Why Focus on New American Children?
One out of every four children in the United States is the son or daughter of an immigrant. Ninety percent of these children are American citizens. These young Americans will make up at least twenty-five percent of our new workers, parents, and voters for the next two decades. Yet, as of ten years ago, they were almost invisible in the world of research. Studies of immigrants focused on adolescents, and research on children paid little attention to those with foreign-born parents.
Children of immigrants have important assets, such as strong social competence and mental health common to young children living in immigrant families from Mexico. However, children of immigrants must overcome many challenges to realize their potential. Nearly half live in low-income families. Many experience poverty, inadequate access to health care, and must be able to communicate in both English and their home language.
What is the New American Children (NAC) Initiative?
FCD’s New American Children (NAC) initiative aims to build a broad and nuanced base of knowledge about the well-being of children living in low-income immigrant families in the U.S. Our goal is to discover how best to nurture and educate these children, and then to connect this research with sound policies and practices.