Advocacy

National CAPACD advocates for AAPI families, youth and communities with federal agencies as well as national intermediaries and organizations.  Some of our advocacy accomplishments include:

• Supporting the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus’ efforts to launch a Task Force on Housing and Community and Economic Development.  Chaired by Congressman Al Green, the Task Force engages with AAPI communities to ensure that AAPI perspectives are included in housing and community development legislation.
• Working with a national coalition of AAPI organizations to pass the Asian and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions Designation in 2007, and continuing to work with federal agencies to ensure successful implementation.
• Advocating with Congress, federal agencies and national intermediaries to increase visibility for and data about AAPI communities in the foreclosure crisis and ensure access to federal resources.
• Mobilizing successfully to defeat an amendment to HR 1851, the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA), which would have limited HUD’s authority to require recipients of federal funds to translate documents for LEP persons, drastically undermining Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on national origin.
• Supporting the efforts of the Save New Orleans East Coalition to shut down the controversial and potentially hazardous Chef Menteur landfill, built only one mile from the Vietnamese community in New Orleans East.

In all of our advocacy efforts, National CAPACD works with national intermediaries, corporate partners and low-income advocacy groups to create opportunities, resources and legislation that improve the lives of low-income children, families and communities.

These successes and relationships increase the influence of AAPI communities on decision makers in housing, community and economic development and help us to raise the profile of the issues facing our communities.

Research and Policy Briefs

National CAPACD produces original research reports and policy briefs on a variety of topics relevant to the community development needs of AAPI families at the local, state and national levels.  Our research publications include:

• AAPI Nexus: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Policy, Practice and Community: Special Issue on Community Development (2003) — National CAPACD serves on the editorial board for AAPI Nexus, a journal published by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center.  This inaugural issue included an article co-authored by National CAPACD: An Agenda for AAPI Community Economic Development. 
• Economic Needs of Asian American and Pacific Islanders in Distressed Areas: Establishing Baseline Information (2002) — This report provided research and established baseline census data on 17 poor AAPI neighborhoods.  Its publication raised visibility regarding the housing needs of AAPI families in Congress and with federal agencies who have never addressed these issues.
• Building Capacity:  Challenges and Opportunities of Asian Pacific American Community Development (2000) — National CAPACD’s first research publication, this report focuses on organizations supporting AAPI families, the resources available to them and the challenges and opportunities of supporting community development in AAPI communities.

These publications form the empirical basis for much of our advocacy work.  In addition, National CAPACD regularly produces policy analyses focus on issues such as language accessibility, data policy in housing and community development programs and funding allocations for community development projects in AAPI communities.

For copies of our publications, please visit our website.

To participate in any of our research and policy efforts, email Lisa Hasegawa, Executive Director, at or call (202) 223-2442.