past events
Check out information from our past events. Check out our photo gallery!
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cacf executive director honored at oca-ny gala
cacf releaseS statement on the restoration of mayoral control
cacf awarded deutsche bank americas foundation grant
civic and community orgs call on nyc doe to do more
recording voices report release
CAcf responds to new york times blog post on health disparitieS
cacf executive director honored at kafsc 20th anniversary gala
cacf executive director receiveS child advocacy award
Asian Pacific American City advocacy day
Multilingual parent brochure release
ThE SULU SERIES
Cacf advocates for a fair budget
CACF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECEIVES FAMILY HEALTH PROJECT AWARD
BUDGET ADVOCACY: CACF JOINS "ONE NEW YORK"
CACf on asian america tv!
CACF APPLAUDS NEW CHANCELLOR'S REGULATION
Community briefing on new childhood education report
CACF FUNDRAISER AT THE PAINTED POT!
ASAP 5th ANNIVERSARY KICK-OFF!
Community Briefing with Mayor's Office of Contract Services
Breakfast with Chancellor Joel Klein
Community Briefing with Commissioner John Mattingly
Project CHARGE LauncH
80's Mania Happy Hour EvenT
2009 Caring for children awards gala reception
CACF Executive director honored
at oca-ny's 33rd anniversary
community service awards and gala
On September 18, 2009, Wayne Ho, CACF Executive Director received the Community Service Award at OCA-NY’s 33rd Anniversary Community Service Awards and Gala. OCA-NY is the New York Chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans, a national organization that is dedicated to advancing the social political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans in the United States. Held at the East Manor Restaurant in Elmhurst, Queens, OCA-NY recognized individuals whom they felt reflected their vision to embrace “the hopes and aspirations of Asian Americans.” Alice Hom, Principal of P.S. 124, Yung Wing Elementary School and Kingman Wong, FBI Special Agent in Charge of Operations for the New York Division, were also honored.
CACF releases statement on the restoration of mayoral control of new york city public schools
On August 11, 2009, Governor Paterson signed legislation that restored Mayoral Control of New York City public schools. First introduced in 2002, Mayoral Control gave Mayor Bloomberg the power to name the chancellor and have complete control over the school system’s budget and education policy. Mayoral Control was set to sunset in June 2009. With a sunset provision for June 2015, the current legislation has restored Mayoral Control for six more years.
CACF worked closely with parents and youth of the Asian Pacific American community and collaboratively with over 25 organizations of the Campaign for Better Schools to strengthen Mayoral Control. Specifically, the campaign developed three recommendations to improve Mayoral Control: 1) improve checks and balances, 2) increase transparency of financial and academic reporting, and 2) empower parental engagement in schools.
Click here to read CACF's Statement on Mayoral Control Legislation.
CACF Awarded Deutsche Bank americas foundation college ready communities grant
On August 11, 2009, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation (DBAF) announced that the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) along with the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) were awarded a College Ready Communities grant to launch Project Collegebound in Flushing, NY.
The grant will enable CACF and AAFE to launch Project Collegebound in the Fall of 2009 at Flushing High Schoola nd Flushing International High School. The program will aims to create a college-going school culture and expand direct services to help students and families understand the college application process and how to deal with structural barriers, like saving enough money and applying for financial aid.
Click here to view the media advisory.
For news-related articles click here.
Civic and Community Orgs Call on NYC DOE
to Do More to Protect Youth from Harassment and Bullying
On June 30, 2009, a group of five civic and community advocacy organizations released a white paper and report card showing that the New York City Department of Education (DOE) is falling short on its duty to protect public school students from bias-based harassment and bullying.
Dignity Now: The Campaign to Stop Bullying and Bias-Harassment in New York City Schools, a white paper by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and the New York City Bar Association’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Committee, uses legal analysis and students’ first-hand accounts to conclude that though Mayor Bloomberg and the DOE have made strides toward ending the problem of bullying and biased-based harassment in the schools, more effort is necessary.
Bias-based Harassment in New York City Public Schools: A Report Card on the Department of Education’s Implementation of Chancellor’s Regulation A-832, produced by the Sikh Coalition, the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), assesses the DOE’s progress enforcing Chancellor’s Regulation A-832, which was issued last September to address student-to-student bullying and bias-based harassment. Based on a survey of more than 1,100 students and educators in the city’s public schools, the report card demonstrates that the regulation is not being fully implemented.
Among the report card’s key findings:
- 76 percent of students do not know they can report bias-based harassment anonymously by emailing respectforall@schools.nyc.gov.
- 80 percent of students have not attended a training or presentation to discourage harassment.
- 16 percent of students who reported experiencing bias-based harassment said the harasser was a teacher, staff member, or security agent.
You can download a free copy of the report here.
recording voices report released:
youth feel the burden of taking on the role of parent
On June 16, 2009, CACF released a new report, Recording Voices: Stories of Asian Pacific American Youth as Language Brokers in New York City, which finds that Asian Pacific American families often rely on children and youth to be translators and interpreters when accessing public services. These bilingual children and youth are known as “language brokers,”who are forced to translate or interpret for limited English proficient (LEP) parents in daily situations without any special training. CACF found that 49% of youth translate for their parents “always/a lot.”
The report was released at a community briefing co-sponsored by the CUNY Asian American/Asian Research Institute (AAARI) and held at the CUNY Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies. Speakers included: Kleber Palma, Director, Translation and Interpretation Unit, New York City Department of Education and Stefanie Trice, Senior Director, Office of LEP / Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS), NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC).
You can download a free copy of the report here.
CACF responds to New York Times blog post on health disparities
“By saying that African Americans are the only group whom the NYS health system has failed diminishes the fact that Asian and Latino communities face tremendous health disparities and barriers. While Asian Americans and Latinos might have had better health indicators under some of these measures, they have poor health in other indicators. For example, in New York City alone, up to 15 percent of Asian Americans have chronic hepatitis B, and liver cancer is 10 times more likely to occur in Asian Americans than in the rest of the American population. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Asian-American women age 15 to 24; and these women have the highest suicide rate of any community.
All communities in NYS are falling short of meeting many of the Health People 2010 goals for key health indicators. Highlighting one racial group undermines the reason why we must all work together to ensure that the health system is meeting the cultural and linguistic needs of all the diverse communities of New York.”
-Wayne Ho, Executive Director
See the original article here: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/racial-disparities-found-under-state-health-plans/?scp=1&sq=disparities&st=cse
CACF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Honored at kafsc 20th anniversary gala
On May 2, 2009, Wayne Ho, CACF Executive Director, was honored at the Korean American Family Service Center’s (KAFSC) 20th Anniversary Gala Benefit: Raising Hope… Transforming Lives. The Korean American Family Service Center (KAFSC) is a nonprofit organization established to promote healthy relationships and address domestic violence issues in Korean American families in the New York metropolitan area through a wide range of bilingual programs and services. Honorable Kyung-wha Kang, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, served as the keynote speaker who addressed the importance of women’s rights as human rights as a means for women’s empowerment. Over 400 guests attended, including distinguished guests Council Member Elizabeth Crowley, Assemblywoman Grace Meng, and Council Member John Liu.
CACF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECEIVES
CHILD ADVOCACY AWARD
On April 24, 2009, Wayne Ho, CACF Executive Director, received the Child Advocacy Award from Commissioner John Mattingly of the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and ACS joined the nation in stressing the importance of reducing child abuse and neglect. The other award recipients were Dr. Jocelyn Brown, Manhattan's Child Advocacy Center; Detective Luz Figueroa, NYPD, Queens Child Abuse Squad; and Melissa Plowden-Norman and Christina Richburg of Bed-Stuy Advocates. Photo by Christopher Auger-Domínguez
Asian Pacific American
City Advocacy Day
12% and Growing Coalition held New York City’s first Asian Pacific American City Advocacy Day on April 22, 2009! It was exciting, powerful, and inspiring to see the diverse Asian Pacific American community united to protest the City’s budget cuts.
During the City Advocacy Day, 12% and Growing Coalition advocated for budget priorities that would benefit Asian Pacific American and immigrant communities. The day saw:
- 150 community members from over 30 community based organizations (CBOs) attend the rally and press conference at City Hall
- 8 ethnically diverse staff and clients of the CBOs speak at the press conference
- 25 CBO staff participate in 13 legislative visits with City Council Members
- 13 mainstream and Asian ethnic press cover the event
Click here for our FY 2010 Budget Priorities and press conference photos. CACF will work with our coalition members to continue advocating for a fair City budget until the deadline of June 30, 2009. If you would like further information, please contact Vanessa Leung, Deputy Director, at vleung@cacf.org.
cacf RELeases
new multilingual parent brochure
CACF is proud to announce the release of Keeping Children Safe and Families Together: A Guide for Immigrant Families to Understand Child Abuse and Neglect Laws and Support Services in New York. The brochure provides information for Asian Pacific American parents on the child welfare system, appropriate childrearing practices, child discipline laws, parents’ and children’s rights, and support services. The brochure is available for free and is translated into seven languages (Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Punjabi, Urdu, and Vietnamese). The brochure will be used as part of Project B-SAAF (Building Supports for Asian American Families), which provides free, citywide, 90-minute trainings to Asian Pacific American parents. Trainings are conducted in English with interpretation/translation as necessary.
If you would like copies of the brochures or are interested in the trainings, please contact Vanessa Leung at (212) 809-4675 or vleung@cacf.org.
To access the PDF version of the brochure click here.
THe SULU SERIES
On Sunday, September 20, 2009 The Sulu Artists Network showed their support for CACF by dedicating this month's session as a fundraiser for CACF! In it's fourth year, "The Sulu Series" is a monthly event held every third Sunday of the Month at the Bowery Poetry Club that showcases the talents of various artists. Thank you for all those who came out to the event, and showed their support for CACF.
cacf advocates for a fair budget
On Tuesday, December 16, 2008, NYS Governor Paterson released his preliminary budget for the next fiscal year. CACF drafted a response to the Governor's budget that highlights its impact on Asian Pacific American children and families. CACF considers the budget proposal to be inadequate in protecting vulnerable communities, including Asian Pacific American children and families, during these tough economic times. His proposal has the correct intention of addressing core services but does not help families get the resources to thrive in this environment. The proposed cuts to core services - which aim to expand educational opportunities, increase access to health care, and keep children and families together - will have a direct and disproportionate impact on Asian Pacific Americans. CACF urges the Governor to consider not only cuts to services but also revenue-generating options that are progressive, equitable, and fair. CACF calls on the Governor to protect the most vulnerable New Yorkers during these challenging economic times.
Click here to view CACF's Press Statement about the Governor's Budget
CACF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECEIVES FAMILY HEALTH PROJECT AWARD
On December 2, 2008, Wayne Ho, CACF executive director, received the Making a Difference Award from the Family Health Project. Founded in 1989 by Suki Terada Ports, the Family Health Project has been a tireless advocacy organization addressing the critical need for HIV/AIDS prevention education, support, and referral services, particularly for low-income women of color. Along with Barbara Turk and Jean Grant, Wayne was honored for his commitment to improving the health of New Yorkers. Presenters included the Honorable David Dinkins, former Mayor of New York City, and Paul Huang, president of the CJ Huang Foundation. The event was held at the home of Council Member Gale A. Brewer and Cal Snyder.
budget advocacy: cacf joins "one new york" to fight for fairness and advocate for the protection of our community in these times of economic difficulty
At this time of economic difficulty, it is essential that government recognizes that the neediest among us will feel the pain of economic downturn the most sharply. In response to the City and State budget cuts which will ultimately impact our community, over 200 non-profit groups and service providers have united to form "One New York" to fight for fairness. As a member of "One New York" CACF advocates for the protection of our community by ensuring that the government prioritizes and protects New York City programs and services such as: AIDS services, child care, child welfare, education, health care, higher education, homeless housing, housing, immigrant services, income support, legal services, people with disabilities, senior services, youth services and other vital areas.
Click here for the Epoch Times article, "Gov. Paterson Announces More NY Budget Cuts".
Click here for the Korea Daily News article, "New York City Immigrants Protest Budget Cuts".
CACF on asian america tv!
On Sunday, November 23, 2008 Ernabel Demillo (Journalism Professor at St. Peter's College), Wayne Ho (Executive Director of CACF), and Henrietta Ho-Asjoe (CACF Board Member) participated in a roundtable discussion on how the economic crisis is impacting Asian Pacific American children and families. The segment features aired on Asian America TV (channel 25 in New York City and the Tri-State Area).
Click here to view the Asian America TV web site.
CACF applauds new CHancellor's regulation regarding bias-based harassment, but more work is needed to protect students
On September 3, 2008, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Chancellor Joel Klein, and Speaker Christine Quinn were joined by CACF, advocates, and policymakers to announce the creation of an historic new Chancellor's Regulation that defines, tracks, and aims to prevent bias-based harassment in New York City public schools. After years of urging the Department of Education to implement such a regulation, CACF applauds the Chancellor and Mayor for taking this very important step in making New York City's schools free of harassment for not only Asian Pacific American students but also all students. While this regulation is a good start, CACF recognizes several shortcomings which will need to be addressed in its implementation.
Click here for CACF's response.
Click here for the New York Times article, "New Rules Are Aimed at Deterring School Bullying".
Click here for the NBC article, "Schools Get New Anti-Harassment Rules".
Click here for the Education Week article, "NYC Schools get new anti-harassment rules".
Click here for the amNew York article, "Bloomberg: Schools to go after bias-based bullying".
Click here for the News Times article, "NYC schools get new anti-harassment rules".
Click here for the Gay City News article, "More Sparring Over Bullying".
Community Briefing on New Early Childhood Education Report
Over 140 people attended CACF's community briefing on our newest report, Breaking Down Barriers: Immigrant Families and Early Childhood Education in New York City. CACF was selected as 1 of 5 organizations nationally by the Center of Law and Social Policy (CLASP) to conduct research on immigrant families' access to early childhood education, which includes Child Care, Head Start, and Universal Pre-K programs.
Click here to view the report. You can also contact CACF to have copies of the report sent to you.
CACF Fundraiser at The Painted Pot!
Thank you to everyone who came and was inspired to paint a pot and support CACF! Special thanks to the fabulous women at the Painted Pot for hosting us.
ASAP 5th Anniversary Kick-Off!
We kicked our year-long celebration of the 5th Anniversary of the Asian American Student Advocacy Project (ASAP) on Thursday, August 13th. Thank you for everyone for attending and look out for more 5th Anniversary events in the future!
Thank you to the Asian American Writers' Workshop and the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory for co-sponsoring the event.
Community Briefing held with Mayor's Office of Contract Services
On May 15, 2008, CACF convened a Community Briefing with the Mayor's Office of Contract Services to educate community based organizations about the city's contracting and procurement process. We hope this encourages Asian Pacific American led and serving organizations to access city funding to support their critical programs.
Breakfast with Chancellor Joel Klein
On April 16, 2008, CACF convened a breakfast with Department of Education Chancellor Joel Klein to discuss education issues facing the Asian Pacific American community of New York City.
View Community Briefing Summary
Community Briefing with Commissioner John Mattingly
On February 1, 2008 CACF convened a Community Briefing with Administration of Childrens' Services Commissioner John Mattingly to discuss the child welfare issues facing the Asian Pacific American community of New York City.
View Community Briefing Summary
Project CHARGE Launch
CACF is a proud partner of Project CHARGE (Coalition for Health Access to Reach Greater Equity), which is one of 8 coalitions funded nationally by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF). Project CHARGE aims to address health disparities and increase health access for New York City's Asian Pacific Islander (API) Community.
80's Mania Happy hour
Thank you to everyone who came to our 80's Mania Happy Hour event that was held on October 22, 2009. CACF believes it is important to network the individuals, groups and communities who want to make New York City and safe and healthy place for Asian Pacific Americans.
2009 Caring for Children Awards Gala RECEPTION
CACF would like to t hank you for your support of our 2009 Caring for Children Awards Gala Reception. Over 200 honored guests and community members gathered on November 11, 2009, to celebrate the achievements of our honorees: Loretta Au, MD, Amardeep Singh, Esq., and Kyung Yoon. We honored them for their leadership and dedication to improving the lives of Asian Pacific American children and families.
Your support helped make the Gala our best fundraising event this year, as we have exceeded our goal of $120,000!
Again, thank you for your support of CACF's initiatives and making a difference in the lives of Asian Pacific American children and families. We look forward to seeing you at our 2010 Caring for Children Awards Gala Reception next year!