Cultural and Linguistic Competence

At its core, cultural and linguistic competence (CLC) is based on the premise of respect for individuals and the inclusion of multiple perspectives. On a personal level, it is the development of skills and values that enable a person to live and work with, educate and serve diverse individuals and communities. On an organizational level, CLC is the willingness and ability of a system to value the importance of culture in the delivery of services to all segments of the population. Effective service delivery to everyone in a community depends on organizations being responsive to diversity at all levels, i.e., policy, governance, administration, work force, provider, and consumer/client.

CLC Toolkit

The CLC Toolkit features three important aspects of cultural and linguistic competence for the SS/HS Initiative: organizational structure, engagement, and services/activities/interventions. The toolkit includes benchmarks that grantees can use to gauge their level of implementation in each of the three areas. It also includes corresponding resources that grantees can use to move their initiatives to the next level of implementation.

A Guide to CLC: What It Means for SS/HS

A Guide to CLC presents an introduction to cultural and linguistic competence in the context of the SS/HS Initiative. In particular, the guide provides examples and strategies for applying CLC to SS/HS projects within five core areas: (1) safe school environments and violence prevention activities, (2) alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention activities, (3) behavioral, social, and emotional supports for students, (4) mental health services, and (5) early childhood social and emotional learning programs.