Study Finds Link Between TV and Soft Drinks and Overweight Kids associated with obesity among middle-school students. Latinos spend more time watching television and consume more soft drinks than non-Hispanic white or Asian students.

Between 1990 and 2000, the number of kids living in high-poverty neighborhoods declined, but the number of children living in severely distressed neighborhoods characterized by high rates of poverty grew. In 2000, over a third of all poor black children and almost one in five poor Latino children lived in severely distressed neighborhoods, compared with 3.9 percent of poor non-hispanic white children. This Kids Count report paints a picture of increasing isolation of large numbers of poor minority children being left behind in resource-poor neighborhoods with worse schools, fewer opportunities for adult-supervised activities and fewer role models of working men or married-couple families, despite the economic surge of the 1990s.

Much work has been done to remove Indian stereotypes from textbooks, but holes are often left behind in their place. The good news: resources are out there. Rob Capriccioso explores the Cradleboard Teaching Project—an Internet-based cultural teaching tool that might have a place in your school.

The on-line newspaper Reznet not only helps more American Indian students get a taste of the journalism field, but it’s also a gathering place for Indian youth on the Internet. Wanted: Native Reporters, by Karen Ducheneaux, explores the need for more Indian voices in the mainstream press. And in Craig Henry’s A Native Voice, you’ll read about a student-run Web broadcast

A new indicator on the Child Trends Databank reports that non-Hispanic black high school dropout rates have hit a historic low in 2001 of 11 percent, further narrowing the black-white education gap. Hispanics, on the other hand, continue to lag far behind blacks and whites, with a dropout rate of 27 percent.

The extreme poverty rate among black children is at its highest level in two decades, according to the Children's Defense Fund (CDF). Despite gains among some welfare-to-work families, a million black children fared worse in 2001 than previous years, as their families tried to make ends meet on $7000 a year (half the poverty rate or less) and both jobs and public assistance dwindled. CDF says this is no time to cut back Head Start, Medicaid and other programs for these children.

Many tribal communities are beset by high rates of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, alcohol abuse, and gang involvement--all risk factors for juvenile delinquency. Given such factors, it is not surprising that while the violent crime rate for U.S. youth has steadily declined over the past several years, the rate is growing in some tribal communities. This Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention bulletin has information, resources, and ways to get involved in helping tribal youth excel.

Using national and state-specific indicators of child well-being in 2000 Census data, Annie E. Casey Foundation's guides chart the persistent gaps between minority children and non-Hispanic whites in measures such as poverty rates for married-couple families.

As growing numbers of families look to international adoption, formal and informal programs are springing up to help these families keep their children's cultural heritage alive. Connect for Kids' intern Althea Izawa-Hayden looks at how one Seattle family is taking steps to honor their children's Korean origins.

According to the National Council of La Raza, the Census data confirm that Hispanic Americans are more likely than other groups to lack health insurance, and that Latino children continue to have the highest uninsured rates among U.S. children.