Browse Publications: Health
Although infant mortality in the United States decreased among all races between 1980 and 2000, the overall blackwhite gap for infant mortality widened and this pattern has continued. A 2002 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis of infant mortality rates in 1995- 1998 in the 60 largest U.S. cities revealed that the median infant mortality rate for blacks was 13.9 per 1,000 live births, compared to 6.4 and 5.9 for whites and Hispanics, respectively. Nationwide, the most recent data (2003) show that the infant mortality rate for blacks is 13.5 per 1,000 live births, compared to 5.7 for non-Hispanic whites and for Hispanics. The lack of progress in closing the black-white gap is largely due to a persistent two- to threefold higher risk for low birthweight and very low birthweight among black infants compared to white infants.
DELLUMS REPORT: How the Juvenile Justice System Reduces Life Options of Minority Youth
This background paper focuses on racial disparities in the juvenile justice system. It provides an analysis of reasons that minority youth are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system and ways in which the system negatively affects the life options of these youth, including a state-by-state review of access to counsel and practices that contribute to these disparities. In addition to recommendations for reducing disparities, this paper provides a framework for developing a system that expands the life options of minority youth. This paper complements and reinforces the conclusions of other Dellums Commission background papers on education, health, criminal and juvenile justice, recidivism, the child welfare system, the media, and community well-being.
This background paper focuses on health strategies to protect the health of boys and young men of color. It encompasses five major issue areas: (1) access to community based services for health promotion, primary and secondary prevention, early intervention, and treatment; (2) outreach and enrollment in publicly supported health care coverage programs; (3) mental health and substance abuse services: integration of physical health promotion and care with behavioral health promotion and care; (4) access to health care professionals and services (including mental health) that reflect the cultural and racial composition of the community; and (5) access to high quality physical and behavioral health services within the criminal justice, juvenile justice, and foster care systems.