Asian Pacific Islander Family Resources Network...


APIFRN began in 1998 through the funding of SF Human Services Agency/DHS.

The Asian/Pacific Islander Family Resources Network (APIFRN) is comprised of 27 public and community based agencies providing services to Asian and Pacific Islander families in the city and county of San Francisco. In 1998, Asian/Pacific Islander was the largest racial/ethnic group among San Francisco children age 0-5,representing 36.1% of the population.

The Network strengthens families in the Asian/Pacific Islander community with the focus on children from 0 to 5 years of age. The Network maximizes the use of existing resources in the community, expands the accessibility of program services, and increases the level of parent participation. The APIFRN Partners include existing family support programs, child-care facilities, district health centers, special needs agencies, mental health programs, school based projects, and culturally specific services.

Network agencies provide specialized counseling in the following areas: substance abuse, domestic violence, mental health, and counseling for families of child(ren) with disabilities. These agencies are located in six SF neighborhoods and provide services in eight languages: Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin), Pilipino, Samoan, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Korean, and Japanese

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FACTS

  • The Asian/Pacific Islander community represents 31.3% of the San Francisco Bay area population. The children who call San Francisco home are among the most racially and ethnically diverse populations in the nation. They are also a declining percent of the city’s total population. Asians and Pacific Islanders makes up 36% of the child population (2000, US Census Bureau).
  • More than 30 distinct Asian/Pacific Islander ethnic and cultural groups reside in San Francisco.
    The highest concentration of Asian/Pacific Islander communities is in the following neighborhoods: Bayview Hunters Point, North Beach/Chinatown, Excelsior, Oceanview Merced Ingleside, Outer Richmond, Parkside/Sunset, and Portola/Visitacion Valley (over 40% of the residents are Asian/Pacific Islander descent).
  • Approximately 1.25 million Asians and Pacific Islanders live below the poverty level. (2000 U.S. Census Bureau) The median income for Asian San Franciscans falls below both the State and the national median incomes. The following neighborhoods have the highest percentage of Asian/Pacific Islander living under the poverty level: Bayview Hunters Point (21.2%), North Beach/Chinatown (20.8%), Mission (16.8%), South of Market (24.9%), Tenderloin (27.4%), Visitacion Valley (14.4%) and Western Addition (17.0%).
  • Asian or Pacific Island languages are spoken by more than 21% of San Francisco residents at home, more than twice the same measure in California and nearly 10 times that of the United States.
  • 40.1% Medi-Cal households are Asian and Pacific Islanders. About 37 % of San Francisco Children in Child Welfare System are Asian/Pacific Islanders. About 21.6% of CalWORKs families are Asian/Pacific Islanders (Oct 2005). Only 2% of the SF Food Bank Services are utilized by the Asian/Pacific Islanders, yet the SF Food Bank estimates that over 30% of the hungry people in San Francisco are Asian/Pacific Islanders.
  • In 1998, there was 581 low birth weight births population in San Francisco (Chinese 5.3%, Filipina 6.6%, Other Asian/Pacific Islander 7.3%). African Americans were second at 10.7%.
  • About 50% of the SFUSD student body is API descent.
  • API Children make up 16.5% of CPS referral from SF HAS/DHS of the reported CPS cases, 13% are child abuse cases. An estimated 1,422 children in SF are exposed annually to violence.
  • Of the 0 to 5 year old population using mental health services, 29% were of Asian descent for fiscal year 1996-1997 (SFDPH Coordinating Council, 1996).