Module 1 Special Topic Area: CLC / EDI

Back to Toolkit Homepage

MODULE 1: Organizational Foundations for Successful Family Engagement and Partnership

 

Cultural and Linguistic Competence (CLC)/Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)

 

Special Topic Overview:
  • To successfully engage diverse families, it is critical for organizations to raise awareness and implement practices that promote cultural and linguistic competence, as well as equity, diversity, and inclusion (CLC/EDI).
  • Successfully implementing principles and practices of CLC/EDI starts at the top, with leaders who champion these topics. In addition to a strong organizational focus and commitment to CLC/EDI, organizations will want to put an urgent focus on recruiting, engaging, retaining, and supporting leaders of color – including executive leaders and diversifying their boards of directors.
  • Culturally and linguistically competent providers working with families practice cultural humility; become educated through ongoing supervision, training, and coaching about CLC/EDI; and create opportunities for families to provide feedback on the cultural responsiveness of services. A culturally competent organization’s board, executive leadership, staff, and volunteers reflect the cultural backgrounds and speak the languages of those being served.
  • All program evaluation/data collection efforts can be developed through the lens of CLC/EDI. Outcome data thus assesses potential disparities among those served. Diverse families are invited to the table to provide feedback on the cultural appropriateness of data collection instruments and approaches, and to develop an action plan based on the evaluation findings.

Module 1

KEY CONCEPTS & DEFINITIONS

 

Culture means “the thoughts, ideas, behavior patterns, customs, values, skills, language, arts, and faith or religion of a particular people at a given point in time.”1

Cultural competence is “a process of learning that leads to an ability to effectively respond to the challenges and opportunities posed by the presence of culture diversity in a defined social system.”2

Disparity is “the inequitable treatment and/or services provided to a specific group” when compared with whites.3

Linguistic Competence is “the ability of an organization and its employees to successfully communicate information in a manner that is uncomplicated and easily understood by diverse individuals and groups, including those with limited English proficiency, low literacy skills, or who are illiterate, and those with disabilities.”4

Committing to equity means providing “fair access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups.”5

Diversity “includes all the ways in which people differ, encompassing the different characteristics that make one individual or group different from another (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, socioeconomic status, marital status, language, physical appearance, etc.).”6

Inclusion is “authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes, activities, and decision/policy making in a way that shares power.”7

1 CWLA, 2001, as cited in Cultural and Linguistic Competence Guidelines for Residential Programs.
2 National Health Care for the Homeless Council, 2016, Slide 12, as cited in Building Consensus on Residential Measures.
3 Derezotes, Poertner, & Testa, 2005, as cited in Cultural and Linguistic Competence Guidelines for Residential Programs.
4 Goode & Jones, 2004, as cited in Cultural and Linguistic Competence Guidelines for Residential Programs.
5 Kapila, Hines & Searby, 2016, Independent Sector, para. 4, as cited in Building Consensus on Residential Measures..
6 http://racialequitytools.org
7 http://racialequitytools.org