Research Reports

La Tercera Edad: Latinos’ Pensions, Retirement and Impact on Families (884KB)
Karen Richman, Gia Barboza, Teresa Ghilarducci, and Wei Sun
June, 2008
There is a pressing need to bolster Latinos’ retirement security, according to this report by the Center for Migration and Border Studies (CMBS) in the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies (ILS). Funded by the National Endowment for Financial Education, “La Tercera Edad: Latinos’ Pensions, Retirement and Impact on Families” combines analysis of national data on pensions and financial literacy and focus group studies of Latino workers and retirees in Chicago.
Keywords: Economics, Families, Social Services

Faith and Values in Action: Religion, Politics, and Social Attitudes Among US Latinos/as (1.4MB)
Edwin I Hernández, Kenneth G. Davis, Milagros Peña, Georgian Schiopu, Jeffrey Smith, Matthew T. Loveland
November, 2007
Religion plays a considerable role in shaping many Americans’ civic engagement and political behavior, including how they vote and what political party they prefer. Few studies have explored in great depth the extent to which this is so among Latinos/as. Analyzing the Pew Hispanic Center's 2004 National Survey of Latinos, this report attempts to shed light on how religious affiliation and regular church attendance influence Latinos/as’ volunteering rates, political party identification, and positions on social and moral issues.
Keywords: Religion - Ecumenical, Activism, Community, Social Services, Politics

Latino Congregations and Social Service: The Philadelphia Story (776KB)
Ram A. Cnaan, Edwin I. Hernández, Charlene C. McGrew
October, 2006
Recent attention to the role of religion in American public life has highlighted the important role that religious institutions play in generating social capital and volunteering and in helping people develop skills that are critical for effective citizenship. This report presents the findings of an investigation of the organizational behavior and social involvement of Latino congregations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and identifies the demographic and social characteristics that shape their social and civic engagement.
Keywords: Religion - Ecumenical, Social Services

Hispanic Access to Health Services: Identifying Best Practices for Eligibility and Access to Medicaid and SCHIP Programs (2.5MB)
Adela de la Torre, Ph.D., University of California, Davis
Lorena Garcia, M.P.H., University of California, Davis
Jessica Nuñez de Ybarra, M.P.H., M.D., University of California, Davis
Marisol Cortez, B.A., University of California, Davis
October, 2006
Research for this report was funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services via the Office of Minority Health. This is a revised and updated version of an earlier publication that appeared on our website in the Web Publications and Online Resources section.
Keywords: Health, Public Policy, Social Services

Equipped To Serve: Latino/a Seminarians and the Future of Religious Leadership in the Latino/a Community (2.3MB)
Milagros Peña, Edwin I. Hernández, Caroline Sotelo-Turner, Danielle Dirks, Kari Jo Verhulst
October, 2006
This report presents a portrait of the next generation of Latino/a religious leaders and examines how effectively their theological education is preparing them to lead and serve Latino/a communities throughout the United States. Through analysis of quantitative survey data and in- depth focus group interviews, we identify the priorities and values that Latino/a seminarians will bring to their work as congregational and community leaders. We also analyze what institutional and curricular characteristics are most critical for preparing these future leaders to respond to the spiritual and material needs of Latinos/as in the United States.
Keywords: Religion - Ecumenical, Community, Social Services, Education

The Economic Progress of US- and Foreign-Born Mexicans in Metro Chicago: Indications from the United States Census (780KB)
Rob Paral and Timothy Ready
February, 2006
Metropolitan Chicago is home to a large population of 1.1 million Mexican-origin persons,including more than 504,000 persons born in and almost 563,500 persons born outside of the United States. The socioeconomic progress of these communities is of key interest to policymakers and others interested in the overall social and economic status of the region.

This report examines two key questions involving the Mexican-origin population in the Chicago area: 1) How are Mexican immigrants progressing and 2) how are the US-born Mexican Americans fairing in comparison to the immigrants. The report uses census data to examine the standing of these populations in terms of household income, educational status, poverty levels, and homeownership rate
Keywords: Chicago Area/Illinois, Demographics, Immigration, Economics

Hispanic Clergy and the Task of Ministry in Urban America (1.2MB)
Edwin Hernández, Milagros Peña and Melissa Mauldin
May, 2005
This report seeks to examine the complex role that Latino/a ministers play and the myriad ways they mobilize resources on behalf of their communities. By exploring the experiences, insights, and struggles of Latino/a ministers, we hope to help deepen the understanding of how US Hispanics are faring and to illuminate some of the resources and support that are needed to help strengthen these leaders’ efforts to meet the spiritual and social needs of their communities.
Keywords: Religion - Ecumenical, Community, Social Services

Latino-Origin Populations Revisited: Estimating the Latino-Origin Group Populations at the National Level and for Selected States, Counties, Cities, and Metro Chicago (1.1MB)
Sung Chun
April, 2005
Since the release of Latino subgroup population data by the Census Bureau in 2001, many Latino advocacy and community organizations, planners, and scholars have suspected that the official census enumeration represents a severe underestimate of Latino-origin group populations in all parts of the country.
Keywords: Demographics, Identity

Latino Demographic Growth in Metropolitan Chicago (1.9MB)  Versión en Español (460KB)
Rob Paral, Timothy Ready, Sung Chun, Wei Sun
January, 2005
With 1.4 million members,the Latino community is a large and growing part of the Metropolitan Chicago region. Latinos, who comprise one in six of the region’s residents, are found throughout the area, from older Chicago neighborhoods to new suburban developments.The population includes nearly as many foreign-born residents as native-born. While the Latino presence has become an especially prominent part of the social fabric of the region in recent years, Latinos have lived in Chicago since the early decades of the twentieth century. During the 1990s two-thirds of all new residents in the region were Latino.
Keywords: Chicago Area/Illinois, Demographics, Immigration

MALDEF and the Evolution of Latino Civil Rights (3.7MB)
David A. Badillo
January, 2005
Civil rights activism within the Latino community ranges from locally based, grassroots organizing to national organizations that rely on highly trained legal professionals and make appeals up to the US Supreme Court. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) is an organization that fits more handily into the latter category. Its stated mission is to protect and promote the civil rights of the 40 million Latinos living in the United States by fostering “sound public policies, laws, and programs [and] making sure that there are no obstacles preventing this diverse community from realizing its dreams.”
Keywords: History, Activism

In Search of Economic Parity:The Mexican Labor Force in Chicago (918KB)
John Koval
December, 2004
This paper will focus on Mexicans and the Mexican labor force in Chicago. Its intent is fundamentally exploratory. Its specific goal is to lay a foundation and to identify some parameters for gauging the relative economic well-being of Mexicans in the Chicago metropolitan area and to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses on the path to economic parity—given a restructuring and evolving labor force and economy. In this sense it is a working paper in anticipation of a larger work on the Mexican labor force in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Keywords: Labor, Chicago Area/Illinois, Economics, Demographics, Immigration

Latinos' Low Pension Coverage and Disenfranchisement from the US Financial System (456KB)
Wei Sun and Teresa Ghilarducci
December, 2004
Improving the living standards of older Americans represents a significant victory for US social policy over the past thirty years. Real incomes of the elderly doubled and poverty rates plunged—from over 30 percent in the early 1960s to under 10 percent in 2000 (Census Bureau 2001a)—mainly due to the expansion of the Social Security and employer pension systems. Despite these accomplishments there are serious concerns about the economic prospects of vulnerable groups, including elderly Latinos whose 2000 poverty rates were among the highest at over 20 percent, according to Census 2000.
Keywords: Economics, Families

Religion Matters: Predicting Schooling Success in Latino Youth (380KB)
David Sikkink and Edwin Hernández
March, 2004
Does religion improve educational outcomes for Latino youth? Research on the educational trajectories of Latino immigrants in the United States is growing, but we know little about what role, if any, religion plays in the academic success or failure of Latino youth. Dropout rates among some segments of Latino students are alarming. This paper examines the role of religion especially in impoverished inner-city schools.
Keywords: Religion - Ecumenical, Education

Hispanic Churches in American Public Life: Summary of Findings (692KB)  Versión en Español (692KB)
Gastón Espinosa, Virgilio Elizondo, Jesse Miranda
January, 2003
This publication presents a summary of the findings of the Hispanic Churches in American Public Life (HCAPL) research project. The HCAPL project was a three-year study, funded by a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, that sought to examine the impact of religion on political and civic engagement in the Latino community.
Keywords: Religion - Ecumenical, Demographics, Politics

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