Asthma disproportionately affects minorities, but few studies have evaluated interventions to improve asthma outcomes in minority children.The purpose of the study is to determine whether Parent Mentors (PMs) are more effective than traditional asthma care in reducing minority children's asthma morbidity, costs, and use of services, while increasing families' quality of life and parental self-efficacy.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The child was 2-18 years old
• African-American or Latino race/ethnicity for the child (by parental identification)
• Primary residence in a Milwaukee zip code
• ED or inpatient ward admission with a primary diagnosis of asthma.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Significant co-morbidity, including other pulmonary conditions, cardiac pathology, renal abnormalities, diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, and other co-morbidities that might lead to ED visits or hospitalizations, and current enrollment in a case management, intervention, or outreach program for childhood asthma management.