ABSTRACT
Competent practice requires social workers to learn continually about other cultures and aspects of a diverse society. The fi rst step in becoming an effective social worker is to embrace cultural competence as a vital social work skill. Culturally competent social workers understand the need to address diversity and examine individual awareness and experiences. The social work profession defi nes cultural competence as:
Achieving linguistic competence is also critical. Linguistic competency is commitment by individuals and organizations to communication that can be understood by all and encompasses strategies such as multicultural staff, language and sign interpreters, multilingual written and electronic materials, and information that is sensitive to a diverse audience (Goode & Jones, 2006). In two policy statements issued by the NASW (2006-2009a), the social work profession is called to
view language as one expression of an individual’s culture and to promote and support the “implementation of cultural and linguistic competence at three intersecting levels: the individual, institutional, and societal” (p. 81).
