Cultural Competence:
Supporting All Families
Presented by Diana Autin, Family Voices @ SPAN-NJ
At the National Family Voices Conference, May, 2007
The Pebble in the Pond…
“Do unto others as
they would have
you do unto them.”
The Platinum Rule
• “Seek first to
understand, then
to be understood.”
Steven Covey
What Impacts Relationships?
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Status
Socially acceptable behavior
Body Language
How close we stand to each other
How we communicate & process information
How we interpret silence
Comfort level with advocacy
How we approach & resolve conflict
What Impacts Relationships?
• Parenting roles and functions
• Expectations of children
• Beliefs about appropriate
developmental goals & independence
• Views about needing and accepting
“help” from non-family members
• Fears about being judged unfavorably
Cultural Continuum
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Cultural Destructiveness
Cultural Incapacity
Cultural Blindness
Cultural Pre-competence
Cultural Competence
Cultural Proficiency
Impact of American Cultural values
• Individual Success
– Getting ahead
– Making money
• Value & purpose of
education
• Competition
Examine cultural values: Time
• What does it mean
to be “on time?”
• How do you feel
when someone
arrives late to a
meeting? Why?
Examine cultural values:
Communication
• Verbal
communication
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Rates of speech
Voice modulation
Pauses
Use of silence
Time between Q&A
• What is rude?
Polite?
Examine cultural values:
Communication
• Nonverbal
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Body language
Eye contact
Proximity
Deference
Respect
Cultural Scanning
• Is the behavior
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Innocent
Ignorant
Insensitive
Racist
• How to respond?
Do we
– Know the person
– Value the
relationship
– Have a history
Cultural Reciprocity with Families
• Challenging power
• Assuming risks
• Sharing stories &
ourselves
• Listening with the
heart
• Involving those
affected
• Offering alternatives
• Balancing the scales of
justice and equity
• Holding ourselves
accountable
How Change Happens
“Power concedes
nothing without a
demand. It never
has and it never
will.”
-Frederick
Douglas
Agents of Cultural Competence
• Understand context,
barriers to change,
and stages of change
• Listen
• Respond
• Advocate
• Pursue change
• Intervene at the
systems level
• Team with others
• Facilitate
Leadership in Cultural
Competence
• Inspire and help people
work toward the goal
• Share leadership
• Recognize diverse roles
• Become self-aware
• Accept responsibility
• Ask for help
• Be open to constructive
criticism
• Encourage & motivate
partners
Know Yourself
• Who am I?
• What am I doing here
• What are my:
– Goals, purposes
– Expectations
– Motivations?
• What strengths &
challenges do I bring?
• How can I best use my
skills?
• How can I make space
for others?
Know Yourself
• In my family, children
are expected to ___
• I feel like an outsider
when _______
• I believe the most
important thing in life
is ______________
• My ethnic or cultural
heritage is important
to me because _____
Self-Reflection
• Roots, places of origin
• Ethnic group, socioeconomic class,
religion, age group,
community
• Social interactions
with people from
ethnic groups,
socioeconomic classes,
religions, age groups or
communities different
from your own
Self-Reflection
• Speaking language
other than English
• Attitudes of your
family of origin on
people from different
backgrounds
• Values, beliefs,
cultural messages re:
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Family
Child-rearing
External relationships
Community
Health
Education
Traits needed for
Cultural Competence
• Trust
• Hope
• Shared
relationships
• Honesty
• Openness
• Flexibility
• Love
Gaining Community Trust
• Trust is not
automatic; it must
be earned and it
can be lost.
• Trust must be twoway: those who are
not trusted, do not
trust.
• Trust leads to
belief in each other
and in a cause.
Developing Trust
• Be honest about
the problems, the
barriers, the
potential negative
consequences – as
well as the
potential benefit
of action
Developing Trust
• Be in it for the long
haul. Don’t abandon
ship after the first
disappointment or
failure.
• Admit mistakes.
• Ask for help!!!
• LISTEN!!!
• Acknowledge others’
contributions.
Honesty
• I don’t know.
• I haven’t had this
experience before.
• I’m confused.
• I need your help.
• I don’t understand.
• I made a mistake.
Openness
• Openness means
letting go of the
present to focus on
what could be.
• “What would it look
like, feel like, smell
like, taste like, sound
like, if it was good?”
Flexibility
• Flexibility means
willingness to
change behavior
based on
circumstances and
need.
• How have people
accommodated your
needs?
Moving toward cultural
competence
• How do we get there?
• What supports are
needed?
• What is each of our
roles in providing
those supports?
• How can it be
sustained?
To See Clearly
• It is only with the
heart that one can
see clearly; what is
essential is
invisible to the eye.
– The Little Prince
Antoine de Saint
Exupery
The Chinese characters that
make up the verb “to listen” tell
us something about this skill.
Gathering Community
Knowledge
• Communities know:
– Their history:
where they have
been
– Their culture: who
they are
– Sacred places
– Dangerous places
– What is important
to them
Gathering community knowledge
• Encourage and
support community
members to find
their voice.
• Be ready to hear
what community
members say.
• Respect the
passion of the
community for
change.
Sharing Community Knowledge
• Tell stories within
the community to
build shared
knowledge
• Listen to the
stories of families
• Help families share
their stories with
each other
Partnering for Cultural
Competence
• Committed
Leadership from all
partners
• Maintaining a
partnership with
good
communication,
clear decisionmaking, & specific
responsibilities
Myth: Cultural differences are
unimportant
• Thoughts
– All people should be
treated “the same”
• Feelings
– Pressure
– Resentment
• Behaviors
– Failure to
accommodate
differences
Reality: Cultural Differences
are Strengths to Build on
• Thoughts
– Cultural differences
are strengths
• Feelings
– Curiosity
– Interest
– Appreciation
• Behaviors
– Affirm differences
– Seek learning
opportunities
Building Cultural Competence
• Quality information:
– Develop accurate “map”
of strengths & needs of
families from diverse
communities –who’s
important, what’s
important, relationships
• Formal
• Informal
– Know how others have
addressed these issues
Building Cultural Competence
• Ongoing:
• Planning
• Implementation
• Evaluation
• Revision of plan
Developing a Plan
• Who will do what?
• Under what
conditions?
• To what extent?
• What resources do
we need?
• How will we
measure?
Specific Suggestions
• Allow time for reflection, don’t always fill
silent spaces
• Engage community leaders and cultural
liaisons
• Modify communication methods, processes
and materials to respond to individual
circumstances
• Provide ongoing training and support in
diversity, cultural competence, flexibility
• Provide qualified, trained and prepared
interpreters when needed
Implementing Changes to
Enhance Cultural Competence
• Bring about
changes
• Monitor
implementation to
make sure
improvements take
place
Commitment
People say, what is the sense
of our small effort.
They cannot see that we
must lay one brick at a time,
take one step at a time.
A pebble cast into a pond
causes ripples that spread in
all directions. Each one of
our thoughts, words and
deeds is like that.
No one has a right to sit
down and feel hopeless.
There’s too much work to do.