Cultural Competency And Child Welfare

Cultural competency can be viewed as an ongoing journey of commitment and active engagement through the process of cultural awareness, knowledge, skills and cultural encounter (Coolen, 2012).Trust is the underlying purpose behind cultural competency in the development of health care provider and patient relationship. Health care professionals need to become more sensitive, respectful and attentive to the patients cultural beliefs and practices. Self-awareness is particularly important when communicating where barriers exists, unconscious prejudices may hinder the successful building of therapeutic relationships. In order to provide culturally sensitive pain management, a patients pain must be considered within the context of the individual’s

Cultural competency is critical in psychology practice. In the United States, the groups, which considered as cultural and ethnic minorities, are growing in the population (APA, 2003). Culture often influences the content and quality of people’s experience, perception, and response. Thus, it is important for psychologists to be aware of cultural influences on client’s presenting experience(s) (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2010). Without a regard for cultural influence, there is a significant risk for the psychologist to misunderstand, misinterpret, and misguide his or her client. Such misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and misguidance are not only unhelpful but can be detrimental for the client (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2011; Pope, & Vasquez, 2011).

I have learned that it is important that educators  and health providers be trained on cultural competency to understand the population they are serving. Marks, Sims, and Osher (King, Sims, & Osher, n.d.) define cultural competency  as a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enables that system, agency, or those professionals to work effectively in cross–cultural situations" ( as cited in Cross et al., 1989; Isaacs & Benjamin, 1991). Health providers and educators should investigate demographic patterns or trends in the place where they live and work. This brings awareness of the types of cultures that they might come across when they are working with people. Organizations should integrate and implement policies that promote the value of  diversity, self-assessment, manage the dynamics of difference, acquire and institutionalize cultural knowledge, and adapt to diversity and the cultural contexts of communities they serve (Georgetown  University, 2004). Georgetown University (2004) also stresses that culture competency grows gradually and is always open for improvement.

While examining the life of the Lee family, it was easy to identify that Hmong culture is much different than Western culture today. The Lee’s faced many adversities that not only affect their lives but the life of their ill daughter Lia. By analyzing culture, stigma, prevention, and implications, one can begin to see how the Hmong culture collides in the care of Lia.

Children are being uprooted form their lives and placed in a home they are not accustomed too. This experience can become even more traumatic when they are placed in homes and shelters with limited or inadequate living conditions. Of the five-billion dollars federally allocated to annually fund the child foster care, 75% of that is spent in the child welfare systems. This exhibits even more atrocities of neglect and abuse from the system designed to protect children. (Hagopian 6) This money is being wasted on frivolous things such as pay-raises for social workers instead of providing a suitable living environment for the children’s prosperity. This money will be better spent on providing food, clothing, or even in scholarships for children who want to go to college. Also, while a child is in the system their emotional, medical, dental, and educational need are required to be taken care of (AdoptUSKids 2).

Who is the person the nurse is caring for? Where is that person from? Does this person speak English, or understand what the caregiver is saying? What is this person’s cultural background? What are the health beliefs of this person, what are their illness beliefs and practices? These questions are answered differently depending upon the person and their heritage. As healthcare providers it is important to have a broad knowledge base in regards to different cultures and people’s practices to deliver effective health care. In 2006, the population of

Some of the author’s major points are the lack of understanding of what cultural competence really means which is bringing confusion about ways it can be utilized in the social work field. The confusion of the utilization of cultural competence is leading to the lack of consensus concerning the effective training that providers should obtain and the population being served with the cultural competence skills lack clear description. According to the author, the most popular cultural competence intervention in the healthcare system is the cultural competency training which is for health care providers and the two approaches that have been utilized in creating the intervention are; the programs aimed at improving knowledge which is group specific,

Arthur H. Woodard, Jr., MSW Soulhelp@me.com Jim Wuelfing, NRPP Jim.Wuelfing@gmail.com  Name?  From where?  Doing what?  Why here?

As a health care professional, we are faced with caring for patients of different cultural and ethnic background. Researching and learning about the patient’s culture values, beliefs and practices is essential and remarks the ability to provide quality health care for the patient. “Organizations and individuals who understand their clients’ cultural values, beliefs, and practices are in a better position to be coparticipants with their clients in providing culturally acceptable care” (Purnell & Paulanka, 2008, p. 2). After completing the cultural competence checklist, I was able to identify some of my responses to the patient cultural values and belief practices. I will describe a summary of my assessment results, analyze

Competency is something education and care services and educators strive for constantly. It is what a service must demonstrate to prove it is meeting or exceeding the National Quality Standard. But there is a special type of competency that all services must achieve to deliver high quality education and care to all children—cultural competency. Cultural competence is an essential practice of both the Early Years Learning Framework and the Framework for School Aged Care—My Time, Our Place. It is based on the principle contained in both frameworks—respect for diversity. Can educators and services ever truly become culturally competent? Many would say that achievement of this competency is always just beyond grasp. That is why the

Recent data have cited that Asian Americans are the fastest-growing ethnic community in the United States. As a result, the United States will experience developing and new societal changes. This introduces the urgency for cultural competence. Cultural competence is the ability to communicate and work with multicultural and diverse people. Therefore, this capability will help accommodate for the expanding society. By being able to learn and discuss topics concerning racial relations, this can lead to stronger connections being formed with communities outside of our own.

Life experience coupled with professional experience has enriched the level of cultural competency that I function at daily. Starting my first career in the legal arena, almost twenty years ago, I carried more bias toward certain groups, often thinking in black and white rather than a rich rainbow of grays. Being empathetic to individuals that committed crimes against society and others was rarely accepted in my naïve viewpoint. After my first year of working with criminal clients, I began to understand that one simple act cannot define or give explanation to the beauty of multiple stories that fill the chapters in an individual’s life. I learned that I could not fully understand what led to the story that was playing out before me without

Cultural Competency Cultural competence is a system of corresponding behaviors and policies that enable professionals to efficiently work in cross-cultural situations. Three simple steps can achieve an equitable system that can be applied to any situation; knowledge of the client’s culture, acceptance of the client’s belief, and development of skills in inclusion. Each step cumulates to properly address a cross-cultural situation, such as adoption, or placing a child within a foster home. Adopting a child from a foreign country can lead to hindrances in the child’s development, as their culture should be celebrated and not bypassed for assimilation into a new culture and home. According to National Association of Social Workers (NASW), “Social workers should understand culture and its functions in human behavior and society, recognizing the strengths that exist in all cultures.”

The BusinessDictionary.com defines cultural competency as, “A set of behaviors, policies, and attitudes which form a system or agency which allows cross-cultural groups to effectively work professionally in situations. This includes human behaviors, languages, communications, actions, values, religious beliefs, social groups, and ethic perceptions. Individuals are competent to function on their own and within an organization where multi-cultural situations will be present” (2016).

competence is an imperative aspect that practicing social workers need to employ when providing treatment to clients. Daniel’s treatment provider has to maintain cultural sensitivity when assisting him with obtaining a higher quality of life. Daniel’s ethnicity, age, sex, class, and veteran status require that the treatment provider have knowledge regarding Daniel’s diverse cultural background. Treatment providers that are working with specific populations such as the military must acquire knowledge surrounding the experiences of military personnel, families and children (Cederbaum et al., 2014).