Thursday, May 28, 2009

Hispanic Children: The Rise of the Second Generation (from the Pew Hispanic Center)

Hispanic Children: The Rise of the Second Generation

The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, today released a report that finds that Hispanics now make up more than one-in-five of all children in the United States - up from 9% in 1980 -- and as their numbers have grown, their demographic profile has changed.

More than half of the nation's 16 million Hispanic children are now "second generation," meaning they are the U.S.-born sons or daughters of at least one foreign-born parent, typically someone who came to this country in the immigration wave from Mexico, Central America and South America that began around 1980. In 1980, a majority of Latino children were "third or higher generation" -- the U.S.-born sons or daughters of U.S.-born parents.

A Pew Hispanic Center analysis of U.S. Census data indicates that many social, economic and demographic characteristics of Latino children vary by their generational status. First and second generation Latino children are less likely than third or higher generation children to be fluent in English and to have parents who completed high school. They are more likely to live in poverty. But they are less likely than third or higher generation Latino children to live in single parent households.

Another characteristic that separates Latino children along generational lines is their legal status. Building on earlier research, the Pew Hispanic Center estimates that fewer than one-in-ten of all Hispanic children are unauthorized immigrants. However, about one quarter have one or more parents who is an unauthorized immigrant.

Pew Hispanic Center population projections indicate that the generational composition of Hispanic children will change yet again between now and 2025. The share of Hispanic children who are second generation is projected to peak soon, while the share of Hispanic children who are third generation or higher will begin to rise in the coming decade.


The report, "Latino Children: A Majority Are U.S.-Born Offspring of Immigrants", authored by Richard Fry, Senior Research Associate, Pew Hispanic Center, and Jeffrey S. Passel, Senior Demographer, Pew Hispanic Center, is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, www.pewhispanic.org.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

RWJF Toolkit for Translation

Clear communication is a cornerstone of patient safety and quality health care. Quality translated health materials can serve as valuable communications tools for both patients and providers, and can help to ensure the delivery of safe, effective and high-quality care. The More Than Words Toolkit Series, a new resource developed by Hablamos Juntos with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, clarifies the translation process and provides a roadmap to help health care organizations improve the quality of their translated materials in order to get better results.
The More Than Words Toolkit Series draws on the scientific literature, the experience of 10 Hablamos Juntos demonstrations and the initiative's own research on translation quality. It is designed to assist individuals and organizations in initiating translations of health care text of all types.

The toolkit can be accessed at: http://www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?id=39591