Cultural Competency

An outgrowth of the MEDC’s mission is the development of the Cultural Competency Training Program. MEDC has adopted the definition of Cultural Competency from the work of Cross et al., 1989 as “a set of behaviors, attributes and policies enabling an agency (or individual) to work effectively in cross cultural situations”. Cultural Competency is further defined through three Guiding Principals: Commitment (What kind of concrete commitment do you have to your clients), Accessibility (language appropriate, case sensitive, location, and representation) and Relevance (services and focus is relevant to the needs of the client). 

The respect of an individual’s cultural domains and their experiences is essential to their engagement with services providers, consultants, trainers, researchers and funders. Through an organization’s recognition of cultural competency, services, staff, and volunteers, will be better able to meet the diverse needs in all communities. 

Due to budget cuts, MEDC’s Cultural Competency Training program is temporarily unavailable. However, advocating for cultural competency is a vital part of MEDC. Please check back for updates and future training programs.