Young Children in Black Immigrant Families Project

The U.S. child population is rapidly changing and diversifying, in large part because of immigration. Today, more than one in four U.S. children under age 18 is the child of an immigrant. While research has focused on the largest of these groups, far less academic attention has been paid to the changing Black child population, with the children of Black immigrants representing an increasing share of the U.S. Black child population. To address this important gap in knowledge, MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy conducted a project to examine the well-being and development of children in Black immigrant families in the first decade of life (birth to age 10). Core support for the project came from the Foundation for Child Development.

This project produced research papers that examine the health, well-being, school readiness, and academic achievement of children in Black immigrant families, most with parents from Africa and the Caribbean.

The culminating work was used to produce a multidisciplinary volume that explores the migration and settlement experiences of Black immigrants to the United States, focusing on contextual factors such as family circumstances, parenting behaviors, social supports, and school climate that influence outcomes during early childhood and the elementary and middle-school years. Its findings hold important policy implications for education, health care, child care, early childhood development, immigrant integration, and refugee assistance.