Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Assessment

Please note your implementation status for each of the following National CLAS Standards. If you are unsure of how to respond to a particular question, please feel free to skip and move on to the next one. Responses to the items on the checklist will be used to inform your organization’s individualized CLAS action plan.

Organization Contact Information

Theme 1: Governance, Leadership, and Workforce

Select your organization’s stage of implementation for each practice

1.2a Identify and designate a CLAS champion or champions,

who are supported by the organization’s leadership, and whose specific

responsibilities include (at a minimum) continuous learning about, promoting, and identifying and sharing educational resources about CLAS and the National CLAS Standards throughout the organization.

1.2b Create and implement a formal CLAS implementation plan

that is (at a minimum) endorsed and supported by the organization’s

leadership, that describes how each Standard is understood, how each Standard will be implemented and assessed, and who in the organization is responsible for overseeing implementation.

1.3a Target recruitment efforts to the populations served to increase the recruitment of culturally and linguistically diverse individuals,

through actions such as: posting job descriptions in multiple languages in local community media, holding job fairs in the community(ies) served, and/or working with leaders of local community institutions to create mentorship and training programs targeting populations served.

1.3b Create internal organizational mentorship programs,

specifically targeting culturally and linguistically diverse individuals, that

provide information about and support for additional training opportunities, and that links individuals in junior positions with individuals in senior positions to receive career guidance and advice.

1.4a Deliver or make freely available continuous CLAS-related training and technical assistance

to leadership and all staff.

1.4b Create and disseminate new resources about CLAS within the organization using widely accessible platforms

(e.g., employee dedicated webpages, employee Intranet, employee break room).

1.4c Incorporate assessment of CLAS competencies

(e.g., bilingual communication, cross-cultural communication, cultural and linguistic knowledge) on an ongoing basis into staff performance ratings.

Theme 2: Communication and Language Assistance Checklist of National CLAS Standards Implementation

Select your organization’s stage of implementation for each practice

2.5a Complete an organizational assessment specific to language assistance services

to describe existing language assistance services and to determine how they can be more effective and efficient.

2.5b Standardize procedures for staff members and train staff in those procedures.

It may be appropriate to provide staff with a script to ensure that they inform individuals of the availability of language assistance and to inquire whether they will need to utilize any of the available services.

2.6 Provide individuals with notification that describes what communication and language assistance is available, in what languages the assistance is available, and to whom they are available.

Notification should clearly state that communication and language assistance is provided by the organization free of charge to individuals.

2.7a Require that all individuals serving as interpreters complete certification

or other formal assessments of linguistic and health care terminology skills to demonstrate competency.

2.7b Provide financial and/or human resource (e.g., time off) incentives to staff who complete interpreter training and meet assessment criteria,

to build organizational capacity to provide competent language assistance.

2.8 Formalize processes for translating materials into languages other than English and for evaluating the quality of these translations.

This may include testing materials with target audiences.

Theme 3: Engagement, Continuous Improvement, and Accountability

Select your organization’s stage of implementation for each practice

3.9 Incorporate CLAS into mission, vision, and/or strategic plans

by determining how organization acknowledges and addresses

concepts such as diversity, equity, inclusion, and practices such as

asking individuals about preferences for care/services.

3.10a Tailor existing evaluation efforts to include measures of CLAS implementation

(e.g., patient/client satisfaction measures can

include questions about CLAS; outcome data can be stratified by

REAL data to determine demographic differences).

3.10b Complete a CLAS-related organizational assessment

of the cultural

and linguistic needs of populations served and of organizational

resources to address these needs.

3.11a Collect race, ethnicity, and language (REAL) data (at a minimum) from all individuals receiving services,

either by tailoring existing data collection approaches or creating a new data collection process.

3.11b Use REAL data

to identify needs, describe current care and service provision trends, and improve care and service provision.

3.12 Collaborate with stakeholders and community members in community health needs assessment data collection, analysis, and reporting efforts

to increase data reliability and validity.

3.13 Include community members in the process of planning programs and developing policies to ensure cultural and linguistic appropriateness

by convening town hall meetings, conducting focus groups, and/or creating community advisory groups.

3.14 Consider using staff as cultural brokers

to help improve feedback mechanisms, conflict resolution process, and communication with culturally and linguistically diverse individuals.

3.15 Partner with community organizations

to lead discussions about the services provided and progress made and to create advisory boards on issues affecting diverse populations and how best to serve and reach them.

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