AAPI Nexus: Policy, Practice and Community

This article provides data about youth in the California Youth Authority (CYA) and compares and contrasts Asian and Pacific Islander (API) youth with other wards with regard to youth characteristics, commitment offenses, incarceration, parole, and discharge. The data shows that although API constituted 5% of the total population in February of 2002, some API ethnicities are vastly overrepresented in the CYA population and have had high levels of gang involvement. At the same time, API wards had the highest percentage with honorable discharges and the lowest percentage with a dishonorable discharge from CYA.