Beyond Policies and Procedures 

Back in 2001, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health issued standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) for nonprofits receiving federal funding in an attempt to correct inequities that exist in the delivery of health services.  So why haven't we done a better job of closing the gap on health disparities?

Dolores Retana-Casillas, an independent human services consultant, sheds light on the issue: "Nonprofit organizations have scurried around writing policies and procedures on cultural competency - even writing cultural competence plans," she says.  "But what happens after that's done?  You have to make sure it gets implemented 24/7.  Too often, cultural competence is viewed as an activity versus something that is interwoven in everything we do."

And how do you move beyond that spiffy cultural competence policies and procedures manual? Click the "continue" button below for Nine Action Steps to Boost Your CQ.