Cultural Competency & Diversity – it’s more than providing interpreters.

Cultural Competency and Diversity is one of the standards that many CACs find challenging.  Often, site reviewers hear that the center is in an area with little ethnic diversity.  The standard encourages centers to look beyond ethnicity in developing culturally competent programs and services.

Organizational cultural competency is something that evolves and needs to be sustained over time, at the both individual and systems level.  Efforts to provide culturally competent services should be woven into the agency’s mission, values, guiding principles, and practices.

The Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice (www.cecp.air.org) describes cultural competence in this way:

There are five essential elements that contribute to a system's ability to become more culturally competent.  The system should (1) value diversity, (2) have the capacity for cultural self–assessment, (3) be conscious of the "dynamics" inherent when cultures interact, (4)  institutionalize cultural knowledge, and (5) develop adaptations to service delivery reflecting an understanding of diversity between and within cultures.  Further, these five elements must be manifested in every level of the service delivery system.  They should be reflected in attitudes, structures, policies, and services.

In looking at how to meet the Cultural Competency and Diversity standard, it is important for the agency and team to identify different cultural aspects of their community.  In addition to ethnic diversity, consider the diversity in the types of faith communities, socioeconomic status, educational levels, LGBT youth and families, mental health issues, and accessibility by individuals with physical, hearing, visual or other conditions that may potentially limit access to services.  Conducting a survey of the diversity in your community may seem daunting, but other organizations, such as

United Way,

school districts, and local or state government agencies may have already done some of this work. 

Review the policies and practices that are in place.  Ask your staff and team to think about how the CAC reflects a culture that accepts diversity. Does the CAC help create an environment where children and families feel safe and respected?  When people come into your center, what are the images they see?  Do toys and reading materials reflect different cultures, genders, and ages?  Are the decorations neutral or do you strive to project a message of inclusiveness?  How have you created a space where any child and family can see themselves in that place?  Are staff and volunteers recruited to reflect diversity in the community?  What training does the staff, volunteers and team receive to help them become sensitive to different cultural beliefs and practices?  Are you actively seeking out members of the community to provide input and training? Are there memoranda of understanding in place with organizations that can provide culturally relevant training and services?  Are interpreters trained to work with children and families within a CAC setting?  How are the policies and practices of your agency monitored and updated? 

We all have prejudices and biases, whether we want to admit it or not.  It is important to recognize those prejudices and biases and begin to look at ways we can adapt to diversity and cultural context in order to improve equality of opportunity and services.  Lack of awareness leads to miscommunication that can result in less effective services to children and families or, worse, no services at all if the family quits coming to the center or working with partner agencies.

A quick exercise to start a discussion with your staff and team on this topic is to put flip chart or other paper on the wall and truthfully brainstorm all of the names you use to describe your clients, including those made as part of jokes or asides.  Are some derogatory?  Where do those terms come from and how do those attitudes consciously or unconsciously affect behavior that can impact the interaction those individuals have with your center and members of the team?  How do individual and organizational biases affect your ability to ensure all children have access to your center and the services provided?

The State of Connecticut has developed a tool to help organizations assess their level of cultural competency.  You can access it at: http://www.ct.gov/dcf/LIB/dcf/multicultural_affairs/pdf/MCA_service_system.pdf

In 2006, National Children’s Alliance developed a brief manual that provides guidance to MDTs and CACs on cultural competency and diversity.  The manual provides suggestions on determining diversity needs and about creating, implementing, and evaluating a cultural competency and diversity plan.  You can find a copy of Guidance on Cultural Competency and Diversity on the WRCAC website:  http://www.westernregionalcac.org/images/documents/cultcomp.pdf

We all have to become culturally competent when developing effective relationships with our multidisciplinary teams.  Each partner agency has its own culture and way of doing things, but through communication and understanding, we develop respectful and effective ways of working together.  Those same skills can be used to develop better relationships and understanding of different cultures in your community.

Note: the NCA 2012 Program Improvement Grant includes Cultural Competency as one of its funding priorities.  You can find the RFP at www.nca-online.org.  Click Funding Opportunities.