From Outreach to Engagement: Strategies for Embedding Cultural and Linguistic Competency in all aspects of DD Council Work
The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000, defines Culturally Competent as it relates to services and supports.
CULTURALLY COMPETENT – The term ‘‘culturally competent’’, used with respect to services, supports, or other assistance, means services, supports, or other assistance that is conducted or provided in a manner that is responsive to the beliefs, interpersonal styles, attitudes, language, and behaviors of individuals who are receiving the services, supports, or other assistance, and in a manner that has the greatest likelihood of ensuring their maximum participation in the program involved. Sec. 102 DEFINITIONS. (7)
The NACDD/ITACC supports DD Councils to embed diversity, inclusion and cultural and linguistic competence in all aspects of DD Council work. “All aspects of Council work” refers to both the internal operations, such as staffing, Council membership and procedures, as well as external operations, such as Council projects, initiatives and policy work.
From Outreach to Engagement: Strategies for Embedding Cultural and Linguistic Competency in all aspects of DD Council Work is a compilation of Diversity, Inclusion and Cultural and Linguistic Competence (DICLC) resources and DD Council suggested strategies developed and implemented by DD Councils. This compilation is a “living document” which means it will be updated and modified as more information becomes available with regard to outcomes, materials, links and new strategies.
DICLC Webinars and Presentations
IMPORTANT: To lay the foundation for the resources in this document, it is important to understand the frameworks of culture and linguistic competence (CLC). The webinars listed below establish these frameworks by addressing the CLC through concepts, terminology and legal mandates as they relate to DD Council work.
Visit the DICLC Archived Webinar Page to access the following PowerPoints and webinar recordings.
2017 – Webinar title: Cultural and Linguistic Competence: Definitions, Frameworks, and Implications for Developmental Disabilities.
Webinar Objectives
- Define culture and describe its multiple dimensions.
- Describe a conceptual framework for cultural competence and its implications for Developmental Disabilities Councils.
- Define linguistic competence.
- Cite legal mandates and requirements for language access for individuals with limited English proficiency, including those with developmental disabilities and their families.
2017 – Webinar Title: Culturally and Linguistically Competent Strategies to Engage Diverse Communities
Webinar Objectives
- Review conceptual frameworks, values, and practices of cultural and linguistic competence; and
- Apply these concepts to approaches to engage diverse and underserved communities in the work of Developmental Disabilities Councils
2018 – Webinar Title: What is Linguistic Cultural Competence and what does it mean for Developmental Disabilities Councils?
Webinar Objectives
- Compare demographic trends in languages spoken in the United States and their respective states and territories.
- Review a definition and framework for linguistic competence.
- Differentiate linguistic competence from language access and cultural competence.
- Identify legal mandates and requirements for language access that affect individuals who experience developmental disabilities and their families.
- Explore the implications of linguistic competence for Developmental Disabilities Councils.
2018 – Webinar Title: Developing a Language Assistance and Implementation Plan/What DD Councils Should Know
Webinar Objectives
- Identify federal legal mandates for language access and implementation that affect individuals who experience developmental disabilities and their families.
- Describe how these mandates apply to Developmental Disabilities Councils.
- Describe the components of a language access and implementation plan.
- Exchange “lessons learned” with DD Councils that have developed language access plans.
2018 – Technical Assistance Institute Presentation Culture Brokering: Outreach and Engagement to Diverse Communities
POWERPOINT
Engaging Diverse Communities and Members
GEORGIA DD COUNCIL: REAL COMMUNITIES
Real Communities Partnerships launched statewide in 2010 to partner with local groups working to build more than just communities. Real Communities Best Practices:
- Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) guides the process of community building.
- Person-Centered Support guides the discovery of people’s gifts and defines the conditions necessary for them to offer those gifts to the Real Communities Partnership.
- Purposeful Learning offers a set of disciplines for gaining a deeper understanding of the work.
In 2019, the Real Communities Initiative launched its Welcoming Communities Dialogues. These dialogues on social issues and/or themes in communities throughout the state of Georgia created spaced for community members of differing backgrounds, races and abilities to discuss and dream of a society where everyone is treated with dignity and justice. These dialogues act as the seed for creating sustainable, impactful programming that leads ALL members of the community to greater understanding of the challenges they face and the tools to reach solutions.
GEORGIA DD COUNCIL: WEBSITE AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE MAGAZINE
The GCDD website is the first point of contact many of our constituents have with the work that we do throughout the state of Georgia. Our mission, five-year plan, staff directory, event calendar, content on all partners and projects, and any other information people may seek on our organization is contained there. A language translation wiki is available on our website to convert its content into 95 different languages.
Our quarterly magazine, Making a Difference, is available in digital (ISSU), audio, Spanish and a large print (.doc) format which can be downloaded as a Word document and translated into Braille or by using Microsoft Translator or other web based document translation tools.
GEORGIA DD COUNCIL: STORYTELLING PROJECT
In 2018, GCDD began collecting stories and photos of people with disabilities from around the state. Our goal was to collect 75 stories representing the experiences of individuals living with a developmental disability in Georgia. Using a map of Georgia’s 56 state senate districts, our team of talented and writers sought Georgians with developmental disabilities to take part in this project and tell their stories. In their outreach, our team offered language translation services for all of those interested in participating. By adding this service to their existing list of supports (and accommodations offered to most easily gather stories, a robust and diverse group of stories were able to be collected.
STORYTELLING WEBPAGE
GEORGIA DD COUNCIL: TELECOM ACCESS
In 2020, GCDD will begin offering phone call translation services through TRANSPERFECT Remote Translation. This will allow for translation support in 170 languages for those calling GCDD offices seeking information that is not available on our website. In less than one minute, a trained translator will join any call where language is a barrier and will resolve communication challenges and get the caller the information that they need.
TRANSPERFECT WEBSITE
OHIO DD COUNCIL: OUTREACH OUTCOMES REPORT – People, Priorities and Grantees
The Outcomes Management Group, Ltd. conducted an Outreach Outcomes Evaluation on behalf of the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council (ODDC). Best practices for engaging diverse members once they are familiar with Council work and understand its purpose. Full report and excerpt below.
The excerpt below is from page 32 of the report.
This section identifies “best practices” (BP) and provides suggestions about how to leverage (L) them to continuously improve performance.
TRAINING
BP: Provides outreach training to Council members, staff, and grantees
L: Develop plan that ensures consistent, ongoing training and integrates into onboarding of new Council members and staff
BP: Utilizes web-based training format to train grantees
L: Explore utilizing this format with Council members and stakeholders
BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS
BP: – Collects and maintains data about demographic makeup of State
– Uses data to identify targeted unserved/underserved communities
– Identifies and attends community events
– Meets with community, organization and political leaders
– Spends time learning about cultures
L: Document and share strategies and lessons learned from different cultural groups
LEADERSHIP
BP: Executive Director empowers Outreach Liaison to be innovative, collaborative, and relationship centered
L: Document and share strategies and lessons learned
BP: Executive Director integrates outreach across all employees’ responsibilities and expectations
L: Move from integrated self-directed work to integrated team-directed work
RECRUITMENT OF COUNCIL MEMBERS
BP: Utilizes a Council matrix to monitor and track diverse composition of members across variables: areas of state, race/ethnicity, disability, gender, age, etc.
L: Examine how criteria for selection needs to change so that the Council can become more inclusive. Examples of criteria to examine includes when meetings occur, location, previous experience on boards and commissions, and how interviewed
With regard to Council member recruitment, the OH Council added a component to enhance the recruitment of minority representation. Their Outreach Chairperson and the Council staff responsible for cultural and linguistic competence both serve on the Membership Committee. They work together to ensure that not only are minorities recruited but that qualifying applicants make the final group that is submitted to the Governor’s office for approval.
OHIO DD COUNCIL: REACH OUT E-DIVERSITY NEWS AND OUTREACH PAGE ON WEBSITE
Ohio’s Reach Out E-Diversity Newsletter and Outreach Website are communication tools of inclusion. They target a specific audience of people with disabilities who are unserved about disability services, issues and concerns. The goal is to eliminate barriers, educate people, and assist at the same time.
OUTREACH WEBSITE PAGE
NEWSLETTER PAGE
NEW YORK DD COUNCIL: PARTNERS IN POLICYMAKING FEASIBILITY STUDY
Because New York’s Partners program is only available in English, the purpose of the study was to assess the degree to which the existing program approach and curricula reflect a culturally inclusive approach to program design and delivery and the feasibility for translating the program into other languages. The Institute on Employment and Disability (YTI) staff and faculty worked in collaboration with the DDPC to obtain input from external stakeholders conducted an analysis of the extent to which the current Partners program model and curriculum have relevance, merit and ‘transferability’ within and across multi-cultural groups and especially those for whom English is not the primary language. The feasibility study was initiated in January 2018 and ended in December 2018. It included a multi-phase approach to strengthen the cultural and linguistic competency (CLC) of the NYS Partners program. The current report provides a summary of each phase of the study.
NEW YORK STATE PLANNING COUNCIL – FEASABILITY REPORT
WISCONSIN BOARD FOR PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS
Wisconsin board and staff participated in a “community conversation” style cultural competence self-assessment, using the Georgetown self-assessment tool. The Council found it very useful and the Board highly recommends the assessment to other Councils. The following categories in the assessment were utilized (e.g., Fund Raising and Grant Writing, Conferences, Education and Training). Participants broke into groups with a facilitator and recorder at each table.
- Each group had a summary “cheat sheet” of the cultural competence self-assessment to use, and a set of questions.
- Several rounds of table discussions were conducted with each group on different topics with a “group share”
- An action plan was developed with specific steps in each category that the Board would like to implement. The Board also conducted a community conversation in Milwaukee that resulted in an action plan.
- The Board is planning another conversation to report out what they have done so far with the action plan. A summary sheet/grid was also developed which lists, “What you said” and “What we did”
The Diversity Work Plan developed from the Community Conversations strategy covers multiple ways in which the Board can incorporate diversity in all facets of its work.
WI DIVERSITY WORK PLAN
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY NATIONAL CENTER FOR CLC SELF-ASSESSMENT WEBPAGE
Internal Council Operations
NEW YORK DD PLANNING COUNCIL: CULTURAL COMPETENCY AND LANGUAGE ACCESS WORKGROUP
Functions: Address barriers to Council membership
- Review and provide input on the DDPC’s State Plan.
- Serve an advisory role in overseeing DDPC projects, grants and initiatives in order to embed cultural competency throughout the work of the Council.
- Develop recommendations for DDPC work on cultural competency and language access.
- Increase the diversity of Council membership.
The Council uses the Workgroup as a springboard to increase the diversity of membership. It helps to engage people quickly and keep them engaged while they await the appointments process (which can take up to 2 years).
Outcomes: Two members of the Cultural Competency and Language Access Workgroup have been officially appointed to the Council and there are six additional members in the appointments process. (Two are workgroup members, two were engaged by the workgroup and two are from the Council’s general outreach efforts to diversify Council membership. Working with this group has spurred new ideas for grant projects with the potential to reach even more people.
Lessons learned:
- Decide the time, date and location of the workgroup meetings based on what is most convenient for members.
- Translate materials and schedule in-person interpreter for the workgroup members that speak Chinese as a first language.
- Obtain ongoing feedback from workgroup members on the quality of the translated documents and interpreter services provided by the Council.
NEW YORK DD PLANNING COUNCIL: LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN
Under New York’s Executive Order 26, all state agencies must create a Language Access Plan, which details how the agency provides free language access services to the public.
Outcomes: NY DDPC LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN
Lessons Learned: Documents should be in plain language and free of jargon before being translated, as jargon is difficult to translate. When possible, translated materials should be reviewed by a native speaker for accuracy.
NEW YORK DD PLANNING COUNCIL: COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
NY Community of Practice (CoP) on Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Developmental Disabilities team conducted a Community Needs Assessment with Spanish-speakers and the Chinese-American communities to inform our collaborative work.
FULL COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Outcomes: Three top needs were identified for these populations.
Lessons Learned: Ensure that relationships and engagement are reciprocal, translate materials needed for focus groups, work with community organizations to conduct focus groups
COLORADO DD COUNCIL: CDDC’S MULTICULTURAL COMMITTEE
Mission: To develop strategies to outreach to ethnic and racial minority groups and un-served and underserved populations in Colorado for the purpose of fulfilling the overall mission of the Colorado DD Council and its current Five-Year Plan. These strategies will generate activities that address the need for increased advocacy efforts, outreach, leadership development and equity in access to services and supports along with an enhanced emphasis on cultural competency in service provision. The Committee is guided by all goals and objectives of the Council’s Current Five-Year Plan.
Roles and Responsibilities:
- Council training on Multicultural issues at Retreat each year;
- Recruiting for MCC and Council;
- MCC representative at the Executive, Planning and Grants, Legislative and Public Policy, and Social Media committees;
- Provide input on RFPs (Request for Proposals) and grant proposals prior to postings;
- Provide TA to the Council and staff to support the cultural competency goals of the Council’s Five-Year Plan. MCC committee members may also contribute their expertise to Council grantees to support grantee fulfillment of Council cultural inclusiveness requirements;
- Assist and participate in the community forums and focus groups to help with formulating the Five-Year Plan.
MICHIGAN DD COUNCIL: DIVERSITY COMMITTEE
The MI DD Council supports a diversity committee to advance inclusion of diversity throughout the work of the council, placing value on all individuals and their perspectives and promoting an environment of full inclusion. To learn what the committee does and its objectives, click below.
MI DIVERSITY COMMITTEE BROCHURE
SOUTH CAROLINA DD COUNCIL – COUNCIL COMMITTEE
A new Council Committee was created to address the targeted disparity work of the SC DD Council. The committee is advising Council members and staff on how to engage people who traditionally have not had a voice at the table, particularly Latinx families. The work of this committee is especially important to the Council to ensure participation of diverse people with I/DD and family members due to the upcoming 2022-2026 Five Year State Plan.
GEORGIA DD COUNCIL: DICLC presentation to Georgia DD Council
During a Council a Council meeting, staff member Maria Pinkelton gave a presentation titled, Bringing Cultural Diversity and Linguistic Competency to our Work. Pinkelton, who was a member of the 2019 Georgetown University Leadership Academy, provided Council members with the needed tools to begin DILC work in their own communities. Council members were introduced to linguistic and cultural representation data for the state of Georgia in support of why this work is imperative to our goal of inclusion and access for all. They were introduced to small tangible ways in which their organizations can make changes to be more culturally and linguistically inclusive. See the presentation linked below to use as a model for your Council member education.
Council Grants and RFPs (Request for Proposals)
COLORADO DD COUNCIL: PROCUREMENT DOCUMENTS – STATEMENTS OF WORK
Procurement Documents and/or Statements of Work include the following language:
- Deliver training in the manner that meets the accessibility and cultural needs of participants, including language interpretation, translation of training materials, accessible meeting spaces and transportation, childcare, and personal care assistants;
- Provide assurances to the Council that participants, instructors and community leaders, as a whole, reflect the cultural, ethnic, linguistic and socio-economic diversity of the communities involved;
- Arrange for supports, accommodations, interpreters, and the translation of documents as necessary for participants, instructors and community leaders to be able to participate effectively in the training.
SOUTH CAROLINA DD COUNCIL: ENGAGING DIVERSE ORGANIZATIONS FOR TARGETED DISPARITY Assessment: Consumer, family, and stakeholder feedback revealed that Latinx and Hispanic people in South Carolina are underserved and underrepresented despite being the fastest growing demographic in the state. The DD Council has no Latinx representation, so it reached out externally for assistance in reaching Latinx and Hispanic South Carolinians.
Strategies used:
- Engaged partners in the school of public health (the Council has a formal agreement with USC’s Arnold School of Public Health Community Engagement Program to serve in an advisory role).
- Leveraged partnerships with a local group working directly with Spanish-speaking community in South Carolina on health issues, and facilitated meetings to expand capacity to include Latinx and Hispanic South Carolinians.
- Used partnerships with both organizations to advise the Council on creating a RFP to solicit grantees in a culturally competent way.
- Convened state-level working group of relevant state agencies and additional stakeholders to address barriers experienced by Latinx families in accessing services and supports.
- Researching which state agencies currently have a Language Access Plan, who is responsible for the plan, and what systems are in place to monitor the effectiveness of the plan.
- Engaged Latinx and Spanish speaking families through our partnership with Pasos (statewide education, advocacy, and leadership development organization serving Latinx and Spanish-speaking communities) to assess barriers.
- Pasos (with assistance from the PTI Center) organized family forums, developed survey tools, and provided Spanish language translation at five sites across SC.
- Most discussed barrier was Spanish language access in doctors’ offices and at state agencies, particularly at doctors’ offices when receiving news that a child has a diagnosis that does not have a cultural basis in a family’s home country (Autism, for example). There are also issues around privacy and language competence of translators.
- Pasos and the PTI Center conducted an organizational assessment with a variety of organizations in SC using the NCCC CLCADO tool. Based on the results of the focus groups and the organizational assessments, the statewide task force plans to create a statewide strategic plan to increase Latinx and Spanish-speaking family’s access to disability supports and advocacy, and the plan will be disseminated during a summit scheduled for summer 2019. (Results will be included in the next quarter update)
PTI= Parent Training and Information Center, funded through federal Dept. of Ed. to provide information, referral, and other resources to parents of children with disabilities.
Result: South Carolina’s PTI is also working to build capacity in this area. The PTI applied and received the grant. The original organizations listed above are now advisors to the new grant.
PENNSYLVANA: REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL PROCESS
This packet now contains a Statement of Values that includes definitions for cultural competence and disparate impact (and how to address it) as well as required activities and expected outcomes related to CLC for all proposals considered by the PA Council.
MISSOURI DD COUNCIL: SEED
The MO DD Council uses its SEED grants to meet its targeted disparity goals and objectives. SEED grants are awarded to non-profit Latinx organizations to obtain information on Hispanic/Latinx community barriers and needs.
Two SEEDS grants were implemented to assess barriers to services and measure the needs of the Latinx community in Kansas City, Springfield, and the surrounding rural areas of Springfield. From the SEEDS grants, a larger project was developed to meet the needs and barriers that were identified.
- A one-year project, the Latinx Leadership and Advocacy Project, is a Partners in Policymaking program administered entirely in Spanish. The program was offered in two counties in Southwest Missouri.
- The grantee utilized cultural brokers to facilitate the program, who were well respected and well known in the Latinx community; one of which was a MO Partners in Policymaking graduate.
- A Participant Training Guide was created to customize the learning experience to each individual participant based on how they learn best with a sign off process when the participant believes they understand the provided training.
To find out more about the MO DD Council’s outcomes related to the SEEDS grants, see the attachments linked below. Example of the scope of work for the Latinx Leadership Advocacy Project.
Outcomes of the Latinx Leadership and Advocacy Project
OUTCOMES REPORT
OHIO DD COUNCIL: REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL PROCESS
TheOhio DD Council builds the capacity of its grantees by requiring them to answer the following questions when applying for funding.
- Who are the unserved/underserved population (s) in your project area?
- Identify the unserved/underserved population you plan to serve.
- Describe their needs and any barriers to service.
- Describe the affirmative or proactive outreach activities you will perform. What are the expected outcomes?
- List key community people/organizations you will work with to serve the unserved/underserved population(s).
- What are your plans to sustain outreach activities?
- How will you measure progress towards your outreach goals?
- What process will you use to address unforeseen barriers, (list barrier examples)?
NORTH CAROLINA DD COUNCIL: INFORMATION SHEET
The NC DD Council uses an information sheet to gain Council support for potential future funding releases to do targeted outreach and advance inclusion of the Hispanic/Latinx community. See the two documents below for a wealth of information on process, strategies and implementation.
INFORMATION SHEET (February 2018)
INFORMATION SHEET (Update on progress August 2018)
NEW YORK DD PLANNING COUNCIL: GRANT PROJECT – DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL COMPETENCY IN SELF-ADVOCACY
New York is one of the most diverse states in the U.S. Given New York’s diversity, there is a clear need to enhance our service delivery system’s ability to provide quality, culturally competent supports and services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Advocacy and civic engagement are key tools, which drive change and ensure that New York is responsive to the needs of diverse individuals with IDD and their families.
The NY DDPC funded the Self-Advocacy Association of New York (SANYS) to conduct a cultural competency self-assessment, develop a Diversity Strategic Plan, and conduct outreach to diverse communities in order to diversify their network and increase their capacity to serve diverse self-advocates.
For more information, visit the NY DDPC WEBSITE.
Community Needs Assessment: NY Community of Practice (CoP) on Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Developmental Disabilities:
The New York CoP Team conducted a Community Needs Assessment with Spanish-speakers and the Chinese-American communities to inform our collaborative work.
Outcomes: Three Top Needs identified
Lessons Learned: Ensure that relationships and engagement are reciprocal, translate materials needed for focus groups, work with community organizations to conduct focus groups.
FULL COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Relationship Building
This relationship map provides a structure for organizing current and potential partners to further the Council’s work in the area of DICLC. RELATIONSHIP MAP
PENNSYLVANIA DD COUNCIL: COMMUNITY ALLIANCE SUMMITS
The goal of the Summits is to meet and engage new potential allies, stimulate learning from one another, and explore opportunities for partnerships and collaboration. The PA Council acknowledges the Summits as a successful strategy in reaching diverse groups and growing face-to-face community connections. The Summits continue to grow and improve as the Council is looking for a space to hold their 6th annual event this September 2020 and anticipates at least 180 attendees. See examples below of PA Summit materials.
2020 SUMMIT SAVE-THE-DATE FLYER
SUMMIT AGENDA
CONVERSATION STARTERS
How does the PA Council develop its email list for the Summits?
- Network at conferences, forums, meetings, trainings etc. held on unique topics other than disabilities, such as, immigration, incarceration, LGBT groups, homeless, veterans, refugees, community groups, Latinx, Korean, African American, and Bhutanese, Muslim, Jewish, youth, senior citizens or any others that represent the population of your state/territory.
- Research the web for organizations that specifically provide services to diverse marginalized populations.
- Research the web for “offices, bureaus, divisions, programs” that target diverse marginalized communities within regular generic organizations and businesses.
For example…
• Jewish student groups on college campuses.
• A Latinx support program within an organization that focuses on education or housing.
• A “prison ministry” within a church.
• A homeless family’s initiative within a typical health clinic.
• A diversity office within a city, county, or state government.
• The LGBT college program office that has an initiative on disabilities.
TIP: When a new organization’s website is identified, check to see if they have a listing of friends, supporters, or funders. Then search for their friend’s friends to establish even more contacts.
WASHINGTON STATE DD COUNCIL: TIPS FOR BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND ENGAGING COMMUNITIES
The Washington DD Council seeks family members from communities to help share information about services with other members of the communities. The overarching strategy is to have a family member from the community work with families OF that community.
For example,
- A Council can contract with Spanish speaking workers in central WA (or other specific area of the state) to work with Spanish speaking families in their community.
- Contract with the Somali Health Board in Seattle to have a person from the Somali community work with Somali families.
- Identify a member of the Vietnamese community (or other diverse group) to work with Vietnamese families who have sons/daughters with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
- A small stipend is provided to the identified community members for their services and translation costs.
Assessing CLC (Cultural and Linguistic Competence)
VERMONT DD COUNCIL
The VT DD Council resource, A Tool to Help Your Group Be More Culturally Competent, can be used by statewide and other self-advocacy organizations to assess their efforts in cultural and linguistic competence. The accompanying PowerPoint shares how the tool was developed and provides additional resource links for plain language.
VERMONT RESOURCE
VERMONT POWERPOINT
ARIZONA DD COUNCIL
The AZ DD Council qualitative self-assessment is used by DD Council staff to support their assessment of cultural and linguistic competence with regard to its internal procedures.
PENNSYLVANIA DD COUNCIL: PAVING THE WAY TOOLKIT FOR ASSESSING AND ADVANCING CULTURAL COMPETENCY
This toolkit was created by Asian Services in Asian Communities (ASIAC) for the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council (PADDC) to help grantees of PADDC to achieve greater linguistic and cultural competency in the work they do for the disability community. To obtain added benefits from using the toolkit, the PADDC recommends:
1. Ensure you have different levels of staff in your organization take the assessment survey. Even better, have outside stakeholders take the assessment to evaluate their point of view. We have commonly found that the responses vary from leadership positions to operational staff to external stakeholders. Observance of these variances will help you evaluate the response data you receive with better clarity and it may lead to a more thorough analysis of your organization’s actual implemented practices around cultural competency as opposed to a perceived or aspirational level of implementation.
2. Conducting the survey assessment at one point in time will give you a snapshot of current practices. To see whether you are making successful changes in your cultural policies and procedures, set a reminder on your calendar to re-assess at intervals (1 year or 2 years). First, gather a baseline assessment, and then conduct second and third assessments. Compare the results to analyze progress towards increasing your organization’s cultural competency practices.
PAVING THE WAY TOOLKIT ENGLISH
PAVING THE WAY TOOLKIT SPANISH
Reports and Resources
OHIO DD COUNCIL
The Initiative on Triple Jeopardy: African American Women with Disabilities
The “Triple Jeopardy” initiative was designed to give voice to African American Women with developmental disabilities, between the ages of 18 and 60, who are unserved or underserved. Through a series of focus groups, the initiative sought to (1) stimulate public awareness of the issues surrounding women in “triple jeopardy”, (2) identify gaps and barriers that exist for these women, and (3) provide the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council with recommendations on how best to meet the formal and informal community support needs of the women. Information gathered through the focus groups provided ideas for research needed on the effectiveness of existing formal/informal community supports. The report provides a backdrop for understanding what is a developmental disability, and then chronicles the stories of the women participating in the focus groups. Finally, the report presents the proposed recommendations.
MICHIGAN DD COUNCIL
Beyond Tokenism: People with Complex Needs in Leadership Roles – National Study Final Report, Michigan DD Council 2013
The purpose of the Beyond Tokenism: People with Complex Needs in Leadership Roles national study described in this report was designed to determine A. How other groups include people with complex and/or high support needs in their leadership development, public policy advocacy, and community activities; and, B. How the Council can better include them and support them in its activities. Those findings, along with thorough in-depth dialogue with organizational leadership and self-advocates, form the basis of recommendations for best practices based on affirmed examples of successful representation.
>BEYOND TOKENISM REPORT
>EASY READ VERSION
Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC) provides national leadership and contributes to the body of knowledge on cultural and linguistic competency within systems and organizations. Major emphasis is placed on translating evidence into policy and practice for programs and personnel concerned with health and mental health care delivery, administration, education and advocacy.
The Cultural and Linguistic Competence Assessment for Disability Organizations (CLCADO)
AUCD Diversity & Inclusion Toolkit (Association for University Centers on Disabilities) is a website that provides concrete objectives, strategies, and resources to help you realize your goals related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural and linguistic competence.
For broken links, accessible formats, or to contribute to this publication, please contact Angela Castillo-Epps at acastillo-epps@nacdd.org or 202.506.5813, ext.100.