Cultural and Linguistic Competency Resources

Cultural and Linguistic Competence Resources

The resources provided on this page may help counties, youth, family and system partners to successfully navigate their journey of enhancing and infusing linguistic and cultural competence across Pennsylvania. 

National Resources

• Culture Clues (African American, Albanian, American Indian/Alaska Native, Chinese, Deaf & Hard - of - Hearing, Korean, Latino, Russian, Somali and Vietnamese) End of life Care: The Latino Culture; The Russian Culture; The Vietnamese Culture
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) created the Multicultural Action Center in 2002 to focus attention on system reform to eliminate disparities in mental health care for diverse communities, ensure access to culturally competent services and treatment for all Americans, and particularly to help and support people of diverse backgrounds who are affected by serious mental illness.
• National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS): The CLAS standards, which are directed at health care organizations primarily, may also be used to providers to make their practices more culturally and linguistically accessible.

CLC Resources Outside of Pennsylvania

• West Virginia System of Care
• New Mexico Behavioral Health Collaborative
• Minnesota Department of Human Services
• Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

LGBTQIA2-S Youth & Families

• Free Training Webinars from the National LGBT Health Education Center
  • www.lgbthealtheducation.org/lgbt-education/webinars

Military Families & Youth

An emerging special population of children and youth in need of mental health services are children of military families due to daily stress surrounding the uncertainty of parents' safety. Anxiety, acting out, and/or withdrawal from typical daily routines or activities are typical ways in which youth may "cope” with this daily stress. This is especially true for parents or family members that are deployed away from home, or in war-torn areas.

• Resources for Returning Veterans and Families – The federal branch, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers a list of links and resources for veterans and their families. See: www.samhsa.gov/smvf-ta-center
• National Military Family Association – The National Military Family Association provides information and resource for children's behavioral health issues for families of the military. See: www.nmfa.org/

For more information and resources available visit our Military Families and Veterans pages.

Cultural Brokers Resource List