The Integration of Immigrants and Their Families in Maryland: A ...

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Conclusions and Policy RecommendationsConclusions and Policy RecommendationsImmigration TrendsImmigration and growth in the population of children of immigrants have contributed to a positive increasein the number of children in Maryland. Without immigration and births to immigrants, the population inMaryland might stagnate and even decline in the future. Migration from other states and family-friendlypolicies can contribute to population growth in Maryland, but national population trends suggest thatimmigration has been essential for population growth, particularly in the child and younger working-agepopulations. While the birth rates for non-Hispanic white women have been declining during the past threedecades, the higher birth rates for Hispanic women, and, to a lesser extent, African American and Asianwomen, in recent years have put the national fertility rate just above the replacement level necessary for longtermpopulation growth (Hamilton, Martin, and Ventura 2009). 24The doubling of the population of children of immigrants in Maryland between 1990 and 2006 has had itsgreatest impact on Montgomery, Prince George’s, Howard, and Baltimore counties. The impact currently issmaller in those Maryland counties with fewer children of immigrants, but this population is growing veryrapidly in many of these areas. Newcomers tend to settle in places where they can take advantage of family,social, and economic networks, so it is likely that immigrant population groups will continue to beconcentrated in the Maryland suburbs of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area in the future. Theirnumbers, however, are also likely to increase statewide as immigrants search for new opportunities, includingbetter jobs, good schools, and lower-cost housing.The growth in immigration has changed the racial and ethnic as well as the language and cultural compositionof children in the state and in the public schools. The linguistic and cultural diversity makes it more difficultto provide appropriate public health, safety, education, and other social services. But accounting for diversityis necessary to create an environment that allows for integration of newcomers and minimizes the socialtensions that can arise among the state’s diverse groups.Moreover, when designing appropriate services, the state of Maryland needs to go beyond cultural andethnic diversity concerns to consider the family circumstances of children of immigrants. Many children ofimmigrants are fortunate that their parents can provide nurturing and material resources. But other childrenof immigrants live in low-income families in which their parents are struggling to balance work and familylife, so the children have only limited exposure to the experiences that promote school readiness. Addressingthe needs of these families will require a two-pronged strategy to both address the parents’ needs for access togood jobs and the children’s developmental needs for long-term success. This strategy is necessary if Marylandis to ensure that the state and its residents achieve their potential.24For information on historic trends in fertility rates by race and ethnicity, see: Child Trends DataBank. “Birth and Fertility Rates, 2005.”http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/indicators/79BirthRates.cfm.48Children of Immigrants and Families in Maryland
Conclusions and Policy RecommendationsWork and Family SupportsProviding and improving access to adult education, language, and other training for immigrant parents canhelp improve employment and raise family incomes. Immigrant families, including low-income families,have high levels of work effort, and policies that aim to encourage employment might not be sufficient. Forinstance, almost all low-income children of Mexican immigrants live in families in which one parent hasfull-time and full-year employment. Education and job skills training and assistance in transferring credentialsobtained abroad would help immigrants to acquire higher-skilled and higher-paid jobs. In addition, policiesare needed to improve access to other services to support employment, such as affordable child care and healthcare, financial services, driver’s licenses, and public transportation.Family and work supports that increase parental employment and raise incomes are especially important forchildren of immigrants in low-income families. The 1996 welfare reform law that imposed restrictions onimmigrants’ eligibility for federal public benefits led to dramatic decreases in public benefits use amongimmigrants, although some restrictions were subsequently lifted and citizen children remained eligible for allprograms (Fix and Passel 2002; Henderson et al. 2008; Shields and Behrman 2004). In some states, includingMaryland, state and local governments have stepped in to fill the need to a varying degree (Broder 2007;Fix and Passel 2002). 25 Despite these efforts, some immigrant parents are still afraid or reluctant to apply forbenefits even when their children or other family members are eligible. It is important to increase outreachand improve access for immigrant families to TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, and other programs.Children’s DevelopmentThe higher incidence of children of immigrants in Maryland living in two-parent families is a protective factorbecause of the importance of social networks for these families (Capps et al. 2004; Shields and Behrman 2004;Hernandez 2004). Living in stable two-parent families is associated with better socioemotional and cognitivedevelopment and better school outcomes (Moore et al. 2002; Vandivere et al. 2000). Living with extendedfamilies can provide many social and economic benefits for immigrant families, but material hardship andcrowded housing conditions can interfere with children’s learning activities. The growing population ofchildren of immigrants indicates a growing need for affordable child care and early education settings forchildren with diverse linguistic and socioeconomic backgrounds in order to give them an equal start in school.The lower enrollment of children of immigrants in center-based care and preschool affects their schoolreadiness. More needs to be done to remove the barriers to access, including increasing outreach, providinginformation in multiple languages, streamlining the eligibility and application process for publicly fundedchild care, and working to increase affordable and culturally sensitive child care options in immigrant andlow-income communities. Increasing both outreach and subsidies for appropriate center-based child careshould be a priority for better school and life outcomes for these children.25For recent policy initiatives in Maryland, see: Lagdameo, Angela and Adam Ortiz. 2009. “A Fresh Start: Renewing Immigrant Integration for aStronger Maryland.” Baltimore: Maryland Council for New Americans. www.newamericans.maryland.gov/documentsNA/2009Report.pdf.Children of Immigrants and Families in Maryland 49
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