Cultural & Linguistic Competency Task Force

 

The Cultural Competence Task Force is a meeting place where developments and ideas for improving the City’s mental health programs can be shared amongst members of the greater BHS network. At the heart of the group’s mission is to ensure that the viewpoints being presented are diverse. For this reason, it is working to develop new recruitment tools to bring onboard more members who will enhance that diversity.

 

At its meeting of January 8, 2002, the Health Commission reviewed its existing policy on Contractor’s Compliance with Nondiscrimination and Cultural Competency.

The Commission adopted the Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards issued by the United States Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Minority Health, on December 22, 2000. The CLAS Standards were adopted as general guidelines to provide a uniform framework for developing and monitoring culturally and linguistically appropriate services as provided by the Department and its direct service providers. The Commission further recommended that the Department establish a Task Force on Cultural Competency to assist in the implementation of its policy directive.

A Task Force has been established under the Department’s Office of EEO and Cultural Competency. The Task Force meets every other month at 1380 Howard Street. Current Members of the Task Force include:

Cultural and Linguistic Competency Task Force Members
Kavoos Bassiri	Behavioral Health Services
Mary Lam	EEO and Cultural Competency
Francine Austin	SFDPH Contract Development & Technical Assistance
Teresa Fleming	BAART Turk St. Clinic
Angela DiMartino	Curry Senior Center
Galileo Medrano	OMI Family Center
Nora Zapata Krey	Mission MH
Niecia R. Barton	C.A.T.S., Inc
Felicia Houston	A Woman’s Place (C.A.T.S., Inc.)
Christina S. Shea	RAMS, Inc.
Terry Ryan	BayviewHunter's Point Foundation

Any questions about the policy or its implementation should be addressed to Michael Rojas at 415-255-3426.