With 125,000 Latino children living in Abbott districts, it’s no wonder the Hispanic Directors Association of New Jersey (HDANJ) decided to intercede in the current Abbott v. Burke case on the new school funding formula. HDANJ joined with the New Jersey Black Issues Convention to submit an amicus brief that demonstrated "the continued poverty and isolation of African-American and Latino students in the thirty-one Abbott districts."

Long before January, when the School Funding Reform Act of 2008 (SFRA) became law and effectively eliminated the Abbott designation, HDANJ had turned its attention to education issues. A founding member of OC/OS, HDANJ was instrumental in bringing over 10,000 Latino children into the Abbott preschool program through outreach efforts and pressure on school districts over the course of four years.

"Our commitment to the development and implementation of Abbott has always been there," said Daniel Santo Pietro, HDANJ Executive Director. "We’ve run a couple of conferences, including a pretty big one a couple of years ago, and we’ve gone out and done workshops about Abbott for our parents."

Santo Pietro called education the No. 1 priority for HDANJ, and with just under half of all Latino children residing in Abbott districts, the organization is firmly committed to the landmark remedies put in place by the NJ Supreme Court to provide an equitable education to poor, urban youth.

"The idea that we would walk away from Abbott just at a time when our population is really depending on it for getting their start, to pull away from the promise of Abbott at all, would be a terrible blow to the Hispanics," Santo Pietro said.

Education is far from the only area of activity HDANJ is engaged in. Started in 1990, this association of 30 Hispanic-led, community-based organizations has brought over 8000 people into the citizenship process, has engaged in workforce development for the Latino population, and has just started a safe streets and neighborhoods initiative in conjunction with the state, among other efforts.

"All of our agencies have long-standing, ongoing, multi-service programs, trying to help people with almost any problem they are experiencing," Santo Pietro said. "Our advocacy is a function of our agencies’ work."

With a rapidly growing Latino population and a deteriorating economic situation in the state, Santo Pietro said that HDANJ will have to expand its efforts to help its member agencies remain strong while also reaching out to other Hispanic-led organizations around New Jersey, especially the many, small civic groups.

"We’re going to have to take more of a case management approach, whether it’s through the safe streets program or whatever the flavor of the month is," Santo Pietro said. "Our population has depended on us for decades as a source of reliable information, real support, and guidance in navigating through the ever-changing systems that families must deal with."

To find out more about HDANJ and for a list of member organizations with contact information, visit www.hdanj.org.

Prepared: November 20, 2008