• "Cultural competence is a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system or agency or among professionals that enable effective interactions in a cross-cultural framework."
  T. Cross, et.al., 1989
  
• "Cultural Competency is the ability of individuals and systems to respond respectfully and effectively to people of all cultures, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds and religions in a manner that recognizes, affirms, and values the cultural differences and similarities and the worth of individuals, families, and communities and protects and preserves the dignity of each."
  Seattle King County Dept of Public Health, 1994
  
• "Cultural competence involves recognition and respect for differences among patients in terms of their values, expectations, and experiences with health care, while at the same time recognizing the culture-based practices and dictates of organized medicine, and the values, expectations, and experiences of the providers who practice it. Culturally competent care becomes possible only with the skillful management of the interplay between these elements which make up a medical encounter, and determine the points of access or barrier at the institutional level."
  CCHCP's Cultural Competency Curriculum, 1999

CCHCP approaches the issue of cultural competence from a unique perspective which acknowledges its complex, systemic nature. CCHCP's approach places culture within the context of an interwoven network of relationships--between language and tradition, tradition and history, history and economics, etc. Consequently, the work of CCHCP has substantively differed from that of most organizations in the field that tend to deal only with pieces of the puzzle of cultural competence.

As the diversity of the populations that we serve continue to grow, the importance of cultural competency or "cultural and linguistic appropriateness" in the effective delivery of health and social services is undeniable. In the climate of managed care and federal cutbacks in funding of services, the pursuit of culturally competent care has become a business imperative.

We believe that participants in our trainings need to examine their own cultural values and evaluate their interpersonal strengths and weaknesses. They also need to recognize that differences in language, age, culture, socio economic status, political and religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and life experience add challenging dimensions to the dynamics of cross cultural interactions.