The following Executive Director’s Report was submitted to the Commission at its September 17, 2016, board meeting at Clark College in Vancouver. The Report covers a time period from June 18 to November 18, 2016. View in PDF format.

1. FINANCIAL REPORT:

  • Budget: The Commission is operating within its current fiscal year budget of $231,000. The previous fiscal year ended on June 30. The Commission’s ending balance was $196. The non-state allocation amount is $18,600.

2. MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

  • 2017-19 Budget: The Commission’s 2017-2019 budget request was submitted to the Governor’s budget staff for review on September 9. The request would fund a community needs assessment and statewide civic engagement activities. The full budget proposal will be available at ofm.wa.gov.
  • Interns: The Commission will be seeking applicants to serve as Legislative Interns for the upcoming session. Details on how to apply will be posted on the website soon.
  • New Agency Brochure: A new set of informational agency brochures is available in the following 14 languages: English, Korean, Punjabi, Tagalog, Hindi, Hmong, Khmer, Lao, Nepali, Samoan, Simplified Chinese, Tibetan, Tongan, and Vietnamese.

3. LEGISLATIVE SESSION:

  • Legislative Session: The 2017-19 session will begin on January 9, 2017. Lawmakers will pass new laws and approve a new two-year state budget. Due to the McCleary decision, legislators have been charged with determining how to fully fund the salaries of teachers and school employees. Currently, many school districts utilize local property taxes to support these basic education costs.
  • Joint Legislative Task Forces:
    • Task Force on the Use of Deadly Force in Community Policing: The Task Force has met three times to review laws, practices, and training programs regarding the use of deadly force in Washington. Toshiko Hasegawa represents CAPAA, JACL Seattle, and the Asian Pacific Directors Coalition on the Task Force. A report is due December 2016. CAPAA convened two meetings to hear community input and will hold a third on October 6 in Seattle. More details on our website.
    • The Task Force on the Use of Body Worn Cameras: The Task Force met for the first time on August 3 to examine the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement agencies. Sokha Danh and Molly Harper Haines represent CAPAA on the Task Force. The next meeting is scheduled for October 7 in Richland. A report is due December 2017.

4. OUTREACH

  • Community Connections: Staff met with numerous community leaders and community-based organizations to hear about issues and concerns facing their unique communities. When necessary, casework and policy issues are brought to the attention of the Governor’s Office, federal agencies, state agencies, legislative members, and municipalities.
    • Asian Pacific Directors Coalition (APDC): Staff coordinated with the City of Seattle and state Emergency Management Department to present about their efforts to outreach to LEP communities at the September 14 meeting. Toshiko Hasegawa provided a brief update on the Task Force on the Use of Deadly Force.
    • Asian Pacific Islander Coalition (APIC): More than 2,000 AAPI community members from across Washington State convened at the Tacoma Dome on September 15 for the 2016 AAPI Summit: Celebrating Unity & Civic Engagement to register to vote, learn about ballot measures and issues, and participate in a gubernatorial candidate forum.
    • Formerly Incarcerated Group Healing Together (F.I.G.H.T.): Staff contacted the Department of Corrections to support FIGHT’s request to allow the API Cultural Awareness Group at Clallam Bay Corrections Center to exchange gifts with family members at their annual event.
    • Just Health Action: Staff supported JHA’s efforts to outreach to APDC. JHA is working to secure adequate funding to conduct community education about the health concerns of consuming fish from the Duwamish for children and expectant mothers.
    • Re-Entry Corps: Staff learned about the organization and ways to support its mission such as data collection, promotion of AANAPISIs, and leadership development opportunities.
    • Community Events: Staff attended numerous community events to connect with constituents and learn about community issues and concerns. Events included NHPI Move It Day, Samoa Cultural Day, Horizon House Ethnic Awareness Committee, Sensei*tional 3 Celebration, and APCC Luau.
  • Federal and Local Outreach: The Commission continues to maintain relationships with federal and local agencies to stay apprised of policies impacting AAPI communities in our state.
    • US Department of Labor: Staff met with the district director to discuss outreach strategies to AAPI communities.
  • Agency Outreach: Staff continues to connect with members of the Commission’s Asian Pacific American State Agency Liaison Network (APASAL Network). These check-ins serve as an important way to cover current policies and programs for the AAPI community, partnership opportunities, assistance requests, recommendations, and policy issues with state agencies.
    • Department of Commerce: Chair Tufono and three community leaders represent the Commission on the Minority Business Roundtable. The Roundtable met on September 9 to discuss ways to improve access to programs and grant opportunities funded through the agency. The agency is recruiting businesses to participate in an Economic Gardening program to help second-stage companies grow their business.
    • Department of Health: School districts will be administering the Healthy Youth Survey this fall in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12. The survey will collect disaggregated data for seven Asian American ethnicities. The data is expected to be available in Spring 2017.
    • Department of Labor and Industries: The Language Access Advisory Committee met on August 2 to discuss ways to improve services for LEP communities.
    • Department of Transportation: Staff met with the new Community Engagement Manager to discuss ways to improve outreach to DBEs. The agency’s DBE Advisory Group is being reconstituted into three committees: DBEs, Agencies, and Prime Contractors.
    • Emergency Management Division: Staff attended the first convening of the Whole Community Subcommittee to coordinate state and local efforts to improve emergency preparedness and disaster response, particularly for limited English proficient communities.
    • Health Care Authority: Participants at the Communities and Equity Accelerator Committee meeting on July 29 discussed ways to encourage Accountable Communities of Health to adopt an equity framework.
    • Human Rights Commission: The Commission is hosting a dialogue on race, ethnicity and implicit bias on September 22 at 6:00 PM at Gonzaga Law School in Spokane.
    • Office of Education Ombuds: The agency has released its 2015-2016 Annual Report on its website. The agency reached over 3,000 families through training and presentations and over 1,100 families through direct case support and informal dispute resolution.
    • Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises: Staff met with the director to discuss strategies and outreach plans to support the work of the agency.
    • Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction: Staff assisted OSPI in its grant proposal for the US Department of Education’s AAPI Data Disaggregation Initiative. Funds would be used to analyze existing disaggregated data and develop strategies to improve academic outcomes. The grant is expected to be awarded in September.
    • Student Achievement Council: Staff met with the acting director to discuss priorities and the need for disaggregated higher education data. The annual Pave the Way conference to discuss equity, access, readiness and support will be held in Tacoma on November 1-2.

5. CAPAA COMMISSION: 

  • Board Meetings: The next board meeting is on November 19 in the Seattle area. The Commission’s 2017 board meeting schedule will be posted at capaa.wa.gov prior to year end.
  • Commissioners: Commissioner Khamshitsang completed his second term and service on the CAPAA board on June 30, 2016. Commissioner Roslyn Guerrero and Commissioner Nam Nguyen were appointed to three-year terms ending June 2019.

6. UPDATE ON ISSUE AREAS:

  • Education:
    • Asian American Studies at UW: CAPAA and numerous Asian Pacific American community leaders from across the state sent a letter in August to University of Washington President Cauce regarding concern for the future of the Asian American Studies program at the UW.
    • Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee (EOGOAC): Sili Savusa and former Commissioner Frieda Takamura represent CAPAA on the EOGOAC. Julie Kang and Mele Aho serve as alternates. The EOGOAC is monitoring efforts to implement House Bill 1541 and working to develop its priorities for 2017. The next meeting is September 20.
    • Education Roundtable: The ethnic Commissions are planning a second roundtable meeting at Heritage University in Toppenish on October 15 about the opportunity gaps and implementation of House Bill 1541.
    • Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Kathy Purcell, Mele Aho, and Julie Kang represent API communities in an effort to redesign Washington’s Accountability Plan for K-12 public schools. Visit k12.wa.us/esea/essa/forums.aspx for more information.
    • Our Future Matters: UPRISE Pacific Islander Education Summits will occur on October 8 at Highline College and October 29 at Clover Park Technical College. Register for the summits at uprisepi.org.
    • Race and Ethnicity Student Data Task Force: To implement House Bill 1541, OSPI convened a Task Force to further disaggregate student data and develop best practices for data collection. CAPAA appointed Brianne Ramos, Dolly Nguyen, Erin Okuno, and Lina Thompson to serve. The recommendations will be implemented by the 2017-18 school year.
    • Southeast Asian Advisory Committee: Sam Le and Tey Thach are the new co-chairs for the committee, which is working to increase access to higher education for Southeast Asian American students at the UW.
    • Southeast Asian American Education Coalition (SEAeD): The UNITE Southeast Asian Education Summit will occur on October 29th at Highline College, which recently became an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI).
  • Health and Human Services:
    • Governor’s Interagency Council on Health Disparities: Commissioner Lori Wada is CAPAA’s representative on the Council. The Council met on September 15 in Tacoma to hear about University of Puget Sound’s Race & Pedagogy Initiative and briefings from HCA and DSHS. The next meeting is scheduled for December 14 in Tumwater.
    • Health Equity for COFA migrants: Staff met with members of the COFA Alliance National Network to learn about the proposal passed in Oregon to improve health equity for migrants from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. CAPAA is convening a listening session on October 1 in Auburn with members of the Marshallese community to discuss this issue. Staff also met with HCA on August 3 to discuss ways to improve health equity for COFA migrants.
    • Pacific Islander Health Board: A community conversation to promote mental health awareness was held with members of the board, community members, and CAPAA on July 25 to mark Mental Health Awareness in Communities of Color Month. The conversation centered on culturally-appropriate strategies to talk about mental health in our AAPI communities.
  • Economic Development:
    • Business Diversity Subcabinet: Inslee has convened a sub-cabinet focused on increasing access for small and minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses to contracting opportunities with Washington state government. The Department of Enterprise Services, which is managing the contract for the disparity study on behalf of the state, is working on the contract with the apparent successful bidder, Colette Holt and Associates, and expects to have them on board soon.
  • Results Washington: Inslee met with Goal Council 2 on July 20 for a Results Review about WorkSource and career-readiness for youth.