Southwest Border & Native Families
We believe that Southwest border and Native communities are strong, resilient, and wise. These families, however, are among the most vulnerable in the country. Our investment in these communities is grounded in our knowledge of their considerable assets, and in our belief that they face growing need, isolation from resources, and insufficient attention from many institutions.
- In 9 of 10 KIDS COUNT indicators of child well-being, Southwest Border and Native children do worse than their mainstream counterparts.
- These communities mark important trends for the United States: Native Americans are now the fastest growing minority group, and 59 percent of all Latino children live in Border States.
- More than 80 percent of SW Border kids are living in two-parent working families, yet more than one in three are still poor -- twice the national rate.
Our strategies include building family economic success, attracting increased co-investment, building local capacity, and using data to inform and enable people to improve outcomes for Border and Native children and families.
Casey Funding in Action
Using Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for family economic success
- As a result of our support for EITC sites on reservations, 10 tribal entities served over 9,750 native households, generating $7 million in refunds and $2.3 million in EITC returns.
- Over 80 partners in 18 Border counties served over 44,000 households in preparing their tax returns, returning over $45 million in refunds.
Generating the data for more effective advocacy
Helping to align policy and practice with the trends in Native communities
- To address the often overlooked opportunities and challenges facing the 65 percent of native populations who are now urban and suburban, we helped found the National Urban Indian Family Coalition with Urban Indian Centers from around the country.
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