CAA works to empower our communities through services,
advocacy and policy reform. We create programs that provide the necessary
information and skills for under-represented individuals to become their
own advocates. CAA staff also reform systems that impede access to civic
and political participation by newcomers, language minorities and other
under-represented groups.
Language Rights
Are Civil Rights
This year, CAA and a coalition of immigrant-rights organizations
asked the state for an audit of the 1973 Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services
Act, which requires all state and local agencies serving a substantial
number of limited- English speaking people to provide services in languages
other than English. The results of this audit, published in November
1999, found that 7 out of 10 state agencies were not even aware of the
Dymally-Alatorre Act, let alone in compliance. CAA is working with
other organizations to advocate for more enforcement resources and legislative
change to increase access to government services.
Under Dymally-Alatorre, state
agencies were required to provide bilingual services
if 5% or more of its constituency were monolingual in a particular language;
however, the requirement of local agencies
was not defined. In San Francisco, CAA helped draft
the Equal Access to Services Act to define this requirement for all City
departments that provide extensive public services. Sponsored by
Supervisors Mabel Teng, Alicia Becerril, and Michael Yaki, the Equal Access
to Services Act will require many important City agencies to provide bilingual
services and translation of forms to make City agencies more accessible
to non-English speaking residents. |
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| Census 2000 (Making Our Communities Count!)
Since its founding 30 years ago, CAA has taken a leading
role in advocating for a more complete count of minority and immigrant
populations. In the 1990 Census, an undercount of California’s minority
and immigrant population resulted in the loss of at least one Congressional
seat and $2.2 billion dollars in federal funding. In San Francisco
alone, over 6,000 children were missed, enough to fill 9 additional schools.
Realizing the stakes in money and representation, this year CAA has been
the impetus behind the California Complete Count Coalition, consisting
of over 25 organizations in Southern and Northern California united to
address statewide issues and to develop policies aimed at obtaining a more
accurate count of hard-to-enumerate communities. Coalition members,
including MALDEF, NAACP and other organizations, have played key roles
in creating and developing the state’s $24.7 million Census outreach program.
We also worked to create $250,000 at the local level.
Our thanks to the California Wellness Foundation and Pacific
Bell for supporting our important Census work!
District elections education
In 2000, San Francisco is moving from citywide to district
elections for the City Board of Supervisors. This conversion could
create a dramatic shift in the composition of the city’s legislative body,
increasing representation of those communities ignored by traditional politics,
such as the neighborhoods of Visitacion Valley and Bay View/Hunter’s Point.
With the support of the San Francisco Foundation, CAA has undertaken an
outreach and education project to bring critical information about
this change. Through this effort, residents of San Francisco will
be aware of their greater ability to impact the future of their neighborhoods
and this city through their vote. This also creates an important
opportunity and need for cross-community collaboration to ensure that all
constituent concerns are addressed. |
| Collaborating
to Build Community |
Visitacion Valley Collaborative
| Seeds planted in 1998 sprouted into healthy partnerships
in 1999. Motivated by the growing Chinese immigrant population in
Visitacion Valley, neighborhood community organizations invited CAA to
set up a satellite office with them in the southeast end of San Francisco.
Dubbed “The Village,” this coalition of community organizations included
long established groups such as the |
GcGruff the Crime Dog makes friends at Visitation Valley
Neighborhood Day.
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| Geneva Valley Development Corporation (GVDC), Visitacion
Valley Jobs, Education, and Training (VVJET), and the Columbia Boys and
Girls Club, organizations providing social services ranging from housing
and employment issues to youth development. CAA’s presence in The
Village has allowed Chinese residents to use many of these services for
the first time. CAA also joined forces with Intergroup Clearinghouse and
Community Boards in outreach and education efforts regarding hate violence
and inter-ethnic community building. As the first Asian Pacific American
organization in The Village, CAA has also facilitated opportunities for
other APA organizations to make their services available to the growing
APA community in Visitacion Valley. This work has been generously
supported by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.
In 1999, CAA helped to coordinate a Chinese New Year celebration,
the first Chinese cultural event open to the community in Visitacion Valley.
In August, the Village held its first Neighborhood Day, an event designed
to appreciate the diversity of cultures within Visitacion Valley.
In a city famous for diversity, Visitacion Valley can look forward to more
events celebrating the many cultures living within its neighborhood. |
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