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Improving Cultural and Linguistic Competence
Providing services to a community requires effectively addressing the many differences among the people who live there. At its core, “cultural and linguistic competence” is about respecting individuals and valuing different perspectives. Within an organization, this competence is evident through staff and board willingness and ability to value different cultures in the approach and services they provide. It requires staff to have or develop the beliefs and skills that enable them to work with, educate, and serve diverse individuals and communities.
To aide this process, HHD’s National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention has developed a toolkit on Cultural and Linguistic Competence. It identifies three fundamental and interconnected areas that impact an organization’s ability to adequately serve communities in a culturally competent manner: Budget items that reinforce a culturally competent organizational structure include funds for professional development, language services such as interpreters or translation of materials, and communications strategies to reach diverse audiences
- Organizational structure – A culturally competent organizational environment is created through policies and practices that support a diverse staff and emphasize inclusive processes.
- Engagement – Acquiring an authentic awareness of the background, struggles, hopes, and fears of a community can be accomplished by engaging parents, youth, community members, service providers, educators, and businesses in an effective way.
- Services/activities/interventions – The interventions and activities provided by organizations should appropriately meet the unique needs of the people they serve.
The toolkit provides concrete examples of how organizations can strengthen cultural competence in their organizational structure, engagement, and services. It includes benchmarks to gauge their current level of competency in these three areas, along with related resources to improve cultural and linguistic competence. Though this toolkit was initially created for communities that received Safe Schools/Healthy Students grants, it is applicable to any initiative that supports the positive development of children, families, and communities.
The National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For more information contact the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention at info@promoteprevent.org.
August 5 , 2008 |
