Latinos and Public Policy in California: An Agenda for Opportunity

Despite California's Mexican origins, the Mexican/Latino presence represented no more than three percent of the state's population at the beginning of the 20th century. While this presence grew slowly but steadily during the state's postwar population boom, in the last three decades of the 20th century Latinos emerged as the most dynamic sector of the state's population. In the 1990s Latinos accounted for 85 percent of all population growth in the state. Currently Latinos are one-third of the population and the largest ethnic group among the state's school children. If these demographic trends continue, Latinos will become the absolute majority of the state's population before the middle of this century. California's future is inextricably intertwined with the fate of its burgeoning Latino population. Despite their growing social and political presence, Latinos as a whole still constitute less than 20 percent of the electorate, possess a smaller share of wealth relative to other groups, and lag significantly behind other groups in educational attainment. These disparities are likely to persist into the foreseeable future and to frame statewide policy debates on opportunity and access. The UC Latino Policy Institute commissioned this volume to examine the effects of the growing Latino population on the state's policy agenda. In a series of 11 topical chapters, contributors from a variety of disciplines review the status of California Latinos in areas such as education, health-care access, housing, the criminal justice system, economic opportunity, and political participation. The authors recommend policy approaches to enhance opportunities, improve service delivery, and make best or more efficient use of public resources. The UC Latino Policy Institute is administered by the California Policy Research Center, University of California Office of the President, and receives funding from the University of California Committee on Latino Research.