Black Immigrant Mothers in Palm Beach County, Florida, and their Children's Readiness for School

This report draws on a unique, six-year longitudinal study of Palm Beach County and distressed areas within the county. It compares the circumstances and characteristics of Black immigrant mothers in the area to those of Latina immigrant and Black native-born mothers. The report examines parenting, child care enrollment, and other factors that encourage early school success, as well as the early developmental outcomes of children within these three cohorts.

The authors find that kindergarten-age children of Black immigrants have significantly higher odds of being ready for school, as measured by the county's kindergarten readiness assessment, than children of Latina immigrants or Black natives living in the focal areas.

The report's analyses suggest that some advantages experienced by the children of Black immigrants are due to their parents' relatively better educational and socioeconomic status, and are further bolstered by enrollment in center-based care and by parental support of childhood literacy.