Cultural
Competence
|
Cultural
Proficiency |
Create
a mission statement for your organization that articulates
principles, rationale, and values for cultural and linguistic
competence in all aspects of the organization.
|
Continue
to add to the knowledge base within the field of cultural
and linguistic competence by conducting research and
developing new treatments, interventions, and approaches
for health and mental care in policy, education, and
the delivery of care.
|
Implement
specific policies and procedures that integrate cultural
and linguistic competence into each core function of
the organization.
|
Develop
organizational philosophy and practices that integrate
health and mental health care.
|
Identify,
use, and/or adapt evidence-based and promising practices
that are culturally and linguistically competent.
|
Employ
faculty and/or staff, consultants, and consumers with
expertise in cultural and linguistic competence in health
and mental health care practice, education, and research.
|
Develop
structures and strategies to ensure consumer and community
participation in the planning, delivery, and evaluation
of the organization’s core function.
|
Publish
and disseminate promising and evidence-based health and
mental health care practices, interventions, training,
and education models.
|
Implement
policies and procedures to recruit, hire, and maintain
a diverse and culturally and linguistically competent
workforce.
|
Support
and mentor other organizations as they progress along
the cultural competence continuum.
|
Provide
fiscal support, professional development, and incentives
for the improvement of cultural and linguistic competence
at the board, program, and faculty and/or staff levels.
|
Develop
and disseminate health and mental health promotion materials
that are adapted to the cultural and linguistic contexts
of populations served.
|
Dedicate
resources for both individual and organizational self-assessment
of cultural and linguistic competence.
|
Actively
pursue resource development to continually enhance and
expand the organization’s capacities in cultural
and linguistic competence.
|
Develop
the capacity to collect and analyze data using variables
that have meaningful impact on culturally and linguistically
diverse groups.
|
Advocate
with, and on behalf of, populations who are traditionally
unserved and underserved.
|
| Practice
principles of community engagement that result in the reciprocal
transfer of knowledge and skills between all collaborators,
partners, and key stakeholders. |
Establish
and maintain partnerships with diverse constituency groups,
which span the boundaries of the traditional health and
mental health care arenas, to eliminate racial and ethnic
disparities in health and mental health |
The
following list is designed to highlight selected characteristics
that organizations may demonstrate along the cultural competence
continuum. These characteristics have been adapted and expanded
from the original work of Cross et al. (1989) in several ways: 
