L.A. needs to work on better life for Latinos.

FEW regions face the future with an asset as large and valuable as L.A.'s emerging Latino majority. L.A. Latinos make up a vibrant and influential community, one that is hard working with deep-seated values. With nearly one-half the population representing the future of Los Angeles, Latinos are a community of optimism, aspirations and dreams.

The 2006 Latino Scorecard, released recently by United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Alliance for a Better Community and five leading universities, focuses on building continued momentum around the Latino community, in order to drive solutions that address the critical indicators that are hindering Latino success. While the report identified areas of progress, it also found that conditions for the Latino community continue to fall short of other ethnic groups in Los Angeles.

This collaborative report puts the onus on elected officials, educational institutions, foundations and civic organizations to join forces and continue to find solutions that drive action around improving conditions for the Latino community. We cannot miss the opportunity to support a standard of living for Latinos, in order to take advantage of the unparalleled economic and social opportunity facing our great region. Simply put, we must not let down our largest population.

* We must leverage this demographic asset to shore up the future trajectory of Latinos and Los Angeles.

* We must adopt a new way of thinking to promote strategies that accelerate the upward mobility of the Latino community.

* We must collaborate as a community to improve social and economic conditions for Latinos and all Angelenos.

By updating indicators and grades from the 2003 Latino Scorecard, the 2006 report examines how Latinos in Los Angeles are fating in five key areas: health, education, economic development, housing and public safety. The report identified specific areas of concern, with education, housing and economic development receiving near-failing grades. In the area of economic development, Los Angeles Latinos experience low income levels ($12,464 per capita income) and high levels of poverty and unemployment, due, in large part, to the low rates of high school and college completion and the high rates of low-wage and blue collar jobs.

But what these factors seem to belie is that economic development also represents a significant area of hope for the Latino Community due, in large part, to Latinos' significant presence in the Los Angeles workforce, strong work ethic and thriving entrepreneurial spirit. Latino males have the highest labor force participation rate of all ethnic groups in the community, with 78 percent of males over age 16 holding jobs. Additionally, Latinos own more businesses in Los Angeles than in any other market in the U.S., representing an area of promise for generating employment and overall economic development. And according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth, Latino purchasing power in 2005 was $736 billion in the U.S.--$202 billion of that in California--and is expected to grow by 68 percent by 2010.

The Latino Scorecard Committee has worked faithfully in unprecedented collaboration to improve conditions for the Latino community. But collaboration between all sectors of the community--both public and private--is imperative to drive continued momentum and change within the community. The Latino Scorecard draws its strength from partnership, and we can do better in holding institutions, the private sector and ourselves accountable for creating change. We cannot underestimate the readiness of Angelenos to support the actions that represent a prescription for change. C's and D's are not good enough for our future tax base, future workforce--the future of Los Angeles.

We must provide educational systems that give youth the skills to support a 21st Century economy and provide pathways to better jobs and mainstream financial services. We must form public and private partnerships for entrepreneurial, financial, and business education. We must also promote financial literacy education for consumers, and cultural competence for the staff and members of financial institutions. The private sector has already recognized the promise of the Latino Community and has begun moving past limitations to offer services such as home loans and mortgages, regardless of residency status. This progressive action must continue within all sectors of the community.

Our success as a region is contingent upon the progress made in all of the areas covered by the Scorecard. How do we direct our future? We can no longer just follow what we know-the same ideas implemented in the same ways. It is crucial that we define a new way of helping people understand what they instinctively know, and this knowledge is the strength of the Latino Scorecard. Tied together, we are capable of promoting the right strategies to fit the prescription for Los Angeles, today and for future generations.

Elise Buik is president and chief executive of the United Way Greater Los Angeles. Monica Lozano is chair of the Latino Scorecard Committee and president and chief executive of La Opinion.