Children’s Workshop Focuses on Latinos : Summit: Activists, parents and educators discuss problems facing youths, such as high dropout rate, pregnancy, violence and poverty.

Yolie Flores Aguilar was unflinching in her feelings about the plight of Latino children in Los Angeles County.

“Our children are in trouble,” she said Saturday, her voice quivering as she fought back tears. “Latino children are dying--emotionally and physically.”

Aguilar, child-care coordinator for the city of Los Angeles, was among about 75 activists who gathered in Diamond Bar for what was billed as the first “Call to Action! Latino Children’s Summit.” The daylong gathering drew health care officials, educators, researchers, parents and others who were eager to address severe problems plaguing youths throughout the county.

Organizers said that among the more alarming issues facing Latino youths, who constitute about half of the more than 2.5 million county residents under age 20, are poverty, high dropout rates, and extraordinary numbers of teen-age pregnancies and homicides.

Latinos consistently fare worse than children in other ethnic groups in terms of critical measures of well-being such as health, education, housing and economy, organizers said.

“They are growing up in a society that doesn’t seem to care that they don’t have a roof over their heads, have breakfast in the morning, are abused or abandoned, drop out of school, [fail to] get immunized, [lack] a park to play in, or shoot each other,” said Aguilar, a summit co-chairwoman who also is a member of the County Board of Education. “They are growing up in a society that says, ‘If you can’t fit or conform, we’ll throw you away and build a jail.’ ”

The summit, which drew mainly Latino participants, featured guest speakers and small work groups and was held in association with the Interethnic Children’s Council, a coalition created after the 1992 riots to address the needs of minority youths. The coalition is an ongoing effort that will generate other sessions in coming weeks, including those that focus on youths and parents as participants, organizers said.

Several participants said they were especially concerned with the current move throughout the country toward conservative politics, anti-immigration sentiment and changes in welfare eligibility.

David Hayes-Bautista, a professor at UCLA and director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health, encouraged participants to strengthen their efforts by dispelling stereotypes about Latinos.

Data is available that shows that many Latino immigrants work long hours at low-paying jobs, and that flies in the face of the stereotype about lazy Latinos, Hayes-Bautista said. “I’m afraid that a lot of our policy is driven by these stereotypes,” he said. “You can work very hard and work very long and be very poor.”

Several participants stressed the importance of listening to youths, parents and child-care professionals when dealing with the problems. “As a family we’re saying, ‘OK, what is the state of affairs for our children and our family?’ ” said Jerry Tello, a consultant on Latino children’s issues. “Ten years ago we didn’t have the experience, the data, the skills that we have now. I think it’s worthwhile to come together to see what we need to do.”