HOUSTON — A new report released by Children at Risk, and its partners, is sounding the alarm on the number of health and educational challenges Latino children are facing, specifically in Harris County.
The report, called "Latino Child Health Initiative Report," broke down the challenges into three key points:
- Diabetes and obesity -- More than 75% of Latino children in Harris County are reportedly overweight or obese, the report read.
- Mental health -- Hispanic communities face challenges accessing mental health services in the Houston area, the report read.
- Kindergarten readiness -- there are major gaps in the percentage of Houston-area children who are kindergarten-ready, the report read.
The report said access to transportation, lack of insurance, stigmas, biases, immigration status and language all contribute to these challenges.
The report's authors hope these findings could move the Hispanic community forward.
"We looked specifically at Latino children in our county, and what we know is that this is the fastest growing portion of our community, so what are we doing to make sure that we can be successful with these kids so that they can grow up and be productive,” said Dr. Bob Sanborn, President & CEO, Children at Risk.
Precinct 2 Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia said Hispanics account for 64% of his district.
"Being in this role as county commissioner, I didn’t want to just sit there and focus on roads, ditches, and bridges," Garcia said. "I wanted to focus on the human capital as well, recognizing that our Hispanic youth are going to be the future of our county, the future of our state, and the future of our country."
The report offered solutions to these challenges like more partnerships with local communities and agencies, providing more support to the Hispanic community and raising awareness about things like mental health.