Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS)
The CLAS Standards cover three broad areas of competence requirements in health care for racial/ethnic minorities:
- Culturally Competent Care (Standards 1-3);
- Language Access Services (Standards 4-7); and
- Organizational Support for Cultural Competence (Standards 8-14).
Standards 1-3, and 8-13 are Guidelines; Standards 4-7 are Federal Office of Civil Rights 1964 Requirements; and Standard 14 is a Recommendation.
Participants of the 2005 Minority Health Conference were surveyed about their awareness and knowledge of CLAS Standards.
Check out theresults.
The CLAS Standards are:
- A means to correct inequities that currently exist in the provision of health services;
- Are intended to be inclusive of all cultures, designed to address the needs of racial, ethnic, and linguistic population groups that experience unequal access to health services;
- The common understanding and consistent definition of cultural and linguistically appropriate services in health care; and
- Provide a practical framework for the implementation of services and organizational structures that can help health care organizations be responsive to the cultural and linguistic issues presented by diverse populations.
The goal of the standards is to contribute to the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities, and to improve the health status of all Americans.
Contact Us:
Office of Minority Health & Health Equity
PO Box 95026
Lincoln, NE 68509-5026
(402) 471-0152
minority.health@dhhs.ne.gov
Documents in
which can be downloaded for free from Adobe Systems, Inc.
