RESILIENCE AND RISK AT THE INTERSECTION OF IMMIGRATION AND CHILD WELL-BEING - Research Insights From the Young Scholars Program - October 2017 to October 2019

Oct 15, 2026

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Research insights from the Young Scholars Program (YSP) investigate how immigration enforcement and related policies shape the well-being and developmental trajectories of U.S. Latino citizen children in mixed-status families. Using a risk and resilience framework, the work contrasts protective factors—such as legal parental status, early care and education access, and public safety-net programs—against drivers of vulnerability, including discrimination, stigma, social exclusion, and family separation. It also links health determinants to early learning, emotional health, identity outcomes, and proposes policy and practice recommendations across public, family, school, and neighborhood levels.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages62

Reading Time2 h 36 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

October 18, 2017

Young Scholars Program Research Report

Latino U.S.-Citizen Children of Immigrants: A Generation at High Risk

October 9, 2019

Young Scholars Program Research Report

Determinants of Health and Well-Being for Children of Immigrants: Moving From Evidence to Action

RESILIENCE AND RISK AT THE INTERSECTION OF IMMIGRATION AND CHILD WELL-BEING: Research Insights From the Young Scholars Program OCTOBER 2017 | OCTOBER 2019 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Page 3 OCTOBER 18, 2017 Page 7 YOUNG SCHOLARS PROGRAM RESEARCH REPORT Latino U.S.-Citizen Children of Immigrants: A Generation at High Risk Summary of Selected Young Scholars Program (YSP) Research OCTOBER 9, 2019 Page 30 YOUNG SCHOLARS PROGRAM RESEARCH REPORT Determinants of Health and Well-Being for Children of Immigrants: Moving From Evidence to Action The FOUNDATION FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT identifies needs, fills gaps and integrates knowledge for successful implementation and continuous improvement. We connect research, policy and practice to help build early childhood systems that enable children to reach their full potential. For more than a decade, the Foundation for Child Development, through the Young Scholars Program (YSP), funded studies about the early education, health, and well-being of children from low-income, immigrant families. Through YSP, the Foundation aimed to fill a gap in policy and practice-relevant research on young immigrant children. It invested in early-career researchers who investigated the education and health needs of this population. These YSP scholars developed a knowledge base that provides an understanding of the changing faces of America’s diverse early childhood populace and their families, and provide valuable information on the effects of parental immigration status on the well-being of young children growing up in immigrant families. In light of the current political context, the Foundation aims to raise awareness of the existing YSP research and the implications it has for policy and practice. Two timely reports, commissioned by the Foundation, provide a systematic review of YSP research and situate findings related to the well-being of children of low-income, immigrants into today’s socio-economic and sociopolitical climate. YSP research can help equip decision makers with knowledge about both protective and risk factors that influence the developmental outcomes for young children within immigrant families. It also highlights contextual conditions that may contribute to greater resilience among children of immigrants and present recommendations for action at the public policy, family, school, and neighborhood levels. Both reports are authored by former YSP scholar Dr. Lisseth Rojas-Flores. Latino U.S.-Citizen Children of Immigrants: A Generation at High Risk examines the consequences of immigration enforcement policies and practices on U.S. Latino citizen children living in mixed-status families, which include family members with authorized and unauthorized immigration status. A risk and resilience framework pinpoints key protective factors that guard against adverse social environments and provides key information about various risk factors that increase children’s vulnerability. YSP studies support that having a parent with legal status protects children from an array of academic, emotional, and psychological risk factors than peers whose parents are unauthorized. U.S. Latino citizen children also benefit from additional protective factors including access Resilience and Risk at the Intersection of Immigration and Child Well-Being: Executive Summary 3 to early care and education and public safety-net programs that enhance their academic performance and health outcomes. However, the research shows that heightened immigration enforcement policies and practices contribute to the adversity experienced by children of low-income, immigrant families. Regardless of parental immigration status, the threat of immigration enforcement is associated with an immediate and long-term negative impact on citizen children’s well-being and ethnic identity when dealing with discrimination, stigma, and social exclusion. Furthermore, children who have experienced family separat

FAQs

What is the main focus of the Young Scholars Program research?

The research examines how immigration-related policies and enforcement affect the well-being and development of U.S. Latino citizen children in mixed-status families, using a risk and resilience perspective.

Which factors are described as protective for immigrant families’ children?

Having a parent with legal status is presented as protective, along with access to early care and education and public safety-net programs that support academic performance and health outcomes.

How does family separation affect child outcomes in the research?

The document reports that separation from arrest, detention, and/or deportation is associated with elevated emotional distress, anxiety, and trauma symptoms, which can undermine health and development.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Jacob