Description:

Using one of the diverse populations identified, create a scenario in which you highlight pressures related to cultural diversity in the world of human services. You may be as creative as you’d like (but realistic), and it may be based on a real-life event that you have experienced or witnessed. Use the exerpt below, taken from Enhancing Cultural Competence in Social Service Agencies: A Promising Approach to Serving Diverse Children and Families as an example:

A 35-year-old Hispanic mother walks into a community agency near her home with her two toddlers in tow. A neighbor told her that the agency has low-cost, high-quality child care services and she would like to learn about the program. The brochures she sees are in English so she approaches a receptionist, who asks her in English to complete some paperwork. Seeing that the mother doesn’t understand her, the receptionist immediately asks a service provider who learned basic Spanish in college to come speak with her. The service provider briefly explains the paperwork to the mother and offers to call in a translator. The mother, unsure about what was said and worried that the translator represents someone official who may ask her difficult questions, takes the paperwork and thanks the service provider warmly. She leaves the agency and doesn’t return.