Overview of New Research

Contact: Professor Paul Apostolidis, apostopc@whitman.edu

There were seven main areas for research on Latinos in Washington this fall:

• Latino Immigrants & Agriculture

  • How strongly do southeastern Washington employers rely on immigrant farm workers, and how would proposed immigration policy changes affect this employment relationship? (Partner: Broetje Orchards, Walla Walla County)

• Neighborhood Based Organizations and Latinos

  • How can local government best support grassroots efforts to improve the quality of Latino neighborhoods, and how can neighborhood-based organizations best persuade local leaders that Latino neighborhood improvements are for the good of all residents in the broader community? (Partner: Commitment to Community of Walla Walla)

• Latinos and Green-Collar Jobs

  • How good a job do public college/university job training programs do at connecting Latino workers with emerging "Green Jobs" opportunities, and what roles are Latinos playing in these programs and in Green Collar Job advocacy organizations? (Partner: Washington State University - Extension Program, Walla Walla)

• Taxation Inequality and Latinos

  • How does Washington's tax system affect Latinos differently from other racial-ethnic groups, and how might Latinos benefit from tax reform proposals? (Partner: Washington Tax Fairness Coalition)

• Latinos and Civility in the Schools

  • How will public schools' new policies for promoting more civility at school, in the sense of respect and safety, impact Latino kids? (Partner: Walla Walla Public Schools Bilingual Program)

• Farmworker Housing
  • How do farm worker housing developments benefit not only farm workers' families but also the broader community, and how can housing advocates best show this to local leaders and the public when new developments face "not in my back yard" opposition? (Partner: Washington Farm Worker Housing Trust)

• Legislative Visibility of Latino Health Issues
  • What do candidates for the state legislature know about Latino health disparities relative to other racial-ethnic groups, and how can advocacy groups best inform public officials about these problems and the solutions that are needed? (Partner: Washington Health Foundation)
    

In collaboration with their community partners, these students asked: What obstacles do Latinos meet when they try to gain a quality education for their kids, get health services, find decent housing in a safe neighborhood, earn a good income, and deal with government agencies?

They also asked: how effective right now are the responses to these problems by our school districts, our state legislators, and our officials in local government? What might some better public policy approaches be?

And they asked: what can community groups and ordinary people do to promote solutions to the problems Latinos face?

Final reports and executive summaries available: January 2009