A college degree is now the single greatest factor in determining access to better job opportunities and higher earnings. Two-thirds of the nation's high school graduates lack the college degree that is critical to success. Nearly a half-century after Brown v. Board of Education, a student who is Black, Latino or Native American remains much less likely to succeed in school. In 1997, an estimated 3 million children were reported to state child protective service agencies as suspected victims of child abuse and neglect. There are 850,000 homeless children and youth.
Young children are at greatest risk of abuse and neglect.
Black and Native American children are over-represented at twice their proportion in the general population. Parental substance abuse is one of the top two problems facing families reported for child maltreatment. Children whose parents abuse substances are more than three times more likely to be abused and more than four times more likely to be neglected than children of parents who do not abuse alcohol or drugs. A record 547,000 children were in foster care as of March 1999, a 35 percent increase since 1990. This is because children already in foster care are staying longer, not because more children are being placed in foster care.