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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THE BLACK CHILDREN'S INSTITUTE OF TENNESSEE

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Juanita White, Chairperson
Memphis, TN.

Johnny Horne,
Vice Chairperson
Chattanooga, TN 37416

Vivian Wilhoite,
Secretary /Treasurer
Nashville, TN. 37217

Dr. Lou Beasley
Nashville, TN.37218

Rev. Charles Charlton
Johnson City, TN

Marilyn Robinson
Nashville, TN. 37203

Jaunita Veasy
Executive Director

Programs of the Black Children's Institute

Education and Public Awareness:
The Institute conducts research, collects and distributes data relating to issues affecting children in the juvenile justice and child protective service system, the under-education of children, the status of health and mental health services for children and program/services that are culturally competent. BCI serves as a clearinghouse for information and statistics on children, families and youth programs.

Direct Client Advocacy:
BCI provides information, consultation, referral services and technical assistance to parents, youth, governmental agencies, community based organizations and individuals.

Public Policy and Budget Advocacy:
BCI monitors policies and legislation impacting the lives of children and advises/consults with the legislature, public and private service agencies on the strengths and weaknesses of specific policy and legislation.

Community Mobilization:
BCI sponsors conferences, training, career fairs, community forums and workshops on issues and topics that enhance needed services to children and families. BCI is a member of many local, state and national committees, boards and task forces that represent children and families.

Good Samaritan Project:
Donates clothing, food, educational materials, household items and office supplies to families, schools and nonprofit organizations serving poor, working poor and needy citizens in Tennessee's rural Counties.

Inventory of Services:
BCI maintains a database of programs and services available to meet the needs of children in Tennessee. Many of the programs in our database are interviewed and assessed for their ability to serve children and families in a culturally sensitive and competent manner.