Cultural Competence

Other Definitions and Resources | Working with Diverse Communities | Language | Language Access | Accessibility | Self Determination, Self Advocacy and Leadership

Populations | Issue Area

“The term ‘culturally competent’ is defined in the DD Act as services, supports or other assistance that are conducted or provided in a manner that is responsive to the beliefs, interpersonal styles, attitudes, language and behaviors of individuals who are receiving services, and in a manner that has the greatest likelihood of ensuring their maximum participation in the program.” (DD Act, Section 102 (7))

Other Definitions and Resources

National Center on Cultural Competence
http://www11.georgetown.edu/research/gucchd/nccc/

The Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice
http://cecp.air.org/cultural/default.htm

SAMHSA's Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity and Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health (ADS Center)
http://www.stopstigma.samhsa.gov/

New York Association of Pyschiatric Rehabilitation Services – general and community specific resources http://www.nyaprs.org/Pages/View_Content_C.cfm?ContentID=19

The Empowerment Zone – general and community specific resource http://www.empowermentzone.com/#cultural

Working with Diverse Communities

The Cultural Dimensions Guide, Advocacy Center

Consumer Star Center
http://www.consumerstar.org/

NAMI - general and community specific resources related to serving people who have experienced mental illness
http://www.nami.org/

Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging and Developmental Disabilitie
http://www.uic.edu/orgs/rrtcamr/index.html

Office of Minority Health
http://www.omhrc.gov

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
www.samhsa.gov

Diversity Rx: Models and Practices in Health Care
http://www.diversityrx.org/HTML/MODELS.htm

Language

AGING STYLEGUIDE: for Journalism, Entertainment and Advertising (2009)
http://www.ilcusa.org/media/pdfs/Media%20Takes%20On%20Aging.pdf

People First Language
http://www.kidstogether.org/pep-1st.htm

Language Access

Ways to Make Complex Language Simple http://www.dds.ca.gov/Consumer/WaysComplex.cfm

Limited English Proficiency
www.lep.gov

Accessibility

“Checklist for Enhancing the Participation and Input of People with Disabilities”
http://www.hcbs.org/moreInfo.php/nb/doc/1665    

“Making Accessibility Real : A Guide for Planning Meetings, Conferences and Gatherings”
http://www.hcbs.org/files/2/73/hcbs_brochure.pdf.

Institute for Community Inclusion
http://www.communityinclusion.org/

The North Carolina Office on Disability and Health (NCODH)
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~ncodh/

This website offers a number of publications for download including:

• Removing Barriers: Tips and Strategies to Promote Accessible Communication
• Removing Barriers: Planning Meetings that are Accessible to all Participants

Adobe Accessibility Resource Center
http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/

Adobe’s Accessibility Resource Center provides guides that tell readers how to incorporate accessibility into their documents and Web pages. It describes the Section 508 requirements, which mandate Web site accessibility for people with disabilities; defines accessibility and explains assistive devices and how they are used; and provides an overview of steps to building accessible Web sites, as well as case studies, examples, and more.

Making Your Printed Health Material Senior Friendly
http://www.nia.nih.gov/NR/rdonlyres/D8994383-6F06-4C07-B560-2A32247D3991/8487/NIA_Health_Materials_TipSheet102207.pdf

From the National Institute on Ageing this document is designed to help writers think about how to make information that may be difficult to understand more user-friendly.

Self Determination, Self Advocacy, and Leadership

Center for Self-Determination
www.selfdetermination.com .

The Center for Self-Determination is a highly interactive working collaboration of individuals and organizations committed to the principles of self-determination- principles designed to assist persons create the lives they want, connected to and with their communities and pursuing long term relationships and economic futures.

The National Research and Training Center at the University of Illinois/Chicago
http://www.psych.uic.edu/uicnrtc/self-determination.htm

Offers a variety of tools and resources in the area of self determination to support individuals who have experienced mental health challenges.

Advocating Change Together
www.selfadvocacy.org

Advocating Change Together (ACT) is a grassroots disability rights organization run by and for people with developmental and other disabilities. ACT's mission is to help people across disabilities to see themselves as part of a larger disability rights movement and make connections to other civil and human rights struggles.

Self Advocates Leadership Network
http://www.hsri.org/leaders/

SALN is a partnership between self-advocates across the country and staff at the Human Services Research Institute. The website offers tools and resources to promote self advocacy among individuals with developmental disabilities. They publish an enewsletter, “The Riot”.

Self Advocates Becoming Empowered
www.sabeusa.org

An organization promoting and supporting self advocacy of individuals with developmental disabilities.

LD Self-Advocacy Manual
http://www.ldpride.net/selfadvocacy.htm

This website provides practical knowledge and understanding about Learning Disabilities and how to be an effective self-advocate.

National Youth Leadership News
http://nyln.org/

POPULATION

Attention Deficit Disorder | Autism | Brain Injury | Cerebral Palsy | Children and Families | Deaf/Hard of Hearing | Deaf-Blind | Developmental Disabilities | Diabetes | Epilepsy | HIV/AIDS | Learning Disabilities | Low Vision and Blindness | Mental Health | Spinal Cord Injuries | Tourette's Syndrome | Trauma

Attention Deficit Disorder

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm

National Resource Center on ADHD
http://www.help4adhd.org/

Autism

Autism Society
www.autism-society.org

Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence
http://www.ocali.org/li.html

Brain Injury

Brain Injury Association
http://www.biausa.org

www.BrainLine.org
BrainLine.org is a comprehensive website that offers authoritative, useful, and timely information and resources about Traumatic Brain Injury. - Fact sheets and TBI basics. Some of the materials included are fact sheets, personal stories, video interviews and roundtable discussions with experts in the field, information on symptoms and treatments, strategies and tools and research and resources 

Cerebral Palsy

United Cerebral Palsy
www.ucpa.org

Children and Families

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
http://www.nichcy.org/index.html  

A national central source of information on:

• Disabilities in infants, toddlers, children, and youth,
• IDEA, which is the law authorizing special education,
• No Child Left Behind (as it relates to children with disabilities)
• Research-based information on effective educational practices.

The manual, “Living in the United States: A Guide for Immigrant Youth,” is available at: http://www.ilrc.org/resources/sijs/Youth%20Handbook.pdf

This guide talks about the rights of youth and risks in every area of their lives including education, jobs, citizenship and green card applications, public benefits, etc. It also offers guidance for youth on what to do if involved with the police and the impact of a criminal record on immigration status. 

Cultural Competence in Serving Children and Adolescents With Mental Health Problems
http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/CA-0015/default.asp

The Families and Advocates Partnership for Education (FAPE)
www.fape.org

United Advocates for Children of California/Children & adolescents with mental health issues
http://www.uacc4families.org/index.cfm

Child Welfare League of America/Cultural Competence
http://www.cwla.org/programs/culturalcompetence/culturalabout.htm

Guidelines for Working with Girls with Disabilities
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/add/Sept11/addcoping.html

Parents with Disabilities Online
http://www.disabledparents.net/

Parents with Disabilities/Through the Looking Glass
http://lookingglass.org/parents/

Deaf / Hard of Hearing

National Association of the Deaf
www.nad.org

About American Sign Language
http://www.deaflibrary.org/asl.html

California Resources for People Who are Deaf, Deafened and Hard of Hearing/California Business Leadership Network
http://www.cabln.org/deaf.htm

Late Deafened Adults
http://www.alda.org/

Deaf -Blind

National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness eNews
http://nationaldb.org/NCDBProducts.php?prodID=85

The National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) is a national technical assistance and dissemination center for children and youth who are deaf-blind funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). Its e-mail newsletter, which comes out every two months, includes NCDB Highlights, News & Events, and Products & Publications

Developmental Disabilities

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Developmental Disabilities
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dd/default.htm

Supplemental Guide for Developmental Disabilities
http://www.hcbs.org/moreInfo.php/nb/doc/2031

Georgia created this guide on developmental disabilities, including the definition, criteria for prevention and screening, and a list of specific conditions that fall under the heading of developmental disabilities. Each diagnosis contains an overview plus available resources. Also included is a disability related acronyms list and glossary.

University of Illinois at Chicago Rehabilitation, Research and Training Center on Aging with Developmental Disabilities.
http://www.uic.edu/orgs/rrtcamr/

Resources for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

Diabetes

American Diabetes Association
http://www.diabetes.org

Epilepsy

The Epilepsy Foundation
http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org

HIV/AIDS

Centers for Disease Control/ HIV and AIDS
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/

Learning Disabilities

National Center on Learning Disabilities
www.ncld.org

Learning Disabilities Association of America
http://www.ldanatl.org

Low Vision and Blindness

Low Vision Gateway to the Internet
www.lowvision.org

American Printing House for the Blind
www.aph.org

National Eye institute
http://www.nei.nih.gov/lowvision/

Mental Health

National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse
http://www.mhselfhelp.org//index.php

The Clearinghouse connect people to self-help and advocacy resources and offers expertise to and about peer-run groups and organizations that serve people who have been diagnosed with mental illnesses.

UPENN Collaboration on Community Integration
www.upennrrtc.org

Rehabilitation Research & Training Center (RRTC) Promoting Community Integration of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities. The website offers tools and resources in areas such as employment, housing, education, citizenship, social roles, peer support, self-determination, health/wellness, leisure/recreation and spirituality/religion.

Spinal Cord Injuries

The National Spinal Cord Injury Association
http://www.spinalcord.org

Tourette’s Syndrome

Tourette’s Syndrome
http://www.tourettesyndrome.net/tourette.htm

Trauma

U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs/National Center on PTSD
http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/

A Trauma Informed System of Care
http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/newsroom/speeches/062204c.asp

Children and Trauma/National Association of School Psychologists http://www.nasponline.org/NEAT/ptsd.html

ISSUE AREA

Education | Employment | Disaster | Criminal Justice | Juvenile Justice

Education

National Center on Secondary Education
http://www.ncset.org/topics/family/default.asp?topic=29

Addressing the Needs of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students With Disabilities in Postsecondary Education
http://www.ncset.org/publications/viewdesc.asp?id=1411

Living the Dream in the Promised Land : Features of Highly Successful Schools that Serve Students of Color  (July 2006)
http://www.nccrest.org/publications/exemplars.html

Supporting Culturally Sensitive Transition Planning for American Indian Youth
http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/192/over20.html

National Association of School Psychologists/Culturally Competent Practice
http://www.nasponline.org/culturalcompetence/index.html

ThinkCollege – Resources for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities Considering College
http://www.thinkcollege.net/

Employment

Cultral Competence in Vocational Rehabilitation
http://www.myceon.com/archives/topic_culturalcomp.htm#activities

Job Accommodations Network
http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/

Disability and HR
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/ped/hr_tips/article_1.cfm?b_id=6

Disaster

Developing Cultural Competence in Disaster Mental Health Programs:
Guiding Principles and Recommendations
http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/SMA03-3828/default.asp

Coping with Disaster- Suggestions for Helping Children with Cognitive Disabilities
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/add/Sept11/addcoping.html

Managing Traumatic Stress : Tips for Recovering From Disasters and Other Traumatic Events
http://www.apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=22

June Isacson Kailes
http://www.jik.com/disaster.html

A variety of resources on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities and staff responsible for emergency planning.

Prepare.org/ Red Cross
http://www.prepare.org/disabilities/disabilities.htm

This section contains information designed to assist people with disabilities and medical concerns to prepare for disasters.

Criminal Justice

The ARC/Criminal Justice
http://www.thearc.org/ada/crim.html

The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law/Criminal Justice
http://www.bazelon.org/issues/criminalization/moreresources/index.htm

Working with Victums of Crime
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/factshts/disable.htm

Juvenile Justice

Juvenile Justice Resources
http://www.pacer.org/publications/juvenile.htm