YOUNG CHILDREN A Project of the BUILD Initiative and the National - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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

Elisabeth Montes One Family’s Story • Purpose • Instructions • The Challenge • Guiding Questions

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in Immigrant Families by Country of Origin (Ages 0 – 17) Source: Don Hernandez, Foundation for Child Development – unpublished data.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 .

Can Immigrant Families with Young Children Access Family Support Services? 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

Barriers for Immigrant Families with Young Children to Safety Net Programs 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

Can Immigrant Families Access Health Care? • 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

Is Education, Including Early Childhood Education Considered a Public Benefit? • 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

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)

For More Information www.buildinitiative.org http://www.nclr.org/