CRA BHS

Cultural Responsiveness Academy Behavioral Heatlh Services

Cultural Responsiveness and Courageous Conversations: Enhancing Inclusion and Equity in Behavioral Health Services

In this series of 3 classes, behavioral health and substance use treatment program Managers, Direct Service, Administrative staff will gain specific skills to improve culturally responsive and appropriate services, in order to reduce health disparities and improve health equity in the County of San Diego’s Behavioral Health System. Each class will explore and practice action steps that make up the National Standards for Culturally & Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care, engaging all 15 across the series. In the first class, self-assessment tools and small group practice will help learners enhance self-awareness to reduce the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse groups. In the second class, learners will explore communication skills specific to their own work role within a social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion framework. Finally, in the last class, learners will explore oppression and devaluation in County systemic structures and will use culturally responsive practice tools to build collective power and move towards healing and liberation. By the end of the series, learners will be able to communicate their understanding of the CLAS standards and implement them within their specific role in the San Diego County system of care.

Series Bibliography (Class 1, 2, and 3)

Facilitator

Class 1: Cultural Responsiveness and Courageous Conversations: Transforming Provider Culture from Awareness to Equity

Course Description:

This first class will level up learners’ previous trainings, building on strengths, including lived experience through applied learning and practice in their own work role. The class will focus on the principal standard in the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care from which the others follow. Self-assessment tools and small group practice of courageous conversations will help learners gain sufficient self-awareness to reduce the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse groups. By the end of this class, each participant will have a role-specific measurable, time-bound goal to help implement CLAS standards within their specific role in the San Diego County system of care.

By the end of today, participants will be able to:

Recognize National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care to provide effective, equitable, understandable, and respectful quality care and services responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy, and other communication needs.
Differentiate between culture, cultural humility, cultural awareness, cultural competence and cultural responsiveness and the impact of these approaches.
Practice a courageous conversation to gain self-awareness of the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse groups.
Explain two ways that culturally responsive therapeutic treatment modalities strengthen the effectiveness of your specific role as a leader, direct service provider, or administrative staff.
Discuss the impact of culturally influenced communication, including nonverbal cues and other forms of communication, on trust and rapport-building within your organization and/or with individuals and families receiving services.
Identify specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound actions that can be taken within your organization to enhance culturally responsive services.

Class 2: Strategies for Culturally Responsive Engagement, Continuous Improvement and Accountability in Behavioral Health and Substance Use Treatment

Course Description:

In the second class, learners will practice applying the 3 standards for Governance, Workforce, and Leadership and 6 standards for Engagement, Continuous Improvement, and Accountability from National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) by identifying and using communication skills specific to their own work role within a social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion framework. By identifying specific examples of macroaggressions and microaggressions and their impacts on your program participants and on the workforce, learners will identify opportunities to improve culturally responsive engagement within their organization and with individuals and families receiving services.

By the end of today, participants will be able to:

Understand the 3 standards for Governance, Workforce, and Leadership and 6 standards for Engagement, Continuous Improvement, and Accountability from National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS).
Identify specific strategies to practice counseling, management, or administrative skills within a framework of social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion to prevent or address institutional bias in behavioral healthcare and substance use treatment.
Identify specific examples of macroaggressions and microaggressions in the workplace and their impacts inside the walls and outside the walls, on staff and on program participants.
Explore ways to disrupt the use of microaggressions through inclusive and culturally inviting clinical practice.
Examine an organizational policy and practice to identify opportunities to improve culturally responsive engagement with individuals and families receiving services.

Class 3: Culturally Responsive Communication: Building on Cultural Resilience and Strengths to Overcome Service Barriers and Bias

Course Description:

In this last class, learners will apply National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) numbers 5 through 8 (Communication and Language Assistance) to communicate clearly their understanding of the CLAS standards and implement them within their specific role in the San Diego County system of care. In the first two classes, learners were invited to recognize County health equity dynamics, including privilege, power, and cultural responsiveness. In this class, learners will build on and respond by practicing assessment of cultural resilience and strengths. By the end of this class, learners will identify and apply specific culturally responsive competencies in their own role by setting specific, measurable and time-bound goals.

By the end of the day, you will be able to:

Identify ways that National CLAS Standards 5-8 (Communication and Language Assistance) align interventions with the values, cultures, and needs of those we serve.
Recognize ways that assessing cultural resilience and strengths can improve cultural responsiveness in behavioral healthcare and substance use treatment settings.
Explore specific examples of affinity bias, guilt, privilege and shame as barriers to culturally responsive service provision
Identify two role-specific competencies for culturally responsive leadership and supervision, administrative assistance and communication, and therapeutic treatment modalities.
Create a plan with three actions to strengthen and enhance cultural responsiveness in everyday practice for the delivery of Behavioral Health Services in your role.

CRA BHS

Cultural Responsiveness Academy Behavioral Heatlh Services

Cultural Responsiveness and Courageous Conversations: Enhancing Inclusion and Equity in Behavioral Health Services

Facilitator

Class 1: Cultural Responsiveness and Courageous Conversations: Transforming Provider Culture from Awareness to Equity

Course Description:

Class 2: Strategies for Culturally Responsive Engagement, Continuous Improvement and Accountability in Behavioral Health and Substance Use Treatment

Course Description:

Class 3: Culturally Responsive Communication: Building on Cultural Resilience and Strengths to Overcome Service Barriers and Bias

Course Description:

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