API Mobilization
History
The Asian/Pacific Islander Community Response Plan (API CRP) group was first convened in 2001 by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD), located in Oakland, California. The API CRP group is a network whose members include community service providers that work with API youth and their families, representatives of local elected officials, city and county agencies, and community members.
The CRP group brings together organizations and individuals concerned with juvenile justice and youth violence prevention to:
- educate the community about the needs and issues facing Oakland’s diverse API youth population
- identify and advocate for specific mobilization of resources and policy changes
From 2001-2005, the CRP was part of the API Youth Violence Prevention Center, a collaboration of NCCD and the University of Hawaii funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2005 the API Center evolved into the Center on Culture, Immigration and Youth Violence Prevention.
Accomplishments
As the CRP group’s first major project, NCCD facilitated a data driven, research-based process, producing a landmark publication, Under the Microscope: Asian and Pacific Islander Youth in Oakland, Needs•Issues•Solutions (2003; 2nd ed. 2007). Under the Microscope provides disaggregated data on API youth in the areas of education, behavioral health, and juvenile justice. The report is an effective tool for increasing awareness about API youth’s needs and issues. Over 20 organizations helped determine the report’s content and recommendations.
Other accomplishments of the CRP group include producing a resource guide on API youth service providers in Oakland, organizing a statewide dialogue on API youth violence, and serving as a resource to media covering issues about API youth.
The group also obtained funding to develop an educational DVD for API parents, titled “Know Your Rights in the Juvenile Justice System: A Guide for API Youth & Parents.” The DVD, produced by NCCD, is available in Chinese, English, Tongan, and Vietnamese. Click here for links to the video in these languages.
Current Activities
One key recommendation from Under the Microscope was to start youth centers at schools where API students and families could access services. This recommendation took on new urgency in 2006, when conflicts among Mongolian youth and youth of other API ethnicities occurred in Oakland. Such conflicts typically pit the newest immigrant groups against previous new immigrants or more well established groups. These events - as well as the CRP’s growing awareness of Burmese, Tibetan, and other newly arrived immigrant groups - highlighted the need to create a setting where API youth and others feel safe, and the CRP decided to focus on advocating for a youth center.
In spring 2007, CRP members began fleshing out ideas for a youth center. This center, which will target API youth and be open to all youth, will provide comprehensive and coordinated youth development and violence prevention services. Although there is not yet a specific site for the center, the CRP is focusing on Oakland's Chinatown neighborhood as a potential location. In fall 2007, NCCD hired a consultant to guide the CRP in planning a youth center.
Since fall 2007, the CRP has been actively engaged in a youth center planning process, known as the Chinatown Youth Center Initiative (CYCI). A Planning Committee - with representation from community based organizations, elected officials, and public agencies - meets regularly to guide the process. The CRP membership, including Planning Committee members, also meets monthly to give input. In addition, a youth advisory council provides direction on key planning decisions.
In 2008, the CRP led a community assessment process to gather input on what local youth and parents would like to see in a youth center. Over 500 youth and 45 parents completed surveys; four focus groups were also held. The data collected from this process helped the CRP and youth advisory council develop the youth center’s vision, mission, goals and core program areas.
During the 2009-10 academic year, CYCI activities included supporting the youth advisory council’s efforts to inform aspects of the planning process, drafting a business plan and fundraising strategy for the youth center, and planning a career exploration event in partnership with Laney College. The career exploration project grew out of survey data indicating that employment-related programming is a priority for youth; the day-long event, called the Futures Expo, brought about 150 Oakland high school youth to the Laney campus, where they attended job search workshops and career panels and also visited Laney's annual Career Expo.
In the 2010-11 academic year, the CYCI will focus on launching a Beta Phase (pilot) youth center, providing limited programming, at a site in the Chinatown area of Oakland.
Read the Chinatown Youth Center Initiative fact sheet.
For More Information
To learn more about the API mobilization effort in Oakland or the Chinatown Youth Center Initiative, contact Caroline Glesmann, Research Associate, at (510) 208-0500, ext. 307.
