The Urban Institute
With federal immigration raids on the rise, this report examines what happens to the children of adults who are arrested in those raids. By looking closely at three well-publicized workplace raids within the past year – in Greeley, Colo.; Grand Island, Neb.; and New Bedford, Mass. – the report provides what might be the first set of data about the fate of children after such events, along with well-researched personal stories.
The most striking impression is incredible haphazardness, as local government agencies, nonprofit groups and others scrambled to find and care for the children in the absence of a uniform system for communication and collaboration with the federal government. Among the findings: About 500 children were affected by the arrests of 900 adults at the three sites; most of the children were U.S. citizens; and the federal governments’ processing and detention procedures “made it difficult to arrange child care.”
Because the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants have an estimated 5 million children in this country, this report raises issues that stand to affect communities around the country. The study was commissioned by the National Council of La Raza. Free. (202) 833-7200, http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=411566.
Sexual Behavior
Emerging Answers 2007
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
This comprehensive review of sex education program evaluations finds that a growing number of programs have shown positive effects in delaying first intercourse, improving contraceptive use, and preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease among teens. The 115 evaluations reviewed represent a mix of curricula that support both abstinence and the use of contraception, as well as some that mention sex very little or not at all.
Two-thirds of the programs examined that focus on both abstinence and contraception had a positive effect on teen sexual behavior, such as delayed initiation of sex or improved contraceptive use. None of the programs that discussed both abstinence and contraception hastened the initiation of sex or increased the frequency of sex among teens.
The report notes the absence of strong evidence that programs that stress abstinence as the only acceptable behavior for unmarried teens delay the initiation of sex, hasten the return to abstinence or reduce the number of sexual partners. Free. 204 pages. (202) 478-8500, http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/EA2007/EA2007_full.pdf.
