California E-Digest

In this Issue

NEWS

• University of California Raises Tuition by 32%

POLICY UPDATES

• 2010 California Budget Projections

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Early Cancer Prevention Community Forum

GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

• Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program
• American Management Association and Leader to Leader Institute: Year-long Scholarship
• APIASF Scholarship Program
• Western Union Foundation Announces New Scholarship Program for Immigrant Families
• NAPAWF Internship position – Undergraduate, Spring 2010
• NAPAWF Law Clerk Position – Spring 2010

NEWS

University of California Raises Tuition by 32%

Due to the budget cuts implemented by the California legislature, the University of California will raise its tuition 32% by next fall. The tuition increase will occur in two phases, the first being a 15% fee hike in the winter and spring quarters of 2010. The second phase will be implemented by summer quarter of 2010. The current tuition fee of $7,788 is expected to rise to $8,373 by January 2010, and $10,302 by fall 2010. This increase affects only tuition and does not account for other fees. For many low income students, including many Southeast Asian American (SEAA) students, the 32% fee increase is not affordable.

Some may argue that raising fees will help low-income students like the SEAA students who attend one of the UC campuses, unfortunately, this only works if financial aid is increased to supplement fee increases. On the state level, financial aid sources like CalGrant was cut by $6.3 million in the current CA budget. On the federal level, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3221), which can have a myriad of positive effects such as increasing funding for Pell Grant and the College Access Challenge Grant programs, is still stuck in the Senate. Without increased financial aid for low-income students like SEAA, college education may become too expensive. For more information, please go to http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/22415

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POLICY UPDATES

2010 California Budget Projections

On November 18, 2009, the Legislative Analyst Office (LAO), a non-partisan research group for the California State Legislature, reported that California is projected to have a $20 billion deficit in 2010. These predictions came after the state did not reach the expected revenue intake including sales and corporate taxes since the approval of the 2009 state budget this past July. The $20 billion deficit will likely amount to further cuts in the 2010 state budget to programs that many low-come Southeast Asian Americans are dependent on, including SSI/SSP, CAPI, and CalWORKs.

Learn more about the California budget outlook at http://www.lao.ca.gov. Also, join SEARAC on December 10, 2009 for a conference call about the outlook of the California budget. Please contact Azizah Ahmad at azizah@searac.org or at 916-428-7444 for more information.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Early Cancer Prevention Community Forum

Hmong Women’s Heritage Association’s Kashia Health Program will be hosting an early cancer prevention community forum titled “The Truth about Cancer: Overcoming Barriers in the Hmong American Community” on January 23, 2010 from 8:30am to 3:00pm at the County of Sacramento 7000 65^th St. Sacramento, CA 95823. The event will be focused on dispelling the cultural myths and misconceptions regarding cancer care in the Hmong community. For more information, please go to http://hmongwomenheritage.org/events.htm

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GRANTS, INTERNSHIPS, AND SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is now accepting applications for the Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program. College seniors and recent graduates will spend ten weeks in Washington, D.C., gaining knowledge about federal legislative procedure and health policy issues while further developing their critical thinking and leadership skills. The deadline to submit applications is December 4, 2009. To read more about the grant, click here: http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/rfp_item.jhtml?id=269300011

American Management Association and Leader to Leader Institute: Year-long Scholarship

The American Management Association (AMA) and Leader to Leader Institute scholarship program assist social-sector nonprofit organizations in developing strong leadership. The scholarship is designed to give nonprofit leaders an opportunity to step out of the day-to-day, interact with peers across sectors, and develop practical skills to apply immediately within their organizations. Maximum Award: one-year scholarship. Eligibility: employees of 501(c) 3 organizations with a minimum of three years of work experience in the social sector. For more information click here http://www.pfdf.org/about/press-releases/ama_scholarship.html. Deadline: December 15, 2009.

APIASF Scholarship Program

Every year the APIASF Scholarship Program awards scholarships, ranging between $2,500 - $5,000, to over 200 first-year college students. All applicants must be of Asian and/or Pacific Islander ethnicity as defined by the U.S. Census. The deadline to submit an application is January 18, 2010. Other eligibility requirements and information can be found on the website at: http://www.apiasf.org/scholarship_apiasf.html

Western Union Foundation Announces New Scholarship Program for Immigrant Families

The Western Union Foundation Family Scholarship Program is a new educational initiative for migrants, immigrants, and their families in the United States. The Family Scholarship Program is intended to help two members of the same family move up the economic development ladder through education. The deadline is February 5, 2010. Scholarships may be used for tuition for college/university education language acquisition classes, technical/skill training, and/or financial literacy. For more information please go to http://foundation.westernunion.com/ourProgramsScholarships.html

NAPAWF Internship position – Spring 2010

The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is seeking a third or fourth year college student to work part-time (minimum 15 hours per week) during the Spring 2010 semester at our Washington, DC office. This is an unpaid position, but credit may be available with the school’s approval. NAPAWF is the only national, multi-issue Asian & Pacific Islander (API) women’s organization in the country. Our mission is to build a movement to advance social justice and human rights for API women and girls through policy advocacy, community organizing and public education.

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume and writing sample to rjfellow@napawf.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. For more information, please go to http://napawf.org/about/work-for-napawf/

NAPAWF Law Clerk Position – Spring 2010

The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is seeking a rising second or third year law student to work part time (minimum 15 hours per week) during the Spring 2010 semester at our Washington, DC office. This is an unpaid position, but credit may be available with the law school’s approval. NAPAWF is the only national, multi-issue Asian & Pacific Islander (API) women’s organization in the country. Our mission is to build a movement to advance reproductive justice for API women and girls through policy advocacy, community organizing and public education.

nterested applicants should submit a cover letter, resume and 3-5 page writing sample to rjfellow@napawf.org. For more information, please go to http://napawf.org/about/work-for-napawf/

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