THINK. CREATE. ASPIRE. TOWARD MORE EQUITABLE EARLY CHILDHOOD

SYSTEMS FOR IMMIGRANT FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

A Project of the BUILD Initiative and the National Council of La Raza Supported by the Alliance for Early Success

Miriam Calderon, BUILD Initiative Antonia Lopez, National Council of La Raza

Immigration Policy & Children

• Purpose

• Instructions

• The Challenge

• Guiding Questions

Elisabeth Montes One Family’s Story

1 in 4 Children in the U.S. Live in an Immigrant Family

Source: Park, Maki and Margie McHugh. 2014. Immigrant Parents and Early Childhood Programs: Addressing Barriers of Literacy, Culture, and

Systems Knowledge. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.

Nearly 9 out of 10 Children of Immigrants

are U.S. Citizens

Source: Migration Policy Institute tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 American Community Survey and 1990 Census decennial data.

Enrollment of Children of Immigrants in Pre-K

Source: Diverse Children: Race, Ethnicity, Immigration in America’s New Non Majority Generation, Foundation for Child Development, July 2013.

Example State’s Children in Immigrant Families

by Country of Origin (Ages 0 – 17)

Source: Don Hernandez, Foundation for Child Development – unpublished data.

Immigrant Families with Young Children in Example State

Source: Park, Maki and Margie McHugh. 2014. Immigrant Parents and Early Childhood Programs: Addressing

Barriers of Literacy, Culture, and Systems Knowledge. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.

Since passage of the 1996 Welfare Reform Law (PRWORA), eligibility depends primarily on:

• Immigration Status

- Most legal immigrants subject to a 5 Year Bar

• Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for public benefits

Can Immigrant Families with Young Children Access

Family Support Services?

• Cultural, language, literacy, technology

• Laws and Regulations vary by state, including misinformation about eligibility, verification of eligibility, fear of government or of misinformation about “public charge” determinations

• Due to the fact that most immigrant families are mixed status families, different family members can qualify for different benefits and programs

Barriers for Immigrant Families with Young Children

to Safety Net Programs

• Immigrants who are legally present in the U.S. are eligible for the Affordable Care Act

• Citizen or legally present children of undocumented parents are eligible:

To purchase from the state insurance exchange

For premium tax credits and lower copayments

For Medicaid or CHIP

• States have the option to cover legal immigrant children and pregnant women are eligible for CHIP and Medicaid

• Undocumented children and adults are only eligible for emergency Medicaid

Can Immigrant Families Access Health Care?

• Head Start and K-12 education are NOT restricted based on immigration status

• Child Care: Children must be U.S. Citizens or Legal Permanent Residents to receive CCDF subsidies (unlike Head Start)

Federal guidance states that a parent’s immigration status is not relevant for eligibility in CCDF

Is Education, Including Early Childhood Education

Considered a Public Benefit?

Next Steps: Educate, Organize, and Act

• Acquire new knowledge of best practices in teaching and learning and effective models for serving immigrant families in early care and education settings

• Raise awareness of the needs of immigrants families with young children and the policies that affect them

• Examine the connections/shared priorities between immigrant-serving organizations and early learning organizations

• Plan strategies and activities required for serving immigrant families with young children (personal commitments and actionable next steps)

www.buildinitiative.org http://www.nclr.org/

For More Information