Researchers from Iowa State University are conducting a study of Latino immigrant families in two Iowa counties. Kimberly Greder is the leading the study of the families in Tama and Buena Vista counties. She says the specifically chose counties with smaller populations that’ve seen an increase in Latino populations. She says there’s been a national shift of Latino immigrants from the urban to rural counties. She says they have several questions they want answered. She says they’ll ask how well the families are doing financially, food-nutrition wise, socially, healthwise, housing, workforce, etcetera. Greder says they visit the families in their home communities. She says they’ve hired local interviewers who’re Latino and speak Spanish and English. Greder says they hope to get a handle on how the immigrants are integrating into the state. She says they’ll go back each year for three years and interview the families and see how they’re progressing. They’ll also look at local and legislative policies and how they impact immigrant families. Greder says they chose low-income families for the study, as they’re more likely to face challenges in meeting their basic needs.
