Report: Black, Hispanic Children Making Gains (USA Today)

Black and Hispanic children have made significant gains in health, safety and income over the past two decades, narrowing gaps between them and white children, according to a pioneering report on child development to be released Tuesday.*

They still fare worse overall than whites, but they're catching up in several areas and are less likely to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, abuse drugs or commit suicide, according to the report. It was sponsored by the Foundation for Child Development, a philanthropy that funds research on children.

"There's a long way to go, but this is an enormous closing of the gap," says co-author Donald Hernandez, a sociology professor at the University at Albany, State University of New York. He says the overall gap between black and white children closed by one-fourth, and between Hispanics and whites by one-third. "That's stunning. I was frankly surprised by the extent of it."

The report evaluates how children fared from 1985 to 2004, based on 28 measures of income, education, health, safety, social relationships and community involvement. It combines them for a score known as a child well-being index. It found that children, especially minorities, fared worse in the 1980s but made significant gains in the mid- to late 1990s. more

*New America Foundation Workforce and Family Program convened the event for the release of the report.