Voices for America's Children - nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy for better child policy » Equity and Diversity

NAACP challenges barriers to the vote

Joe Theissen — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:36:17 +0000

Civil rights defenders NAACP have released a new report challenging policies they say discourage voting in communities of color. The report, “Defending Democracy: Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights in America,” examines the rise of new voter ID laws, limits on voting periods, and other restrictions to the franchise that have appeared just as communities of color have been turning out to vote in historic numbers.

Barriers to the vote could disenfranchise as many as five million eligible voters in the 2012 election, according to a Brennan Center for Justice estimate cited in the report. The NAACP commendably shows how racially disproportionate the impact would be, using the example of voter ID laws: “…an astonishing 25% of African Americans (over 6.2 million African-American voters) and 16% of Latinos (over 2.96 million Latino voters) do not possess valid photo ID. By comparison, only 8% of whites are without a current government-issued photo ID.” In other words, new voting laws are choosing restrictions that correlate with race groups in the hopes of discouraging people of color from voting, the report argues.

Read a summary on the NAACP’s website, and let us know what you think on our Facebook page.

Latinos filing more citizenship applications, increasing influence

Joanna Shoffner Scott — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:41:46 +0000

In a demographic trend that could have big implications for election season, Latinos are leading the way in citizenship applications, according to a study of the ya es hora ¡Ciudadanía! campaign. During the immigration protests of 2006, Latinos vowed, “Today we march, tomorrow we vote,” and with Latino naturalization numbers up, politicians should start paying attention.

From their release: ”Between 2003 and 2006, there were only five metropoli tan areas where Latinos were the majority of those naturalized, but within a matter of just two years, the number jumped to 11… The 11 metropolitan areas are: Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura, Riverside a nd Fresno in California; Miami, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; and El Paso, San Antonio, and Houston in Texas.”

Learn about Voices’ work on issues of equity and diversity here.

Black Administrators in Child Welfare Annual Conference Addresses Disproportionality

Sheri Brady — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:06:38 +0000

Disproportionality in child welfare occurs when a group is overrepresented in the system as compared to their proportion in the population. For example, Black children are 31 percent of the child welfare population but only 14.7 percent of the children in the United States. Latino children are 20 percent of the child welfare population but only 16.9 percent of the U.S. child population. Native American children are 2 percent of the child welfare population but only 0.9 percent of the children in the United States.

The recent 2010 Annual Black Administrators in Child Welfare Conference, “The Power of Change: Reducing Disproportionality,” in Chicago focused on this important issue. Child welfare administrators from across the country met to talk about improving the child welfare system’s response to the needs of children of color and their families. Workshops highlighted innovative programs that incorporate a cultural lens into the development and improvement of policies and services that serve families in the child welfare system. There was a special emphasis on child welfare advocates and professionals working across professional lines as a way to identify solutions that reduce disproportionality. States shared promising practices that incorporate input from all stakeholders including agencies, judges, parents, police and schools.

Voices supports the work of any organization that seeks to increase equality across all children regardless of race or ethnicity. The messages and information obtained from the conference will serve to inform our continued child welfare advocacy efforts. You can learn more about this organization and how you can get involved in reducing disproportionality at the Black Administrators in Child Welfare Website.

Racial gaps in early learning

Terrylynn Tyrell — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:58:26 +0000

Early Ed Watch yesterday provided an excellent overview of the early learning listening tours being conducted now by the Department of Education. As Congress considers renewing federal education programs, one issue we’d like policymakers to listen to is the significant racial gaps in how we prepare students for 4th grade.

Our recent summary of 4th grade reading scores shows that racial gaps in performance are significant and persistent. In “The Nation’s Report Card” for 2009, non-white students scored 25 points less than their white counterparts in reading. And these gaps appear year after year.

We’ll continue to update this blog on our advocacy around early learning; tune in to learn ways you can help.

While all student underperformance is a problem, the persistent racial gaps in scores are particularly troubling.