A.  Cultural Competence is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enable them to work effectively in cross-cultural situations.

A.  As the US continues to become increasingly diverse, it is imperative that healthcare providers and agencies understand, develop and deliver services that are meaningful, accessible, and culturally appropriate to a changing cunsumer base.

A.  Linguistic Competence is a necessary aspect of Cultural Competence.  Linguistic Competence is the capacity of an organization and its personnel to communicate effectively, and convey information in a manner that is easily understood by diverse audiences including persons of limited English proficiency, those who have low literacy skills or are not literate, and individuals with disabilities. Linguistic competency requires organizational and provider capacity to respond effectively to the health literacy needs of populations served. The organization must have policy, structures, practices, procedures and dedicated resources to support this capacity.

A.  Title VI is part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and its implementing regulations provide that no person shall be subject to discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin under any program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance.  For our purposes, "national origin" equates to individuals who have a limited proficiency with the English language and their primary language is not English, hence the term "limited English proficiency" or LEP.

A.  According to Mental Health:  Culture, Race and Ethnicity, A Supplement to the Surgeon General's Mental Health, minorities have less access to mental health services, minorities are less likely to receive needed mental health services, minorities in treatment often receive a poorer quality of mental health care, and minorities are underrepresented in mental health research.

A.  Ways in which we can minimize some of the disparities are:

A.  National Center for Cultural Competence maintains many online resources and tools including:

• Cultural Competence Health Practitioner Assessment (CCHPA) 
• Cultural and Linguistic Competence Policy Assessment (CLCPA) 
• Consultant Pool: a listing of consultants that includes researchers, evaluators, and providers of training, technical assistance or consultation.
• Cultural Brokering
• Curricula Enhancement Module Series
• Información en Español: materials in Spanish related to overall health, mental health, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome/ Other Infant Death (SIDS/ID), and family materials.
• Promising Practices: a listing of evidence-based promising policies, structures, and practices that exemplify cultural and linguistic competence in many healthcare and mental health programs.
• Publications: materials developed by the NCCC, including policy briefs, checklists, guides, articles, tools monographs, and multimedia products.
• The Resource Database: a searchable database listing of a wide range of resources on cultural and linguistic competence.
• Conceptual Frameworks / Models, Guiding Values and Principles: a conceptual framework and model for achieving cultural and linguistic competence.
• Cultural Competence: Working with Latino Families: a special presentation by AMHA's Carlos Martinez.