Cultural competency is 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 professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations. CSAP has identified seven performance areas that practitioners can use to assess an organization’s level of cultural competence:
- Organizational Values: An organization's perspective and attitudes with respect to the worth and importance of cultural competence, and its commitment to provide culturally competent care.
- Governance: The goal-setting, policy-making, and other oversight vehicles an organization uses to help ensure the delivery of culturally competent care.
- Planning and Monitoring/Evaluation: The mechanisms and processes used to guide cultural competence planning; and the systems and activities in place to track and assess an organization's level of cultural competence.
- Communication: The exchange of information between the organization/providers and the clients/population, and internally among staff, in ways that promote cultural competence.
- Staff Development: An organization's efforts to ensure staff and other service providers have the requisite attitudes, knowledge and skills for delivering culturally-competent services.
- Organizational Infrastructure: The organizational resources required to deliver or facilitate delivery of culturally-competent services.
- Services/Interventions: The degree to which the organization delivers services in a culturally competent manner.
Source: (HRSA/DHHS). Indicators of Cultural Competence in Health Care Delivery Organizations: An Organizational Cultural Competence Assessment Profile,The Lewin Group, Inc., April 2002.)
Developed under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies contract. Reference #HHSS277200800004C. For training and/or technical assistance purposes only.