Cultural Immersion 1

Cultural Immersion & Agency Assessment Report

Kameron K. Orelien

Wilmington University

Guided Practicum in Administration of Human Services

AHS8100

Professor Payne

March 19, 2017

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Populations served by my agency:

Hispanics Muslims Undocumented

Male Jewish residents Pacific
Female College Educated Islanders
Asian Permanent Residents African-American
LGBTQ Conservative
Christians Liberal

Personal Membership

Hispanic Muslim Pacific Islander

Male Jewish African-American
Female College Educated U.S. Citizen
Asian Permanent Resident Liberal
LGBTQ Undocumented
Christian resident
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Population Selected for Cultural Immersion:

Hispanic Female

Populations History and Major Milestones:

History of People

Hispanic Americans and Latino Americans are Americans who are

descendants of the peoples of Spain, Portugal, or the Spanish- or Portuguese-

speaking countries of Latin America. This group contains immigrants from

North and South America, the Caribbean. The history of Hispanics in the U.S.

dates back to the 1500a and Latinos are currently the Second largest ethnic

group in the US. According to recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates, there are

30.1 million Hispanic adults in the United States and 14.4 million of themor

48%are women. Notable Hispanic women include Painter Frida Kahlo,

Activist Dolores Huerta, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Entertainers

such as actress, Eva Peron and singers Gloria Estefan and Jennifer Lopez.

Hispanics have made important contributions to the Unites States including,

military tactics and support, artistic, cultural and culinary influences.

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Cultural Immersion Activities

Interview

Date: March 3, 2017

Name: Veronica

Major Themes: Hispanic women in the U.S. today, Challenges, Triumphs,

Goals. The Hispanic woman I interviewed is in her early 30s, U.S. Citizen and

college educated, she was born in Dominican Republic and raised in Florida.

We spoke about the state of Hispanic women in the US today as it relates to

the immigration and US law, the work place, politics and cultural influences.

She noted that gaining entry into the United States as well as her permanent

residency/ U.S. citizenship was due to paperwork that was processed by her

parents. Veronica works mostly in sales and has found that while the

workplace in the United States calls for and enjoys the diversity of having

Spanish-speaking staff, there are very few Hispanic women holding high

positions in most of the companies shes worked in. She feels under-

represented in government and feels proud to see women like Sonia

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Sotomayor reach heights once held only by white men. The cultural

influences that the U.S. enjoys thanks to Latinas range from food, to music

and style. However, Veronica doesnt particularly care for the representation

of Hispanic women on television and films. There are some truths in the

stereotypes, but I hate when people learn I am Hispanic and think they

already know me based on what they see on TV and film. They think I am

loud, question why I dont have an accent and assume I must love spicy food

and salsa music! While some of those may be true, there is a lot more

diversity within our group of people than is depicted in TV and film.

Film

Selena, 1997

Directed and written by: Gregory Nava

The true story of Selena Quintanilla-Perez, a Texas-born Tejano singer who

rose from cult status to performing at the Astrodome, as well as having chart

topping albums on the Latin music charts.

The film explored the life of Selena Quintanilla-Perez as she built her music

career out of Texas. Selena was U.S. born and raised of Mexican heritage;

The film showcases how her family traditions influenced her life. Although

from a young age, Selena was influenced by American Singers, her father

instilled in her to remain connected to her heritage through singing in

Spanish. While becoming an artist with her family band, Selena sung in
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Spanish, later crossing over and releasing hit singles in English. Like most

Hispanic women, Selena learned how to navigate in the Spanish speaking

community and the American communities to include culture media, and

language. Selena was told if she did not speak perfect Spanish, she would

not be accepted as a Mexican artist. The film shows the story of family

togetherness and struggle, the cost of entrepreneurship as well as the joys of

successes and following a dream that is very common in the life of Hispanic

women in the United states.

Summary and Synthesis

There are a number of stereotypes I held as true for Hispanic women.

Admittedly, my views on Hispanic women are derived mostly from television

and film. They are usually depicted in less than positive light holding

occupations including homemaking, housekeeping/cleaning, and at best,

entertainment. I learned not just that Hispanic women are much more

diverse than that, but they are also carefully and proudly woven into our

modern culture. Hispanic women are matriarchs, politicians, activists,

authors, artists, entertainers and have positively influenced American culture

through their traditional values and strong ties to family. Their experiences

are different in that they have to navigate both the Hispanic and American
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populations in order to find their balance and succeed in the United States.

Hispanic women are up and coming movers and shakers across all industries

in the United States and are making great strides towards advancing not just

Hispanic women but the U.S. in general.

Assessments

Innovation Behavioral Services

1325 S. State Street
Suite 101
Dover, DE 19901

Community

The community where the agency is located is very tranquil and serene.

Though just a 5-minute drive from schools including Dover first Christian

school and Caesar Rodney High School and Bayhealth medical center, the

immediate area surrounding the agency is filled with trees and ample space.

The entrance is inviting with signage indicating the different entities within

the building. The agency is easily located off the express way and is near a
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bustling area with institutions including banks, Wells Fargo, M&T, Citizens

bank to name a few. There are retail shops and a mixture of private business

and government agencies nearby. It is accessible by public transportation,

being just .2 miles away from the State street & Old Rudnik Lane stop.

Access

The agency provides in-home services; so, while the headquarters is

accessible, people do not generally visit the agency for services. Information

is available on the company website and through telephone/email

correspondence. The agency works closely with government entities who

recommend services and reports accordingly. Members of the organization

are assigned cases and paired with their respective client. A schedule of

visitation or in-home services is then determined and clients are visited in

their home for therapy.

Receptivity

Most clients come to learn of the agency through government, mental health

processional recommendation, or our website. Based on the online presence

of our agency I would say my chosen demographic of Hispanic Women are

not represented. The website offers no images reflecting the population and

there are no resources available in Spanish. There is no literature or

materials available in Spanish.

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Administration and Staff Training

The agency currently does not employ any Hispanic women. There are/are

not any members of the organizations who are fluent in Spanish, and none of

the staff members identify as Hispanic women.

Funding

The agencys hiring practices allow for cultural variations in services and

programming offered. Unfortunately, at this time there are no varied

programs available, but in future this is something that is feasible as the

agency grows.

Staff Sensitivity

I have never witnessed any negative or stereotyping of Hispanic women at

my agency. There is no they language and we are held to a high standard

which includes respecting all clients. Given the nature of the agencys

services, having high processional ethics is of the utmost importance. Client

respect and confidentiality is crucial. The staff is trained to be mindful and

sensitive to client needs and respect all clients.

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Effort

To the best of my knowledge and during my tenure at the placement agency,

I have not witnessed any effort specifically geared towards reaching out to

the Hispanic women community. We do not currently employ any Hispanic

women in the agency so at this time there are no committees dedicated

towards developing services for this community.

Quality

Our ongoing training and reinforced messages relate to overall sensitivity

and respect of our clients. At this time, services are not individually

evaluated specifically for cultural congruence and sensitivity as it relates to

my population. Services do not take into account the challenges that may

affect my specific demographic. The agency can enhance services to my

population by adding reading materials and resources that have been

translating in Spanish. We work with children and their families, therefore I

believe there is great benefit to adding images depicting the Hispanic family

and Hispanic women population to the collateral and website. Providing the

option to view the website in Spanish would be a great addition as well.

Working with government agencies that manage cases for Hispanic families

would be a good way to assess how to further provide services to the

community of Hispanic women and their families.

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Effectiveness

At this time, there is a small number of clients from my population being

served by my agency. Of those clients, the feedback I have received has

been positive. They are overall happy with the services. However, they note

that they would be much more open to recommending the agency to other

members of the population if they were better represented by the

organization. The reason being, that there is sometimes a language barrier

that would keep the client from finding and contacting the agency. Currently,

the information we have available, as well as all of the staff members are

English only speaking. This creates an unmet need the agency can address

to better serve my population.

Efficiency

Referral sources currently consist of work with government/court agencies

that provide us with cases to follow up with. Outreach is conducted mainly

through these partnerships. The agency does not have strong partnerships

with agencies specifically supporting Hispanic women.

NASW Standards for Cultural Competence

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Standards for Review

Ethics and Values

Diverse Workforce

Ethics and Values The agency upholds ethics and ethics and values

standard of the NASW. There is ongoing training and support available for

staff members. The agency makes it a point to create a culture of respect for

all cultures. We review boundaries and how to handle conflicts in values and

expectations. Our agency services clients in their home so it is important

that the staff is trained to respect cultural differences and understand how to

address any conflicts in values and beliefs.

Diverse Workforce All staff members of the agency support the recruitment,

admission and training of diverse staff. At this time, there are no members of

my chosen population represented in my agency, however there is ongoing

recruitment that values diversity and multiculturalism.

Final Thoughts

The Cultural Immersion exercise has given me the opportunity to review the

populations serviced by my agency and identify a population that is

underserviced. I learned to look beyond the stereotypes of Hispanic women

as portrayed in the media. I also learned how the population could be better
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served by my agency. Examples would include: cultivating relationships with

organizations that service my population, adding resources that will lessen

the language barrier and continue efforts to recruit and retain a multicultural

workforce. The agency does a phenomenal job of training staff members to

be sensitive to cultural differences, to uphold ethics and respect for all

cultures and clients. It is easy to sometimes overlook a population when you

are focused on being sensitive and work well with all cultures. This exercise

allowed me to focus in on one population and see how the agency directly

affects them. I learned that by removing myself from the populations the

agency services, I was able to better recognize populations that may need

additional resources to feel included. The exercise also gave me tools by

which to assess a program/agency against specific populations to see what

their standing is as well as how they could improve their services.

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References

Q Productions, Esparza / Katz Productions (Producers), & Gregory Nava

(Director). (1997). Selena [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Brothers.

Felisa Gonzales (2008, May 14). Hispanic Women in the United States, 2007.
Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/groups/notable-hispanic-
women

Anna Brown (2017, March 17) The Data on Women Leaders. Retrieved from
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2017/03/17/the-data-on-women-leaders

State of Hispanics in the U.S. Today (2017, February 23) Retrieved from
http://www.pewhispanic.org/2017/02/23/state-of-hispanics-in-the-u-s-today/

Notable Hispanic Women. (2017) Retrieved from

http://www.biography.com/people/groups/notable-hispanic-women