Cultural

Destructiveness

(is intentionally

destructive)

Cultural

Incapacity

(is not intentionally destructive but lacks capacity to help people of color)

Cultural

Blindness

(expresses a philosophy of being unbiased)

Cultural Pre-Competence

Basic Cultural

Competence

Advanced

Cultural

Competence

-- practices cultural genocide (e.g. Boarding schools for Native Americans)

--takes paternal posture toward "lesser" races

--believes that color or culture make no difference; we're all the same

--realizes its weaknesses in serving minorities and attempts to make specific improvements

--has acceptance and respect for differences

--holds culture in high esteem

--dehumanizes or subhumanizing clients of color

-disproportionately applies resources

--believes helping approaches used by dominant culture are universally acceptable and universally applicable

--tries experiments; hires minority staff, explores how to reach clients, trains staff on cultural sensitivity, recruits minorities for their boards and advisory committees

--engages in continuing self-assessment regarding culture

--adds to knowledge base by doing research, developing new approaches based on culture, publishing results of demonstration projects

--denies clients access to their natural helpers or healers

--discriminates based on whether clients "know their place" and believes in the supremacy of dominant culture helpers

--thinks all people should be served with equal effectiveness

--has commitment to civil rights

--makes adaptations to service models in order to meet client needs

--hires staff who are specialists in culturally competent practice

--removes children from their families on the basis of race

--may support segregation as a desirable policy

--ignores cultural strengths, encourages assimilation, and blames clients for their problems

--may feel a false sense of accomplishment that prevents further movement

--works to hire unbiased workers

--advocates for cultural competence throughout the system and improved relations between cultures throughout society

--risks client's well-being in social or medical experiments without their knowledge or consent

--enforces racist policies and maintains stereotypes

--promotes ignorance and unrealistic fears of people of color

--follows cultural deprivation model (problems are the result of inadequate cultural resources)

--may engage in tokenism

--seeks advice and consultation from minority community

--maintains discriminatory hiring practices

--practices institutionalized racism

--gives subtle "not welcome" messages

--sets ethnocentric eligibility for services

--has lower expectations of minority clients