2009 Small Grants Competition: Immigration and Poverty
Background
During the 1990s, more than a million immigrants per year came to the U.S. By 2003, the foreign-born population was about 12 percent of the total population. This increase has many implications for American society, public policy and the poor as immigrants are now settling not just in a few gateway states, but in many smaller communities throughout the country. The growing share of less-skilled immigrants has also changed the nature of the labor market; over a third of workers without a high school degree in the U. S. are immigrants. Immigrants bring their skills and labor to communities, but often create new demands on schools, neighborhoods and state and local governments.
The focus of the NPC’s 2009 Poverty Research Small Grants Competition was the implications of the growing foreign-born population for American society, public policy, and poverty. The highest priority was given to submissions that proposed to investigate the linkages among immigration and poverty-related outcomes and contexts, broadly defined. Qualitative, as well as quantitative, research designs were encouraged.
The following four grants were awarded. Their work will be presented at a conference in Ann Arbor, MI on April 9, 2010.
Funded Research
Saliendo del Barrio: Documentation Status Differences in Residential Mobility Decisions
David A. Cort, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
The Influence of Legal Status on Educational Transitions among Mexican Immigrant Youth: Empirical Patterns and Policy Implications
Emily K. Greenman, The Pennsylvania State University
Estimating the Impact of SCHIP Policies on the Insurance Coverage and Health of Young Children in Immigrant Families
Kelly S. Mikelson, University of Texas at Austin; and Erin Hamilton, University of California at Davis
Young Lives on Hold: Undocumented 1.5 Generation Adults Learning to be "Illegal"
Roberto G. Gonzales, University of Washington
Funds for this competition are provided by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.
