BCI of Tennessee

Children.....An Agenda of Urgency

33% of black children live in poverty..... 35% of black children live with two married parents compared to 83% of Asian children...... 77% of white children, and 65% of Hispanic children..... A Black baby is born uninsured every five minutes. One out of every seven babies born uninsured is Black......Black infants are more than twice as likely as White infants to die before their first birthday.....One in three Black children is poor.....Chicago loses more black kids than soldiers in Iraq to gun violence.....7.0% of Black children (767,200 children) had a parent in prison.....70 percent of African American children are born to unmarried mothers.....61% of black children "6.5 million"live in low-income families......Black children are 9 times more likely than White children to have a parent in prison....69% of Black children cannot read in the 4th grade.....Gunfire killed 3,365 children and teens in 1999 "more than 38 percent were Black youth.....Homicide is the leading cause of death among Black males ages 15 to 24.....Firearm death rate for Black males 15-19 is four times that of White males of the same age.....Nationally, Black youths under age 18 represent 15 percent of the juvenile population but make up 26 percent of juvenile arrests.....One of every two Black children lives in poverty.....More than half of Black children live in single-parent homes.....In some inner-city schools the drop out rate climbs higher than 75 percent.....A Black infant born in the U.S. is twice as likely to die before his or her first birthday



"We Only Have Each Other"


Children's Legislation in Tennessee Federal Legislation for Children and Families Contact Your Tennessee State Legislator
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About the Black Children's Institute

MISSION: To make children's problems and needs the subject of intense thought, debate, and action by all policy and decision makers. To advocate for public policies and budget decisions which improve the quality of life for Tennessee's vulnerable children and their families.

Goal: To provide leadership, technical assistance, information and direct advocacy support to governmental agencies, community based organizations, parents and individuals on issues that support and improve the quality of life for Tennessee's vulnerable children and their families.

Objective: To reduce the disproportionate number of children of color, poor and vulnerable children in the juvenile justice system, in foster care or out of home placement and those that fall between the cracks of our educational, employment, health and mental health system.

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