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The authors employed the California Health Interview Survey a population-based study of households drawn from every county in California that included Latino children and families, and information on the documentation status of the parents. The survey also included the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS), which provides information on parents' perceptions of their children's development. Combined, the two reporting tools allowed the authors to examine the associations of family documentation and citizenship status on parents' reports of their children's development.

The sample included 5,856 children under the age of six; of that number, 1,786 had Mexican ancestry. The data were collected in English and Spanish. The response rate was 25 percent, which is consistent with those of general telephone surveys and similar to other recent major telephone health surveys nationwide.

The researchers found that Mexican children with an undocumented parent have higher odds of parent-reported developmental risk compared to white children or to Mexican children with parents who are citizens or otherwise legally authorized. Interestingly, said Ortega, it didn't appear that characteristics commonly associated with parent-reported developmental risk household income, parent education and household language fully explain the association between documentation status and developmental risk for Mexican children in the survey sample.

"From the survey, it's difficult to know the extent to which elevated reports of developmental problems for children with undocumented parents are due to actual differences in development versus an unmet need
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