PRESS RELEASE: California’s API Organizations Celebrate Day of Inclusion by Launching Campaign to Promote Participation in 2010 Census

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California’s Asian Pacific Islander Organizations Celebrate Day of Inclusion by Launching Campaign to Promote Participation in 2010
Census Network aims to educate one million hard-to-count Californians and ensure vital funds for government programs

LOS ANGELES, CA – As the State of California celebrates the Day of Inclusion marking the 1943 repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act, seven Asian and Pacific Islander (API) organizations across the state have come together to form the API Census Network, in an effort to promote the API community’s participation in the 2010 Census.


“The Chinese Exclusion Act was among one of the many discriminatory laws that existed in U.S. history,” said California State Assemblymember Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park), who authored legislation in the California State Legislature to recognize the day when the act was repealed. “However, there are minority groups that are still struggling with fairness and equality today. Luckily, a simple way that underrepresented populations can ensure that their voices are heard is by
participating in the 2010 Census.”

Over the last decade, California has suffered a $2.1 billion loss in federal funding due to the undercount of API populations
during the 2000 Census. This affects all California residents, and in our current economic climate the state cannot afford to be undercounted again. An accurate 2010 Census can help correct errors in determining political districts and allocation of
federal funds to state and local governments.


“We have to be creative about the strategies we use to outreach to everyone in the Asian and Pacific Islander community,” said An Le, the API Census Network statewide network manager. “We need our communities to understand an accurate census means more federal funding, greater access to governmental services and more resources directed to our communities.Our goal is to have everyone fill out their census questionnaires in April 2010.”

One of the obstacles in conducting an accurate count of API populations is language proficiency: Nearly 36% of Asian Americans and 10% of Pacific Islanders have limited English proficiency. Further compounding the undercount is the immense cultural and linguistic diversity, making it challenging to educate this population about the importance to participate in the census.

As a part of their outreach and media campaign, the API Census Network will redistribute culturally specific materials in all major Asian languages produced by the Census Bureau. Additionally, the API Census Network recognizes specific
communities in South East, South Asian, and Pacific Islander sub-groups have disproportionately low rates of participation in the census. In an effort to equalize this under-representation, the API Census Network is producing culturally specific, public service announcements in six languages, - Thai, Samoan, Khmer, Hindi, Lao and Tongan – languages not targeted in the official Census 2010 media campaign. Independent filmmakers and community organizations are partnering to produce the public service announcements, which will begin airing in February 2010 on a variety of in-language subscription cable

Founded in 1983, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for civil rights, providing legal
services and education, and building coalitions to positively influence and impact Asian Pacific Americans and to create a more equitable and harmonious society. APALC is affiliated with the Asian American Justice Center (formerly known as NAPALC) in Washington, D.C. channels, radio programs, and internet portals.

In January, the API Census Network plans to launch a census materials website for community based organizations. The site will provide access to in-language and ethic specific materials on the subject of Census 2010; designed to augment the impact of statewide partner outreach and training efforts. Additionally each regional partner is responsible for regional census outreach trainings. These trainings will produce an educated base of local community organizations positioned to custom tailor Census 2010 messages for their communities, which will encourage
higher numbers of individual participation among hard-to-count communities.

The API Census Network, coordinated by the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, covers California from Sacramento to San Diego and includes the Asian Law Caucus in the Bay Area, the Asian Law Alliance in the South Bay, the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council in Los Angeles, Fresno Center for New Americans in the Central Valley, Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance in Orange County, and Union of Pan Asian Communities in San Diego. In the upcoming months, the API Census Network will focus on outreach and education to the API community about the impact

2010 Census: In Your Language

The US Census Bureau (CB) site now features a drop down menu where users have the option of selecting to view site information in 58 different languages.
Check out the CB site in your language now at: http://2010.census.gov/2010census/

Targeting "Hard to Count " Communities in California

An accurate count of the population is crucial to communities, cities, counties, and states. Healthy City wants to ensure a better count of traditionally marginalized, "hard-to-count" communities by providing innovative online tools for research, planning and coordination of outreach activities. The website will give you access to the largest array of census outreach related data and innovative tools to design, analyze, and share your outreach activities. The most impressive feature on the site allows you to interactively map Hard-to-Count (HTC) populations against a wide array of other demographic data. From the map, you can create your own neighborhood boundaries, upload/overlay your datasets so that you can more efficiently plan canvassing, media outreach and training activities.

http://www.hardtocount.healthycity.org/

CENSUS 2010 National Thai Complete Count Committee (NTCCC)

The CENSUS 2010 National Thai Complete Count Committee (NTCCC) is counting down the days until the 2010 Census. NTCCC is a collective of community based organization, business leaders, and volunteers that are bringing awareness about the national census count and the importance of participation for the future of all Thai communities. Find “Be Counted in 2010” information, in-language materials and subtitled informational videos on their site: http://www.thaicensus.org/.


Check out the subtitled informational video that the NTCCC  has put out: Census 2010: A New Portrait of America (Thai Subtitle)