Census Center

APACIC ( Asian Pacific American Census Information Center)

The Asian Pacific American Census Information Center will geographically cover national, regional, and local needs of user of census data. As an academic unit with responsibilities in teaching and research, we will be similar in function to the Census Information Center housed at the UCLA Asian American Research Center. Like UCLA, we will conduct national analyses and help national organizations better utilize and interpret census data. Unlike UCLA, we will focus regionally on the East Coast and the Atlantic Seaboard. Finally, we will serve the local communities in the larger metropolitan Washington, DC nexus – Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, Prince Georges County, and Montgomery County. As part of our charge as a Maryland institution, we will also provide statewide access to census data and to specific reports on areas and neighborhoods of Maryland.

Our definition and target population of Asian Pacific Americans include groups designated by the Census Bureau as Asian American and Pacific Islander American. These include but are not limited to:

Asian American Adoptees
Asian Indian Americans
Bhutanese Americans
Burmese Americans
Cambodian Americans
Chinese Americans
Filipino Americans
Hawaiian Americans
Indonesian Americans
Japanese Americans
Korean Americans
Laotian Americans
Malaysian Americans
Mixed Ethnicity Asian Americans (Panethnics)
Mixed-Race Asian Americans
Mongolian Americans (a significant population in Virginia)
Nepalese Americans
Pakistani Americans
Samoan Americans
Sri Lankan Americans
Taiwanese Americans
Tibetan Americans
Tongan Americans
Transnational Asian Americans
Vietnamese Americans

How APACIC/AAST will Disseminate Census Bureau Data and Information to the APA and Local Underserved Communities

Asian American Studies has longstanding and strong connections with the national, regional, and local Asian Pacific American communities. Faculty and students associated with the program have worked, volunteered, and done research with the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC, now re-named as the Asian American Justice Center, AAJC), Asian and Pacific Islander Health Forum (APIAHF), Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), Asian Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), Asian American LEAD (AALEAD), Korean American Service Center (KASC), Smithsonian Institution Asian Pacific American Program (SAPAP), Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS), and many other national, regional, and local organizations.

We have strong ongoing relationships with most of these organizations. While these are non-profit direct service and advocacy organizations servicing the Asian Pacific American communities, their primary mission is not research-based.

As an academic institution, our primary mission is teaching and research, and part of our research agenda is to disseminate and analyze relevant data that will empower Asian Pacific American and/or other underserved and disadvantaged communities. Census data is a primary information source for this, and we hope to train our local communities to understand how to use this information for their needs. We believe strongly that our services will assist them in needs assessments, program evaluations, planning, and decision-making.

Specifically, we will:
• provide for the timely and strategic dissemination of Census Bureau data and information to APA communities and individuals
• provide training, education, and technical assistance on how to access Census Bureau data
• assist data users in understanding and accessing Census Bureau data and information and answer questions from the public about what the data means for communities and neighborhoods
• provide dedicated office space, staff, and equipment to operate the Asian Pacific American Census Information Center
• provide access to census data and information by establishing a reference center with reasonable “walk-in” access by the public
• support the Census Bureau by assisting in outreach, promotion, and recruitment efforts
• submit an annual report of our activities for APACIC, and
• establish and maintain a APACIC website that highlights the joint work of our center, program, and the U.S. Census Bureau; attend the annual training conference sponsored by the Bureau; and communicate regularly with Census Bureau liaison.

As part of our official dissemination model, an email newsletter as well as periodically updated website information will provide information to many individuals and organizations. One of our strategies will be to use the latest website, email news dissemination, and distance learning techniques to bring current census data to our communities. Moreover, we will invite on a regular basis key individuals and organizations to workshops on the use of census data for APA underserved and disadvantaged communities. We will also prepare research monographs focusing on the APA populations and communities that will be disseminated to the public in both print and online format. As we evolve and mature, AAST will conduct open houses and research symposia that will broaden community awareness of census data and the use of census data on behalf of underserved and disadvantaged communities.

Types of Services Offered:

• Access to the wide variety of census products, information, and services, such as printed reports, CD-ROM/DVDs, electronic files, Internet-based products, subscriptions, documentation, guides, catalogs, statistical compendia, indexes, maps, mapping databases, and other reference materials
• Training on the application of census data for underserved and disadvantaged communities
• Education about the social and demographic characteristics of Asian Pacific American communities through talks, open houses, workshops, symposia, and website
• Assistance to the Bureau on outreach, promotion, and recruitment efforts, especially in relation to censuses and surveys
• Open communication to the end user and to the Census Bureau, for the purposes of serving the needs of underserved and disadvantaged segments of the Asian Pacific American communities.