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How to Assess Your Program
There are a few questions which you need to ask about your program which
will help to uncover the essential ingredients that can contribute to a more
inclusive organization. You need to ask these questions as an outsider
would. In fact, it would be helpful to have members of minority
communities do the assessment with you. To evaluate how accessible
your organization is to people from minority groups, ask:
- Does your program have clear, forceful policy
statements about the commitment to inclusiveness? There should be
verbal and written statements from the director and board president which
are endorsed by the full board.
- Does the staff and board membership reflect the ethnic
and cultural mix of the community and children served? If not, what
efforts have been made to recruit minority members? Do members of
the staff or board have ties to any of the minority communities?
- Does your program actively communicate with the
minority communities by:
- Making personal calls on leaders in the minority
communities?
- Making presentations to minority organizations?
- Placing articles and recruitment ads in minority
newspapers and newsletters?
- Inviting members of minority groups to provide
training on their culture for volunteers and board members?
- Does your program conduct initial and ongoing training
on cultural awareness for volunteers, staff, and board?
- Is your program accessible and appealing to a broad
range of potential volunteers?
- Do you provide any financial reimbursement for
volunteer expenses such as mileage, long distance phone calls, child
care, or parking?
- Is your training offered at a time that is convenient
for people who can not easily miss work?
- Do you have in place strategies to accommodate people
who have language limitations?
- Can you provide assistance in report writing for
people whose writing skills are limited?
- Is your office and training facility warm and inviting
to people of various cultures? Is your office physically accessible
to the handicapped?
- What do your printed materials look like? Your
materials should show a broad mix of people from various cultures.
However, these materials should not convey "tokenism" or pandering to any
particular group. People from culturally diverse background need to
know that the messages are not addressed exclusively to them. They
need to see that other people besides themselves are concerned with
building a culturally diverse organization. Furthermore, whites need
to know that the institution values the contribution of people of color --
that they do belong. (More on printed materials later).
- Do you collect and maintain demographic data to help in
planning and evaluating your efforts? At a minimum you should be
collecting:
- Data on the gender, age, and ethnic composition of the
children your program serves.
- Data on the demographic composition of your community.
- Data on the gender, age, and ethnic composition of your
staff, volunteers, and board members.
These and other questions that no doubt will occur to you, will help you
determine what changes need to be made and which changes are most pressing.
Once you have begun to create a more accessible organization, you are ready
to begin looking at recruiting more minority volunteers.
What are the Next Steps?
The term cultural competence is most often applied to the ability of an
individual to work with someone of a different ethnicity, culture, or race.
However, cultural competence is not just an individual issue: it is
also an agency or program issue. Developing a culturally competent
program requires the same self-evaluation process required of any
individual. You have to take a critical look at all aspects of the
program to see what changes might be needed to make your organization more
open and inclusive.
Before you tackle this challenge, be aware of two prerequisites. Anne
Bryant, in her article "Creating a Multicultural Association," says that if
you do not have these two critical ingredients, "do not pass go, do not even
pretend you can accomplish this goal." The essential elements are:
- A team approach to leadership.
Becoming a culturally competent and multicultural
organization takes understanding, commitment, and persistence on the
part of staff, board members, and volunteers.
- A firm belief by everyone that becoming a diverse
organization is as important as any other goal in the program's
strategic plan.
There will be varying levels of belief at first.
If you have board members or staff who are going to resist the process,
begin to work immediately on convincing them.
There are two reasons that these elements are
so crucial to success. First, achieving multiculturalism takes more
than nice, neat action strategies that, once articulated, can be initiated,
implemented, and later evaluated. You must examine literally
everything about your program: its mission and goals; staff and
leadership composition; policies and practices; nomination, election, and
hiring practices; its public relations and recruitment plan; training;
volunteer management practices; and even its physical facility. Every
board and staff member will be tested at some point. If any member of
the team is not willing to engage in creative problem solving, you limit the
number of ways to achieve the goal. Second, as we have said before, it
takes time to achieve this goal, and one can become disheartened.
Commitment to the long haul is key.
Establishing a Committee on Diversity
While planning for and implementing a plan to
attain a culturally competent CASA/GAL program is the responsibility of
staff and board, establishing a minority advisory committee reflective of
the demographic make up of your community can be one of your most important
management assets. The committee can provide wisdom and insight as
well as practical advice. In addition, the members can provide a link
to the minority community as well as good public relations.
You should establish criteria for membership on the committee, such as
representation from particular minority groups or special expertise.
After the criteria have been established, match candidates to the criteria.
For greatest involvement and best results, limit the committee to a maximum
of 7 - 9 members.
In approaching candidates, be sure to be clear about what their duties will
be, how often they will meet, the amount of time that will be required, and
the particular expertise each person is being asked to contribute (i.e.
marketing, development of Spanish language materials, community contacts,
etc.).
Meetings of the committee should be scheduled at times and locations
convenient for the members. Prepare and send agendas and reading
materials well in advance of each meeting to ensure maximum use of time.
It is also important to let the advisory committee know what you did with
its advice. If you did not use its advice, the committee will expect
to know why. Prepare periodic written progress reports to keep the
committee informed about your progress, and elicit their help in
periodically evaluating how well you are meeting program goals.
Overcoming Resistance
Any organizational change inevitably
encounters some form of human resistance. Of course, people who are
affected by any change usually experience some emotional turmoil. Even
changes that are positive or rational involve loss and uncertainty.
Nevertheless, for a number of different reasons, individuals or groups can
react very differently to change -- from passively resisting it, to
aggressively trying to undermine it, to sincerely embracing it.
John P. Kotter and Leonard A. Schlesinger, in their article "Choosing
Strategies for Change," say that to predict what form the resistance might
take, leaders need to be aware of the four most common reasons people resist
change. These include:
- a desire not to lose something of value,
- a misunderstanding of the change and its
implications,
- a belief that the change does not make sense for the
organization,
- a low tolerance for any change.
Once you anticipate what form the resistance
will take, you can plan proactive strategies to deal with it. Kotter
and Schlesinger suggest several effective strategies:
- Education and Communication
One of the most effective ways to overcome resistance to
change is to educate people about it in advance. Communication of
ideas helps people see the need for and the logic of the change.
This process can involve one-on-one discussions with your staff and
volunteers, presentations to the board and/or volunteers, memos or
articles in your newsletter. Education and communication is
particularly effective when resistance is based on inadequate or
inaccurate information. Having a member of a minority group conduct
some cultural awareness training before you announce new diversification
goals might be a good strategy.
- Participation and Involvement
If you involve the potential resistors in some aspect of
the design and implementation of the change, you can often forestall
resistance. With a participative change effort, you have the
opportunity to listen to the people who will be affected and use their
advice.
- Facilitation and Support
Another way you can deal with potential resistance to
change is by being supportive. Acknowledge that developing cultural
and ethnic sensitivity requires challenging long-held notions and beliefs
and can cause discomfort. Simply listening one-on-one can help to
diffuse resistance that is based on fear and anxiety.
Sometimes, you will find a board member or a
volunteer who is not willing or able to accept the importance of the impact
of culture and ethnicity on a child and his/her family, and will challenge
the notion that a white volunteer is not as effective as a volunteer from
the same background as the child. Experience in CASA/GAL programs
indicates that this person is very rare. CASA/GAL tends to attract and
appeal to individuals who are accepting of differences and open to new
learning and new challenges. However, the occasional person will turn
up. If he or she appears in your program, you may have to help the
person search for other avenues for community involvement than CASA/GAL.
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