The Central California Children’s Institute at Fresno State is hosting a lunchtime discussion 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Monday, April 23, to help community benefit organizations appreciate the importance of collecting and reporting data for individual Asian subgroups.

Speakers are Fresno City Councilmember Blong Xiong; Dr. Juan Carlos Gonzalez, an assistant professor of educational research and administration at Fresno State; Soua Xiong, a researcher at the Children’s Institute; Jonathan Tran of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center in Sacramento; and Maika Yang, executive director of Stone Soup in Fresno.

The issue, says Dr. Cassandra Joubert, director of the institute, surrounds the lumping of numerous cultures into one “model minority” – Asian American/Pacific Islanders – in U.S. Census, local and state data sources. That doesn’t take into consideration the unique needs of each subgroup.

“Local advocates have expressed the need for breaking out data for the Southeast Asian population – Hmong, Laotian, Cambodian, etc. – due to the uniqueness of the histories and life experiences of these subgroups,” Joubert added.

By making certain the applicable data are collected, groups like those represented at the meeting will be better able to help Southeast Asian youth be successful.

The discussion will be in the San Joaquin Conference Room at the Central Valley Regional Center at 4615 N. Marty Ave. in Fresno.

Joubert noted the community conversation is being held during Fresno State’s Diversity Awareness Week activities in the interest of contributing to a better understanding of the needs of Southeast Asian youth in Fresno County.

The free event is funded by a grant from the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health.

For more information, contact Joubert at 559.228.2166 or cjoubert@csufresno.edu.