Cultural Humility and CLAS Standards

CLAS Standard 1:

Provide effective, equitable, understandable and respectful quality care and services that are responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy and other communication needs.

Champions Plan:

Champions policies and procedures enable us to provide services that meet or exceed our client's expectations and ultimately comply with the standards of all governing agencies, as well as the National CLAS standards. Our commitment is demonstrated through Champions communications standards and mission statement.

Champions requires staff in SUD treatment programs to complete at least four (4) hours of cultural humility and related trainings annually in addition to trauma-informed care and motivational interviewing trainings. This ensures that our staff are continually being trained and remaining current with best practices in culturally humble practices and services.

CLAS Standard 2:

Advance and sustain organizational governance and leadership that promotes CLAS and health equity through policy, practices and allocated resources.

Champions Plan:

Champions leadership consists of an Executive Director who is held accountable by an independent Board of Directors. Individual Program Managers are responsible for each of the programs under the Champions "umbrella" of services. This leadership is committed to the effective and efficient provision of services to all our clients, regardless of demographic. Each member of Champions leadership and management team are also required to complete at least four (4) hours of cultural humility and related trainings annually in addition to trauma-informed care and motivational interviewing trainings.  Additionally, Champions board members are made aware of and invited to participate in many local and online trainings on cultural humility and related topics.

CLAS Standard 3:

Recruit, promote and support a culturally and linguistically diverse governance, leadership and workforce that are responsive to the population in the service area.

Champions Plan:

Champions staff is comprised of a diversity of service professionals at all levels of our organizational structure. In addition to possessing the requisite professional credentials for the positions they hold, they also represent the diverse demographic of the population we serve. At all levels, there are individuals of both genders, multiple racial and ethnic heritages, religious preferences and other groups commonly encountered in the provision of services. Champions ensures through its hiring process that emphasis is placed on maintaining our diversity in these areas, especially in light of meeting language requirements for all threshold languages. Champions actively seeks to ensure that we have Spanish-speaking staff in all of our programs as that is the threshold language in the communities that we serve. Additionally, Champions seeks to ensure that our board members reflect the broad diversity in the communities that we serve.

CLAS Standard 4:

Educate and train governance, leadership and workforce in culturally and linguistically appropriate policies and practices on an ongoing basis.

Champions Plan:

Champions maintains a training plan for all staff to ensure our services remain culturally humble and client-centered. Champions requires staff in SUD treatment programs to complete at least four (4) hours of cultural humility and related trainings annually in addition to trauma-informed care and motivational interviewing trainings. This ensures that our staff are continually being trained and remaining current with best practices in culturally humble practices and services.

Additional trainings based upon the employee's position/role and responsibility specific to compliance, orientation of the company and/or resources available within the company or contract specific are also required. Our organizational culture, based on Champions' mission and value statements, is described throughout our employee handbook. All employees are required to read and acknowledge their understanding of the employee handbook, ensuring each employee is equipped to carry out their responsibilities in alignment with Champions' values.

CLAS Standard 5:

Offer language assistance to individuals who have limited English proficiency and/or other communication needs, at no cost to them, to facilitate timely access to all health care and services.

Champions Plan:

In addition to employing Spanish-speaking staff to assist in our threshold language, Champions has engaged with AT&T Language Line Services (ATTLL) to provide 24/7 support for written and verbal interpreter services in over 175+ languages. The ATTLL credentialing process includes training focused on terminology, sentences, and role-playing and also requires interpreters to agree with a Conduct, Procedures & Professional Code of Ethics and Statement of Neutrality and Confidentiality. Champions provides this service at no cost to clients who have limited English proficiency. In addition, Champions also utilizes managed care plans to assist in Language services.

CLAS Standard 6:

Inform all individuals of the availability of language assistance services clearly and in their preferred language, verbally and in writing.

Champions Plan:

Champions has clearly posted information in each threshold language informing clients of services available to them. For those potential clients speaking another language, Champions utilizes DHCS-approved language cards to identify the correct language of each client before activating ATLL services.

CLAS Standard 7:

Ensure the competence of individuals providing language assistance, recognizing that the use of untrained individuals and/or minors as interpreters should be avoided.

Champions Plan:

Champions ensures at the time of hire the ability of all bilingual staff to communicate competently in the threshold language, both in written and verbal modes. Additionally, bilingual staff are trained in appropriate service-related terminology and provided with curriculum in Spanish to improve the quality of services provided to our clients. Champions avoids the use of other clients or family members of clients to provide translation services.

CLAS Standard 8:

Provide easy-to-understand print and multimedia materials and signage in the languages commonly used by the populations in the service area.

Champions Plan:

Champions understands the importance of clients to receive services in their language of choice. To that end, Champions has developed translated versions of all client required documents in the threshold language for Kings and Tulare Counties (Spanish). This includes all forms requiring client signature, as well as all documents required to be posted in public view of clients, reasonable accommodations will be made per our Non-Discrimination policy.

CLAS Standard 9:

Establish culturally and linguistically appropriate goals, policies and management accountability, and infuse them throughout the organizations' planning and operations.

Champions Plan:

Champions has taken steps to ensure culturally appropriate goals are a part of all ongoing efforts to improve and comply with all required laws, standards, and policies. Cultural components are a part of Champions' policy & procedures. Management is accountable for the adherence of subordinate staff to comply with these laws, standards, and policies. Cultural humility will be a component of all future policy, within the guidelines provided by the CLAS standards. The Executive Director retains final accountability for the agency as a whole.

CLAS Standard 10:

Conduct ongoing assessments of the organization's CLAS-related activities and integrate CLAS-related measures into assessment measurement and continuous quality improvement activities.

Champions Plan:

Champions actively participates in the Kings County Behavioral Health Cultural Humility Beneficiary Satisfaction and Agency Staff Survey each year where we make these surveys available to clients in all of our SUD treatment and prevention programs. The results of these surveys are provided to Champions’ Program Managers and reviewed by our management team to determine if changes are needed to be more responsive to client needs and feedback. These results are also shared with our Board Members so they can review feedback on the quality of services provided by Champions staff.

CLAS Standard 11:

Collect and maintain accurate and reliable demographic data to monitor and evaluate the impact of CLAS on health equity and outcomes and to inform service delivery.

Champions Plan

Champions utilizes multiple data collection instruments in the SmartCare system to identify the various categories of demographic data pertaining to its clients. This information is used to ensure appropriate services are provided to clients at all stages of program participation.

Additionally, this data is utilized to track populations possessing the greatest need for services. Moving forward, this data will be utilized to form plans to address populations receiving insufficient services or experiencing lower rates of success to determine methods to improve these outcomes.

CLAS Standard 12:

Conduct regular assessments of community health assets and needs and use the results to plan and implement services that respond to the cultural and linguistic diversity of populations in the service area.

Champions Plan:

Champions uses demographic information collected on each client, as well as individual assessments, to determine appropriate services for each client. Additionally, Champions partners with several community agencies to coordinate services beyond the scope of Champions but identified during assessment. These additional services are in the best interest of clients and allow for a more comprehensive approach to care.

Champions actively participates in the Kings Partnership (KP) Got Needs Survey bi-annually to identify local needs and service gaps in our community.  Champions Executive Director also serves on the KP Advisory Board. 

CLAS Standard 13:

Partner with the community to design, implement and evaluate policies, practices and services to ensure cultural and linguistic appropriateness.

Champions Plan:

Due to the nature of Champions' work, it is embedded in our culture to work with well-rounded and diverse organizations to assist us in the oversight and delivery of services and to meet contract requirements when necessary. In working with partner organizations, we celebrate the diversity among different types of organizations, such as non-profits and government agencies, and accommodate the working relationships and styles to successfully accomplish the goals.

Champions is an active participant in the following community collaboratives where we share observations of local needs, learn about other services in our community, and received feedback on the services that we provide:

• Kings Partnership

  • Advisory Board

  • Substance Use Response Group

  • Mental Health Taskforce

• Kings/Tulare Homeless Alliance

• Kings County Juvenile Justice Coordination Council

• Kings County Behavioral Health Advisory Committee

• Kings County Behavioral Health Substance Use Disorder- System of Care (SUD-SOC)

CLAS Standard 14:

Create conflict- and grievance-resolution processes that are culturally and linguistically appropriate to identify, prevent and resolve conflicts or complaints.

Champions Plan:

Champions values the differences represented between organizations and their cultures, and we make every effort to transcend communications. If the difference is linguistic in nature we engage the appropriate services. We recognize that there may be organizational cultural differences with the partner organizations we will work with and we modify our processes to accommodate such differences, such as meeting times and places, in order to have strong, clear and transparent communications between the organizations.

Client feedback or complaints relating to our services is a high priority for our management

team to address in a timely manner. Every employee must understand the appropriate reporting and handling procedure related to client complaints. The Program Managers typically receives client feedback or complaints since they have immediate oversight of those with the primary interface with our clients. However, complaints can be received by any employee in the company and employees must report complaints in a timely manner to the appropriate Program Manager for appropriate and timely handling. Complaints can be submitted verbally or in writing to any Champions staff member. Each program also has a locked box for clients to submit confidential feedback to Champions management team. Clients also have the right to submit a complaint to the County or Department of Health Care Services, and these forms are available in each lobby of all Champions Programs.

Program Managers are responsible to immediately notify Executive staff of any complaints and also discuss the complaint among staff within their program for the purpose of training on deficiencies present or best practices needing to be developed. The Program Manager is responsible to propose mitigation strategies for all complaints or grievances filed. Champions will utilize the results of any complaints or grievances to adjust its Cultural Humility Plan and appropriate policies to achieve best practice status. The Cultural Humility Plan will be available in both hard copy and digital formats at each facility Champions operates.

CLAS Standard 15:

Communicate the organization's progress in implementing and sustaining CLAS to all stakeholders, constituents and the general public.

Champions Plan:

Understanding the need for transparency, not only to funding agencies and partner organizations, but to our clients and the community we serve, Champions will endeavor to report our progress to our Board of Directors annually and solicit feedback on how Champions can improve with our CLAS standards. Champions will also post our CLAS Standards on our Website to provide our CLAS Standards to the general public.

Principal Standard

1)      Provide effective, equitable, understandable and respectful quality care and services that are responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy and other communication needs.

Governance, Leadership and Workforce

2)      Advance and sustain organizational governance and leadership that promotes CLAS and health equity through policy, practices and allocated resources.

3)      Recruit, promote and support a culturally and linguistically diverse governance, leadership and workforce that are responsive to the population in the service area.

4)      Educate and train governance, leadership and workforce in culturally and linguistically appropriate policies and practices on an ongoing basis.

Communication and Language Assistance

5)      Offer language assistance to individuals who have limited English proficiency and/or other communication needs, at no cost to them, to facilitate timely access to all health care and services.

6)      Inform all individuals of the availability of language assistance services clearly and in their preferred language, verbally and in writing.

7)      Ensure the competence of individuals providing language assistance, recognizing that the use of untrained individuals and/or minors as interpreters should be avoided.

8)      Provide easy-to-understand print and multimedia materials and signage in the languages commonly used by the populations in the service area.

Engagement, Continuous Improvement and Accountability

9)      Establish culturally and linguistically appropriate goals, policies and management accountability, and infuse them throughout the organizations’ planning and operations.

10)   Conduct ongoing assessments of the organization’s CLAS-related activities and integrate CLAS-related measures into assessment measurement and continuous quality improvement activities.

11)   Collect and maintain accurate and reliable demographic data to monitor and evaluate the impact of CLAS on health equity and outcomes and to inform service delivery.

12)   Conduct regular assessments of community health assets and needs and use the results to plan and implement services that respond to the cultural and linguistic diversity of populations in the service area.

13)   Partner with the community to design, implement and evaluate policies, practices and services to ensure cultural and linguistic appropriateness.

14)   Create conflict- and grievance-resolution processes that are culturally and linguistically appropriate to identify, prevent and resolve conflicts or complaints.

15)   Communicate the organization’s progress in implementing and sustaining CLAS to all stakeholders, constituents and the general public.