May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month which is a time to recognize and celebrate the rich diversity, enduring leadership, and resilience of AANHPI communities. This year’s theme, A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience, invites us to reflect on the contributions and challenges of these communities across history and into our present.

For professionals working in child welfare, this observance is more than a celebration. It is an opportunity and a responsibility to deepen our cultural humility, expand our understanding of how systems impact AANHPI children and families, and take action toward more equitable practices.

Why AANHPI Heritage Month Matters in Child Welfare

There are longstanding and often underrecognized intersections between AANHPI histories and the U.S. child welfare system. Immigration policy, cultural misunderstandings, trauma from displacement, and systemic invisibility have all played a role in shaping AANHPI experiences with public systems. Understanding these intersections helps us ensure our practice is trauma-informed, culturally attuned, and equitable.

Some key historical and contemporary connections include:

  • Immigration and Family Separation: Exclusionary laws and enforcement practices have historically torn apart AANHPI families. Children labeled “paper sons/daughters” and more recent refugee arrivals often experienced family disruption, criminalization, or state custody.

  • Cultural Misunderstanding: Diverse family dynamics including multigenerational homes, language differences, and parenting norms can be misinterpreted by professionals unfamiliar with AANHPI cultures, sometimes leading to inappropriate interventions.

  • Adoption and Identity: Thousands of children from AANHPI countries have been adopted transracially or transnationally. Many continue to navigate cultural loss, identity challenges, and, in some cases, legal vulnerabilities around citizenship.

  • Invisibility in Data and Policy: AANHPI communities are often excluded from targeted child welfare interventions due to inadequate data disaggregation. Pacific Islander, Southeast Asian, and smaller ethnic groups face unique challenges that remain hidden in generalized reporting.

What Can Child Welfare Professionals Do?

We encourage professionals across Minnesota’s child welfare system to approach AANHPI Heritage Month with curiosity, humility, and intention. Here are five ways to engage:

1. Learn from History and Community

  • Spend time viewing the PBS/TPT docuseries Asian Americans, which explores immigration, activism, identity, and resilience across generations. Episodes like “Breaking Ground” and “Generation Rising” offer powerful context for today’s policy and practice. Watch online

2. Practice Cultural Humility

  • Commit to ongoing self-education. Understand the range of experiences across East Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Avoid assumptions and approach each family with respect for their cultural and generational context.

3. Center Youth and Family Voice

  • Children and families know what they need. In conversations with AANHPI families, use interpreters when needed, honor traditional roles, and elevate community-based supports. Listen deeply.

4. Strengthen Culturally Specific Partnerships

  • Connect with organizations or groups in your local community who are actively building leadership and equity within Asian Minnesotan communities. Their insights and networks can inform and enrich child welfare practice.

5. Seek Disaggregated Data and Policy Inclusion

  • Seek disaggregated child welfare data to better understand the needs of diverse AANHPI communities. This is essential to crafting effective, inclusive policies and programs.

As we reflect on the resilience and leadership of AANHPI communities, we are reminded that honoring heritage is not a one-month commitment; it's a year-round responsibility to advocate, include, and transform.

Let this month be a time of learning, connection, and renewed action in our shared pursuit of justice and well-being for all children and families in Minnesota.