A Culturally Relevant Guide to El Centro de la Raza's Service Deliveries

Adopted from the Alliance for Children, Youth & Families

Culturally relevant services are defined in terms of:

Commitment

  1. Acknowledgement that institutional racism exists at all levels of the service delivery system--policy and practice.
  2. Recognition that cultural differences exist--between and within groups--that ethnic minorities think, feel and behave differently and cannot/should not measure against the white population.

Availability

  1. Assurance that at least the same range of choices and level of services are available to minority communities
  2. Services are located in minority communities
  3. Services are delvered through organizations which have a staff composition reflective of the client community (including upper management).

Accessibility

  1. Purposeful elimination of barriers to service
  2. Maintenance of bilingual staff in all service areas
  3. Decentralized point of entry

In 1992 El Centro de la Raza received the "1,000 Points of Light" award from President Bush for its community involvement.

Appropriateness

  1. Services are delivered in a manner that is congruent with the client's language, cultural belief, environment, concept of time, spiritual and religious belief.
  2. Services are sensitive to: a) cultural differences in decision making, b) life events, including minority status experience, immigration etc., c) development stages of household and family units, d) response to crisis.
  3. Services are delivered by ethnically competent staff.
  4. Services involve and respect resources existent within the communities--traditional or non-traditional.
  5. Services recognize the role of the community as well as personal problem solving.

 

 

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Revised: November 19, 2000.
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