We study the sources of racial and ethnic disparities in income using de-identified longitudinal data covering nearly the entire U.S. population from 1989-2015. We document three sets of results. First, the intergenerational persistence of disparities varies substantially across racial groups. For example, Hispanic Americans are moving up significantly in the income distribution across generations because they have relatively high rates of intergenerational income mobility. In contrast, black Americans have substantially lower rates of upward mobility and higher rates of downward mobility…
“Ban-the-Box” (BTB) policies restrict employers from asking about applicants’ criminal histories on job applications and are often presented as a means of reducing unemployment among black men, who disproportionately have criminal records. However, withholding information about criminal records could risk encouraging racial discrimination: employers may make assumptions about criminality based on the applicant's race. To investigate BTB’s effects, we sent approximately 15,000 online job applications on behalf of fictitious young male applicants to employers in New Jersey and New York City…
This report measures how children from different racial backgrounds are faring in the United States and focuses particularly on children in immigrant families. The data presented are drawn from 2013-2015, and indicate significant racial and ethnic inequities among children, with Asian and Pacific Islander and white children generally doing better in almost every area of child well-being than their African-American, Latino, and American Indian peers. The data also indicate the number of children living in low poverty neighborhoods has decreased across all groups. Following an introduction,…
Launched in 1995, the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Jobs Initiative aimed to boost employment options for young Americans living in low-income communities in six cities. This report looks at how the initiative’s participating sites approached hiring and retention inequities related to race and ethnicity. Readers will learn the successes and challenges of their efforts to address cultural competence and what strategies the sites developed to expand opportunities for job seekers and workers of color. (Author abstract)
This report provides a statistical portrait of progress in the reduction of poverty and economic hardship over the past five decades in the United States. The poverty measures presented in this volume show that the federal safety net has advanced the economic circumstances of low- income children and families since 1964. Three key metrics assess whether families were able to secure resources to meet their basic human needs and avoid severe material deprivation: the official poverty measure developed by Mollie Orshansky in 1963-1964 and designated as the federal government’s official…
Two years have passed since the President signed a Presidential Memorandum in 2014 establishing the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Task Force (the Task Force), a coordinated Federal effort to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and ensure that all young people can reach their full potential.In response to the President’s call to action, nearly 250 communities in all 50 states have accepted the President’s My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge; more than $600 million in private sector and philanthropic grants and in-kind resources and $1 billion in low-…
The second in a series of reports that address the challenges of the “Race for Results” report, this report examines the importance of using disaggregated data on race and ethnicity to inform practice and policy. It shares findings from two case studies that highlight how organizations can push for greater utilization and access to this critical information. The W. Haywood Burns Institute and the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity are offered as examples of organizations that both advocate for and are innovators in the use of disaggregated data. Both the Burns and Kirwan…
This report summarizes findings from a number of research reports relevant to the theme of Australian National Child Protection Week 2016 “Stronger Communities, Safer Children”. Key messages are shared from research on building safe and supportive families and communities for children in Australia, building safe and supportive families and communities for Indigenous children in Australia, and what children value in their communities and what changes children would like to see in their communities. A paper on the concept of community capacity is also summarized, as well as a paper that applies…
This report highlights policy strategies that have shown promise in improving outcomes for children and families of color in child welfare systems. The strategic areas for policy development outlined in this report include: analyzing and using data, including collecting data by race, ethnicity, Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) eligibility, gender identity and age and the supporting data analysis on the interplay of these categories; supporting families with appropriate services and resources, including investing in the development of the evidence needed to create effective solutions for…
This report uses the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health to examine both the prevalence of parental incarceration and child outcomes associated with it. Based on the analyses, more than five million children, representing 7% of all U.S. children, have had a parent who lived with them go to jail or prison. The proportion was found to be higher among black, poor, and rural children. After accounting for effects associated with demographic variables such as race and income, the study found parental incarceration was associated with: a higher number of other major, potentially…
