Protocol for Culturally Responsive Organizations

Authors: Ann Curry-Stevens, Marie-Elena Reyes & Coalition of Communities of Color 

Reproduced from foreword:

Communities of color have long been marginalized in mainstream service delivery – invisible in terms of their access to resources and services, the adequacy of such services, and in the types of interventions available to members of the community. When available, organizations have been ripe with inequitable outcomes. Today, greater attention to racial equity exists, with local leaders of color having been able to leverage influence to ensure that stronger accountability exists among mainstream organizations in terms of how well communities of color are served, with heightened emphasis on the cultural responsiveness of the entire organization. At the request of the Coalition of Communities of Color, the Center to Advance Racial Equity was asked to conduct this research, with this product being a concrete offering to mainstream organizations to assist their assessment and improvement process to advance their cultural responsiveness. 

Contents:
Welcome Letter…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………  3 
Goals of the Protocol ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5 
Background Information on the Impacts of Racial Inequity…………………………………………………………7 
Introducing Culturally Responsive Organizations………………………………………………………………………9 
Theories of Change that Root this Initiative ………………………………………………………………………….. 11 
Implementation Process for Culturally Responsive Organizations Protocol …………………………………. 13 
Synopsis of the Best Practices Literature on Culturally Responsive Organizations ………………………… 14 
Model for a Culturally Responsive Organization …………………………………………………………………….. 23 
Scoring & “Diagnosing” Matrices ………………………………………………………………………………………… 24 
Scoring Summary & Locating your Mainstream Organization …………………………………………………… 38 
Recommended Next Steps ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 39 
Diagnosis of Location on Continuum ……………………………………………………………………………………. 42 
Documentation to Confirm Ratings ……………………………………………………………………………………… 43 
Resources ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 45 
Interview Questions for Funding Bodies ………………………………………………………………………………….. 45 
Racial Equity Policy ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 50 
Terms of Reference for an Equity Team …………………………………………………………………………………… 54 
Racial Equity in Strategic Planning and Program Planning …………………………………………………………. 56 
Recruitment Policies and Strategies ………………………………………………………………………………………… 62 
Supervision Policy …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 67 
Performance Reviews ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 68 
Risk Assessment Tool …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 69 
Improving Cultural Responsiveness of Interventions ………………………………………………………………… 71 
Client Satisfaction Survey ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 75 
Climate Survey ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 77 
Additional Web Resources ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 79 
Definitions ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 81 
References ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 85