Is your organization meeting the National CLAS Standard 4?
Standard 4 | Educate and train governance, leadership and workforce in culturally and linguistically appropriate policies and practices on an ongoing basis.
Purpose | Standard 4 helps to prepare and support a workforce that demonstrates the attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary to work effectively with diverse populations; to increase the capacity of staff to provide services that are culturally and linguistically appropriate; to assess the progress of staff in developing cultural, linguistic, and health literacy competency; to foster an individual’s right to respect and nondiscrimination by developing and implementing education and training programs that address the impact of culture on health and health care.
Strategies for Achievement | Examples of Strategies to Achieve National CLAS Standard 4 are to allocate resources to train current staff in cultural competency or as medical interpreters if they speak a second language, have completed language assessments, and show an interest in interpretation, and to take advantage of live and Web-based health disparities and cultural competency continuing education programs for clinicians and practitioners. For additional strategies, see “The Blueprint“, an implementation guide to help advance and sustain CLAS within your organization.
The Checklist | Work with your team to complete this Implementation Checklist for the National CLAS Standards to find areas of opportunity and create your CLAS Action Worksheet.
The Great Plains QIN team developed a simple video to outline the National CLAS Standard 4. If you have questions or would like technical assistance on how to implement the National CLAS Standards, contact a member of the Great Plains QIN Team.
Information adapted from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Healthcare: Access the Blueprint for Advancing and Sustaining CLAS Policy and Practice.