PCCYFS 2012 Annual Spring Conference Cultural Responsiveness: Supporting Line Staff Presented By: Jorge Velázquez, Jr., MPA

PCCYFS 2012 Annual Spring Conference

Cultural Responsiveness: Cultural Responsiveness: Supporting Line StaffSupporting Line Staff

Presented By:Jorge Velázquez, Jr., MPA

PCCYFS 2012 Annual Spring

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Our Discussion

• Introductions• Relevant Terms and Concepts• Knowing where you are• Ethnicity and Racial Identity• Activities• Why pay attention to Cultural

Competency• Perceptions• Summary

Cultural Responsiveness: Supporting Line Staff jv/2012


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Culture

• Culture: (Latin cultura, to cultivate): – the integrated pattern of human knowledge,

belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations;

– the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group;

– the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic. [1]

[1] From http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cultureCultural Responsiveness: Supporting Line Staff jv/2012


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Competence

• Competence: – Competence concerns the actions and

behaviors identified by change agents as contributing in their experience to the perceived effectiveness of change implementation.

– Competencies are those behaviors required for satisfactory (‘threshold competence’) or excellent (‘superior competence’) performance in a job. [2]

[2] From http://wps.prenhall.com



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Cultural Competence

• The ability of individuals and systems to respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and faiths or religions-in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of individuals, families, tribes, and communities, and protects and preserves the dignity of each. [3]

[3] From http://www.cwla.org/programs/culturalcompetence, June 30, 2008.



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Where Am I…Questionnaire

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Discussion

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Cultural Humility• Cultural Humility: [4]• Continually engage in self-reflection and

self-critique. • Check power imbalances that exist in the

dynamics of case worker/manager-family/client.

• Develop and maintain mutually respectful and dynamic partnerships with communities on behalf of families/clients.

• Acknowledge the individual’s own cultural perspective (sometimes referred to as their “world view”).

[4] Adapted from Murray-Garcia, J. & Tervalon, M., (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2), 117.



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Connecting Cultural Competence With Cultural Humility… • A cultural competence framework calls for

expert knowledge and understanding the diverse and complex needs of people from various cultural groups.

• Being competent in cultures other than our own is an important management skill.

• A cultural humility perspective challenges us to learn from the people with whom we work (other managers, supervisors, workers, clients), reserve judgment, and bridge the cultural divide between our perspectives. [5]

[5] Adapted from presentation for the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute, by Dr. Robert M. Ortega and Dr. Kathleen Coulborn, University of Michigan School of Social Work, 2011.



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Cultural Competence + Cultural Competence +

Cultural Humility Cultural Humility ==

Cultural Cultural Responsiveness Responsiveness



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Skills for Bridging Perspectives: • Active listening: focusing attention on

what is being said and responding in culturally appropriate ways to indicate you are listening.

• Reflecting: using the person’s words to say back to them what it is you heard.

• Reserving judgment: Rather than “mind-guard” remain open to what is being said through remaining silent and letting their words sink in.

• Develop an understanding: Try to enter their world, consider yourself in the context of the person’s world (and as part of their culture and cultural experience).



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Video Clips

Knowing Who You Are:Helping youth in care develop their racial and ethnic identity.



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Questions for Supervisors/Managers• What are your overall impressions of the

practice concepts and issues brought up in the video clips regarding racial and ethnic identity?

• What 3 things highlighted would you want to address in the day to day practice of your unit or office?

• Did the film raise any red flags for you about current practices of working with youth and families around issues of cultural and ethnic identity? What are they? Possible solutions?

• How do these issues impact Family Involvement or Family Planning meetings?

• Ideas for working with staff on these concepts?



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Culture• Culture: (Latin cultura, to cultivate):

– the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations;

– the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group;

– the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic. [1]

[1] From http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cultureCultural Responsiveness: Supporting Line Staff jv/2012


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Competence

• Competence: – Competence concerns the actions and

behaviors identified by change agents as contributing in their experience to the perceived effectiveness of change implementation.

– Competencies are those behaviors required for satisfactory (‘threshold competence’) or excellent (‘superior competence’) performance in a job. [2]

[2] From http://wps.prenhall.com



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Cultural Competence

• The ability of individuals and systems to respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and faiths or religions-in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the worth of individuals, families, tribes, and communities, and protects and preserves the dignity of each. [3]

[3] From http://www.cwla.org/programs/culturalcompetence, June 30, 2008.



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Cultural Humility• Cultural Humility: [4]• Continually engage in self-reflection and

self-critique. • Check power imbalances that exist in the

dynamics of case worker/manager-family/client.

• Develop and maintain mutually respectful and dynamic partnerships with communities on behalf of families/clients.

• Acknowledge the individual’s own cultural perspective (sometimes referred to as their “world view”).

[4] Adapted from Murray-Garcia, J. & Tervalon, M., (1998). Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 9(2), 117.



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Connecting Cultural Competence With Cultural Humility… • A cultural competence framework calls for

expert knowledge and understanding the diverse and complex needs of people from various cultural groups.

• Being competent in cultures other than our own is an important management skill.

• A cultural humility perspective challenges us to learn from the people with whom we work (other managers, supervisors, workers, clients), reserve judgment, and bridge the cultural divide between our perspectives. [5]

[5] Adapted from presentation for the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute, by Dr. Robert M. Ortega and Dr. Kathleen Coulborn, University of Michigan School of Social Work, 2011.



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Cultural Competence + Cultural Competence +

Cultural Humility Cultural Humility ==

Cultural Cultural Responsiveness Responsiveness



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Skills for Bridging Perspectives:

• Active listening: focusing attention on what is being said and responding in culturally appropriate ways to indicate you are listening.

• Reflecting: using the person’s words to say back to them what it is you heard.

• Reserving judgment: Rather than “mind-guard” remain open to what is being said through remaining silent and letting their words sink in.

• Develop an understanding: Try to enter their world, consider yourself in the context of the person’s world (and as part of their culture and cultural experience).



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Video Clips

Knowing Who You Are:Helping youth in care develop their racial and ethnic identity.



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Questions for Supervisors/Managers• What are your overall impressions of the

practice concepts and issues brought up in the video clips regarding racial and ethnic identity?

• What 3 things highlighted would you want to address in the day to day practice of your unit or office?

• Did the film raise any red flags for you about current practices of working with youth and families around issues of cultural and ethnic identity? What are they? Possible solutions?

• How do these issues impact Family Involvement or Family Planning meetings?

• Ideas for working with staff on these concepts?



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Why Racial and Ethnic Identity? • The “challenge of preserving one’s sense of

personal continuity over time, of establishing a sense of sameness of oneself, despite the necessary changes that one must undergo in terms of redefining the self” (Harter, 1990.)

• During the process of identity development, especially during adolescence, we may experiment with multiple selves and multiple roles within a number of major dimensions, including religious affiliation, occupation, social class, gender, immigration status, sexual orientation, and race and ethnicity.

http://www.casey.org/Resources/Initiatives/pdf/KnowingWhoYouAreViewerGuide.pdf



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Why Racial and Ethnic Identity?

• Some of these identities are to be kept, nurtured, and committed to over a lifetime. Others are worn briefly and discarded.

• Development of a healthy racial and ethnic identity can help youth establish consistency in their life with regard to how they view themselves and can be an important anchor from which positive outcomes are possible.

http://www.casey.org/Resources/Initiatives/pdf/KnowingWhoYouAreViewerGuide.pdf



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Iceberg Analogy

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Adapted by Jorge Velazquez from Gary R. Weaver, "Understanding and Coping with Cross-cultural Adjustment Stress“. Culture, Communication and Conflict: Readings in Intercultural Relations, 2nd Ed., 1998.

Where we tend to make assumptions and

start to draw conclusions about others – inaccurate.

Where we learn about

others over time. Gaining trust,

through honest engagement.

People tell their story.


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Our “Lenses”

• Perception: a: awareness of the elements of environment through physical sensation <color perception>; b: physical sensation interpreted in the light of experience; c: quick, acute, and intuitive cognition: appreciation; d: a capacity for comprehension. [4]

[4] From http://www.merriam-webster.com, June 30, 2008



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Culture affects…

• Values• Beliefs• Thoughts• Communication• Actions



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Cultural Competency

• Behaviors• Attitudes• Policies• Enable systems, agencies or

professionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations.



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Why is this important?

• Cultural competence is an ongoing process, not a destination.

• By actively working on cultural competence and including its principles in our daily work, we enhance our ability to meet the needs of families, tribes and communities.

• Organizations that strive for cultural competence consistently work to achieve a better understanding of the needs of their service population.

• These organizations realize that their mission is to assist children and families achieve better outcomes and reach their goals by developing policies, programs, and practices which are culturally competent and linguistically appropriate for the diverse families we are working with today. Cultural Responsiveness: Supporting Line Staff jv/2012


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Group Exercise



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Broader Cultural Influences

Informal

Formal

InformalFormal



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Why is this important?

• Culture defines us as individuals; it makes us who we are.

• Everyone has culture, which influences how each of us sees others.

• Organizations have distinct cultures that are developed by their mission and goals.

• Communities have different cultures influenced by their members, the environment, and socioeconomic conditions.



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Final Thoughts

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Documents

PCCYFS 2012 Annual Spring Conference Cultural Responsiveness: Supporting Line Staff Presented By: Jorge Velázquez, Jr., MPA