Cultural Competency

Cultural competence is key to effective prevention work. In order to effectively reach our diverse target populations, the prevention field must have culturally competent professionals. And, and the same time, we must be implementing culturally appropriate prevention strategies.

It's important to remember that cultural competency is a journey rather than an end in itself. There are steps you can take along this journey to become more culturally competent:

1. Become more aware of the various cultures that exist;


2. Assess personal cultural values while acknowledging the existence of a "cultural lens" that shapes each of our interpretations of the world; and


3. Work to understand the dynamics that may occur when members of different cultures interact. (Understanding and acknowledging the historical relationship between your own culture and that of other cultural groups is an essential component of this step.)

Prevention strategies should also be culturally appropriate. Here are some steps you can take to ensure the cultural appropriateness of your prevention programs and other strategies:

1. Prevention strategies are culturally competent when they demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences and similarities, while demonstrating effectiveness in using cultural symbols to communicate a message.


2. Avoid developing prevention strategies aimed at community members without seeking their input.


3. Prevention programs must develop written guidelines that help guide the cultural competence of program staff.


4. Periodically review all strategies, policies, procedures, and practices for cultural competence.

(Source: J. Kris Leppien-Christensen, http://jkrislc.freeservers.com/)

Nebraska has adopted the following definition of cultural competency:

"A set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency or among professionals and enable that system, agency or those professions to work effectively in cross-cultural situations. The word "culture" is used because it implies the integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values and institutions of a racial, ethnic, religious or social group. The word "competence" is used because it implies having the capacity to function effectively. Five essential elements contribute to a system's institution's, or agency's ability to become more culturally competent which include:

1. Valuing diversity;


2. Having the capacity for cultural self-assessment;


3. Being conscious of the dynamics inherent when cultures interact;


4. Having institutionalized culture knowledge; and


5. Having developed adaptations to service delivery reflecting an understanding of cultural diversity.

These five elements should be manifested at every level of an organization including policy making, administrative, and practice. Further these elements should be reflected in the attitudes, structures, policies and services of the organization."

(Source: Cross, T., et. al., (1989). Towards A Culturally Competent System of Care Volume I. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Child Development Center, CASSP Technical Assistance Center.)

Ethics

The field of ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. In prevention, we want to ensure all our professionals and volunteer workers are conducting themselves in an ethical manner. If that is happening universally, then the public will learn to trust in our prevention practitioners - and, ultimately, trust in the core values of the work we do.

Here are a few guideposts to assist you in thinking through ethics in prevention:

• Imposing one's culture on someone else is unethical;
• The goal of studying ethics is to recognize that decisions made by prevention professionals directly affect people's lives, and that people need to be able to trust prevention professionals both as individuals and as professionals;
• Having a written code of ethics for each prevention program/agency is imperative;
• Thinking through and discussing ethical issues and then establishing a written code of ethics assists in identifying and addressing difficult situations.
• A decision must be made regarding the issue of conducting criminal background checks for prevention staff and/or volunteers.
• A quality formal code of ethics must include all local, county, and state statutes, along with all agency regulations, especially those with regard to confidentiality issues and mandatory disclosure reporting.

(Source: J. Kris Leppien-Christensen, http://jkrislc.freeservers.com/)