PHOENIX - According to Census Bureau projections, by 2018, children of color will represent a majority of kids in the United States. By 2030, the majority of the American labor force will be people of color. But a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation measures major obstacles to success for children of color, including poverty, substandard housing, underfunded schools, lack of health insurance.

According to the Foundation's associated director Laura Speer, decisions made by society are treating kids in different ways, and there's still a racial component to it.

"There's an unfortunate legacy of discrimination in our country that plays itself out in investments happening in communities, and how those decisions are being made about where investments are targeted, and the amount of money that goes into schools in particular communities," she said.

Speer said children of color are more likely to be kicked out of school, to be racially profiled, arrested and serve longer sentences for the same offenses.

The Race for Results index measures 12 indicators for success. Arizona scores for Latino, American Indian and African American children are far lower than for whites and Asians.

One of the report's statistics that "really jumped out" at Joshua Oehler, research associate at the Children's Action Alliance, was that only 41 percent of three- to five-year-old Arizona Latino children are enrolled in pre-school or kindergarten.

"So that was the lowest among all the racial groups in Arizona, and across the country there were only three states that had a lower participation rate," Oehler noted.

For Joseph Garcia, director of ASU's Morrison Institute Latino Public Policy Center, the number-one success strategy for children of color is education, including an expectation for education beyond high school.

"Because then that affects everybody. It raises everyone's standard of living. It allows greater infrastructure. It allows people not taking from the system, but putting into the system. It creates better lives," Garcia asserted.

Joshua Oehler said he hopes the report will start a discussion of how to deal with the ongoing racial disparities affecting children.

"It's such a delicate subject to talk about, so just bringing it up and being able to get people together from all backgrounds and figure out ways to get rid of those disparities, I think, is a really good continuing step to make progress."

The Casey Foundation's associated director Laura Speer said children of color are "going to be the future work force of the United States, so there's a really critical imperative to look at (these issues) now and to see what we can do to improve" their prospects for success.

The full report is at AECF.org.




get more stories like this via email

Virginia is making a financial investment to help tackle the state's childcare shortage.

This year's budget allocates more than $1 billion to expand childcare capacity in 2025 and 2026. Legislation is also streamlining part of the process for people to become childcare providers.

The Center for American Progress finds 47% of Virginians live in areas considered "childcare deserts."

Allison Gibreath, senior director of policy and programs at Voices for Virginia's Children, said the state must also develop its childcare workforce.

"What I'm hearing from providers is they might have a classroom that's completely empty that could fill 15 slots in their community," said Gibreath, "but they cannot open that classroom because they cannot find the workforce to support that classroom."

A Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission study finds 74% of Virginia's childcare centers are short-staffed, preventing many parents from entering the workforce.

It says a major factor is low pay for early childhood educators, ranging from $29,000 to $33,000 a year.

Gilbreath said the new investments should trickle down, enabling centers to hire more people and increase pay.

Gilbreath said the additional investment and legislation should strengthen the childcare system, but more can be done to alleviate the large-scale challenges a lack of providers creates.

"When a huge employer is looking for a place to either build a new facility or build a new office anywhere in the country," said Gibreath, "when they come to Virginia, they're starting to ask the question, 'If bring my workforce here, will there be enough childcare options for the workforce?'"

Some bills that didn't pass this year could come up again next session.

One would create an Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program for small businesses to help cover childcare costs for their workforce.

Another would expand Headstart's availability for parents attending community colleges.




get more stories like this via email

A Georgia company is showcasing the benefits of supporting workers who want to adopt children.

The Atlanta-based kids' clothing brand Carter's is gaining recognition for its efforts in helping employees expand their families.

Hannah Aarsvold, senior director of site merchandising for Carter's, is one employee who has benefited from the company's adoption support. She shared her own story of fostering and adopting her son Hayden with Carter's assistance.

"My colleagues threw the coolest adoption shower when Hayden was adopted," Aarsvold recounted. "I obviously know Carter's as my place of employment and the largest children's apparel brand in North America, but Hayden knows Carter's as the place of this awesome adoption party."

She pointed out the practical help she received, like time off to handle the logistics of becoming a parent with 24 hours' notice, and the emotional support, made a difference. Carter's was recently recognized as a top retailer for adoption support by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

Katie Maclaga, senior director of benefits for Carter's, emphasized the importance of providing a supportive culture and reducing employee stress during the adoption and foster care process. She said the company can help with financial support, among other benefits.

"We also have an innovative benefit around providing 10 days of foster care leave when someone becomes a foster parent," Maclaga stressed. "We think that's really important too, because there's not a ton of awareness around that. But when you become a foster parent, you've got to figure out a lot of things very quickly."

Rita Soronen, president and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, explained adoption benefits ensure employees are not penalized at work for pursuing a different path to building their families. She said the benefits help the employers as well as their workers.

"It creates a competitive edge for employers among businesses with whom they're trying to attract employees," Soronen noted. "It becomes very much of an equity conversation; that we believe that, no matter how a family is formed, we're going to support the needs of our employees."

She added the Foundation provides resources for employers looking to support families, noting even modest benefits can make a big impact.

After the tragic death of Kyneddi Miller, a 14-year-old West Virginia girl found dead in her home, some state lawmakers are calling on the governor to pass a bill known as "Raylee's Law" during a special session expected in August.

Named after Raylee Browning, an 8-year-old girl who was removed from public school and home-schooled after teachers reported abuse to child protective services, versions of the law have stalled in the Legislature the past few years.

Del. Joey Garcia, D-Fairmont, said the law would ban county school boards from authorizing home-school instruction if there's a pending child abuse or neglect investigation against a parent or guardian.

"I think what we're looking at is there has to be some level of accountability," Garcia contended. "Just like there is in the public school system, that children are being taught, that they're not being abused."

A 2023 analysis by the Washington Post estimated there are 1 million to nearly 3 million home-schooled children in the United States. In West Virginia, the number is around 13,000, according to the West Virginia Home Educators Association, which said it opposes any oversight of home schooling.

Garcia emphasized the law is designed to help improve one aspect of the state's failing child welfare system. In 2019, current and former foster care children filed a class-action lawsuit arguing the state repeatedly failed to protect children in its care. He added West Virginia has work to do when it comes to child safety.

"Across the aisle, Democrats, Republicans, people of all different beliefs with respect to education, to try to provide for a reasonable and narrowly tailored law that protects children," Garcia explained.

Lawmakers also are in discussion with local school boards about enforcing assessment completion for home-schooled kids. State law requires assessments at certain grade levels and local public school officials have few options to check on children when a parent or guardian fails to submit them. Data show just 37% of home-school households submit assessments.


get more stories like this via email