Implementing cultural and linguistic competent practices in system of care communities serving immigrant and refugee populations: Successes, challenges, and future plans

The Cultural and Linguistic Competence Implementation Substudy (CLCIS), is one of a three-part study conducted for the national evaluation of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program (CMHI), funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This study examines cultural and linguistic competence (CLC) practices prior to, and/or in the beginning stages of funding and implementation of CMHI.

Data were gathered from four 2005-funded system of care communities that are integrating CLC characteristics of their communities into their system of care. These four diverse communities represent over 70 different languages, including refugee and immigrant populations of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Southeast Asian, East African, Latin and Central American, and Hmong descent.

Data were collected around eight domains: 1) collaboration and outreach, 2) practices/interventions, 3) training and workforce development, 4) continuous quality improvement, 5) governance, 6) planning and management, 7) policies and procedures, and 8) outreach to and inclusion of diverse populations, including immigrants and refugees. The study employed an ethnographic approach that included three-day site visits in the spring and summer of 2007.

This presentation will provide an overview of the study and share preliminary results from interviews and focus groups conducted with key informants such as project directors, service providers, cultural competence coordinators, agency partners, governance members, community leaders, caregivers and youth. Representatives from the participating communities will share experiences in developing and implementing culturally and linguistically competent mental health services specific to their immigrant and refugee populations.