Montgomery County, Md., Urged to Help At-Risk Latino Teens - washingtonpost.com: Community leaders are warning of a crisis among Latino teens in Montgomery County and calling for a broad effort to improve the odds for those at risk of joining gangs, dropping out of high school and other troubles.
Leaders of a newly formed Latino Youth Task Force have met in recent weeks with county and school district officials to present the findings of a recent teen survey and to draw attention to the county and state's 'very troubling' statistics on Latino youth.
Last year, for example, 78.13 percent of Latinos received high school diplomas, compared with 94.5 percent of non-Hispanic whites, 83.94 percent of African Americans and 95.45 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders, state education figures show.
State health data also suggest that Latinas in Montgomery have a higher incidence of teen motherhood, with the birth rate for girls ages 15 to 17 nearly three times that for African Americans and nearly four times that for non-Hispanic whites.
