Korean Community Service Center of Greater Washington, Inc.

KCSC's overarching vision is to promote the well-being and quality of life of Asian American community members. KCSC aims to accomplish this by: 1) providing Asian immigrants with safety net services to alleviate financial hardship and connect them to a variety of programs such as housing counseling, a job readiness program, and financial literacy classes.; 2) adopting best practices of organizational operation and program implementation to build our infrastructure; 3) increasing the membership and diversify the skills set of the Board of Directors; and 4) diversifying KCSC's funding sources in order to secure and sustain a solid financial foundation for the organization.

KCSC's strategies are:

Person-centered, empowerment-based practice.
Culturally-informed and linguistically competent provision of services.
Trauma-informed counseling. Focus on the resiliency of our clients.
Community-based outreach and education.
Development of helping partnerships, collaborations and alliances.

We use these strategies (guiding principles) to:

Deliver effective, efficient, and accountable services to the community.
Develop customized assistance programs to meet the diverse needs of Asian Americans and new immigrants.
Help Asian Americans and new immigrants expand their resource network to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
Support Asian Americans and new immigrants as they adjust to life in the United States by helping them to improve their English skills and become familiar with American customs and culture.
Assist Asian Americans and new immigrants to become contributing members of society through active involvement in community activities and civic engagement.

KCSC’s strength lies in its front-line, direct services to immigrants. KCSC’s ability to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services is critically important to ensure all community members have equitable care and full access to social services and health care. Clients are able to express their needs in their native language and to receive answers and assistance in a supportive environment. KCSC provides help with paperwork such as applying for social security cards, enrolling kids in schools, applying for benefits, finding employment as quickly as possible, and enrolling in English and computer classes. KCSC also provides immigration counseling and helps with family reunification and applications for permanent residency and citizenship. KCSC acts as a “one-stop shop” for the Asian community, giving clients the ability to receive many kinds of services in one place as well as become more knowledgeable about the rights and responsibilities they have in this society.

KCSC was founded in 1974 by a pastor and his congregation who saw the need to help newly arriving visitors and immigrants from Korea adjust to life in the US. Over the past 44 years, KCSC has grown exponentially and evolved into the largest bilingual and bicultural Korean social service agency in the DC metropolitan area. In fact, KCSC has expanded and outgrown our original name, now providing services to other Asian immigrant communities living in the metro DC area. KCSC’s services are provided by a staff of nearly 30 professional, highly trained, bilingual, bicultural social workers and the invaluable support of a cadre of over 100 professional and non-professional volunteers. With an FY2019 budget of nearly $3,000,000, KCSC provides a wide array of high quality programs and services to the Asian community. In an effort to further professionalize , KCSC energetically pursues all certification, recognition, accreditation and licensing opportunities fo our services, where available.