This study assesses race-ethnic group variations in acculturation experiences by identifying distinct acculturation classes, and investigates the role of these acculturation classes for mental health and group differences in mental health among Latino and Asian immigrants in the United States. Using 2002-2003 the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), Latent Class Analysis is used to capture variations in immigrant classes (recent arrivals, separated, bicultural and assimilated), and OLS regressions are used to assess the link between acculturation classes and mental health. The findings reveal group differences in acculturation classes, whereby Latino immigrants were more likely to be in the separated class and recent arrivals class relative to Asian immigrants. For both Latinos and Asians, bicultural immigrants reported the best mental health, and separated immigrants and recent arrivals reported the worst mental health. While there was not a significant group difference in mental health at the bivariate level, controlling for acculturation classes revealed that Latinos report better mental health than Asians. Thus, Latino immigrants would actually have better mental health than their Asian counterparts if they were not more likely to be represented in less acculturated classes (separated class and recent arrivals) and/or as likely to be in the bicultural class as their Asian counterparts. Together the findings underscore the nuanced and complex nature of the acculturation process, highlighting the importance of race and ethnic group differences in this process, and demonstrate the role of acculturation classes for race-ethnic group differences in mental health.

Latino immigrants have a strong presence in Southern, California. Although the Latino population can be attributed with possessing significant strengths and resiliency, their unique barriers as to legal status, language, and culture, have led to the researchers’ developing an interest on how undocumented immigrant status affects family reunification and service delivery within the child welfare system. The following research study focuses on evaluating how undocumented immigration status affects family reunification and service delivery in child welfare. It seeks to answer how current case work practice addresses the needs of undocumented Latino immigrant families that become involved within the child welfare system and how their undocumented immigration legal status impacts the reunification process and the receipt of services within the community. For the purpose of this study, an urban Southern California child welfare agency servicing a large population of immigrant Latinos was utilized. Using the constructivist paradigm, researchers interviewed ten children’s social service workers that possessed a mixture of knowledge, experience, and insight as to this population. The study found that undocumented Latino immigrants faced barriers related to their poor acculturation, that affected their family reunification. For instance, not understanding the English language, not understanding child abuse laws, limited access to culturally appropriate services, and social workers’ limited knowledge of working with undocumented Latino immigrant clients were barriers faced by this population. The findings in this study can be utilized by the child welfare agency to improve cultural awareness trainings for child welfare workers, work towards increasing culturally sensitive service availability, and advance policy.

For the past 30 years, researchers in the field of Second Language Acquisition (Block, 2007; Lantolf and Pavlenko, 2001; Norton, 2000) have emphasized the need to integrate the language learner and the language learning context and to analyze relations of power and how they affect the language learner, the language learning processes, and the learner’s identities. Several researchers (Lantolf & Pavlenko, 2001; McKay & Wong, 1996; Skilton-Silverstein, 2002; Vitanova, 2005) have studied the connections between language learning, identity, and agency. The participants in these studies were immigrants from Eastern Europe, Asia, or Africa living in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Few studies (Menard-Warwick, 2004, 2009) have analyzed the experiences of adult Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. in relation to English learning and identity construction. This dissertation reports on a study exploring how five adult Hispanic immigrants learning English in a major city in Texas negotiated their identities as English speakers and exercised agency in contexts where English was spoken. The study also analyzed the learners’ investment in learning English. The sociocultural theory of self and identity developed by Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, and Cain (1998) was the framework which helped conceptualize identity and agency. The work of Norton (2000) on language learning and identity and her notion of investment were used to understand the participants’ experiences learning and using English inside and outside the ESL classroom. A qualitative multiple-case study was conducted to understand the experiences of the participants who were learning English in a community-based ESL program, where the researcher became a participant observer during the six months of data collection. The findings of the study show the complex identity negotiations that the participants underwent in the different contexts where they interacted in English. Social class, immigrant status, and other social factors, such as lack of access to English-speaking contexts, high prevalence of Spanish in contexts where the participants interacted daily, and positioning of the participants (by others and by themselves) as limited English speakers strongly influenced how they negotiated their identities as English speakers. Despite these social factors, the participants exercised agency and were highly invested in learning English. / text

This dissertation is a qualitative case study of a program where binational program established by the University of Texas to lower the Hispanic high school dropout rate in the United States. The Language Learners at the University of Texas at Austin Center for Hispanic Achievement (LUCHA) program is the focus of this dissertation. The LUCHA program serves immigrant Hispanic students who account for 34% of the 45% Hispanic dropout rate reported by NCES. The theoretical framework employed included the theories of cultural and social capital and the theory of caring to answer the following questions: 1) What challenges had to be met in order to initiate and develop the LUCHA program, a binational education program to combat the high dropout rate among Latino immigrants?, and 2) What can be learned from the implementation and practice of the LUCHA program in school districts with almost identical, homogenous population, and different levels of success with the program. Data was collected in Mexico and the United States and included participants involved in the program at different levels ranging form political involvement in Mexico to immigrant students in South Texas Valley school districts where the program started operations in 2006. The researcher was a participant in this study. The innovative ideas developed and instituted to reduce the Hispanic dropout rate included equipping schools with essential/core and English as a Second Language courses produced in Mexico, validating prior high school credits students had from Mexico through a transcript analysis service, obtaining Mexican transcripts for immigrant students who could not deliver them to schools, and diagnostic tests produced in Mexico for immigrant students with interrupted schooling. These services and their delivery were modified and adapted to meet the changing needs and graduation requirements of students and the educational bureaucracy in the U.S. This study brings to light the skills sets, assumptions, and characteristics of people needed to create binational agreements of cooperation. This research suggests that the perception of caring (Noddings, 1984) of educational agents in schools and school districts influences the level of success of the program in schools with almost identical populations. / text

abstract: Wage theft is a national epidemic that only recently became the focus of increasing research, critical public questioning, and activism. Given the socio- political climate in Maricopa County, Arizona and the heightened national attention on the state, this study answers important questions about the work experiences of immigrant workers in the region. Through an analysis of interviews with 14 low-wage Mexican workers from a local worker rights center, I explore workers' access to traditional recourse, the effects of wage theft on workers and families, and the survival strategies they utilize to mitigate the effects of sudden income loss. By providing an historical overview of immigration and employment law, I show how a dehumanized and racialized labor force has been structurally maintained and exploited. Furthermore, I describe the implications of two simultaneous cultures on the state of labor: the culture of fear among immigrants to assert their rights and utilize recourse, and the culture of criminality and impunity among employers who face virtually no sanctions when they are non-compliant with labor law. The results indicate that unless the rights of immigrant workers are equally enforced and recourse is made equally accessible, not only will the standards for pay and working conditions continue to collapse, but the health of Latino communities will also deteriorate. I assert that in addition to structural change, a shift in national public discourse and ideology is critical to substantive socio-political transformation. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Social Justice and Human Rights 2011

Latino immigrants are the fastest growing foreign group and appear to be suffering from disproportionate risks of involvement in the child welfare system. Yet, there is limited knowledge in regards to this population when involved in the child welfare system and the day-to-day complexity of issues, stressors, and barriers they face. This qualitative study aims to understand the day-to-day reality of being a Latino immigrant in this system as well as the organizations that work with this population. Street-level bureaucracy theory is used to explore how private non-profit child welfare agencies work to assist their Latino immigrant clients on a day-to-day basis. It also examines the perceptions and experiences of non-profit child welfare staff members in regards to accountability and discretion toward both the organization and their Latino immigrant clients. Qualitative methodology was used to gain in-depth knowledge of how these agencies are working with this population. Three private non-profit child welfare agencies located in Los Angeles County were selected. Each agency has a foster care and adoptions component as well as various other programs such as Project Fatherhood, Family Preservation, and Unaccompanied Child program. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 19 staff members. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings from this study found that the complex issues that exist with this population in the child welfare system are not discussed at a detailed or formal level. Also, there are gaps between policies and practices, in that the universal policies in place are not meeting all the needs of these families and creating barriers in servicing these families. At the organizational level, it was found that these agencies have more time and availability for their immigrant clients due to a lower caseload and agency flexibility. They were able to be more accountable to their clients and used their discretion to spend more time with these clients, advocate more for them, provide more quality work, and have more creativity in filling the gaps these families are experiencing in regards to access to services and service use.

The objective of this study was to investigate the influences on the degree of involvement in organizations, agencies, and churches by Latino immigrants in Eastern Tennessee. An interview study was conducted to identify the most/least effective service delivery methods, whether language remains a barrier to obtaining services, and reveal any unmet needs relative to the Latino population. Also, Latino participants provided personal perspectives of the service delivery system. From analysis of the interviews, the following themes emerged: limited access to transportation, fair treatment when seeking assistance, need for bilingual staff available to more effectively determine needs, and Latino reactions to law enforcement and government agencies. With the results of this study, service providers will learn more effective methods of delivering services to the Latino population in Hamblen, Grainger, Jefferson, and Cocke Counties of East Tennessee. Conversely, appropriate and well-delivered services will assist Latino immigrants in achieving a better quality of life.

No description available.

This thesis is a critical evaluation of the methods of community engagement used by the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission during the creation and implementation of the West Tampa Economic Development Plan. Data for this research was conducted in West Tampa, a neighborhood in Tampa, Florida. In the spring of 2005, the Planning Commission began working with the residents, business and property owners in West Tampa to develop the neighborhood's economic development plan. Using the community engagement methods of surveys, mailed and posted community announcements, community meetings, focus groups and interviews, the Planning Commission created an economic development plan which reflected the needs and concerns of the residents, business and property owners and worked to limit their displacement from the redevelopment of the neighborhood. Although these methods were designed to create avenues of participation for all segments of West Tampa's population, the neighborhood's new immigrant, Spanish speaking residents and business owners were not involved in the Planning Commission's community engagement efforts. By focusing specifically in West Tampa's Latino business district, known as "Boliche Boulevard," a long-time nickname given to the area by Tampa's Cuban immigrants, data from this research identifies the reasons for this population's absence in the creation and implementation of West Tampa's economic development plan. The use of the traditional anthropological methods of participant observation, semi-structured interviews and archival research revealed the history of Boliche Blvd.'s relationship with West Tampa, the neighborhood's civic institutions and Tampa city government and how these relationships impacted the business owners' willingness and ability to participate in West Tampa's economic development plan. The Planning Commission's limited understanding of the social relationships which exist between Boliche Blvd., West Tampa and the larger City of Tampa impaired their ability to successfully reach this population with their existing community engagement methods. This research stresses the need for city-county planning agencies to critically evaluate their community engagement efforts when conducting economic development projects in diverse, multi-lingual urban neighborhoods. Community engagement must be tailored to target different language and culture groups in order to achieve successful participation from the entire neighborhood population.

No description available.