Immigrant Issues in Texas: Integration into Child Welfare
Dr. Rowena Fong
The University of Texas at Austin
School of Social Work
512 471-1393
Demographics of Texas and USA
Texas USA
Population (2006 est.) 23,507,783 299,3987,484
White not Hispanic 48.3% 66.4%
Hispanic / Latino 35.7% 14.8%
Black 11.9% 12.8%
Asian & Pacific Islander 3.5% 4.6%
American Indian / Native Alaskan
0.7% 1.0%
Source: US Census Bureau, Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights
Demographics of Texas and USA
Texas USA
Foreign-born 13.9% 11.1%
Language spoken other than English at home
31.2% 17.9%
Source: US Census Bureau, Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights
Demographics of Texas and USA
Texas USA
Persons per household 2.74 2.59
Median household income $41,645 $44,334
Per capita money income $19,617 $21,587
Persons below poverty 16.2% 12.7%
Source: US Census Bureau, Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights
Demographics of Texas and USA
Texas USA
Persons under 5 yrs. 8.2% 6.8%
Persons under 18 yrs. 27.6% 24.6%
Persons 65 yrs. & older 9.9% 12.4%
High School Graduates 75.5% 80.4%
Bachelor’s Degree or more 23.2% 24.4%
Source: US Census Bureau, Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights
Nativity & Place of Birth (Texas)
Number Percent
Total Population 20,851,820 100
Native 17,952,178 86.1
Born in the US 17,727,394 85.0
In Texas 12,970,203 62.2
In a different state 4,757,191 22.8
Born Outside US 224,784 1.1
Source: US Census Bureau, Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights
Nativity & Place of Birth-- Foreign Born --
Number Percent
Foreign Born 2,899,642 13.9
Entered before March 2000 1,335,524 6.4
Naturalized citizen 914,326 4.4
Not a citizen 1,985,316 9.5
Source: US Census Bureau, Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights
Region of Birth of Foreign Born
Number Percent
Total 2,899,640 100
Europe 152,327 5.3
Asia 466,218 16.1
Africa 64,470 2.2
Oceania 6,984 0.2
Latin America 2,172,476 74.9
Northern America 37,165 1.3
Source: US Census Bureau, Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights
Language at Home
Number Percent
Population over 5 yrs. old 19,241,518 100.0
English only 13,230,765 68.8
Language not English 6,010,753 31.2
Spanish 5,195,182 27.0
Other Indo-European 358,019 1.9
Asian & Pacific Island lang. 374,330 1.9
Source: US Census Bureau, Census 2000 Demographic Profile Highlights
Immigrant Issues in Texas
Agency-Related– System Priority (Goodness of Fit)– Reporting/Undercounted– Training and Education– Justification: Regional Impact, Numbers– Specialized Services/Underserved– Language Barriers– Collaborations/Coalitions
Immigrant Issues in Texas
Community-related
• Limited Resources
• Cohort Mentality
• Coalition Building
• Community-based Initiatives (Neighborhood Place)
Immigrant Issues in Texas
State-related
•Prioritizing
•Changing Attitudes and Policies
•Finding Funding Resources
•Modifying and Replicating Successful Models
Texas Child Welfare Initiatives: Integrating Immigrant Issues
Disproportionality
Leadership Development
Community Engagement
Undoing Racism
Kinship Care
Family Group Conference/
Family Team Meeting
Training Opportunities•Reporting and Assessments (Diversity, Cultural Competence)
•Legal Eligibility and Restrictions
•Service Delivery and Language Challenges
•Strengths-based, Value-centered
Interventions and Treatments
•Coalition Building and Community Engagement
Evaluation Opportunities
Texas Statewide
•Strategic Planning in Practices and Policies (Immigrant Issue Initiative)
•Determine Statewide Issues: Survey all Regions in Texas
•Determine Need for Services based on Problems Encountered
•Determine Current Agency Resources and Services/Identify Gaps
Evaluation Opportunities
Texas Department of Family Protective Services
•Establish a specialized unit and create an immigrant specialist position
•Require Basic Skills Development Training to include immigrant issues
•Establish a Statewide Task Force on Immigrant Issues
Evaluation Opportunities
•Develop Regional Coalitions (law enforcement; schools; mental health, health, employment providers)
Texas Department of Family Protective Services
Definitions
• Refugee is a person who is leaving the homeland because of persecution due to political, religious, war-related or other reasons. The person cannot return to the land of origin because of safety reasons.
A refugee will seek governmental permission to relocate and is legally admitted to a host country.
Definitions
• An asylee is a person who is leaving the homeland because of persecution due to politics, religion, war-related and other reasons. He or she is granted refugee status after entering the host country.
Definitions
• An immigrant is a person who voluntarily leaves the homeland and seeks employment, family reunification, or well-being opportunities in another country.
• An immigrant can be legal with documents or illegal without documents.
• Illegal documentation may also be due to lapsed business, tourist, or education visas.
Definitions
• Unaccompanied Minors:Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) are children who have refugee status but do not have adult accompaniment or lack adult parental authority. They are under the authority of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Unaccompanied alien children (UAC)
are children without documentation and are under the authority of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Division of Unaccompanied Children.