Immigrants Raising Citizens: Undocumented Parents and their Young Children's Development
Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Ph.D., Walter H. Gale Professor of Education and Academic Dean, Harvard Graduate School of Education
53 Parker Hill Avenue, Boston
Limited free parking available.
This talk is based on Hirokazu Yoshikawa’s 2011 volume Immigrants Raising Citizens: Undocumented Parents and Their Young Children. The book is the first large-scale study to examine the implications of parent undocumented status for the development of young children. Based on a longitudinal study of families from three immigrant groups – Chinese, Mexican and Dominican –Immigrants Raising Citizens shows that undocumented parents share three sets of experiences that distinguish them from legal-status parents and may adversely influence their children’s development: poor work conditions with high rates of wages below the legal minimum; reluctance to enroll their citizen children in programs that help their development; and psychological stress. Compared to documented low-income parents, undocumented parents experience significantly more exploitive work conditions, including long hours, inadequate pay and raises, few job benefits, and limited autonomy in job duties. Fearing deportation, undocumented parents often avoid accessing valuable resources that could help their children’s development—such as public programs and agencies providing child care. Recently arrived undocumented immigrants also tend to have fewer reliable social ties to assist with child care or share information on child-rearing. Despite these parents’ considerable skills and commitment to support their children’s learning, undocumented status is a risk for lower levels of optimal development that are recognizable in children as young as two years old and can negatively impact their future school performance and well-being. Implications for mental health practice, service delivery and immigration policy will be discussed. Target Audience: Physicians (psychiatrists, pediatricians, child neurologists), psychologists, social workers, other mental health clinicians and researchers, and students and trainees. Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to (1) understand demographic data concerning undocumented parents and their young children in the U.S., (2) understand how parent undocumented status can affect young children’s development, and (3) engage more effectively with low-income immigrant families with young children.
LOCATION: STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTART:20130403T173000Z DTEND:20130403T190000Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR