Back to: Ensuring Cultural and Linguistic Competence
Once a system of care has completed an organizational assessment, ensures accurate collection of demographic data, and has conducted a community asset and needs assessment, this information can be used together to help form a bigger picture of the system’s cultural and linguistic practices. This process will likely find many areas of strength, which stakeholders can proudly profess and attract more funders to continue providing appropriate services.
On the other hand, it is also likely that this process will identify key areas for improvement in upholding the CLAS Standards. These are areas that are keeping back partnering agencies and the system of care as a whole from best utilizing existing resources to serve the local community. Identifying those areas is the first step to making positive changes that take those existing resources to work smarter and produce better outcomes for everyone.
The other CLAS Standards not explored in this toolkit can provide some insight into how to improve any deficits that are found through this evaluation process.