LOS ANGELES – The Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council (A3PCON) appealed to Los Angeles County officials for a better county-wide model to improve access to health and human service needs of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (API).
A3PCON presented the Countywide Overlay Model to Los Angeles Supervisor Don Knabe, 4th District, in a meet and greet held at the Asian American Pacific Legal Center (APALC) last August 31.
The Overlay model seeks to address the problem on why geographically-apportioned funding leads to API communities being underserved due to the diversity of cultures and languages found among APIs.
According to the research presented by A3PCON, Asian Americans have left their traditional enclaves and are now widely dispersed throughout several regions in LA County.
As APIs disperse and move to new locations, it creates pockets of linguistic isolation and agencies serving these ethnic groups may not have access to funding due to the current Service Planning Areas (SPA) set up by the county.
There are more than 2 million APIs residing in Southern California, with more than 50% in LA County. Many of these APIs have Limited English Proficency (LEP). APIs have the highest level of diversity. There are 45 distinct ethnic groups with more than 28 languages spoken.
The Overlay model allows for flexibility in service delivery regardless of pre-existing boundaries and would increase the ability of agencies to serve dispersed populations therefore improving outcomes for those underserved groups.
Knabe does not see any problems working with the Overlay model. The real problem lies in the allocation of the budget.
"We saw this all coming and we started to set a lot of money aside to be able to deal with the issues," said Knabe but warned that a next round of budgetary cuts are coming and would impact the county dramatically specially in the services department. "The only place to cut as I see it are the social services program."
"We have to work together and to continue the work that has been done," appealed Knabe to A3PCON.
( Published September 4, 2010 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A5 )
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