History

The Lao Family Community of Stockton, Inc. is a private non-profit organization founded by a group of Laotian refugees.  The founders of LFCS were respected leaders in Laos before the downfall of South Vietnam in 1975.  Each and every one of them was categorized as Indochina refugees trying to make a start in a strange country. 

 Many of the members of LFCS’s Board of Directors are elected from the local refugee community and are the final authority on all matters of policy. 

 The Lao Family Community of Stockton, Inc., recognizes the special needs of its population and builds on the philosophy that our services are designed to assist the Southeast Asian refugees and other cultural minorities by developing their self support skills as members of a new society.  It is important to recognize that the current Southeast Asian refugee and particularly the highland people make up a population that is significantly different from other refugee groups.  When Federal, State and local governments first began recognizing the need for support services directed at refugees the primary population of concern was the Vietnamese.  As a rule, these people were urban dwellers with some degree of formal education and experience with a modern technological society.  Other groups in need included the Hmong, Mien and Khmu.  These were primarily a rural people with little exposure to formal education and modern technology, and without even a written language (Hmong).  Considering these factors it is easy to see why existing services did not meet their special needs. 

LFCS has sought and obtained funding through the State Department of Social Services Office of Refugee Services and San Joaquin County to address some of these unique needs, with an eye on non duplication of services and assisting their population to progress to a level where they will be more capable to utilize existing services. 

Lao Family Community of Stockton embraces the responsibility to improve the quality of life through social service, job development, cultural preservation, family strengthening, affordable housing and physical and mental health access. We offer a wide range of cultural, social and linguistic services for the improvement of lives for the community of San Joaquin County .  Lao Family has offered services for over twenty-five years. Our goals are to enrich, empower and increase the self-sufficiency of needy families so they can become law abiding productive members of our community

The Lao Family staff is one of the most competent and capable to be found at any non-profit agency. The professional staff is led by Mr. Ger Vang, Chief Executive Officer. We employ a full-time Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Chieng Lo, to track all programs and fiscal matters. Our professional staff includes a PhD (Dr. Terry Yang), a MSW (Khoua Yang), and college graduates in many disciplines. The vast majority of the Lao Family professional and service staff are multi-cultural and multi-lingual. Most speak English, Hmong and a third language (often Lao, Thai or Cambodian.) Several of our staff do not come from a Southeast Asian background. We have bilingual/bicultural Spanish speakers, as well as African American and white program and supervisory staff. Our multi-cultural  organization helps all of our service-delivery staff and makes us a stronger agency through this diversity.

 Structurally, Lao Family is governed by a 14-member Board of Directors, led by current chairman Dr. Cheuyengther Xiong, a counselor at Delta College . The Board members serve two year terms and set overall direction and policy for Lao Family Community of Stockton. We are loosely affiliated with other Lao Family organizations (in Merced , Sacramento , Fresno and elsewhere) but are a stand-alone non-profit agency with our own bylaws, Board and mission. The Board was recently expanded by three (from 11 to 14) to increase the cultural diversity of our Directors. (board member)