Ten Things You Should Do To Promote Cultural
Competence1
1. Make a commitment to expand knowledge about culture, cultural competence and the
various dimensions of culture in your organization.
2. Make a commitment to develop an understanding of the various cultural groups within
communities served by your agency.
3. Include culture and cultural competence principles in the strategic planning, policy
development, program design, and service delivery process. Increase the organizational
and individual understanding of how the various dimensions of culture impact the
families the agency serves and the staff that works with them.
4. Be committed to promoting cultural competence. Develop this commitment through staff
development and training, hiring, retention, career advancement, performance
evaluations, and employee policies that support culturally competent and linguistically
appropriate practice.
5. Create a safe, secure, and supportive environment where staff can explore and develop
an understanding for all cultures. Create formal partnerships with community
organizations and encourage staff to actively engage communities and families in the
development of policy, program design, and service delivery models.
6. Be active in local communities. Engage communities by recruiting local citizens for the
Board of Directors, in voting positions, and on advisory teams and task forces.
Encourage and support staff to become involved in community boards and cultural
activities.
7. Be an example to tribes, communities and families that work with your agency by making
hiring decisions that are reflective of the diversity of those populations. More importantly,
make sure that staff develop an understanding and respect for the richness, strength,
and additional capacity culture and diversity bring to the workplace.
8. Advocate for the development of cultural competence principles in other groups to which
your agency belongs. Include criteria in Requests for Proposals and other contracts that
place emphasis on the ability of the applicant, contractor, or consultant to demonstrate
the capacity and ability to achieve positive results that are culturally competent and
linguistically appropriate, and applicable to the needs of children and families being
served.
9. Become more proactive about recognizing and resolving conflicts that can occur when
differing cultures interact. Encourage staff to speak out when they recognize intolerance
whether or not they are the targets.
10. If your agency provides educational and/or recreational opportunities for the community
and families served, make sure that they include experiences that are reflective of all
cultural groups. For instance, many tribes and communities have museums or cultural
centers that host a variety of events throughout the year and on holidays. Also, during