This report presents data on Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (APIAs), focusing on California. It discusses: who APIAs are; nativity and citizenship; residence (nearly all APIAs reside in metropolitan areas, particularly California); educational attainment (because of the model minority myth about Asians, APIA children are deprived of bilingual classes and bicultural counselors); language ability (APIAs have no common language); economic status (the combination of relatively high median income and high poverty reflects the great economic diversity of APIAs); APIA politics (political empowerment is a significant challenge); health (as a group, Asians are healthier than others, but they face disparate health risks); access to health care (many APIAs are uninsured); children's health coverage; cultural and linguistic competency standards for the Healthy Families Program; barriers to care (cost, insurance, and linguistic and cultural differences); health service utilization (APIAs underutilize mental health, preventive, and prenatal services); traditional medicine; health professions and health providers; public benefits (immigrants are considerably less likely than natives to receive welfare); pressing health and social issues; culturally competent health and social services; and race relations. (Contains 31 references.) (SM)