Posits that how children of immigrant families grow up in the United States will have a significant impact on the country’s social and economic future. While programs promoting the healthy development of children of immigrants and offering them opportunities for achievement place a financial burden on society, failure to implement such programs will result in a less prosperous society. Efforts to meet the developmental needs of a large number of these children, especially those at greatest risk of failure, involve: (1) expanding outreach efforts to encourage more children of immigrants to attend preschool and kindergarten and increase their access to special education programs; (2) forming parent support groups for families with limited English skills to facilitate communication between parents, teachers, and students; (3) expanding after-school activities that reinforce the children’s cultural values and heritage; (4) strengthening schools’ curricula in math, science, and technology to ensure that all students are well-prepared to compete in a technology-based labor market; and (5) strengthening the bilingual staff and work of social service agencies and community-based organizations. Providing children of immigrants with the education and other supports they need to become productive, engaged citizens is as an investment that will benefit the entire nation.
