The Chinese-American Planning Council, in collaboration with Asian-Pacific community organizations and state legislators, successfully secured a fair budget of $30 million for the fiscal year 2025, along with a $4 million grant for the “House of Social Welfare” project from the state government in New York City. Wayne Ho, the Executive Director of CAPC, considered this advocacy effort to be a notable accomplishment.
On June 13th, Wayne Ho, accompanied by his staff including Alice Wong, Po-Ling Ng – the Director of the People’s Community Center, and Judy Ah-Yune – the Director of Manhattan Community Services, held a press conference at their headquarters on 45 Suffolk Street to review the achievements of the legislative session in New York State. Wayne Ho mentioned that the AAPI Equity Budget Coalition, consisting of over a hundred Asian-Pacific community organizations including CAPC, successfully advocated to retain the fair budget that was initially cut in the budget proposal for the new fiscal year by the state governor. This new round of fair budget allocation will benefit three hundred Asian-Pacific organizations.
Furthermore, the projects promoted by CAPC, such as the House of Social Welfare, after-school activities, and Cost of Living Adjustment for social workers, have been included in the state budget. However, certain bills like ending the 24-hour work shift for family caregivers and increasing hourly wages by 150% are still pending approval by the state legislature. Wayne Ho rated CAPC’s performance over the past year between 7.5 to 8 on a scale of 10.
Wayne Ho emphasized that while CAPC had its budget entirely cut by the City Council, the state’s fair budget would continue to support CAPC in projects combating anti-Asian hatred, providing self-defense training to the community and the elderly, and delivering meals to homebound seniors. Recent incidents of assaults and harassment against CAPC staff members at subway stations in downtown Manhattan have raised concerns, underscoring the need for education and self-defense training even though these incidents can’t be immediately labelled as hate crimes.
Regarding childcare subsidies in New York City, only documented immigrant children are currently eligible, but CAPC, along with the city-funded program Promise NYC, provides services for undocumented immigrant children, attracting many undocumented immigrants seeking English lessons and employment guidance. Po-Ling Ng, the Director of the People’s Community Center, affirmed that the center’s services are open to all community members over 60, irrespective of their immigration status, as their primary goal is community service.
Mayor Eric Adams’ office established the Nonprofit Advisory Council, with Wayne Ho being the only Chinese representative on the council. CAPC is the largest Chinese community service organization in the Eastern United States and a major supplier of family caregivers. How will Wayne Ho advocate for the welfare of family caregivers at the city level in the future? He stressed that family caregiving policies fall under the jurisdiction of the New York State Legislature, urging the public to understand the respective powers of relevant entities and clarifying that CAPC does not take a stand on city-level policies.
Wayne Ho further highlighted that there are 300,000 individuals in need of family caregivers throughout New York State, yet the time they receive care is determined by the New York State Department of Health and insurance providers. Out of this number, only 11,000 people receive 24-hour family caregiving services. CAPC serves 2,500 family caregiving clients, with only 39 individuals currently receiving 24-hour family caregiving services.