We are pleased to introduce the “Mental Health & Substance Use Resource Guide for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Communities.” We hope this web-based resource, which was developed in collaboration with national AAPI organizations and community health centers, will provide you with easy access to existing resources on AAPI mental health and substance Use.
Background
Over the past several years, AAPCHO has through its Promoting Access To Healthcare (PATH) program, focused not only on raising awareness about mental health issues affecting AAPI communities, but on solutions that address these issues. Since 1999, AAPCHO has convened meetings/conferences that allow participants to discuss mental health issues and share resources, and developed resources for individuals/organizations that serve the mental health needs of AAPIs. This Resource Guide is another way in which AAPCHO is ensuring that organizations serving AAPIs are not only aware of the mental health resources that are available, but that they have easy access to these materials.
Acknowledgements
This resource guide was made possible with funding from the Office of Minority Health and support from SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services. We acknowledge the following individuals and organizations for their support and guidance on this project:
- DJ Ida, National Asian American and Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAPIMHA)
- Ford Kuramoto, National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse (NAPAFASA)
- Ho Tran, Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF)
- Doua Thor, Southeast Asian Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
- Huy Bui, National Association of Vietnamese American Service Agencies (NAVASA)
- Cha Lee, Hmong National Development Inc. (HND)
- Juliet Choi, Asian American Justice Center
- Larke Huang, American Institute of Research
- Emily Ihara, the Office of Congressman Mike Honda
- Teddy Chen, Charles B. Wang Community Health Center in New York
- Albert Yeung, South Cove Community Health Center in Boston
- Steve Maxwell, Community-University Health Care Center in Minneapolis.
Documents on Culturally Competent Care
This section includes useful mental health/substance use-related documents issued by the federal government, as well as AAPI-specific resources that promote culturally competent mental health care and services.
Federal Documents and Resources
- President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health Report. Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America. 2003 — In February 2001, President George W. Bush launched the New Freedom Initiative and created the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health to evaluate the mental health service delivery system. By Executive Order 13263, the Commission was tasked with identifying the problems and gaps in the current system, and recommending improvements.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General. Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity – A Supplement to Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. 2001 — This supplement, is an outgrowth of the Surgeon General’s first report on mental health and mental illness in 1999. This document was created to provide more in-depth information on the mental health disparities affecting racial and ethnic minorities, and to document promising strategies that eliminate these disparities.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, National Institute of Health, National Institute of Mental Health. Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. 1999 — This 1999 document is the Surgeon General’s first-ever report on mental health and mental illness. The Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health advances the important fact that mental health is fundamental to an individual’s overall health.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General. Report of a Surgeon General’s Working Meeting on the Integration of Mental Health Services and Primary Health Care: Held on November 30 – December 1, 2000 at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. 2001 — This report contains the proceedings of the Surgeon General’s 2000 meeting to advance the integration of mental health services and primary health care. This report covers then Surgeon General David Satcher’s remarks, meeting highlights, and the core principles and strategies for national action.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Report of the Surgeon General’s Conference on Children’s Mental Health: A National Action Agenda. 2000 — This report introduces a blueprint to address children’s mental health needs. The report provides details of the meeting’s national action agenda to ensure that every child has an optimal chance for a healthy start in life.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Mental Health Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Cultural Competence Standards in Managed Care Mental Health Services: Four Underserved/Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Groups — This document provides standards to help guide the provision of culturally competent mental health services within the managed care environment for African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans/Alaska Natives, and Asian/Pacific Islander Americans.
- Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. Information on Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency (Executive Order 13166) click here.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, OPHS, Office of Minority Health. National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care: Executive Summary. 2001 — In December 2000, the Office of Minority Health published the National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care (CLAS Standards). These 14 standards provide a framework for building the cultural and linguistic competence necessary for home health care agencies.
- The Americans with Disabilities Act — The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. This website provides information on federal civil rights laws, and links to agencies responsible for implementing the act.
- Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Mental Health Information Center — The National Mental Health Information Center was developed for users of mental health services and their families, and the general public. The site also includes information on federal, state, and local organizations dedicated to treating and preventing mental illness, material on federal grants, conferences, and other events.
Other Documents & Resources
- Institute of Medicine. Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. 2003 — This document examines how racial and ethnic disparities in treatment may arise in health care systems, and analyzes patients and provider attitudes, expectations and behaviors that may contribute to such disparities. It also offers recommendations for eradicating disparities including language access, community-based care and cross-cultural education within the health professionals.
- Larke Nahme Huang, Center for Child Health and Mental Health Policy, Georgetown University & D.J. Ida, National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association. Promoting Positive Development and Preventing Youth Violence and High-Risk Behaviors in Asian American/Pacific Islander Communities: A Social Ecology Perspective. 2004 — This document attempts to provide a greater understanding of AAPI youth and families, the developmental and social challenges they face, the inherent strengths within their culture and communities, and strategies to prevent violence and other high risk behavior among this population.
- Larke Nahme Huang, Yuki Lee & Girlyn Arganza, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development. Promising Approaches in Youth Development and Risk Prevention for Asian American/Pacific Islander Youth: Voices from the Field. 2004 — This document highlights the developmental and social challenges facing AAPI youth, and effective community programs that meet the needs of these youth and their families.
- Task Panel Reports Submitted to the President’s Commission on Mental Health: “Report of the Special Populations on Mental Health of Asian/Pacific Americans,” February 1978 — This report, issued by the Special Populations Sub-panel: Mental Health of Asian/Pacific Americans, includes a discussion on the condition of AAPIs with respect to mental health, recommendations, and a statement regarding priorities for the AAPI population.
- Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs—“Rising to the Task: Facing New Challenges in California’s APIA Communities,” Annual Report. 2005 — This report of the Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA) provides an overview of the problem of gambling among AAPIs, commission-supported legislation related to this issue and activities for 2005.
- Addictive Behaviors — This document addresses the prevalence of addictive disorders such as gambling and alcohol and drug use among Asian Americans.
- Cultural Competence of Social Workers: A Guide for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention Professionals Working with Ethnic/Racial Communities — This document provides a review of available literature on alcohol and other drug use within specific AAPI subpopulations.
- Culturally Based Intervention for Substance Use and Child Abuse Among Native Hawaiians — This article presents an overview of child use among culturally diverse populations in Hawaii, substance use among culturally diverse students in Hawaii, and culturally-based strategies for preventing child use and substance use in Native Hawaiian families.