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News/Noticias
National Study Finds Education Top Priority for most U.S. Latinos HAPCOA Seeks Ways to Create "Community of Action." Economic Development, Health Care and Empowerment also Seen as Key to Latino Future. Miami Beach, FL (October 28, 1998) – From creating a more positive image of Latinos across the country, to directing capital to where Latinos dominate the work force, a number of public and private officials recently met during the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association's (HAPCOA) national training conference in Miami Beach, Florida. The discussion on the results of a national poll revealed some of the most pressing issues facing the fastest-growing population in the United States. In a report commissioned by Allstate Insurance Company, at the request of the HAPCOA, members of the select panel strategized how to best address those issues which the poll identified as most critical. They included education, economic development, empowerment, health care and issues relating to the criminal justice system. "The question is, how can we create a community of action," said Art Venegas, Chief of Police, Sacramento, California, and advisory board member of HAPCOA. The discussion revolved around how to best leverage the growing economic power of the Hispanic consumer population, and translate it into better services for the Hispanic community. And while panelist agreed corporate and private sector participation are major components to the successful future of Latinos, self-reliance should not be ignored. "We are no longer coming to the table with a hat-in-hand attitude," said John C. Lopez, Chairman and CEO of Lopez Foods, Inc. of Oklahoma City, which is ranked as one of the top Hispanic owned companies in the country. "We now have the ability to create changes in our communities by reinvesting our own capital into Latino neighborhoods. Additionally, because we have expertise that non-Latino businesses lack, it makes sense that a partnership between the two would be mutually beneficial." These partnerships, agreed panelist, combined with an increase in political power could have a ripple effect that would help alleviate some of the shortcomings facing the Latino community; such as those in the health industry, where lack of bilingual health care professionals can be a critical impediment in communities where already nearly 40% of the population lack adequate coverage. Another issue not lost in the discussion was the negative public image of Hispanics. "We have success stories in every imaginable field" said Ron Estrada, Vice President of Estrada Communications Group, Inc., who coordinated and co-sponsored the survey. "We have to do a better job of getting our stories out to the general and Hispanic communities; we must let them know we are also doctors, police chiefs, successful entrepreneurs and scholars." A less than positive public image, also leads to problems within the criminal justice system – a system that has seen a rise in Hispanic incarceration levels in recent years. As with many other social institutions, Hispanic leaders who took part in the poll believed the criminal justice system lacks adequate representation of Hispanics. One way to alleviate the problem, they believe, is to create better training of law enforcement officials, including the Immigration and Naturalization Service, regarding Hispanics. Taking center stage for most of the dialogue, however, was the issue of education. With the high school drop-out rate among Latinos hovering at 40% across the nation, the panel focused on ways of increasing parental and corporate involvement, as well as changing the role of community based organizations, as a means of reducing this unacceptable number. "We have to stop blaming the kids," asserted Raul Gonzalez, education policy analyst for the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), who also noted that the drop-out rate has remained consistently high for a number of years. "We too often say that our kids our failing in the system, when the truth is that it is the system that has failed them." Of the approximate 3.2 million students in the nation identified as having limited English proficiency (70% of whom are Latino), only 1.4 million are receiving the educational services to acquire the necessary instruction to graduate from high school. This, some experts say, causes many students to feel inadequate in the classroom and subsequently drop-out. The group also urged Corporate America to take an active role in the educational developments of the nation's future workforce. They cited the lack of computers in the classroom, as an example of the many voids the private sector could fill. "Corporations are not foolish," one member of the panel said. "They understand that Hispanics have tremendous purchasing power and when you have purchasing power that is crucial, then we have to find ways of translating that into reasons for getting them involved in our local communities to make necessary changes." "Through making after-school programs more educational in nature, community based organizations could also play a key role in the development of all students especially those identified as having the potential of entering college," said Gonzalez. Likening education to a bicycle wheel, one member called it the center from which all other issues stem. Educating the Hispanic population including adults, he claimed, would result in necessary changes in areas such as the health care industry, economic development and self-empowerment, of which that the Hispanic population needs. For more information regarding the forum or HAPCOA, contact ECG at (512) 335-7776 or via email. 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