# NEEDS AND ASSETS REPORT (2024)

> Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more.

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Apascua_yaqui%3Ab552a3c7d26602f0

## Record

- **Collection:** Tribal code
- **Document type:** Tribal code

## Text

2024

NEEDS AND ASSETS REPORT

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

PASCUA YAQUI TRIBE
REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL
2024
NEEDS AND ASSETS
REPORT
Funded by the
First Things First Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Partnership Council

Prepared by
Community Research, Evaluation & Development (CRED)
John & Doris Norton School of Human Ecology
College of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences
The University of Arizona
PO Box 210078
Tucson, AZ 85721-0462
Phone: (520) 621-2983
https://norton.arizona.edu/cred

© 2024 Arizona Early Childhood Development and Health Board (First Things First) 4000 N. Central Ave., Ste. 500, Phoenix, AZ 85012 |
602.771.5100 Permission to copy, disseminate or otherwise use the information in this publication is granted, as long as appropriate
acknowledgement is given.

INTRODUCTION
Ninety percent of a child's brain growth occurs before kindergarten and the quality of a child’s early
experiences impacts whether their brain will develop in positive ways that promote learning. First
Things First (FTF) was created by Arizonans to help ensure that Arizona children have the opportunity
to start kindergarten prepared to be successful. Understanding the critical role the early years play in a
child’s future success is crucial to our ability to foster each child’s optimal development and in turn,
impact all aspects of well-being in our communities and our state.
This Needs and Assets Report for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region helps us in understanding the needs of
young children, the resources available to meet those needs and gaps that may exist in those resources.
An overview of this information is provided in the Executive Summary and documented in further detail
in the full report.
The report is organized by topic areas pertinent to young children in the region, such as population
characteristics or educational indicators. Within each topic area are sections that set the context for why
the data found in the topic areas are important (Why it Matters), followed by a section that includes
available data on the topic (What the Data Tell Us).
The FTF Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Partnership Council recognizes the importance of investing in
young children and ensuring that families and caregivers have options when it comes to supporting the
healthy development and education of young children in their care. It is our sincere hope that this
information will help guide community conversations about how we can best support school readiness
for all children in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region. To that end, this information may be useful to local
stakeholders as they work to enhance the resources available to young children and their families and as
they make decisions about how best to support children birth to age 5 in communities throughout the
region.

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Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The FTF Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Partnership Council wishes to thank all of the federal, state and
local partners whose contributions of data, ongoing support and partnership with FTF made this report
possible. These partners included the Arizona Departments of Administration (Employment and
Population Statistics), Child Safety, Economic Security, Education and Health Services; Child Care
Resource and Referral; and the U.S. Census Bureau. We are especially grateful for the spirit of
collaboration exhibited by all our partners as we, as a state, continue to recover from the COVID-19
pandemic.
We also want to thank parents and caregivers, local service providers and members of the public who
attended regional council meetings and voiced their opinions, as well as all the organizations working to
transform the vision of the regional council into concrete programs and services for children and
families in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region.
Lastly, we want to acknowledge the current and past members of the FTF Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional
Partnership Council whose vision, dedication and passion have been instrumental in improving
outcomes for young children and families within the region. As we build upon those successes, we move
ever closer to our ultimate goal of creating a comprehensive early childhood system that ensures
children throughout Arizona are ready for school and set for life.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 10
ABOUT THIS REPORT ........................................................................................................... 24
THE PASCUA YAQUI TRIBE REGION ................................................................................... 26
POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS ....................................................................................... 28
Why It Matters ...................................................................................................................................................... 29

2020 Census data and its limitations................................................................................................................................... 29

What the Data Tell Us .......................................................................................................................................... 30

Population, race and ethnicity ............................................................................................................................................. 30
Language use ..................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Family and household composition ..................................................................................................................................... 42

ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES ............................................................................................. 46
Why it Matters ...................................................................................................................................................... 47
What the Data Tell Us .......................................................................................................................................... 47

Income and poverty............................................................................................................................................................. 47
Food security....................................................................................................................................................................... 52
Employment ........................................................................................................................................................................ 57
Housing instability and internet access ............................................................................................................................... 60

EDUCATIONAL INDICATORS ................................................................................................ 65
Why it Matters ...................................................................................................................................................... 66
What the Data Tell Us .......................................................................................................................................... 66

School attendance and absenteeism .................................................................................................................................. 66
Achievement on standardized testing ................................................................................................................................. 69
Graduation rates and adult educational attainment ............................................................................................................. 73

EARLY LEARNING ................................................................................................................. 77
Why it Matters ...................................................................................................................................................... 78
What the Data Tell Us .......................................................................................................................................... 78

Access to early care and education .................................................................................................................................... 78
High quality early care and education ................................................................................................................................. 87
Young children with special needs ...................................................................................................................................... 89

CHILD HEALTH....................................................................................................................... 97
Why it Matters ...................................................................................................................................................... 98
What the Data Tell Us .......................................................................................................................................... 98

Access to health services .................................................................................................................................................... 98
Maternal age and substance abuse .................................................................................................................................. 103
Maternal health and well-being ......................................................................................................................................... 105
Infant health ...................................................................................................................................................................... 107
Childhood infectious disease and immunization................................................................................................................ 110
Infant and child hospitalization and mortality ..................................................................................................................... 113

FAMILY SUPPORT AND LITERACY .................................................................................... 116
Why it Matters .................................................................................................................................................... 117
What the Data Tell Us ........................................................................................................................................ 117

Early literacy and developmental support ......................................................................................................................... 117
Mental and behavioral health ............................................................................................................................................ 118
Substance use disorders................................................................................................................................................... 119
Child removals and foster care.......................................................................................................................................... 121

APPENDIX 1: ADDITIONAL DATA TABLES ......................................................................... 125
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Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

Population Characteristics ................................................................................................................................. 125
Economic Circumstances ................................................................................................................................... 129
Early Learning .................................................................................................................................................... 133
Child Health ........................................................................................................................................................ 138

APPENDIX 2: METHODS AND DATA SOURCES ................................................................ 139
APPENDIX 3: ZIP CODES OF THE PASCUA YAQUI TRIBE REGION ................................ 141
APPENDIX 4: SCHOOL DISTRICTS OF THE PASCUA YAQUI TRIBE REGION ................ 143
APPENDIX 5: DATA SOURCES ........................................................................................... 145
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 147

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. The First Things First Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region .................................................................................. 27
Figure 2. Change in the total population and population of children ages 0-5, 2010 to 2020 Census ................... 32
Figure 3. Pascua Yaqui Tribe On-Reservation Enrollment, 2019 to 2020 .............................................................. 34
Figure 4. Children by single year of age in the 2020 Census compared to recent birth numbers in the region (2015
to 2020) .................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Figure 5. Race and ethnicity of the population of all ages, 2020 Census ............................................................... 36
Figure 6. Race and ethnicity for children birth to age 4, 2020 Census ................................................................... 36
Figure 7. Language spoken at home (by persons ages 5 and older), 2017-2021 ACS .......................................... 39
Figure 8. English-language proficiency (for persons ages 5 and older), 2017-2021 ACS ...................................... 40
Figure 9. Share of households that are limited-English-speaking, 2017-2021 ACS ............................................... 40
Figure 10. Language use reported by respondents to the Pascua Yaqui Community Survey, 2020 ..................... 42
Figure 11. Grandchildren birth to age 5 living in a grandparent’s household, 2020 Census .................................. 44
Figure 12. Percent of grandparents living with their grandchildren birth to age 17 and no parent is present in the
household, 2017-2021 ACS .................................................................................................................................... 45
Figure 13. Median family income for families with children birth to age 17, 2017-2021 ACS ................................. 49
Figure 14. Rates of poverty for persons of all ages and for children birth to age 5, 2017-2021 ACS ..................... 50
Figure 15. Rates of poverty for children birth to age 5, 2012-2016 and 2017-2021 ACS ....................................... 50
Figure 16. Children birth to age 5 living at selected poverty thresholds, 2017-2021 ACS ...................................... 51
Figure 17. Number of children birth to age 5 and households with children birth to age 5 participating in TANF,
state fiscal years 2018 to 2022 ................................................................................................................................ 51
Figure 18. Number of children birth to age 5 and households with children birth to age 5 participating in SNAP,
state fiscal years 2018 to 2022 ................................................................................................................................ 54
Figure 19. Number of children birth to age 4 enrolled in WIC, 2017 to 2020 .......................................................... 55
Figure 20. Participation rates in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe WIC program, 2020........................................................ 56
Figure 21. Trends in lunches served through school nutrition programs, 2019-20 to 2021-22............................... 56
Figure 22. Unemployment and labor-force participation for the adult population (ages 16 and older), 2017-2021
ACS.......................................................................................................................................................................... 58
Figure 23. Average annual unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted), 2017 to 2022 .................................... 59
Figure 24. Parents of children birth to age 5 who are or are not in the labor force, 2017-2021 ACS ..................... 60
Figure 25. Persons of all ages in households with and without computers and internet connectivity, 2017-2021
ACS.......................................................................................................................................................................... 64
Figure 26. Children birth to age 17 in households with and without computers and internet connectivity, 20172021 ACS ................................................................................................................................................................ 64
Figure 27. Trends in passing rates for Third Grade English Language Arts assessments for American Indian
students, 2018-19 to 2021-22 .................................................................................................................................. 72
Figure 28. Trends in passing rates for Third Grade Math for American Indian students, 2018-19 to 2021-22....... 73
Figure 29. Level of education for the adult population (ages 25 and older), 2017-2021 ACS ................................ 76
Figure 30. Median monthly charge for full-time child care, 2022 ............................................................................ 84
Figure 31. Cost of center-based child care as a percentage of income, 2022 ........................................................ 85
Figure 32. Children ages 0-5 eligible for, receiving, and on waitlist for DES child care assistance, 2017 to 2022 86
Figure 33. DCS-involved children ages 0-5 eligible for, receiving, and on waitlist for DES child care assistance,
2017 to 2022 ............................................................................................................................................................ 87
Figure 34. Percent of child care providers with accreditation and percent of capacity in accredited providers, May
2023 ......................................................................................................................................................................... 89
Figure 35. Children birth to age 2 referred to AzEIP by referral source, federal fiscal years 2018 to 2022 ............ 93

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Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

Figure 36. Outcomes for children birth to age 2 referred to AzEIP, federal fiscal year 2022 .................................. 94
Figure 37. Trends in preschoolers with disabilities served by LEAs, state fiscal years 2018 to 2022 .................... 95
Figure 38. Preschoolers with disabilities receiving services through Local Education Agencies (LEAs) by type of
disability, state fiscal years 2018-2022 combined ................................................................................................... 95
Figure 39. Kindergarten to 3rd grade students enrolled in special education in public and charter schools by
primary disability, state fiscal years 2018- 2022 combined ..................................................................................... 96
Figure 40. Active members in Yoeme Health Plan, 2018 to 2020 ........................................................................ 100
Figure 41. Births paid for by AHCCCS or IHS, 2018 to 2022 ................................................................................ 101
Figure 42. Births to mothers who began prenatal care in the first trimester, 2018 to 2022 .................................. 102
Figure 43. Births to mothers who were younger than 20, 2018 to 2022 ............................................................... 105
Figure 44. Births to mothers diagnosed with pre-pregnancy obesity or gestational diabetes, 2018 to 2022........ 107
Figure 45. Preterm births, 2018 to 2022 ................................................................................................................ 109
Figure 46. Percent of WIC-enrolled infants ever breastfed and breastfed at 6 months, 2017 to 2020 ................. 110
Figure 47. Infant mortality rates, 2019 to 2021 combined ..................................................................................... 114
Figure 48. Non-fatal emergency department visits due to unintentional injuries for children birth to age 4 by
selected mechanism of injury, 2016-2020 combined ............................................................................................ 115
Figure 49. Types of placement for children birth to age 17 who were wards of the court, 2019 and 2020 .......... 124
Figure 50. Zip Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region ............................................. 141
Figure 51. School Districts in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region .............................................................................. 143

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Population and households in the 2020 U.S. Census ............................................................................... 31
Table 2. Change in the total population and population of children ages 0-5, 2010 to 2020 Census ..................... 32
Table 3. Pascua Yaqui Tribe Enrollment, 2019 to 2020 .......................................................................................... 33
Table 4. Number of English Language Learners enrolled in all grades, 2020-21 to 2021-22................................. 41
Table 5. ADE Primary home language survey data, 2020-21 to 2021-22............................................................... 42
Table 6. Living arrangements for children birth to age 5, 2017-2021 ACS ............................................................. 44
Table 7. Selected characteristics of grandparents who are responsible for one or more grandchildren under 18 in
their households, 2017-2021 ACS........................................................................................................................... 45
Table 8. Families with children birth to age 5 receiving TANF, state fiscal years 2018 to 2022 ............................. 52
Table 9. Children birth to age 5 receiving TANF, state fiscal years 2018 to 2022 .................................................. 52
Table 10. Enrollment in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe WIC program, 2020 .................................................................... 55
Table 11. Lunches served through CACFP, 2019-20 to 2021-22 ........................................................................... 57
Table 12. Unemployment and labor-force participation for the adult population (ages 16 and older), 2017-2021
ACS.......................................................................................................................................................................... 59
Table 13. Households with housing costs of 30% or more of household income by home ownership status, 20172021 ACS ................................................................................................................................................................ 62
Table 14. Students experiencing homelessness (McKinney-Vento), 2019-20 to 2021-22 ..................................... 63
Table 15. Households with a computer and broadband internet connectivity, 2017-2021 ACS ............................. 63
Table 16. Pascua Yaqui Tribe students enrolled in Tucson area public schools, 2018-29 to 2019-20 .................. 68
Table 17. American Indian Preschool to 3rd grade students enrolled in public and charter schools, 2021-22 ...... 69
Table 18. Kindergarten to 3rd grade students with chronic absences, 2019-20 to 2021-22................................... 69
Table 19. Assessment results for American Indian students: Third Grade English Language Arts, 2021-22 ........ 71
Table 20. Assessment results for American Indian students: Third Grade Math, 2021-22..................................... 72
Table 21. 4-year and 5-year graduation rates for American Indian students, 2022 ................................................ 75
Table 22. 7th to 12th grade dropout rates for American Indian students, 2019-20 to 2021-22 .............................. 75
Table 23. Level of education for the mothers of babies born in 2020 and 2021 ..................................................... 76
Table 24. Children participating in Ili Uusim Mahtawa’apo Pascua Yaqui Head Start, federal fiscal year 2023 .... 81
Table 25. Pascua Yaqui Tribe Child Care Program Indicators, 2019 to 2020 ........................................................ 82
Table 26. Number of children birth to age 6 who received a child care assistance from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Child Care Development Fund, 2019 to 2020 ......................................................................................................... 82
Table 27. Child care centers most often used by families receiving assistance from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Child
Care Program, 2019 to 2020 ................................................................................................................................... 83
Table 28. Number and Capacity of Early Care & Education Providers active in the National Data System for Child
Care, May 2023 ....................................................................................................................................................... 83
Table 29. Increase in median child care cost by provider type and child age, 2018 to 2022 .................................. 85
Table 30. Quality First child care providers by funding source, state fiscal year 2023 ........................................... 89
Table 31. Number of children (ages 0-2) receiving AzEIP and/or DDD services, state fiscal years 2019 to 2022. 92
Table 32. Preschool to 3rd grade students enrolled in special education, state fiscal years 2022 ......................... 94
Table 33. Insurance coverage for babies born in 2020 and 2021 ......................................................................... 101
Table 34. Prenatal care for the mothers of babies born in 2020 and 2021 ........................................................... 102
Table 35. Selected characteristics of mothers giving birth, 2020 to 2021 ............................................................. 104
Table 36. Newborns hospitalized because of maternal drug use during pregnancy, 2018-2022 combined ........ 105
Table 37. Selected birth outcomes, 2020 to 2021 ................................................................................................. 109
Table 38. Children in child care with selected required immunizations, 2022-23 ................................................. 112
Table 39. Kindergarteners with selected required immunizations, 2022-23 ......................................................... 112

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Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

Table 40. Confirmed and probable cases of infectious diseases in children birth to age 5, 2019 to 2022 ........... 113
Table 41. Number of deaths with opiates or opioids contributing, 2018-2021 combined ..................................... 120
Table 42. Pascua Yaqui Tribe Social Services Division reports and substantiated cases of child abuse and/or
neglect, 2019 and 2020 ......................................................................................................................................... 123
Table 43. Children removed by Pascua Yaqui Tribe Social Services Division, Children Services, 2019 and 2020
............................................................................................................................................................................... 123
Table 44. Children in ICWA placements, 2019 and 2020 ..................................................................................... 123
Table 45. Foster care availability, 2019 and 2020................................................................................................. 124
Table 46. Population of children birth to age 5 by single years of age in the 2020 Census ................................. 125
Table 47. Race and ethnicity of the population of all ages, 2020 Census ............................................................ 125
Table 48. Race and ethnicity of children birth to age 4 ......................................................................................... 126
Table 49. Race and ethnicity for the mothers of babies born in 2020 and 2021 ................................................... 126
Table 50. Children birth to age 5 living with parents who are foreign-born, 2017-2021 ACS ............................... 127
Table 51. Language spoken at home (by persons ages 5 and older), 2017-2021 ACS ....................................... 127
Table 52. English-language proficiency (for persons ages 5 and older), 2017-2021 ACS ................................... 128
Table 53. Limited-English-speaking households, 2017-2021 ACS ....................................................................... 128
Table 54. Grandchildren birth to age 5 living in a grandparent's household, 2020 Census .................................. 128
Table 55. Median annual family income, 2017-2021 ACS .................................................................................... 129
Table 56. Children birth to age 5 living at selected poverty thresholds, 2017-2021 ACS ..................................... 129
Table 57. Families participating in SNAP, state fiscal years 2018 to 2022 ........................................................... 130
Table 58. Children participating in SNAP, state fiscal years 2018 to 2022 ........................................................... 130
Table 59. Lunches served through NSLP, 2019-20 to 2021-22 ............................................................................ 130
Table 60. Lunches served through SFSP, 2019-20 to 2021-22 ............................................................................ 131
Table 61. Parents of children birth to age 5 who are or are not in the labor force, 2017-2021 ACS .................... 131
Table 62. Persons of all ages in households with and without computers and internet connectivity, 2017-2021
ACS........................................................................................................................................................................ 132
Table 63. Children birth to age 17 in households with and without computers and internet connectivity, 2017-2021
............................................................................................................................................................................... 132
Table 64. School enrollment for children ages 3 to 4, 2017-2021 ACS ................................................................ 133
Table 65. Children receiving DES child care assistance, 2017 to 2022 ................................................................ 133
Table 66. DCS-involved children receiving DES child care assistance, 2017 to 2022 ......................................... 133
Table 67. Eligible families not using DES child care assistance, 2017 to 2022 .................................................... 134
Table 68. Median monthly charge for full-time center-based child care, 2022...................................................... 134
Table 69. Median monthly charge for full-time home-based child care, 2022....................................................... 134
Table 70. Cost of center-based child care as a percentage of income, 2022 ....................................................... 135
Table 71. Children receiving DES child care assistance who are enrolled in quality environments, 2022 ........... 135
Table 72. Number of children birth to age 2 receiving services from AzEIP as of October 1, 2018 to 2022 ........ 135
Table 73. Number of children (birth to age 5) receiving DDD services, state fiscal years 2019 to 2022 .............. 136
Table 74. Preschoolers with disabilities receiving services through Local Education Agencies by type of disability,
state fiscal years 2018- 2022 combined ................................................................................................................ 136
Table 75. Kindergarten to 3rd grade students enrolled in special education in public and charter schools, state
fiscal years 2018 to 2022 ....................................................................................................................................... 137
Table 76. Kindergarten to 3rd grade students enrolled in special education in public and charter schools by
primary disability, state fiscal year 2022 ................................................................................................................ 137
Table 77. Births to mothers with gestational diabetes or pre-pregnancy obesity, 2020 to 2021 .......................... 138
Table 78. Non-fatal hospitalizations and emergency department visits due to unintentional injuries for children
birth to age 5, 2018-2022 combined ...................................................................................................................... 138
Table 79. Zip Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region .............................................. 142
Table 80. School Districts and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region ................. 144

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region. When First Things First was established by the passage of Proposition
203 in November 2006, the government-to-government relationship with federally-recognized tribes
was acknowledged. Each tribe with tribal lands located in Arizona was given the opportunity to
participate within a First Things First designated region or elect to be designated as a separate region.
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe was one of 10 tribes that chose to be designated as its own region. This decision
must be ratified every two years, and since then, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe has opted to continue to be
designated as its own region. The boundaries of the First Things First Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional
Partnership Council are those of the Pascua Pueblo Yaqui Reservation in Pima County. The region
covers approximately 2.2 square miles.
Population Characteristics. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the total population of the Pascua
Yaqui Tribe Region was 3,466, of whom 336 were young children (birth to age 5). About one-quarter
(26%) of the 865 households in the region had one or more young children. The proportion of
households with young children in the region (26%) was both higher than all Arizona reservations
combined (20%) and at least double the proportion in Pima County (11%) and Arizona (13%).
According to the Census, the overall population of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region did not change
substantially between 2010 and 2020 (-0.3%). This is smaller than the decrease seen across all Arizona
reservations (-3%). However, the population of young children (birth to age 5) decreased by -29%,
which is a larger decrease than the -26% seen across all Arizona reservations.
American Indians living on reservations and young children (birth to age 4) were found to be
substantially undercounted in the 2020 Census (5.6% and 3-5% nationally). Given this, tribal enrollment
data is another important source for population counts in Native communities. Based on data from the
Pascua Yaqui Tribal Enrollment Department, in 2020 the Pascua Yaqui Tribe had a total enrollment of
18,582. This included 3,981 individuals living on-reservation, of whom 154 were young children (birth
to age 5). Another way to understand potential undercounting of young children in the Pascua Yaqui
Tribe Region is to compare 2020 Census data on the young child population to Arizona Department of
Health Services (ADHS) data on births from 2015 to 2020. Census estimates are lower by about 11
children per year compared with the count of births. ADHS reports 402 births occurring between 2015
and 2020 compared to 336 children birth to age 5 enumerated by the Census.
Almost all of the population (90%) in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region identified as American Indian.
However almost one-quarter (24%) identified as Hispanic or Latino, which is higher than across all
Arizona reservations (6% of the total population). Smaller portions of the total population in the region
identified as Multiracial (8%), Non-Hispanic White (2%), Black or African American (1%) or Asian or
Pacific Islander (1%) in 2020. These breakdowns were similar for young children, with slightly higher
portions identified as American Indian (91%), Hispanic or Latino (28%), Multiracial (12%), and Black
or African American (3%), when compared to the overall population.

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Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

While about two-thirds (64%) of individuals in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region speak only English at
home, 31% speak Spanish at home, a much higher proportion than seen across all Arizona reservations
(3%) and Pima County (23%). The remaining 5% speak a language other than English or Spanish (most
likely a Native North American language) at home, which is similar to Pima County (5%) and the state
as a whole (6%) but much lower than all Arizona reservations combined (50%). Of those individuals
speaking a language other than English at home, the majority also speak English “very well,” with onethird of the region proficiently bilingual or multilingual (33%). About 4% of households in the Pascua
Yaqui Tribe Region are considered limited-English-speaking, meaning no one over the age of 13 in the
household speaks English very well. This is a smaller proportion than seen across all Arizona
reservations (12%), however there is still some need for bilingual or multilingual staff and resources to
support families whose first language is not English, especially given the high percentage of individuals
speaking Spanish at home.
Children living in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region attend a number of schools located outside of the
region. During the 2021-22 school year, about one in every 10 preschool to 12th grade students (10%) at
these schools were considered English Language Learners. Please note that this proportion includes
students who are not living in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region. English Language Learners are identified
through the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) Home Language Survey, which asks families
about the student’s first language and what language is spoken at home most of the time. Statewide,
there were 27 students with reported Yaqui language use at home in 2020-21, decreasing to 23 students
in 2021-22. Fewer than 11 of these students attended off-reservation schools that serve Pascua Yaqui
Tribe Region students. This could be due to Pascua Yaqui Tribe members living outside of the region,
such as in the Town of Guadalupe and Old Pascua.
The Gathering Hiaki Voices Survey, part of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Community Health Needs
Assessment in 2020, gathered information from 307 community member respondents living in Pima
County about their language use and ability. The survey indicated that almost all participants were able
to read, write, speak or understand English (99%) and used it weekly or daily (100%). Almost all
participants also indicated the ability to read, write, speak or understand Spanish (94%), and over half
used Spanish weekly or daily (57%). While four in 10 reported reading, writing, speaking or
understanding the Yoeme language (40%), only one in 10 reported using it on a weekly or daily basis
(11%). The Pascua Yaqui Tribe Education Department provides language classes to community
members interested in learning the Yoeme language, which were formerly offered by the Language and
Culture Department. According to the 2022 FTF Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Needs and Assets Report,
there were 289 people registered for classes in the Language Program, and 112 registered in the
Traditional Arts Program in the 2018-19 school year. This high level of interest in the Yoeme language
is a strength in the region. Additionally, through two new grant agreements with the Pascua Yaqui
Tribe, the First Things First Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Partnership Council partner with the tribal
government to implement the Language, Literacy and Culture in Tribal Communities strategy that
support the creation of materials to be used in the classrooms that will be implementing a curriculum
with emphasis in Yoeme language, history, and culture. Furthermore, this strategy also funds a position
that creates and distributes materials in partnerships with tribal departments and programs that are
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 11

reflective of the tribal language and culture including books, posters and informational flyers that are
shared during community events.
The majority of young children (birth to age 5) in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region live in a household
with one unmarried parent (75%), which is a larger proportion than across all Arizona reservations
(65%), Pima County (37%) and the state (37%). More than one in seven (15%) young children live with
non-relatives, while smaller shares live with relatives other than parents (such as grandparents, aunts and
uncles) (6%) or two married parents (4%). Almost half of young children (47%) in the region live in a
grandparent’s household, which is higher than across all Arizona reservations (43%). In contrast, 14% of
grandparents in the region are living with grandchildren (birth to age 17) without a parent also present in
the household, which is the same as across Arizona reservations combined. This indicates that most
children living with grandparents are in multigenerational households with parent(s) present, where
grandparents may or may not be responsible for raising the child.
The American Community Survey (ACS) considers a grandparent to be responsible for their
grandchildren if they are "currently responsible for most of the basic needs of any grandchildren under
the age of 18" who live in the grandparent's household. Based on this definition, an estimated 185
grandparents in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region are responsible for their grandchildren under 18 years
old. A parent is also present in most of these households (only 22% without the child’s parent). The
majority of these grandparents are female (65%), and 37% are in the labor force, meaning that they may
need child care for their grandchildren while they are working. Notably, only 16% have an income
below the poverty level, which is less than half the percent across all Arizona reservations (36%) and
lower than Pima County (21%).
Economic Circumstances. Across all household types for which data are available, the median family
income for all families with children (birth to age 17) in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region ($32,200) is less
than half that in the county ($69,000) and state levels ($75,100). Married couple families with children
in the region have the highest median annual income ($44,800) of all family types, which is less than
half of that seen statewide ($100,000). The notably lower median annual income of single-male-headed
families with children ($30,600) and single-female-headed families with children ($22,000) in the region
points to the additional financial stress experienced by the single-parent-led households in the region.
Almost one-third (31%) of the overall population and more than half (53%) of young children (birth to
age 5) in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region live in poverty, which is more than twice the poverty rates for
Pima County (15% and 22%, respectively) and Arizona as a whole (13% and 20%, respectively).
According to ACS five-year estimates, rates of poverty among young children in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Region have decreased slightly (-2%) in recent years, from 55% in 2012-2016 to 53% in 2017-2021.
Poverty rates declined much more across all Arizona reservations (-6%), Pima County (-8%), Arizona (8%) and the U.S. (-6%) during the same time period. Reductions in poverty may be attributable, at least
in part, to federal relief funds distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The majority (72%) of young children in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region live in households with
incomes under 185% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), a commonly used threshold for social safety

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Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

net benefits such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children
(WIC) and reduced-price school meals. In 2021, the 185% FPL threshold for a family of two adults and
two children was $50,836; for a single parent with one child, it was $34,552. Over half (53%) of young
children live below 100% FPL, which is a slightly larger portion than in all Arizona reservations (49%)
and a much larger portion than Pima County (22%). However, the proportion of young children in the
region that live in “deep poverty” (defined as below 50% FPL) is closer to Pima County (11%) and the
state as a whole (9%) than all Arizona reservations (27%). Though income is one important way to
measure whether families can meet their basic needs, in Native communities, subsistence-based
activities such as hunting, gathering, farming and ranching are important cultural practices that can also
meet families’ basic needs and are not captured in standard poverty measures. While the Pascua Yaqui
Tribe reservation is located in an urban area, there are some families that have home gardens, and the
Tribe has a ranch with horses and a garden with programming for youth and other community members.
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is one of six Arizona tribes that operate a Tribal Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF) program (PY-YOEME). In state fiscal year 2022 (SFY 2022), an estimated
19% of families with young children (birth to age 5) and the same proportion of young children in the
region (19%) participated in TANF. These participation rates are notably higher than those seen at the
county (both 5%) and state level (both 3%). The number of families participating fluctuated from a high
of 64 families and 99 children in SFY 2019 to a low of 43 families and 65 children in SFY 2022. Since
SFY 2018, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation among young children
(birth to age 5) and families with young children in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region has declined steadily
from 374 in SFY 2018 to 245 in SFY 2022.
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe WIC program is administered by the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA).
According to the 2022 Needs and Assets Report, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe WIC program serves both
tribal and non-tribal members in Pima County, and key informants estimated that about half the
participants in the program were members or relatives of members of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. In 2020, a
total of 963 individuals were enrolled in the program, including 232 women (24% of WIC participants),
271 infants (28%) and 460 children (ages 2-4; 48%). WIC participation rates were higher in the Pascua
Yaqui Tribe WIC program than across all ITCA WIC programs for all eligible groups, meaning that the
percent of women (97%), infants (97%) and children (93%) who were actively receiving benefits during
the calendar year were slightly higher in the region. From 2017 to 2020, the total number of children
birth to age 4 enrolled in WIC declined steadily in both the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region and Arizona.
From 2019-20 to 2021-22, the total number of school lunches served through school nutrition programs
in the region stayed relatively stable (20,659 and 20,430, respectively), even while fluctuating by
program and service location. Hiaki High School served lunches through the National School Lunch
Program (NSLP) in 2019-20 and 2021-22. The Pascua Yaqui Boys & Girls Clubhouse served lunches
through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in 2019-20 and both NSLP and SFSP in 2020-21
and 2021-22. Pascua Yaqui Head Start (Ili Uusim Mahtawa’apo) served lunches through the Child and
Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) in all three years and also served lunches through SFSP at both the

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 13

Head Start center and through a home delivery route in 2019-20. Lunches served through CACFP
declined from 12,229 in 2019-20 to 9,056 in 2021-22. Conversely, lunches served through NSLP and
SFSP increased (by 1267 and 1,677, respectively). The increase in meals served through SFSP was
likely due to USDA waivers that allowed for greater flexibility in meal service through SFSP yearround.
The unemployment rate is the proportion of the total number of people in the civilian labor force who
are unemployed and looking for work. Unemployment rates do not include people who have dropped
out of the labor force entirely, including those who wanted to work but could not find a suitable job and
have stopped looking for employment. The ACS estimates that the average unemployment rate for the
Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region between 2017 to 2022 was 8%. This is higher than the unemployment rate
for Pima County and Arizona as a whole (both 6%) but substantially lower than all Arizona reservations
(14%), a comparative strength for the region.
An additional metric of employment is the labor-force participation rate. This rate is the fraction of the
population who are in the labor force, whether employed or unemployed. The labor force participation
rate in the region (58%) is higher than that seen across all Arizona reservations (45%) and similar to
Pima County (59%). This means that just over half of working-age teens and adults in the Pascua Yaqui
Tribe Region are working (54%) or actively looking for work (4%), while the remaining 42% are not
(which includes students, retirees, stay-at-home parents and others). While unemployment rates showed
a steady decline statewide since the end of the Great Recession in 2009, this pattern changed in 2020
with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, unemployment rates for Pima County have
been aligned with the state overall, peaking at 7.6% in 2020 and decreasing to 3.8% in 2022. About
three-quarters (76%) of young children (birth to age 5) in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region live in a
household where at least one parent is in the labor force, compared to 63% of young children across all
Arizona reservations and 90% of young children in Pima County. Most of these children (71%) live with
one parent who is in the workforce, indicating they likely require some form of child care.
Pascua Yaqui Tribe members often rent homes built by the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Housing Department
until they are able to pay the full amount of the house. At that point, ownership of the house is
transferred to the family, while the land where the house is built remains part of tribal reservation land.
While the Housing Department has been building new developments, community members indicate that
housing availability is still a need in the region. Housing is considered to be affordable for families if it
costs less than 30% of annual household income. According to recent ACS estimates, just 19% of
households in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region spent more than 30% of their income on housing,
disproportionately impacting renters (22%) over homeowners (9%) in the region. Housing cost burden is
notably lower in the region compared to Pima County (31%) and the state (29%), but higher than across
all Arizona reservations (13%). The McKinney-Vento Act definition of homelessness includes children
living in shelters, transitional housing, campgrounds, motels, trailer parks and cars, as well as children
whose families are temporarily living within another family’s household. Data on the number of
students experiencing homelessness under the McKinney-Vento Act at Hiaki High School were
suppressed due to small numbers (i.e. fewer than 11). At off-reservation schools that serve children from

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Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region, the number of students experiencing homelessness more than tripled
from 74 in 2020-21 to 240 in 2021-22, but these students still made up less than 2% of the overall
students enrolled. According to data from Ili Uusim Mahtawa’apo Pascua Yaqui Head Start, 16% of
children enrolled in Program Year 2023 (PY23) qualified as homeless, an increase from the 13% in
PY20 reported in the 2022 Needs and Assets Report.
Almost three-quarters (72%) of households in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region have both a computer
(i.e., a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone) and broadband internet connectivity. While this proportion
is lower than Pima County (89%) and Arizona (88%), it is notably higher than seen across all Arizona
reservations (44%). At the individual level, 82% of individuals in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region,
including 88% of children (birth to age 17), have access to both a computer and internet in their
household. As with household-level access, this is a smaller proportion than Pima County (92% and
95%, respectively) and the state (90% and 92%, respectively), but much higher than across all Arizona
reservations (both 51%).The Pascua Yaqui Tribe has its own telecommunications network, Pascua
Yaqui Networks, and provides internet access to families living in the region.
Educational Indicators. The only school within the boundaries of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region is
Hiaki High School, meaning that there are no schools serving elementary and middle school students.
Children from the community attend a number of off-reservation schools, mostly within Tucson Unified
School District (TUSD). During the 2019-20 school year, 880 students from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Region attended TUSD schools, including 485 elementary students, 156 middle school students, and 239
high school students. The district school with the most students from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe was
Lawrence 3-8 School (173 students), followed by Johnson Primary (116 students) and Cholla High
School (110 students). Valencia Middle School had the largest middle school student enrollment from
the Pascua Yaqui Tribe (58 students). According to the 2022 Needs and Assets Report, the Pascua Yaqui
Tribe Education Department offers support services for students who are members of the Pascua Yaqui
Tribe and enrolled in a K-12 school through the Yaqui Education Services (YES) program.
In the 2021-22 school year, there were fewer than 11 American Indian students enrolled in preschools
that are known to serve Pascua Yaqui Tribe students. A total of 280 American Indian students were
enrolled in kindergarten through 3rd grade in off-reservation schools serving students from the region,
between 63 and 81 students in each grade. In 2020-21 and 2021-22, kindergarten through 3rd grade
chronic absence rates for off-reservation schools serving Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region students (28% and
29%, respectively) were slightly above the rates for Pima County schools (24% both years) and Arizona
schools (21% both years).
In the 2021-22 school year, only 16% of American Indian students at off-reservation schools serving
Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region students achieved a passing score on the 3rd grade English Language Arts
(ELA) assessment, including 15% meeting expectations and less than 2% exceeding expectations. This
is equivalent to the passing scores for American Indian students across all Pima County schools and
Arizona schools (both 16%), but much lower than the passing scores for students of all races and
ethnicities in Arizona (41%). In off-reservation schools serving Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region students,
ELA passing rates for American Indian students doubled between 2020-21 and 2021-22, going from 8%
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 15

to 16%. Across the state ELA passing rates for American Indian students remain exceptionally low, less
than half that of students of all races and ethnicities.
A smaller proportion of American Indian students at off-reservation schools serving Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Region students passed the 3rd grade Math assessment in 2021-22, including 7% meeting expectations
and 3% exceeding expectations. This is lower than the passing rates for American Indian 3rd graders
across Pima County schools (13%) and Arizona schools (16%). Passing rates for the Math assessment
for American Indian students at off-reservation schools serving Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region students as
well as American Indian students in all Pima County schools have remained consistently lower than
passing rates for American Indian students statewide and for all students statewide. In both 2020-21 and
2021-22, fewer than 1 in 10 American Indian students enrolled in off-reservation schools serving Pascua
Yaqui Tribe Region students received a passing score on the 3rd grade Math assessment.
High school students from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region attend Hiaki High School and off-reservation
schools including Cholla High School (110 Pascua Yaqui Tribe students in 2019-20), Tucson High
Magnet School (69 students), Pueblo High School (40 students), and other TUSD high schools (20
students). The four-year graduation rate for Hiaki High School (41%) is lower than for American Indian
students attending off-region schools serving Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region students (65%), which
matches the four-year graduation rates for American Indian students across Arizona (65%). The fiveyear graduation rate was not available for off-reservation schools serving Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region
students, however the rate for Hiaki High School (65%) was between the rate for American Indian
students in Pima County schools (60%) and in Arizona schools (72%). In 2020-21 and 2021-22, the 7th12th grade dropout rate (8%) was the same for Hiaki High School and for American Indian students in
off-reservation schools serving Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region students. This is within the same range as
American Indian students across Pima County, which rose from 6% to 10% between 2019-20 and 202122, and Arizona, which ranged between 5% and 9% in those same years.
Among adults in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region, 73% have at least a high school education. This is a
slightly smaller proportion than across all Arizona reservations (77%) and much smaller compared to the
county (87%), state (88%) and national levels (89%). While educational attainment looks similar
between the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region and all Arizona reservations, only 4% of adults in the region
have a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to 9% of adults across all Arizona reservations. Compared
with all adults, mothers giving birth in 2020 and 2021 in the region were more likely to have less than a
high school education (33% and 31% respectively, compared with 23% of all adults).
Early Learning. According to the 2022 Needs and Assets Report, early childhood care and education
services in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region are available through the Ili Uusim Mahtawa’apo Pascua
Yaqui Tribe Head Start program, home providers who are certified by the tribe and off-reservation child
care centers. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe, First Things First Regional Partnership Council, and other
community partners are currently developing the first tribal child care center on the reservation, which

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Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

will use a Pascua Yaqui Curriculum that emphasizes the Yoeme language, history, and culture. The
center is estimated to serve between 120-143 children birth to age 7.
In May 2023, there were 40 early care and education providers active in the National Data System for
Child Care that were operating within a 5-mile radius of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region, an area which
is shared with the Pima South and Tohono O’odham Nation First Things First Regions. These providers
had a combined capacity of 1,031 children, which includes 823 slots across 11 child care centers and
208 slots across 29 family child care providers.
In 2023, the Ili Uusim Mahtawa’apo Pascua Yaqui Tribe Head Start program enrolled 53 four-year-olds
and 15 three-year-olds for a total of 68 enrolled children. This represents a large portion of four-yearolds living in the region. However, according to the 2022 Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Needs and
Assets Report, Ili Uusim Mahtawa’apo defines its services area as the New Pascua Community,
followed by all other Pascua Yaqui Communities in the Tucson Area, Yaqui families living offreservation, and finally other eligible families in the area. This means that enrollment likely includes
children living outside of the region. Community members indicated that the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Head
Start usually serves about 140 children, but enrollment has been low due to a need for more teachers.
In 2019 and 2020, there were 21 family home providers certified/licensed by the Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Child Care Program, which is under the tribe’s Social Services Department. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Child Care Program serves families who are enrolled in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and reside in Pima,
Pinal or Maricopa County. Most of these providers were located in New Pascua and the Tucson area,
and six of them were located outside of the region but within the tribal communities. While the number
of providers stayed the same, the number of children ages 0 to 5 that received services increased sharply
from 17 in 2019 to 42 in 2020, while the number of 6 to 12-year-olds receiving services decreased
slightly from 45 to 42.
Funding from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Child Care Program is also used to provide child care assistance
to families whose children are enrolled in off-reservation private child care centers that are licensed by
ADHS. To qualify for this assistance, families must be enrolled in a federally recognized tribe and reside
in Pima, Pinal or Maricopa County. Between 2019 and 2020, the number of young children (birth to age
6) receiving child care assistance from the Pascua Yaqui Child Care Development Fund decreased by 26
(from 120 in 2019 to 94 in 2020), likely due to COVID-related closures of child care centers. In 2019,
children from birth to age 3 were receiving assistance the most frequently (51), but this decreased to 34
in 2020. In 2020, children ages 3 to 5 received assistance the most (50).
According to the 2022 FTF Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Needs and Assets Report, the average monthly
child care co-pay for families receiving assistance through the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Child Care Program
was $93 in 2019. The co-pay differed by type of provider: families with children enrolled in offreservation child care centers paid, on average, $313 per month; those whose children were in grouphome settings paid $83; and families with children cared for by family home providers paid an average
of $32 each month. This means that families receiving assistance paid substantially less than the median
monthly cost of care for children in Pima County. The median cost for a preschooler ages 3-5 exceeds

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 17

$700 per month for any kind of care besides family home providers, and costs for children age 2 and
younger are even higher.
As a percentage of monthly income, full-time center-based care for an infant would cost 39% of the
median family income in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region without a child care assistance. This percent
decreases slightly when paying for care for a 1- to 2-year-old (32%) or a 3- to 5-year-old (29%). Based
on the difference in median family income, the cost of unsubsidized center-based care as a percent of
income would be much higher in the region than in the county or state. Median child care costs have
risen 17% at certified family homes, 25% at small group homes, and between 6% and 16% at licensed
centers in Pima County between 2018 and 2022. The percent increase is even higher across the state as a
whole, likely making early care even less accessible and stressing the importance of assistance programs
for low-income families in Arizona. These data were not available specifically for the providers serving
the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region.
Families in the region may also receive assistance, now referred to as child case assistance, from the
Department of Economic Security (DES). The numbers of children ages birth to five that were eligible
for and receiving child care assistance though DES decreased sharply from 2020 onward. In 2022, only
18 children in the region were eligible for assistance, and only 13 were receiving assistance, down from
66 eligible for assistance and 57 receiving assistance in 2019. This is dissimilar from the trend in
Arizona as a whole. Note that the DES child care waitlist was suspended in 2019. Trends in Department
of Child Services (DCS)-involved children receiving child care assistance through DES resemble those
for non-DCS-involved children. Between 2017 and 2022, the number of DCS-involved children eligible
for assistance fell from 30 to less than 10, and those receiving likewise declined from 25 to less than 10.
Statewide, uptake of assistance for DCS-involved children has also declined but at a much less dramatic
rate.
As of 2023, the Ili Uusim Mahtawa’apo Pascua Yaqui Head Start was a Quality First child care provider
funded through the Arizona DES expansion, part of the American Rescue Plan/CARES Act in 2022.
This provider does not yet have a public star rating. As DES expansion funding is ending, the Pascua
Yaqui Tribe Regional Partnership Council will take over funding the quality first slot for Pascua Yaqui
Tribe Head Start, as well as the new early learning center once it opens. Compared to Pima County, the
Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region has a higher percentage of providers who are accredited (25%). Over a third
(36%) of young children in the region could attend an accredited child care provider based on these
providers’ capacity.
Qualifying children may receive services from either AzEIP and/or DDD, a number which can be used
to estimate the total number of young children receiving early intervention services in a region. For
children birth to age 2, fewer than 10 children in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region received services from
the Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP) and/or the Division of Developmental Disabilities
(DDD) each year between 2019 and 2022. Most children (birth to 2) referred to AzEIP were referred by
a physician, between 61% and 85% from 2018 to 2022. In the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region, 27% of
children (birth to 2) who were referred to AzEIP in 2022 received services, a larger proportion than seen
in Pima County (18%) and Arizona (21%). Notably, providers were not able to contact the families of

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Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

nearly half of children referred to AzEIP (47%), which is more than twice the rate for Pima County
(21%). Another 13% of families whose young child was found eligible declined services.
According to the 2022 FTF Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Needs and Assets Report, the Pascua Yaqui
Tribe Education Department provides support services for students with special needs enrolled in Ili
Uusim Mahtawa’apo Pascua Yaqui Head Start and in public schools who have an Individualized
Educational Plan (IEP). Ili Uusim Mahtawa’apo Pascua Yaqui Head Start has a full-time interventionist
who works with children on site, and the special education advocate with the Tribe’s Education
Department is also able to provide advocacy services to parents and caregivers. In 2022, a total of 416
students in preschool through 3rd grade at off-reservation schools serving Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region
students were enrolled in special education. This includes 59 preschoolers, 67 kindergarteners and 102
1st graders, 95 2nd graders and 93 3rd graders. However, the number of preschoolers with disabilities
served by a Local Educational Agency (LEA) in SFY 2022 (n=59) decreased substantially from
previous years, when it was between 76 and 80. Please note that these data reflect students of all races
and ethnicities.
Of the preschoolers with disabilities receiving services through LEAs between 2018 and 2022, 63%
were diagnosed with a speech or language delay, 24% with developmental delay, and 24% with a
preschool severe delay. The proportion of preschoolers with speech or language impairment is much
higher than that seen in the county, and developmental delay much lower. Among kindergarten through
3rd grade students enrolled in special education in off-reservation schools serving Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Region students during this same time period (2018-2022), more than half were diagnosed with a speech
or language impairment (52%), 29% a developmental delay, 7% a specific learning disability, 5%
autism, and 7% another disability. Again, the proportion of children diagnosed with a speech or
language impairment is higher for students attending schools serving Pascua Yaqui Tribe students (52%)
than Pima County (43%) and Arizona (36%).
According to the 2022 Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Needs and Assets Report, staff from the Yaqui
Education Services attends biweekly or monthly meetings to coordinate support services to students
with special needs enrolled in public schools in the area. Tucson Unified and Sunnyside Unified School
Districts provide the Tribe’s Education Department with a list of students who have IEPs or 504 plans.
As of August of 2021, 120 students (in all grades) were identified as eligible for special education
services and were receiving support from the Yaqui Education Services Program.
Child Health. According to the 2022 Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Needs and Assets Report, health care
services are available to residents from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region through the Pascua Yaqui Health
Services Division (PYHSD). PYHSD provides services to community members using a combination of
federal, state, tribal, and private funds. In 2021, PYHSD was approved by the Public Health
Accreditation Board to be an Accredited Public Health Department, which can help advance the quality,

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 19

performance, accountability, and management of community health departments. Notably, Pascua Yaqui
Tribe is the first tribe in Arizona to receive this accreditation.
Residents of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region who are members of a federally recognized tribe and
qualify for health care services through IHS are eligible to be enrolled in the Yoeme Health Plan. The
Yoeme Health Plan is a managed care plan that was established for community members who do not
have access to health care coverage through other means including Arizona’s Medicaid Program,
Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). Between 2018 and 2020, the number of
children birth to 5 enrolled in the Yoeme Health Plan decreased from 98 to 75.
In 2020 and 2021, over half of births in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region were covered by AHCCCS
insurance (54% and 58%, respectively), which is lower than AHCCCS coverage across Arizona
reservations (71% in 2020) but slightly higher than Pima County (50% and 48%, respectively). Another
23%-30% of births were covered by IHS, which is higher than seen on all Arizona reservations (16% in
2020). Overall, the proportion of births covered by either AHCCCS or IHS is similar in the Pascua
Yaqui Tribe Region (77% and 88%, respectively) to all Arizona reservations (86% in 2020).
Of the 224 births in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region between 2019 and 2022, 12% were to mothers
younger than 20, which is higher than the 9% of births across all Arizona reservations and 5% in Pima
County and Arizona as a whole (in 2020). One-third of these births to teenaged mothers (4%) were to
mothers younger than 18. Looking at trends over time, the share of births to teenaged mothers (younger
than 20) nearly doubled in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region between 2019 and 2021, a period that
coincides with the most disruptive years of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the percentage of births
to teenaged mothers decreased in 2022. In Arizona, births to teenaged mothers both younger than 20 and
younger than 18 have declined year over year.
The share of mothers giving birth who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy is much smaller in the region
(2.7%) than in all Arizona reservations (11.1%), Pima County (4.4%) and Arizona overall (3.6%). The
Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region and Arizona were meeting the Healthy People 2030 target of no more than
4.3% of females using tobacco during pregnancy. Between 2018 and 2022, 24 newborns were
hospitalized because of maternal drug use during pregnancy in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region. Based on
the total number of births, this equates to 8 newborns hospitalized per 100 births, more than double the
3.3 newborns hospitalized per 100 live births in the state. The average length of hospital stay was longer
in the region (12.2 days) than in Pima County (11.1 days) and Arizona as a whole (9.5 days).
Between 2018 and 2022, rates of pre-pregnancy obesity and gestational diabetes in the Pascua Yaqui
Tribe Region fluctuated greatly, which is common when looking at a small number of births in each
year. Pre-pregnancy obesity increased from about one in five births in 2018 (21.7%) to almost two in
three births in 2020 (63.5%) before decreasing to about half of births in 2022 (51.9%). Gestational
diabetes followed a similar pattern, varying from 11.6% of births in 2018 to 25% of births in 2020 to
18.5% of births in 2022. In 2021, the latest year that can be compared with the state, the Pascua Yaqui
Tribe Region had much higher rates of both pre-pregnancy obesity (46% compared with 27.1%) and
gestational diabetes (18.5% compared with 9.9%). Statewide, about 1 in 8 mothers (13.7%) reported
experiencing postpartum depressive symptoms in 2020, nearly the same rate as that seen nationwide
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Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

(13.4%). National data show that more than one in five (22%) American Indian and Alaska Native
mothers in the U.S. experienced postpartum depressive symptoms in 2018, suggesting that Native
mothers may be at higher risk of postpartum depression.
In 2021 higher proportions of the babies born in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region were low birthweight
(14%,), preterm (16%) and/or admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) (18%) than in
Arizona overall. The proportion of births that were low-birthweight (9.3%) and preterm (13.5%) in 2020
were also slightly higher in the region than across all Arizona reservations (8.9% and 12.6%,
respectively). The Healthy People 2030 target for the percentage of preterm births is 9.4% or lower.
From 2018 to 2021, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region was about 4% to 7% above this target, however the
percent of preterm births dropped to 9.3% in 2022, meaning that the region met the Healthy People 2030
target in 2022.
From 2018 to 2020, the majority of WIC-enrolled infants in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region were
breastfed at least once (between 70% and 72%), which is slightly higher than across all ITCA WIC
programs (between 65% and 71%). Conversely, the portion of infants who were breastfed (either
exclusively or in combination with other nutrition) at six months was slightly lower in the region
(between 17% and 24%) than all ITCA WIC programs (between 23% and 26%).
Childhood immunizations protect against many diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis
(DTaP); polio; and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). According to the 2023 Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Head Start Program Information Report, 78% of children in Ili Uusim Mahtawa’apo Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Head Start program were up-to-date on required immunizations. In the 2022-23 school year,
immunization rates for children enrolled in child care centers that frequently serve Pascua Yaqui Tribe
families (DTaP 97.1%; Polio 98.6%; MMR 98.6%) were substantially higher than statewide child care
immunization rates (DTaP 90.6%; Polio 92.2%; MMR 93%). The immunization rate in these centers
met the Healthy People 2030 DTaP immunization target of 90%. Rates of exemption from all required
vaccines (0.6%) were less than half the rate seen in Pima County (1.7%) and substantially lower than the
statewide rate of 4%. Similarly, kindergarten immunization rates in off-reservation schools serving
Pascua Yaqui Tribe students (DTaP 86.1%; Polio 86.4%; MMR 86.1%) were also lower than statewide
rates (DTaP 89.6%; Polio 90.3%; MMR 89.9%) in the 2022-23 school year. However, both
immunization rates in these schools and schools statewide failed to meet the Healthy People 2030
kindergarten MMR immunization target of 95%. Personal belief exemption rates (0.9%) and rates of
exemptions from all required vaccines (0.7%) were again substantially lower than rates in Pima County
(3.4% and 2.2%, respectively) or Arizona overall (7.3% and 4.6%, respectively).
In 2022, there were eight confirmed and probable cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and 11
cases of influenza among young children (birth to age 5) in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region. There were
between one and five infant deaths in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region between 2019 and 2021. This very
low number of deaths means that mortality rates cannot be reported to protect individual privacy. Pima
County’s infant mortality rate (5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births) was slightly higher than Arizona’s (5.4),
and both were above the Healthy People 2030 target of 5.0 or fewer.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 21

The types of unintentional injuries leading to non-fatal emergency department visits among young
children (birth to age 4) are similar in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region to the state as a whole. Between
2016 and 2020, the majority of emergency department visits among young children in the region were
due to falls (n=41), with smaller numbers due to being struck by or against an object, natural or
environmental reasons, poisoning or other causes. Data on causes of inpatient hospitalizations among
young children in the region during this time were suppressed due to small numbers. There were fewer
than six deaths of children ages birth to 17 between 2018 and 2021; specific data on leading causes of
death cannot be reported to protect individual privacy.
Family Support and Literacy. Through two new grant agreements with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the
First Things First Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Partnership Council partner with the tribal government
to implement the Language, Literacy and Culture in Tribal Communities strategy that support the
creation of materials to be used in the classrooms that will be implementing a curriculum with emphasis
in Yoeme language, history, and culture. Furthermore, this strategy also funds a position that creates and
distributes materials in partnerships with tribal departments and programs that are reflective of the tribal
language and culture including books, posters and informational flyers that are shared during community
events. The Ili Uusim Hiapsi (Little Children’s Hearts) Program, offered through the Sewa U’usim
Community Partnership, is a voluntary, community and home-based program available for families from
pregnancy through the child’s 8th year. The program provides a wide range of diagnostic, family
support, therapeutic, educational and cultural services. In 2022, the Ili Uusin Hiapsi program received a
federal Tribal Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Grant to expand home
visitation services.
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe provides mental health services through the Pascua Yaqui Health Services
Division Centered Spirit Program. Centered Spirit offers culturally-based mental health and substance
use services to families in the region, including crisis evaluations for emergency situations; individual,
couple, family and group therapy; a methadone/suboxone clinic; a youth life skills group; and group
homes for adolescents and adult women and men. The Centered Spirit Child and Family Team (C&FT)
provides culturally-informed and trauma-sensitive services for families with young children. Ili Uusim
Mahtawa’apo Pascua Yaqui Head Start staff referral enrolled children to the C&FT for evaluation and
services, which are then provided at the Ili Uusim Mahtawa’apo Head Start center. C&FT also teaches
emotional regulation skills at summer school in the region and does outreach at community events to
reach families whose children are not enrolled at Head Start. Data from the 2022 Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Regional Needs and Assets Report indicate that between 42 and 48 children received services from the
Centered Spirit C&FT Program each year from 2018 to 2020. Another behavioral health program in the
region is Sewa U’usim, a wraparound treatment program for children and their families that includes
formal support (e.g. counselors), community-based support (e.g. friends, elders, traditional healers), and
relatives. Services under Sewa U’usim include the Yoeme Kari Group Home (YKGH) and the Tortuga
Ranch and Ka’vai Hitevi (Horse Healers).
Between 2017 and 2021, there were fewer than 6 deaths with opiates or opioids contributing in the
Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region. However, it is important to note that this only includes deaths occurring

22

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

within the region and with address data that allowed the death to be properly assigned to a FTF region.
A majority of respondents (80%) to the Gathering Hiaki Voices Survey ranked substance use as among
the top three health problems in the community, placing it among the seven identified priority areas of
the Pascua Yaqui Tribe 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment. The rate of infants hospitalized for
maternal drug use from 2018 to 2022 reported in the child health section also supports this.
Support services in the region for community members struggling with substance use include Centered
Spirit’s Tu’iriauvicha Vo’o- Men’s and Women’s PATH residential program and New Beginnings, a
medication-assisted treatment clinic for individuals with opioid use disorder that includes wrap-around
services. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe’s Reentry Initiative, part of the Itom Yoemia Initiative, targets the
challenge of alcohol and substance use in the community as well as its impact on incidents of domestic
violence and other criminal cases. Part of this initiative is an alternative to incarceration program called
the Healing to Wellness Court, which uses culturally appropriate treatment and healing practices in
partnership with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Language and Culture Department to reduce criminal activity
and recidivism. According to a 2021 evaluation of the program, 72% of offenders did not have a new
arrest after six months, and 66% did not have a new arrest after 12 months of participating in the
program.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 23

ABOUT THIS REPORT
There is growing acknowledgement of the role our physical, social, and economic environments play in
our day-to-day health and wellbeing. 1 These factors, known as the social determinants of health, have an
especially strong effect on the development of young children ages birth to 5 and accumulate over
time. 2, 3 Measuring and addressing these conditions can significantly impact not only early health and
education outcomes, but also health and economic circumstances later in life. 4, 5, 6 It is important to
acknowledge that structural inequities in access to quality health care, schools, and education as well as
living, working and leisure conditions lead to disparate outcomes within and between groups of people. 7
For example, the U.S.’s history of segregation, discriminatory policy and differential investment across
communities has created generational disparities in outcomes for people of color. 8 Native communities
have additionally experienced periods of genocide, forced relocation and assimilation leading to
systemically poorer economics and health compared with other groups. 9, 10 This Needs and Assets
Report covers many structural and social determinants of health including population characteristics,
economic characteristics, early learning and educational indicators, child health, and family support and
literacy for the First Things First Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region.
The data in this report come from a variety of sources including federal and state agencies and local
agencies or service providers. Federal government sources include publicly available data from the 2020
Census and the 2017-2021 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates. Data in this report
from the ACS summarize the responses from samples of residents taken between 2017 and 2021.
Because these estimates are based on samples rather than the entire population, ACS data should not be
considered exact. Estimates for smaller geographies, such as regions, are less accurate than estimates for
larger geographies, such as the state, because they are based on smaller sample sizes.
Data were provided to FTF by state agencies including the Arizona Department of Health Services, the
Arizona Department of Education and the Arizona Department of Economic Security. In most cases, the
data in this report were calculated specifically for the Needs and Assets process and are more detailed
than the data that are published by these agencies for the general public. Whenever possible, this report
will use data tailored to the region, but in some cases, there are only county-level or statewide data
available to report. This report also includes publicly available data for the state and counties to
supplement data received through specific requests, including from state agencies such as the Arizona
Department of Commerce’s Office of Economic Opportunity and the Arizona Department of Child
Safety semi-annual child welfare reports. When more recent data from public or state agency datasets
were not available, this report also cites data from the 2022 FTF Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Needs
and Assets Report.
In most tables in this report, the top rows of data correspond to the FTF Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region. Not
all data are available at the FTF regional level because not all data sources analyze their data based on
FTF regional boundaries. The other table rows present data that are useful for comparison purposes,
including Pima County, all Arizona reservations combined, the state of Arizona and national estimates
24

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

or targets where available. Data tables and graphs are as complete as possible. Data which are not
available for a particular geography are indicated by the abbreviation "N/A." State agencies have
varying policies about reporting small values. Entries such as "<11" are used when the count is too small
to be reported and has been suppressed to protect privacy. In some cases, table entries will indicate a
range of values such as "1 to 9" because the suppression policy prevented the vendor from knowing the
exact value, but comparison of these ranges of possible values to other values in the table or figure may
still be useful. Table entries of "DS" indicate that data have been suppressed and we are unable to
provide a useful range of possible values. Additional data tables not included in the body of the report
can be found in APPENDIX 1: ADDITIONAL DATA TABLES.

ABOUT THIS REPORT

25

THE PASCUA YAQUI TRIBE REGION
The First Things First regional boundaries were initially established in 2007, creating 31 regions which
were designed to (a) reflect the view of families in terms of where they access services, (b) coincide
with existing boundaries or service areas of organizations providing early childhood services, (c)
maximize the ability to collaborate with service systems and local governments and facilitate the ability
to convene a Regional Partnership Council and (d) allow for the collection of demographic and indicator
data. The regional boundaries are reviewed every two years. In state fiscal year 2015, the boundaries
were modified using census blocks, creating 28 regions.
When First Things First was established by the passage of Proposition 203 in November 2006, the
government-to-government relationship with federally recognized tribes was acknowledged. Each tribe
with tribal lands located in Arizona was given the opportunity to participate within a First Things First
designated region or elect to be designated as a separate region. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe was one of 10
tribes that chose to be designated as its own region. This decision must be ratified every two years, and
the Pascua Yaqui Tribe has opted to continue to be designated as its own region.
The boundaries of the First Things First Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Partnership Council are those of
the Pascua Pueblo Yaqui Reservation in Pima County. The region covers approximately 2.2 square
miles. Figure 1 shows the geographical area covered by the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region. Additional
information is available at the end of this report, including a map and table of the region’s zip codes in
Appendix 3 and a map and a list of school districts in the region in Appendix 4.

26

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

Figure 1. The First Things First Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

Source: 2020 TIGER/Line Shapefiles prepared by the U.S. Census. Map produced by CRED.

THE PASCUA YAQUI TRIBE REGION 27

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS

28

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS
Why It Matters
Accurate information about the number and characteristics of families allows policy makers and
program providers to understand what resources are needed in their communities, including where
services should be located and how to tailor offerings to the specific needs of those who are likely to use
them. 11, 12, 13, 14 For example, identifying which communities have high numbers of families with young
children can facilitate strategic investments in libraries, playgrounds, health care facilities, social
services and educational systems, which can help families with young children thrive. 15, 16 Program and
policy decisions that are informed by data on the composition of children’s home and community
environments help ensure more effective supports for families and have a greater chance to improve
well-being, economic security and educational outcomes for children.
2020 Census data and its limitations
The release of 2020 Census data in 2023 provided updated information on the population of Arizona and
the nation as a whole. However, the 2020 Census faced unprecedented challenges in conducting an
accurate count of the population, the foremost of which included the COVID-19 pandemic and its
related disruptions to institutions such as tribal and local governments, schools and health care
facilities. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 Overall, data quality reviews of the 2020 Census have concluded that the data are
generally reliable and accurate for the overall population; however, specific groups that have been
undercounted in the past were again undercounted, this time more severely. 22 Nationwide, American
Indians living on reservations were estimated to be undercounted by 5.6% (compared to 4.9% in 2010),
and Hispanic or Latino individuals were undercounted by an estimated 5.0% (compared with 1.5% in
2010). Young children birth to age 4 were also undercounted by 3-5% nationwide, meaning that as many
as 1 in 20 young children birth to age 4 were missed by the Census. 23 These undercounts are important
to keep in mind when using Census data, particularly data for young children and for communities with
substantial American Indian and Hispanic or Latino populations. Undercounted communities risk
receiving fewer resources for at least the next decade since the decennial census counts are the basis of
many federal funding allocations. 24, 25

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS 29

What the Data Tell Us
Population, race and ethnicity
While young children make up a small proportion of the overall population, their well-being has widereaching impacts on families, social service systems and the state’s future population. Continued
investment in children’s well-being and the well-being of their families was deemed by the National
Academy of Sciences as “the most efficient strategy” for strengthening the future workforce and
supporting a thriving community. 26, 27
Knowing the racial-ethnic composition of communities can inform efforts to ensure equitable access to
services and resources. Many racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. experience reduced access to
health care services, more poverty and housing inequality, poorer living conditions and increased rates
of homelessness in comparison to non-Hispanic White Americans. 28, 29, 30, 31 In Native communities,
these disparities have been shaped by decades of inequitable federal policies and underinvestment. 32
These inequities result in disproportionately worse overall health as indicated by higher rates of disease
and illness, untreated physical health conditions and lower life expectancies within these groups. 33
Understanding a community’s racial-ethnic composition is also critical for identifying communities
facing higher risks from environmental and public health hazards due to historic underinvestment and
other factors—as the COVID-19 pandemic made woefully clear. 34
How the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region is faring

30

•

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the total population of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region was
3,466, of whom 336 were young children (birth to age 5). About one-quarter (26%) of the 865
households in the region had one or more young children. The proportion of households with
young children in the region (26%) was both higher than all Arizona reservations combined
(20%) and at least double the proportion in Pima County (11%) and Arizona (13%) (Table 1).

•

According to the Census, the overall population of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region did not
change substantially between 2010 and 2020 (-0.3%). This is smaller than the decrease seen
across all Arizona reservations (-3%). However, the population of young children (birth to age 5)
decreased by -29%, which is a larger decrease than the -26% seen across all Arizona reservations
(Table 2 & Figure 2).

•

As previously mentioned in 2020 Census data and its limitations, American Indians living on
reservations and young children (birth to age 4) were specifically found to be substantially
undercounted in the 2020 Census (5.6% and 3-5% nationally). Given this, tribal enrollment data
is another important source for population counts in Native communities. Based on data from the
Pascua Yaqui Tribal Enrollment Department, in 2020 the Pascua Yaqui Tribe had a total
enrollment of 18,582. This included 3,981 individuals living on-reservation, of whom 154 were
young children (birth to age 5) (Table 3).

•

Another way to understand potential undercounting of young children in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Region is to compare 2020 Census data on the 0- to 5-years-old population to Arizona

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

Department of Health Services (ADHS) data on births from 2015 to 2020. Census estimates are
lower by about 11 children per year compared with the count of births. ADHS reports 402 births
occurring between 2015 and 2020 compared to 336 children birth to age 5 enumerated by the
Census (Figure 4).
•

Almost all of the population (90%) in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region identified as American
Indian. However almost one-quarter (24%) identified as Hispanic or Latino, which is higher than
across all Arizona reservations (6% of the total population). Smaller portions of the total
population in the region identified as Multiracial (8%), Non-Hispanic White (2%), Black or
African American (1%) or Asian or Pacific Islander (1%) in 2020 (Figure 5 & Figure 6). These
breakdowns were similar for young children, with slightly higher portions identified as American
Indian (91%), Hispanic or Latino (28%), Multiracial (12%), and Black or African American
(3%), when compared to the overall population.

Table 1. Population and households in the 2020 U.S. Census
Number and percent of
households with one or more
children (ages 0-5)

Total population

Population (ages
0-5)

Total number of
households

3,466

336

865

227

26%

173,499

15,140

50,362

10,167

20%

Pima County

1,043,433

62,466

427,021

45,676

11%

Arizona

7,151,502

480,744

2,705,878

345,601

13%

331,449,281

22,401,565

126,817,580

16,429,111

13%

Geography
Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Region
All Arizona
Reservations

United States

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (2023). 2020 Decennial Census, Demographic & Housing Characteristics (DHC), Tables P1, P14, P20 &
HCT3

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS 31

Table 2. Change in the total population and population of children ages 0-5, 2010 to 2020
Census
Total population
2010

2020

% Change
2010 to 2020

2010

2020

% Change
2010 to 2020

3,478

3,466

-0.3%

470

336

-29%

178,131

173,499

-3%

20,511

15,140

-26%

980,263

1,043,433

+6%

74,796

62,466

-16%

6,392,017

7,151,502

+12%

546,609

480,744

-12%

308,745,538

331,449,281

+7%

24,258,220

22,401,565

-8%

Geography
Pascua Yaqui
Tribe Region
All Arizona
Reservations
Pima County
Arizona
United States

Population (Ages 0-5)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2023). 2020 Decennial Census, Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC), Tables P1, P14,
HCT3. U.S. Census Bureau (2010). 2010 Decennial Census, Summary File 1, Tables P1, P14, P20.

Figure 2. Change in the total population and population of children ages 0-5, 2010 to 2020
Census
Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region
All Arizona
Reservations
Pima County
Arizona

-29%

-0.3%

-26%

-3%
-16%

+6%

-12%

United States

Children ages 0-5 change, 2010 to 2020

+12%
-8%

+7%

Total population change, 2010 to 2020

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2023). 2020 Decennial Census, Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC), Tables P1, P14, HCT3.
U.S. Census Bureau (2010). 2010 Decennial Census, Summary File 1, Tables P1, P14, P20.

32

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

Table 3. Pascua Yaqui Tribe Enrollment, 2019 to 2020
On
Reservation
(2019)

Off
Reservation
(2019)

Total
(2019)

On
Reservation
(2020)

Off
Reservation
(2020)

Total
(2020)

210

709

919

154

570

724

Under age 1

12

56

68

7

15

22

Age 1

30

89

119

12

55

67

Age 2

27

115

142

30

89

119

Age 3

33

137

170

27

115

142

Age 4

45

157

202

33

138

171

Age 5

63

155

218

45

158

203

847

2,723

3,570

847

2,665

3,512

Total children (ages 0-17)

1,057

3,432

4,489

1,001

3,235

4,236

Adults (ages 18 and older)

2,909

11,137

14,046

2,980

11,366

14,346

Total membership

3,966

14,569

18,535

3,981

14,601

18,582

Age group
Young children (ages 0-5)

School-age children (ages 6-17)

Source: First Things First (2022). Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Partnership Council 2022 Needs and Assets Report. Retrieved on Dec
1, 2023 from
https://files.firstthingsfirst.org/regions/Publications/PYT%202022%20Regional%20Needs%20and%20Assets%20Report.pdf

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS 33

Figure 3. Pascua Yaqui Tribe On-Reservation Enrollment, 2019 to 2020
63

45

45
30

12

30

33

33
27

12

7

Under 1 year

27

Age 1

Age 2
2019

Age 3
2020

Age 4

Age 5

Source: First Things First (2022). Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Partnership Council 2022 Needs and Assets Report. Retrieved on Dec 1,
2023 from https://files.firstthingsfirst.org/regions/Publications/PYT%202022%20Regional%20Needs%20and%20Assets%20Report.pdf

34

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

Figure 4. Children by single year of age in the 2020 Census compared to recent birth numbers
in the region (2015 to 2020)
Children by age, Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

Births by year, Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region
77

67

75
69

65

60

56

54

69

52

50
44

Age 5

Age 4

Age 3

Age 2

Age 1

Under
Age 1

Children by age, Arizona
88,374

Age 5

84,600 82,033

Age 4

Age 3

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Births by year, Arizona

78,159

Age 2

75,163

Age 1

72,415

Under
Age 1

85,024 84,404
81,664 80,539
79,183 76,781

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Source: Arizona Department of Health Services (2021). [Vital Statistics Births dataset]. Unpublished data.
Note: Looking at these two figures allows a comparison of 2020 Census estimates (left) of the population size of young children by age
with the count of births from their likely birth year (right) to try to understand further how much the Census may have undercounted
young children.

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS 35

Figure 5. Race and ethnicity of the population of all ages, 2020 Census
90% 93%

57%

31%

24%
6%

2%

5%

1% 1%

Hispanic or Latino Non-Hispanic
White

6%

Black or African
American

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

6%

1% 1%

8%

5%

American Indian Asian or Pacific
or Alaska Native
Islander
All Arizona Reservations

14%
3%

Multiracial

Arizona

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2023). 2020 Decennial Census, Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC), P6, P7, P8, P9, P12,
P12A-W.
Note: The six percentages shown in this figure may sum to more or less than 100% because (a) persons reporting Hispanic ethnicity are
counted twice if their race is Black, American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander, or any combination of two or more races, (b) persons
reporting any other race are not counted here unless they have Hispanic ethnicity, and (c) rounding.

Figure 6. Race and ethnicity for children birth to age 4, 2020 Census
95%
91%

51%
38%
28%

26%
8%

1% 3%

Hispanic or Latino Non-Hispanic
White

3% 1%

9%

Black or African
American

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

7%

0% 1%

7%

12%

American Indian Asian or Pacific
or Alaska Native
Islander

All Arizona Reservations

4%

Multiracial

Pima County

Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2023). 2020 Decennial Census, Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC), P6, P7, P8, P9, P12,
P12A-W.
Note: The six percentages shown in this figure may sum to more or less than 100% because (a) persons reporting Hispanic ethnicity are
counted twice if their race is Black, American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander, or any combination of two or more races, (b) persons
reporting any other race are not counted here unless they have Hispanic ethnicity, and (c) rounding.

36

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

Language use
Language provides an important connection to family, community and culture. Arizona is home to many
sovereign tribal nations whose Native languages are a vital cultural strength. Language preservation and
revitalization are critical to safeguarding traditional knowledge and promoting Indigenous selfdetermination, social unity and educational equity. 35, 36, 37 Unfortunately, the latest estimates for Native
language use in Arizona from the American Community Survey point to a sharp decline in the number
of speakers of native languages between 2019 and 2021. While the population of English-only speakers
rose 0.3% between 2019 and 2021, the population of speakers of Native North American languages
other than Navajo i declined by an estimated 27% (from over 30,000 to about 22,500). 38 This decrease
reflects the devastating losses that Native communities experienced during the COVID-19
pandemic. 39,40 These deaths, especially among Native elders, signify a loss of life and of traditional
knowledge, cultural history and language. 41,42 Ongoing support for cultural preservation and language
revitalization continues to be a critical need for Native communities in Arizona.
Mastery of more than one language is also an asset in school readiness and academic achievement and
may offer cognitive and social-emotional benefits in early school experiences and across one’s
lifetime. 43, 44, 45, 46, 47 However, families with lower English proficiency may also face barriers to
accessing information about health care and other services or engaging with their children’s teachers.
Children who do not yet have a full grasp of English may also experience difficulties in school,
impeding their academic success and resulting in negative health outcomes. 48, 49 Knowing the languages
spoken and level of English proficiency in a region can inform the development of resources and
services in multiple languages, ensuring that they are accessible to all families. 50, 51
How the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region is faring
•

While about two-thirds (64%) of individuals in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region speak only
English at home, 31% speak Spanish at home, a much higher proportion than seen across all
Arizona reservations (3%) and Pima County (23%). The remaining 5% speak a language other
than English or Spanish (most likely a Native North American language) at home, which is
similar to Pima County (5%) and the state as a whole (6%) but much lower than all Arizona
reservations combined (50%) (Figure 7). 52

•

Of those individuals speaking a language other than English at home, the majority also speak
English “very well,” ii with one-third of the region proficiently bilingual or multilingual (33%)
(Figure 8).

i The population of Navajo speakers declined by an estimated 13% (from over 90,000 to about 78,000) in Arizona between 2019 and 2021
ii “Very well” refers to the self-rated ability to speak English in response to the American Community Survey question “How well does this

person speak English?”. Other response options include: “well,” “not well” and “not at all.” See
https://www.census.gov/topics/population/language-use/about.html

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS 37

38

•

About 4% of households in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region are considered limited-Englishspeaking, meaning no one over the age of 13 in the household speaks English very well (Figure
9). This is a smaller proportion than seen across all Arizona reservations (12%), however there is
still some need for bilingual or multilingual staff and resources to support families whose first
language is not English, especially given the high percentage of individuals speaking Spanish at
home. 53, 54

•

Children living in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region attend a number of schools located outside of
the region (see the note in Table 4). During the 2021-22 school year, about one in every 10
preschool to 12th grade students (10%) at these schools were considered English Language
Learners (Table 4). Please note that this proportion includes students who are not living in the
Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region.

•

English Language Learners are identified through the Arizona Department of Education (ADE)
Home Language Survey, which asks families about the student’s first language and what
language is spoken at home most of the time. Statewide, there were 27 students with reported
Yaqui language use at home in 2020-21, decreasing to 23 students in 2021-22. Fewer than 11 of
these students attended off-reservation schools that serve Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region students
(Table 5).

•

The Gathering Hiaki Voices Survey, part of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Community Health Needs
Assessment in 2020, gathered information from 307 community member respondents living in
Pima County about their language use and ability. 55 The survey indicated that almost all
participants were able to read, write, speak or understand English (99%) and used it weekly or
daily (100%). Almost all participants also indicated the ability to read, write, speak or understand
Spanish (94%), and over half used Spanish weekly or daily (57%). While four in 10 reported
reading, writing, speaking or understanding the Yoeme language (40%), only one in 10 reported
using it on a weekly or daily basis (11%) (Figure 10).

•

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe Education Department provides language classes to community
members interested in learning the Yoeme language, which were formerly offered by the
Language and Culture Department. According to the 2022 FTF Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional
Needs and Assets Report, there were 289 people registered for classes in the Language Program,
and 112 registered in the Traditional Arts Program in the 2018-19 school year. This high level of
interest in the Yoeme language is a strength in the region. 56

•

Additionally, through two new grant agreements with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the First Things
First Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Partnership Council partner with the tribal government to
implement the Language, Literacy and Culture in Tribal Communities strategy that support the
creation of materials to be used in the classrooms that will be implementing a curriculum with
emphasis in Yoeme language, history, and culture. Furthermore, this strategy also funds a
position that creates and distributes materials in partnerships with tribal departments and

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

programs that are reflective of the tribal language and culture including books, posters and
informational flyers that are shared during community events. 57
•

According to the 2022 FTF Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Needs and Assets Report, the Pascua
Yaqui Tribe Department of Language and Culture provides language classes to community
members interested in learning the Yoeme language. In the 2018-19 school year, there were 289
people registered for classes in the Language Program, and 112 registered in the Traditional Arts
Program. This high level of interest in the Yoeme language is a strength in the region.

Figure 7. Language spoken at home (by persons ages 5 and older), 2017-2021 ACS

All Arizona Reservations

31%

64%

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region
47%

3%

5%

50%

Pima County

73%

23%

5%

Arizona

73%

20%

6%

13%

8%

78%

United States

Speak only English at home
Speak Spanish at home
Speak languages other than English or Spanish at home

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (2022). American Community Survey five-year estimates 2017-2021, Table C16001
Note: The three percentages in each bar may not sum to 100% because of rounding. The American Community Survey (ACS) no longer
specifies the proportion of the population who speak Native North American languages for geographies smaller than the state. In
Arizona, Navajo and other Native American languages (including Apache, Hopi, and O'odham) are the most commonly spoken (2%),
following English (73%) and Spanish (20%).

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS 39

Figure 8. English-language proficiency (for persons ages 5 and older), 2017-2021 ACS

33%

64%

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region
47%

All Arizona Reservations

3%
12%

41%

Pima County

73%

20%

8%

Arizona

73%

18%

8%

78%

United States

13%

8%

Speak only English at home
Speak another language, and speak English very well
Speak another language at home, and do not speak English very well

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (2022). American Community Survey five-year estimates 2017-2021, Table C16001
Note: The three percentages in the figure should sum to 100%, but may not because of rounding.

Figure 9. Share of households that are limited-English-speaking, 2017-2021 ACS

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

4%

All Arizona Reservations

12%

Pima County

4%

Arizona

4%

United States

4%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. (2022). American Community Survey five-year estimates 2017-2021, Table C16002
Note: A “limited-English-speaking” household is one in which no one over the age of 13 speaks English very well.

40

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

Table 4. Number of English Language Learners enrolled in all grades, 2020-21 to 2021-22
Geography

Number of PS-12 students who were
English Language Learners

Percent of PS-12 students who were
English Language Learners

2020-21

2021-22

2020-21

2021-22

Off-reservation schools serving
Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region
students

1,382

1,427

9%

10%

Pima County schools

10,450

10,703

7%

7%

Arizona schools

86,405

91,881

8%

8%

Source: Arizona Department of Education (2023). [Oct 1 Enrollment Dataset]. Custom tabulation of unpublished data by the UArizona
CRED Team.
Notes: The ‘Off-reservation schools serving Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region students’ row includes data from Drachman Primary Magnet
School, Raul Grijalva Elementary School, Harriet Johnson Primary School, Amelia Maldonado Elementary School, Miller Elementary
School, Vesey Elementary School, Frances J Warren Elementary School, John E White Elementary School, Anna Lawrence
Intermediate School, Hollinger K-8 School, McCorkle PK-8 School, Roskruge Bilingual Magnet Middle School, Safford K-8 School,
Mansfield Middle School, Pistor Middle School, Valencia Middle School, Tucson High Magnet School, Cholla High School, Project
More High School, and Catalina Online Learning Experience (all Tucson Unified School District schools), as well as Academy Del Sol
– Star Valley and Ha:san Preparatory & Leadership School (both charter schools).
English Language Learners are students who do not score ‘proficient’ in the English language based on the Arizona English Language
Learning Assessment (AZELLA) and thus are eligible for additional supportive services for English language acquisition. Legislation in
Arizona requires children in Arizona public schools be taught in English, and English Language Learners to attend English immersion
programs. Senate Bill 1014 passed in 2019, increased the flexibility districts have in structuring English Language Learners immersion
programs, and lessened the duration required of this instruction. For more information see https://www.azed.gov/oelas/structuredenglish-immersion-models

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS 41

Table 5. ADE Primary home language survey data, 2020-21 to 2021-22
Number of students in
households where Yaqui is
spoken

Geography

Percent of students in
households where
Yaqui is spoken

2020-21

2021-22

2020-21

2021-22

Off-reservation schools serving Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region students

<11

<11

DS

DS

Pima County schools

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Arizona schools

27

23

<2%

<2%

Source: Arizona Department of Education (2023). [PHLOTE Dataset]. Custom tabulation of unpublished data by the UArizona CRED
Team.
Notes: The Primary Home Language survey is completed by parents or caregivers of a student when they first enroll in school. The
survey asks what language is spoken at home most of the time, what language the student speaks most of the time, and what language the
student first spoke or understood. The ‘Off-reservation schools serving Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region students’ row includes data from
schools outside the region—see Appendix 4 for a full list.

Figure 10. Language use reported by respondents to the Pascua Yaqui Community Survey,
2020
99%

100%

94%

57%
40%

11%

English

Spanish
Read, write, speak, or understand

Yoeme
Use it weekly or daily

Source: First Things First (2022). Pascua Yaqui Tribe Regional Partnership Council 2022 Needs and Assets Report. Retrieved on Dec 1,
2023 from https://files.firstthingsfirst.org/regions/Publications/PYT%202022%20Regional%20Needs%20and%20Assets%20Report.pdf

Family and household composition
Young children in Arizona come from households with many potential compositions, each of which has
possible implications for child development. 58, 59, 60 For example, families with two married parents
tend to offer stability that promotes child well-being. 61, 62, 63 Single-parent households are common and
can be linked to levels of poverty, access to health and education resources and the quality of a child’s
interactions with adult caregivers. 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70 Multi-generational living, particularly arrangement

42

Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region

where grandparents live in the home with children and parents, has long been practiced in some cultures
and communities but is becoming increasingly common in U.S. families of all backgrounds. 71, 72, 73, 74
These living arrangements can offer financial and social benefits but also specific stressors, such as
managing conflicts in parenting styles and family roles. 75, 76 ,77, 78, 79 It is also increasingly common for
children to live in kinship care, defined as the care of children by someone other than their parents, such
as relatives or close friends. 80, 81, 82 These kinship caregivers, especially grandparents who care for their
grandchildren, can face unique challenges, including navigating the logistics of informal guardianship
(e.g., difficulties in registering children for school), coping with parental absence and addressing the
challenges of being an aging caregiver for a young child. 83, 84, 85, 86
Though varying from one community to another, multigenerational households and kinship care are
common in Native communities. 87, 88 The strengths associated with the extended family structure,
including mutual help and respect, can provide family members with a network of support that can be
valuable when dealing with socio-economic hardships. 89 Grandparents are often central to these
households and care situations, in many cases sharing and strengthening Native language, history and
culture. 90, 91
How the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region is faring
•

The majority of young children (birth to age 5) in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region live in a
household with one unmarried parent iii (75%), which is a larger proportion than across all
Arizona reservations (65%), Pima County (37%) and the state (37%). More than one in seven
(15%) young children live with non-relatives, while smaller shares live with relatives other than
parents (such as grandparents, aunts and uncles) (6%) or two married parents (4%) (Table 6).

•

Almost half of young children (47%) in the region lives in a grandparent’s household, which is
higher than across all Arizona reservations (43%) (Figure 11). In contrast, 14% of grandparents
in the region are living with grandchildren (birth to age 17) without a parent also present in the
household, which is the same as across Arizona reservations combined (Figure 12). This
indicates that most children living with grandparents are in multigenerational households with
parent(s) present, where grandparents may or may not be responsible for raising the child.

•

The ACS considers a grandparent to be responsible for their grandchildren if they are "currently
responsible for most of the basic needs of any grandchildren under the age of 18" who live in the
grandparent's household. Based on this definition, an estimated 185 grandparents in the Pascua

iii Note that due to the way the ACS asks about family relationships, children living with two unmarried, cohabitating parents are not

counted as living with two parents (these children are counted in the ‘one parent’ category). New data from the 2020 Census (table P20)
for children ages 0-17 shows that in the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Region, 22% of the children living in households with an unmarried parent
are actually living in cohabitating couple families where there are two parents present but they are not married. This means that for
children of all ages living with their parents in 2020, 30% were living in households led by married parents, 47% were living in households
led by an unmarried (and not cohabitating) mother, 16% were living in households led by cohabitating parents and 7% were living in
households led by an unmarried (and not cohabitating) father.

POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS 43

Yaqui Tribe Region are responsible for their grandchildren under 18 years old. A parent is also
present in most of these households (only 22% without the child’s parent). The majority of these
grandparents are female (65%), and 37% are in the labor force, meaning that they may need child
care for their grandchildren while they are working. Notably, only 16% have an income below
the poverty level, which is less than half the percent across all Arizona Reservations (36%) and
lower than Pima County (21%) (Table 7).
Table 6. Living arrangements for children birth to age 5, 2017-2021 ACS
Estimated number of
children (birth to age 5)
living in households

Living with two
married parents

Living with one
parent

Living not with
parents but with
other relati

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Apascua_yaqui%3Ab552a3c7d26602f0. Public record. Not legal advice.