The contemporary condition of democratic countries is marked with the increased influx of immigrants. This comes as a result of war and political instabilities in the countries of origin and seeking education. Individuals from other countries find refuge in a foreign country and as a result, may end up living there for the rest of their lives. Consequently, there arises a drastic demographic shift in the host nation ( Banks, 2015) . The residential areas, which were previously dominated by one or two races, find themselves experiencing a mixture of cultures. In the United Sates for instance, the statistics show the trend in rising number of foreign-born. As of present, there are more than 43.3 million people who were born outside the United States and living in the country. This includes 22.6 million noncitizens and 20.7 million who are naturalized to be US citizens. This number is representative of the more than quadrupling effect since 1965 when it was just 9.6. As the statistics may be clear on the board, it gets the agencies which are mandated to serve the citizens at a fixed spot of unpreparedness in tackling the issues that come with the cultural diversity. Our agency is not exception to such problems.
A recent review report shed light on the plight of the residents that we work with as they aired their problems that they face. In a prior review by the agency, it was presumed that the residents were all comfortable as far as the function of the body is concerned. However, a review from an external consultant revealed the gaps that existed between our presumptions and the reality. Most of the individuals that we serve have a feeling that they are neglected or mistreated. As an essential department in the city, we are vested with the responsibility of serving our residents to satisfaction. Thus, the results from the external consult shows that there exist issues that should be addressed. This paper thus recommends some of the actions that can be taken to make sure that all the residents are represented and are comfortable with the way we discharge our duties.
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The current situation of immigration makes it necessary for any state or city department to be culturally competent. Thus, these recommendations are meant to help the organizations to achieve cultural competency in delivering services to the increasingly diverse communities.
Assessment of Community Needs
Before any plan to adopt a plan aimed at achieving cultural competency, it is essential to assess the public that will be served. The demographic statistics and profiles will be major points to cover in this assessment. This should be done for every cultural and linguistic group. Its aim is to try to obtain the required information as far as the demographic of the city is concerned. It can also be based on the general immigration statistics offered by the immigration department. As of present, it has to be clear that the areas that that were predominantly white are now diverse with minorities making a larger percentage ( Cascio, 2018) . As a matter of fact, the combination of non-White Americans is projected to form the majority in the next fifty years. This creates a scenario where the demography is constantly shifting thus the needs of the public also affected. Thus, the department ought to establish these needs that have changed and formulate the plans necessary. The assessment of demographic needs has to take care of the description of the major categories of the census population. This should be based on the countries of origin or region. For instance, the Blacks can be referred to as African Americans or Somali. The Hispanic can be distinguished as Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, etc. The agency would then assess the cultural needs of the identified groups. In-depth analysis for the disparities that exist among the cultures is also identified.
Assessment of Agency’s Capabilities
According to the external independent consult, there exist disparities as some groups feel like they are not represented. Thus, as our agency is vested to serve the public, an assessment is made on the current situation to see whether as an organization we are capable to carry out primary functions. This will be done by assessing two core competencies; access to services of culturally diverse communities, and the ability to provide appropriate services that culturally and linguistically meets the needs of the diverse population. This will mean that the agency together with its vendors and service providers are audited to come up with a conclusive report. The report from the independent consultant was majorly impact-based and this one would be system-based. It is aimed at scrutinizing the capability of the systems to offer the required services. It would also enhance agency abilities as it is a strength-based approach.
Recruitment
The two assessments would help in the future development of a culturally competent plan. One of the ways to achieve this is through recruitment and training of diverse workforce. Representation is an important aspect in the discharge of duties that the agency is offering. It is not prudent to uphold the current situation where the majority of workers come from the majority ethnic background ( Cascio, 2018) . Thus, it is recommended to contact minority groups who feel they are underrepresented in the agency. The organization will approach them in their places of congregation or in the places they access information. By making the information accessed to the minority group, the agency will have an easy task in handling cases that involve non-English speaking individuals as there will be no need for translations that take time. This will lead to the satisfaction from the minority groups as they will feel confident and free to communicate to a person who speaks the same language. In a society that is multicultural, the employment has to be carried out is such a way that it represents the larger social composition. The recruitment is done with priority given to the minority population. For instance, the employment will give priority to African Americans in comparison to those coming from the white communities due to the latter’s overrepresentation in the job market. However, this will not mean that the individuals from the majority populations will be neglected. There only needs to be balancing in the way the employment are done in the agency.
Formulation of Culturally Competent Policies
One of the major parts that the annual report we feel touched the agency is the policy framework. Therefore, there is a need for the development of policies that are embrace multiculturalism. This can take the form of the way the department is driven, from the management composition to the discharge of duties ( Banks, 2015) . The leadership structure should be resonating to the situation on the ground. The policies also involve recruitment and retention of staff. They should be able to embrace the ethos that is necessary for the recruitment of a culturally diverse society.
Institutionalizing Cultural Knowledge
With the rise in diverse communities, it is the duty of the department to ensure that there is awareness in the workplace on how this affects the daily functioning and the long term social fabric. Therefore, it is recommended to make cultural knowledge part of the daily partaking of the organization. This will be achieved by training the staff on cultural competence and reduction of stereotypes. The services and functions should be reflective of the different cultures in the area.
References
Banks, J. A. (2015). Cultural diversity and education : Routledge.
Cascio, W. (2018). Managing human resources : McGraw-Hill Education.
