Developing Cultural Competence

Somerset County seems to be a very racial divided county. The county’s Latin motto
translates as “always the same.” Change is not something that is welcomed there by a large
percentage of the population. As a result, racial tensions remain high, particularly between
Caucasian and African American residents of the county. More than 53 percent of the county’s
population identify as Caucasian, while about another 42 percent identify as African American
(United States Census Bureau, 2018). Only about 5 percent of the county’s residents identify as
any other race, mostly Hispanic.
Many of the programs provided by the Somerset County Local Management Board, Inc.,
where I am completing my capstone project, target low-income and at-risk youths. Our services
are available to anyone who meet those guidelines, but it is largely African Americans residents
who participate. Unfortunately, for many people in the county that translates into those are
programs for “the black kids.” Because of the racial stratification of the county, we have a hard
time encouraging participation by youths who are Caucasian or any other culture. I find it very
disturbing that because African American children participate in a program, families from other
cultures will not let their kids take part.
At the same time, I feel like we are essentially ignoring other cultures when it comes to
providing services. We know there are significant numbers of low-income, at-risk children who
are members of other cultures and need to find way to connect them to the services. Whenever I
ask our board or vendors about encouraging program participation by members of the Hispanic
population in particular, which is just shy of 4 percent of the county, I get no traction (United
States Census Bureau, 2018). Generally the response is that it is something we can consider, but
that we never actually get around to addressing the issue.
Personally, I strive to actively listen when speaking with the individuals who do
participate in our programs in order to learn how we can better meet their needs. “Listening to
clients with flexibility of thought and an attitude of genuine interest, openness, and respect are
the most important skills required to overcome cultural barriers in your relationships with them
(Kiser, p. 205).” Our clients are the experts in their own lives and experiences and as human
services professionals we have to adjust our cultural lens to view the world through their eyes.
Yet Somerset County also remains a politically and physically divided county based on
race and culture. That affects the social location of the clients. "Social location foregrounds the
notion that worker–client relationships represent various dyads of diverse cultural pairings,
resulting in complicated dynamics related to power, privilege, and discrimination (Kiser, p.
215).”
I believe I have a high level of skill in working with individuals from different cultures
but have not had the opportunity to really demonstrate that while with the SCLMB because of
the limited populations we are able to serve. I have not previously worked in a community where
the cultural differences and tensions were so obvious. It has been very helpful to hold leadership
meetings with the site directors for our afterschool programs, both of whom are African
American, to garner their input on issues that affect that client population. Doing so has helped
me to address ethnocentrism in myself that may prevent me and our agency from providing a
high quality of service to individuals in that culture. It has also be useful in building a
relationship with leaders who are African American (Johansson, 2018). “Each person’s cultural
lens acts as a powerful filter on perceptions, causing each of us to pick up on certain things in our
environment while remaining oblivious to others (Kiser, p. 210).”
 My greatest cultural challenge while completing my capstone project has been trying to
determine how to develop a college and career access program for first-generation and justice-
involved youths that is accessible to individuals of all races and cultures in the county.
Unfortunately, if the program becomes too closely associated with one culture then clients from
other cultural backgrounds may not want to participate. It’s sad, but it’s the reality of the
situation.
One of my goals in continuing to develop my cultural competence in order to work with
an expanded array of client populations is to try to serve as a bridge across the cultural divide in
the county. To do so I must be more mindful of the cultural context, actively analyze situations,
and partner with community organizations that already exist in the neighborhoods of the
populations I am trying to reach (Johansson, 2018).

Reference
Johansson, A. (2018). Five ways millennials can inspire more diversity and inclusion in a non-
diverse workplace. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/annajohansson/2018/01/22/5-ways-millennials-can-inspire-
more-diversity-and-inclusion-in-a-non-diverse-workplace/#ffc70e836b55
Kiser, P.M. (2016). Developing cultural competence. In The Human services internship: Getting
the most from your experience (4th ed., pp. 199-226). Boston, MA: Cenage Learning.
United States Census Bureau. (2018). Somerset County. Retrieved from
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/somersetcountymaryland/PST045216