 to the 21st Century

11. Latinos are not monolithics Mexico Cuba Guatemala We vary by Puerto Rico country of origin, migration experience, economic status, Peru Venezuela class, educational attainment and race Chile Argentina

12. The United States has the second largest Spanish-speaking community in the world, even though Spanish is not our official language • Moreno Fernández, Francisco and Otero Roth, Jaime (2006) Demografía de la lengua española.Universidad Complutense de Madrid, InstitutoComplutense de EstudiosInternacionales. • North American Academy of the Spanish Language. • Spanish is the second most used language in the United States. • Spanish is the primary language spoken at home by over 35.5 million people aged five or older. • Roughly half of all U.S. Spanish speakers also speak English "very well", based on the self-assessment Census question respondents. • Approximately 70% of Latinos in Michigan are Spanish speakers. U.s. Census Bureau, 2009 American Community Survey

13. United States As 2010, Hispanic accounted for 16.3% of the national population, or around 50.5 million people. Michigan at a Glance Median Age of Hispanics 25 Hispanic Population 423,000 (4% of State Population) Poverty Rate, Hispanics 17 and Younger 36% Hispanic Homeownership 58% Hispanics Without Health Insurance 24% Median Income, Hispanics 16+ $18,300 Hispanics as Percent of All K-12 Students 6% Demographic Profile of Hispanics in Michigan, 2009. Pew Hispanic Center.

14. Economic Impact of Michigan’s Latino Population • Approximately 154,797 Latino workers contribute $25.2 billion in state output. • Taking into consideration secondary impacts, the Latino workforce contributes approximately $48.4 billion to total state output. • Nearly 10,000 Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $3.1 billion and employed nearly 16,000 persons. • In 2008, the purchasing power of Latinos was approximately $8.8 billion (Immigrant Policy Center, 2009). Workers at Los Cuatro Amigos in Bangor Township. In the last 10 years, Bay County's Hispanic population has increased by nearly 800 people. Mlive.com. Rise in Hispanic population makes Bay County more diverse. Sunday, March 27, 2011 Miller, Steve R., Martinez, Ruben O and Amy Fuan. April 2010. Measuring the Economic and Fiscal Contributions of Michigan’s Latino Population

15. Latinos in Michigan • Latinos are settling in parts of Michigan typically not accustomed to providing services to Latino Families. • Latinos are Michigan's driving force in population growth. • Counties with the largest population: Anne Arbor, Bay City, Flint, Grand Rapids, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Saginaw, Detroit, Lansing. Mlive.com. Census: Hispanic poised to become “majority minority”. Sunday, March 13, 2011.

16. Latino Children In Child Welfare • Reports of abuse and neglect are relatively proportionate between Latino and White non-Latino children. Yet, substantiated cases are more likely to occur with Latino children. • Latino children are more likely to be placed in out-of home care more quickly and for longer periods of time than their White non-Latino counterparts. • 62% of the Latino children served by child welfare services today are placed in out-of home care, compared to 25% in 1977. Fact Sheet: Latino Children in Child Welfare. Casey Family Programs; Marguerite Casey Foundation; Annie E. Casey Foundation. 2009

17. Latino Children In Child Welfare • More than one third (37.4%) of Latino children in family foster care live in relative placements, representing the highest rate among all racial/ethnic groups. • The number of Latino children in foster care more than doubled from 6.7% of the foster care population in 1982 to 19% in 2006.* • Immigration status is playing a role in entries into foster care as deportations of parents keep increasing and families are separated. • They are also more likely to have a goal of independent living or long-term foster care.* * Fact Sheet: Latino Children in Child Welfare. Casey Family Programs; Marguerite Casey Foundation; Annie E. Casey Foundation. 2009

18. Recommendations • To improve services to Latino children in child welfare we need the following: • The inclusion of Latinos in planning, decision-making, implementation and monitoring of child welfare policies, programs and administrative procedures and practices. • Accurate and reliable data. • A stable well-trained, and bilingual workforce. • Cultural/linguistic competence to work with diverse Latino populations.

19. Recommendations • Appropriate community based services. • Culture and language indicators in outcome evaluation. • City and State agencies to report their progress in developing culturally and linguistically competent capacity in all areas of child welfare and demonstrate indicators measuring progress. • Child welfare services providers that have the knowledge of immigration policies that impact the protection and safety of children. Robert M. Ortega, Cindy Guillean, Lourdes Gutierrez Najera. Latinos and child welfare = Latinos y el bienestar del niño : voces de la communidad , the University of Michigan School of Social Work, and the National Latino Child Welfare Advocacy Group. Publisher Ann Arbor, Mich. : University of Michigan School of Social Work, 1996. Suleiman, Layla P., Building a Better Future for Latino Families, The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, April 2001. Vanessa Ramos, Noah Franklin, Layla P. Suleiman Gonzalez and Keren Abina-Sotomayor. The State of Latino Families in New York 2011. The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Inc. 2011

20. How am I prepared to serve Latino children and families?