Read the following selected sections from the CLAS document below pp. v.-xxiv, and pages 2 -18, concentrating on the standards themselves. You can refer to the more lengthy descriptions as needed.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Office of Minority Health. (2001, March). National standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services in health care: Executive summary.
Read page 9, which offers some history of CLAS, and consult the rest as needed.
Alliance of Community Health Plans Foundation. (2007). Making the business case for culturally and linguistically appropriate services in health care: Case studies from the field.
After familiarizing yourself with the CLAS policy and its history, complete the following assignment:
You have been asked by your CEO to prepare a short presentation to your hospital’s board about the need for attention to cultural sensitivity. Your hospital is in an area that has begun changing its ethnic and cultural base rapidly.
The board and staff know nothing about how to deal with this change. Your CEO thinks it would be helpful if they heard about how and why CLAS was passed. Your CEO does not wish for you to focus on CLAS content, but rather on the policy-making history. Whether your CEO is right or wrong about this as an approach to inform the board, you must now prepare this little lecture (no slides required) of 500 words or less.
Your CEO, who is working on her masters degree, suggested you use the outline below, based on Kingdon’s work:
What were the problems that precipitated attention to this issue? When did they arise? Who was concerned?
What solutions were available/proposed to address these problems and how viable were they perceived to be?
What was the political situation at the time that action was finally begun and completed? What, if any, role did the president play in the passage of CLAS at the time?
What was the window of opportunity/policy window that allowed the CLAS act to be formulated and passed? In Kingdon’s terms, what allowed the three streams to merge into legislation?
At the time CLAS was being formulated, what participation do you think health administrators might have had in the process? Mention several points they might have made.
Because this talk is short, you only need to hit the high points. That means you need not dig too deeply into the topics, but you may need to consult other references. You need not explain Kingdon’s model to the board, but you clearly need to use it to prepare your talk.
Your suggested talk should have both an introduction and a conclusion, as well. Remember the audience!
You must include AT LEAST ONE outside, peer-reviewed resource. All sources must be cited in APA style. Remember that course materials need not be included in your references page, but all other references must be.
