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ABSTRACT
Immigrant children and youth have the potential to contribute to a prosperous future for Canada on the globalized world stage. Unfortunately, the disparity between the complex linguistic, acculturative, psychological and economic needs of immigrant children and youth and a persistent lack of responsive, coordinated services and support in Canadian institutions and service organizations has threatened to jeopardize the realization of the full potential - and the future socioeconomic contribution - of young immigrants. This article elaborates on the interlinked and complex needs of immigrant children and youth in the social services, health, education and justice arenas, and on the home, school and community environments in which these needs and issues arise. It discusses challenges in services for immigrant children and youth, and outlines opportunities for policy and service development.
Immigrant children and youth have established a strong presence in Canadian society. The foreign-born population in Canada is 18.4% of the total population, its highest level in 70 years (Statistics Canada, 2003). A significant number of children and youth were born outside of Canada. Of the 1.8 million immigrants who arrived during the 1990s, 309,700, or 17%, were school-aged children and youth between 5 and 16 (Statistics Canada, 2003). Furthermore, many Canadian-born children are raised in first-generation immigrant households, contributing to the 10.5% of the population with home languages other than English or French (Statistics Canada, 2002).
Myriad success stories illustrate how adaptable immigrant children and youth can be and how well they integrate into Canadian society. Their stories of resilience and triumph offer glimpses of the positive role they will play in the future socioeconomic well-being of our nation. Still, a significant number of immigrant children and youth are not faring well. They are experiencing complex linguistic, acculturative, psychological and economic difficulties. Their challenges call for policy makers, NGOs and researchers to understand their unique issues better, and develop responsive policies and services both to address their needs and to maximize their potential and contribution.
This article draws upon two multistakeholder participatory action research initiatives in Calgary, namely Conversations for Change - An Overview of Services for Immigrant Children and Youth in Calgary and Immigrant Children in Focus: A Map of Needs Strategies and Resources1 (see Hurlock, McCullagh & Schissel, 2004; Ngo,...