"Head Start, Poor Children, and Their Families"

Richard K. Caputo

Barry University

Abstract: This study used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and the NLS's Child-Mother file to identify characteristics associated with the likelihood of poor children ever having participated in a Head Start program, and, among those who did, of their having lived in persistently poor families. Using logistic regression analysis on all children of survey year 1992 female respondents who had lived at least one year in poverty,the study found that number of years in poverty, race, and mother's marital status in 1992 were associated with the likelihood of a child's participating in Head Start. Among Head Start participants, mother's education level, mother's age at time of first birth, residency, the emotional dimension of the child's home environment, and mother's marital status were associated with persistent poverty. When number of years Head Start families received AFDC and/or Food Stamps was accounted for, only mother's marital status, residency, and number of years on public assistance were associated with persistent poverty. Policy implications were discussed.

"Most Disadvantaged Children: Who Are They and Where Do They Live?"

E. Michael Foster

Vanderbilt University

and

Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr.

University of Pennsylvania

Abstract: This paper examines the prevalence of multiple and overlapping family-level disadvantages among children and describes the neighborhoods where most disadvantaged children live. The figures presented are based on the experiences of a sample of 5,000 children drawn from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We identify most disadvantaged children using four family-level disadvantages: living in a family that is poor, that is headed by a woman, that received public assistance, and/or that has a jobless head. We find that 15% of all children experience two or more disadvantages, but only one in twenty-five children live in a poor family that receives public assistance and is headed by a jobless woman. These most disadvantaged children area minority among those receiving public assistance or even of those experiencing two or more disadvantages. We find that only a minority of these children live in poor neighborhoods, and we examine the extent to which these children remain in disadvantaged families over time. We also find that minority children are greatly over-represented among most disadvantaged children and that this racial imbalance is greater than that for any single disadvantage. These results suggest that the dual burden of growing up in a family with multiple and overlapping disadvantages and in a poor neighborhood is a uniquely Black Experience. This portends continued racial inequality well into the next century.

"Improving Immunization of Children"

Bette A. Speziale

Ohio State University

and

Krista Wasowski

Visiting Nurse Association of North Central Ohio

Abstract: Social class differences compounded by variables of race and ethnicity are strongly associated with inequalities in health status and health care. Preventive health care in particular is less likely to be afforded to those persons who are members of socioeconomic ally disadvantaged and minority groups. One specific inequality in health status and preventive health care, immunization against infectious diseases, currently presents challenges. The inadequate immunization of children, especially those in low income families, is a major public health problem in the United States. The human and financial costs of this problem are great; the consequences are highly preventable. The following discussion delineates and discusses obstacles to the adequate immunization of preschool age children. It highlights policy initiatives and program developments designed to improve rates of immunization. Finally, it explores the implications for health and human services to ensure the success of current efforts, as well as to improve primary prevention and health status among preschool age children.

"Barriers to Access and Succeeding in College: Perceptions of a Group of Midwestern Urban Latino Youth"

Flavio Francisco Marsiglia

Arizona State University

Abstract: This paper explores the perceptions of a group of Latino youth in regards to their chances of gaining access to and succeeding in college. The study was conducted in a major Midwestern city to understand why Latino enrollment and degree completion in area colleges were low. In order to assess Latino student perceptions, community forums and structured questions were used. Respondents had a shared perception that Latino students were not welcome at area colleges. Latino youth and their families identified a series of logistic, cultural specific, and self-efficacy barriers that impeded them from fully benefiting from a college education. Young women and men who had not yet experienced college life were very positive about pursuing a post-secondary education. However, students who were already enrolled in college had a rather negative view of their experience and of their chances of succeeding. Recommendations for improvement provided by the respondents ranged from language and culturally specific information campaigns directed toward the whole Latino family to cultural awareness training for faculty and other college personnel who were identified as gatekeepers.