Capstone Integrative Project Final Solution Assessment

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CULTURAL COMPETENCY IN CHILD PROTECTION SERVICE

Cultural competency may be discussed as the set of skills and knowledge that helps individuals acknowledge, respect, and understand others' cultural differences (Danso, 2018). Social health workers need to have a high cultural competency level as they often deal with individuals from diverse backgrounds. Prince George's County Department of Human Services is a social work organization that deals with child protection services.

Cultural competencies have building blocks, and a social worker in child protection services needs to have them. One of the building blocks is an open attitude. A social worker should be ready to learn new information while open-minded. An open attitude will help build a great relationship with the children and other social services stakeholders. In the provision of human services, the worker is usually exposed to diverse ideas and cultures and should accommodate the clients. The second building block is self-awareness. A social worker should be aware of themselves culturally and their ways (CultureVision, n.d.). This awareness helps the worker know how others might view them and their role.

The third block is awareness of others, primarily understanding others and their diverse culture, beliefs, and ways. A social worker needs to have an awareness of others to understand that the differences do not affect others' values and importance. Cultural knowledge, the knowledge of others' ways, beliefs, and culture, is another essential block that a worker should have. Understanding other people's culture helps in understanding and appreciating them, leading to better cooperation between the workers and those who need social services. The last block is cultural skills, and they are a set of skills that will help a worker be accommodative of others' culture (CultureVision, n.d.). Cultural skills include changing communication styles to suit different cultures establishing trust relationships.

Cultural assumptions may significantly impact service delivery and the relationship between the social workers and those who need the services. Valid cultural assumptions may help build a good relationship. In contrast, false assumptions would lead to a lack of trust between workers and the client, and therefore there will be minimal cooperation (Danso, 2018).

Cultural diversity in child protection services is present in various ways, including religion, language, customs, and society. Therefore, cultural factors need to be considered in dealing with child abuse and neglect cases. Different cultures have different ways of life and practices. Societies entail race and ethnicity. Individuals' roles and activities vary from one culture to another. Traditions like clothing and celebrations are the components of customs. When dealing with clients, social workers need to be aware of the customs guiding the clients' ways so that there are no conflicts that may destroy the relationship between the stakeholders and lead to poor service delivery to clients.

The social workers' cultural backgrounds are mixed, containing workers from different ethnicities, religions, societies, and languages. The community members that the organization deals with also contain mixed cultures. Different cultures influence the way childhood is experienced and how children are raised. One culture might consider the punitive norms of another culture abusive, which brings a controversy on child abuse. The way a child is raised in different cultures and societies may be considered child neglect in the other (Children's Bureau, n.d.). These cultural differences may present problems that might be due to conflicting cultural differences among the individuals involved in some cases. It is therefore vital that a social worker sharpens their cultural competency. The training will help them understand the community members' ways to avoid acting based on cultural differences.

The cultural diversities in collaboration also have beneficial impacts on clients' service. Stakeholders have strengthened the collaboration by creating standard practices that replace the older ones which are not safe. However, the standard practices do not completely abolish the old ways but give universally accepted better ways. The collaboration between the human service department stakeholders also helps in the abolishment of retrogressive cultural practices. The collaboration has led to the reduction in Female Genital Mutilation practices among the different cultures (Children's Bureau, n.d.). Collaboration has also led to an increase in safer standard practices such as the rites of passage in children's societies and care. Stakeholders' cultural differences have also caused them to learn cultural competency that has enabled them to be accommodative and understand each other's cultures. The understanding causes respect to other cultures and leads to better service to clients since a worker knows how to deal with clients of other cultures effectively.

References

Danso, R. (2018). Cultural competence and cultural humility: A critical reflection on key cultural diversity concepts. Journal of Social Work, 18(4), 410-430.

CultureVision (n.d.). Cultural competence learning guide. https://www.crculturevision.com/Documents/CultureVisionCulturalCompetenceLearningGuide.pdf

Children's Bureau (n.d.). Cultural Responsiveness: Child Abuse and Neglect. https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/cultural/can/