C3: If You Build It, They Will Come: A Model for Sustaining Cultural Competency in Your Organization

Cultural Competency is a major variable in delivering equitable services to diverse consumers and families. Over the years we continue to build on what an organization or institution that values cultural competency may look like. However more models or approaches are needed on how to build structures that can sustain organizational cultural competency. This session presents the results and lessons learned from a four-year cultural competency implementation project with over 30 health and mental health organizations in a two state Midwest area in the U.S. The goals of this project included the development of structures, dynamic processes, and a working model that can be used in any corporate, nonprofit, or educational setting to maintain cultural competency and inclusiveness in a welcoming workplace. This session will focus on the basic tenets to build the needed structures to sustain and integrate organizational cultural competency.