Cultural Competency is very important and complex in the nature of Systems of Care and the work that we are challenged to do. Becoming culturally competent is ever evolving, “it is a collective move but an individual journey.” Cultural competence is interesting and chaotic to say the least, BUT very rewarding and rich at its best.  Our tendency is to separate it out from all that we do and make it an item on a check list of stuff that should be getting done as we work through the SOC model.  I have come to understand that instead of it being an item, you should think of it like a blanket. If we could move from being implementers of cultural competence to SOC cultural competence blanket covering the community team, youth, family, agency that ensures the safety and comfort of the body/community as a family moves through this cold season in their lives.   

The challenge is to have an idea about your own culture so that as you work with the families you serve you will know where your stuff is, and either figure out how to adjust your stuff and/or get help with it, so that you can facilitate the work that has to be done with SOC families.

This following are things to consider as you roll out your Systems of Care:

     Company/Agency’s Mission Statement

     Cultural Competence is definitely a dialogue

     Develop an Understanding for the process of change

     Ask yourself how do I manage change in my life

     Active practice of letting go of old myths as you encounter new cultural truths

     Remember where your passion lives

     What is your agency’s leadership style

     Realize that you are asking your environment to change the way they conduct business

     Try to identify short and long term goals as they relate to Cultural Competence

     What is your agency’s service delivery style

     Race, ethnicity, gender, language (formal and informal), hair color, street you live on, what kinds of job you have, grandparents attitude about all of the above as well as your agency’s attitudes and values about these as well

     The community in which your company/agency resides

     The combined disciplines in your agency/company

     Always evaluate and reevaluate where you are

     Balance

REMEMBER THAT CULTURE IS HUGE! 

For Technical Assistance and Presentations on Cultural Competency and Organizational Change, please contact Renea Butler-King, MSW at (405) 522-4157 or rbutler-king@odmhsas.org