Transcript Cultural Reciprocity with Families

Cultural Reciprocity with
Families
Presented by Diana MTK Autin, Executive Co-Director
Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN)
Home to NJ’s PTI, F2F, FV, FFCMH, & P2P
National Field Co-Coordinator, National Family Voices
Board member, National FFCMH
FOCUS OF OUR TIME TOGETHER
Families who have children with mental health, emotional, and/or
behavioral needs reflect the full range of families in our nation, from
race, ethnicity, and language, to socio-economic status, family
composition, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, geography,
and many more characteristics. Culture is not just the overt aspects
of differences in people that are easily recognizable, such as the
difference in the color skin, dress, food preferences, accent, etc., but
the more subtle aspects that we often take for granted in our own
cultures and the deep-seated values that underlie our attitudes and
behaviors. This interactive workshop provides strategies and tools
for PSPs to engage and support families using "cultural reciprocity,"
and to assist families from diverse backgrounds to acquire "cultural
capital" about systems of care to enable them to make more informed
choices about services and partner more effectively with providers.
CULTURAL RECIPROCITY
A process, not an outcome
Do unto others as they would have you do
unto them.
Cultural reciprocity is about
relationships…learning about the other,
sharing about oneself
You can only practice cultural reciprocity if
you listen with the heart…for the
heart…and share your heart
The Cultural Iceberg
Surface
Deep
Dress - Food
Games - Music
Fine Arts - Literature
Feelings about recognition
Personal space
Concept of time
Communication style
Expression of emotions
Leadership style
Status / class
VALUES
BELIEFS
ATTITUDES
Facial expression
Formality / informality
Nature of friendships
. . . and much much more . . .
Just as nine-tenths of an iceberg is below the waterline & out of
sight, nine-tenths of culture is below conscious awareness.
Culture shapes status, relationships and
social behaviors with regard to every
aspect of life
-Justice for individual vs. group harmony
-Willingness to question authority
People from various backgrounds
communicate and process information
differently
-Rational vs. intuitive
-Linear vs. circular
-Abstract vs. concrete
-Time-bound vs. not
MYTHOLOGY:
Cultural differences are
unimportant
Thoughts
All people should be treated “the same”
Feelings
Pressure
Resentment
Behaviors
Failure to accommodate differences
REALITY:
Cultural differences are
strengths to build upon
Thoughts
Cultural differences are strengths
Feelings
Curiosity
Interest
Appreciation
Behaviors
Affirm differences
Seek learning opportunities
What Impacts Relationships?
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Status
Socially acceptable behavior
Body Language
How close we stand to each other
How we communicate & process information
How we interpret silence
Comfort level with advocacy
How we approach & resolve conflict
What Impacts Relationships?
• Parenting roles and functions
• Expectations of children
• Beliefs about appropriate developmental
goals & independence
• Views about needing and accepting “help”
from non-family members
• Fears about being judged unfavorably
Cultural Competence/
Cultural Reciprocity:
Definition and Conceptual Framework
Requires that individuals and organizations
have a defined set of values and principles,
and demonstrate behaviors, attitudes,
policies, and structures that enable them
to work effectively cross-culturally.
Individuals & organizations that are
culturally competent/reciprocal have the
capacity to:
(1) value diversity,
(2) conduct self-assessment,
(3) manage the dynamics of difference,
(4) acquire and institutionalize cultural knowledge
and
(5) adapt to diversity and the cultural contexts of the
families & communities they serve.
Culturally competent/reciprocal
individuals and organizations design and
implement services that are tailored or
matched to the unique needs of individuals,
children, families, organizations and
communities served;
service options are driven by the family’s
preferred choices, not by culturally “blind”
or culturally “free” interventions.*
Cultural competence/reciprocity
considerations
Vision/mission
Philosophy/commitment
Location(s)
Staff & volunteers
Materials
Partners
Cultural knowledge
Cultural & linguistic skills
Do you have what you need to meet the
needs of the families you serve?
Cultural Competence is a multi-layered, transcending and
transforming concept. It is a journey, not an outcome. The
path to cultural competency requires ongoing self-assessment
& improvement planning. Be true to yourself and take a look
at yourself and your organization(s):
Attitude(s)
Knowledge base
Skill(s)
Organizational behaviors
Policies
Location
Outreach
Employees
Culture
Practice & Service Design
Cultural competence & reciprocity is achieved by
(a) understanding oneself, and (b) identifying and
understanding the needs and help-seeking
behaviors of diverse individuals and families.*
What are some of the help-seeking behaviors
of the diverse families you serve?
Know Yourself
• Who am I?
• What am I doing here
• What are my:
– Goals, purposes
– Expectations
– Motivations?
• What strengths &
challenges do I bring?
• How can I best use my
skills?
• How can I make space for
others?
Know Yourself
• In my family, children
are expected to ___
• I feel like an outsider
when _______
• I believe the most
important thing in life
is ______________
• My ethnic or cultural
heritage is important to
me because _____
Self-Reflection
• Roots, places of origin
• Ethnic group, socio-economic class,
religion, age group, community
• Social interactions with people from
ethnic groups, socioeconomic classes,
religions, age groups or communities
different from your own
Self-Reflection
• Speaking language other than English
• Attitudes of your family of origin on
people from different backgrounds
• Values, beliefs, cultural messages re:
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Family
Child-rearing
External relationships
Community
Health
Education
Traits Needed
• Trust
• Hope
• Shared relationships
• Honesty
• Openness
• Flexibility
• Love
Trust
• Trust is not automatic; it must be earned
and it can be lost.
• Trust must be two-way: those who are
not trusted, do not trust.
• Trust leads to belief in each other and in
a cause.
• Be honest about the problems, the
barriers, the potential negative
consequences – as well as the potential
benefit of action
Trust
• Be in it for the long haul. Don’t
abandon ship after the first
disappointment or failure.
• Admit mistakes.
• Ask for help!!!
• LISTEN!!!
• Acknowledge others’ contributions.
Honesty
• I don’t know.
• I haven’t had this experience
before.
• I’m confused.
• I need your help.
• I don’t understand.
• I made a mistake.
Flexibility
• Flexibility means
willingness to change
behavior based on
circumstances and
need.
• How have people
accommodated your
needs?
Listening
Culturally Responsive
Philosophy/Approach:
Never develop a new program,
implement a new initiative, or evaluate
effectiveness, without engaging
representatives of the diverse
community you seek to support.
Period.
Locations
-Accessible to public transportation
-In communities & buildings that diverse communities
consider “safe” and “friendly” (i.e., not places where you
have to show ID or go through scanners)
-Easy for diverse families to find and get to
-Build in plans for your staff to go to families
.
Diverse staff…at all levels
To be an authentic bridge to the community, your
Board, staff and leadership must be composed of
authentic & diverse voices from top to bottom.
.
Diverse volunteers & Support parents
To reach all communities, your volunteers/support
parents must reflect the diverse communities you serve
To achieve this diversity requires TARGETED EFFORTS:
-Targeted outreach to potential volunteers & support
parents from diverse communities
-capacity to do parent leadership and support parent
training in multiple languages (not just interpreted)
-Supports to sustain diverse volunteers
.
Materials
-Translated into multiple languages (check with
communities about whether translation needed)
-Translated at low literacy levels (pilot/test)
-Information written in ways that take culture into
consideration
-Pictures are ethnically diverse and/or targeted to
particular communities
-English on one side, Spanish on the other
-Materials for diverse families, and for organizations
serving diverse families who may not have expertise in
CSHCN
Diverse partners…including non-traditional
partners (not just those who focus on families
who have children with special needs)
-Immigrant & Community based organizations
-Faith-based organizations
-WIC, Head Start, FQHCs, etc.
-Legal Services
-NAACP, La Raza, civil rights groups
-Other?
Partner with community-based and immigrantserving agencies, asking not what they can do for
us, but what we can do together.
Cultural knowledge
-Values, beliefs & practices within their
cultural group
-Service delivery systems they have learned
to navigate
-Their history: where they have been
-Their culture: who they are
-Sacred places
-Dangerous places
-What is important to them
Examine cultural values: Time
• What does it mean
to be “on time?”
• How do you feel
when someone
arrives late to a
meeting? Why?
Examine cultural values:
Communication
Verbal communication
Rates of speech
Voice modulation
Pauses
Use of silence
Time between Q&A
What is rude? Polite?
Examine cultural values:
Communication
• Nonverbal
– Body language
– Eye contact
– Proximity
– Deference
– Respect
Cultural Scanning
Is the behavior:
Innocent?
Ignorant?
Insensitive?
Racist?
How to respond?
Do we:
Know the person?
Value the relationship?
Have a history
Cultural skills
-Ongoing professional development for staff,
Board, volunteers
-Effective listening
-Cultural reciprocity
-Humility
-Respectful communication
-Sharing power & leadership
Quality information:
Develop accurate “map” of strengths & needs
of families from diverse communities –who’s
important, what’s important, relationships
-Formal
-Informal
Know how others have addressed these issues
Ongoing:
-Planning
-Implementation
-Evaluation
-Revision of plan
Specific Steps toward cultural competence
-Dedicate resources including time
-Conduct Cultural & Linguistic Competence
Self-Assessment for Family Organizations (at
least every 3 years)
-Conduct Language Access Self-Assessment
& Develop Plan (at least every 3 years with
annual review)
Strengths-Based:
-Parent leadership development thru peer-to-peer
education, support & empowerment
-Parents can be leaders regardless of their
education, literacy level, or current situation
Strengths-Based:
-Build leadership, not dependence
-Measure effectiveness in enhancing family
confidence, competence, attitudes & skills
-Ask diverse families to assess our work
Engage diverse families at all levels:
-Routinely ask, listen to, & incorporate the voices
of diverse families in programs & services, policy
development
-Be ready to hear what families say
-Be ready to follow where families lead
-Provide needed supports
“Nothing about me, without me.”
Provide language access:
Multi-lingual staff
Community partnerships
Language Line
Website & materials translation
Cultural reciprocity
-Develop reciprocal relationships of trust:
learning about the other, sharing about oneself
-Ask families what will work for them
-Listening with the heart, for the heart…
“Do unto others as they would have you do unto
them.” “Seek first to understand, then to be
understood.”
Flexibility & responsiveness
-Provide information & training at
convenient times & locations, in multiple
languages & formats
Targeted services & supports
-Target families from underserved
communities for more intensive supports
designed to be flexible & responsive to their
specific needs
-Policies re: intensive supports
Cultural mediator
Help service delivery systems:
-Establish & maintain trust
-Build meaningful relationships
Catalyst for change
Help service delivery systems:
-Recognize the barriers for families
-Make changes to address barriers
-Engage families in all processes
Commitment
People say, what is the sense of our small effort.
They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a
time, take one step at a time.
A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that
spread in all directions. Each one of our
thoughts, words and deeds is like that.
No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless.
There’s too much work to do
Resources to Help Assess Cultural & Linguistic
Competence & Develop Improvement Plans
• Language Assistance SelfAssessment & Planning Tool &
Assessing Access Worksheet:
(Interagency Working Group
on LEP, www.lep.gov )
• Cultural & Linguistic
Competence Family
Organization Self-Assessment:
(http://www.gucchdgeorgetow
n.net/nccc/clcfoa/)
• Parent Center FamilyCentered Services & Non-Profit
Management Self-Assessment
Tool
Sample Tools
Sample Language Access SelfAssessments:
Large Family Organization
Small Family Organization
Sample Language Access Plan
Large Family Organization
Small Family Organization
Other Resources
Working with interpreters tip
sheets:
(www.parentcenternetwork.org/regi
on1/resources/ other_topics.html)
Growing Your Capacity to Engage
Diverse Communities:
(https://org2.democracyinaction.or
g/o/6739/images/CommunityBrok
ers_04-27-2009.pdf)
www.HablamosJuntos.org
CLAS Standards – Office of Minority
Health (www.omhrc.gov/assets/
pdf/checked/finalreport.pdf)
Questions? Comments?