New Census Bureau figures show children of color will be in the majority by 2018, and by 2030 the majority of the United States' labor force will be people of color.
However, a new Annie E. Casey Foundation report says there are major obstacles to success for children of color. They include poverty, substandard housing, underfunded schools and a lack of health insurance.
In Arizona , one stat that really jumped off the page for Joshua Oehler of Children’s Action Alliance was that only 41 percent of 3- to 5-year-old Latino children are enrolled in preschool 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 said.
Joseph Garcia of ASU’s Morrison Institute Latino Public Policy Center calls education the number one success strategy for children of color, especially an expectation for education beyond high school. Garcia says that raises everybody’s standard of living and creates better lives.
Oehler hopes the report will start discussion of how to deal with the ongoing racial disparities that are impacting children.