The
Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drug, and other Addiction Services is
committed to promoting diversity and cultural competency among its member
agencies, as well as in its own operations and governance. The
organization views diversity as a fundamental element of social justice and
integral to the organization’s stated mission. Diverse voices and viewpoints
deepen our understanding of the importance of culturally appropriate service
delivery, and how our response to cultural differences can impact prevention
and treatment outcomes.
TEN-POINT
PLATFORM
TO PROMOTE ENHANCED DIVERSITY AND COMPETENCY IN TENNESSEE’S ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE SERVICE SYSTEM, TAADAS SUPPORTS THE FOLLOWING TENETS FOR TAADAS AND ITS PROVIDER MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS.
1. TAADAS should take a leadership role in advocating for program management and staff at its member agencies, as well as within its own operations, that is representative and reflective of the diverse clients served by each particular provider.
2. Each organization’s commitment to diversity should be evident in its mission, vision, and values statements, as well as in its daily operations and practices.
3. The commitment to diversity should be institutionalized through the development and implementation of a board approved cultural diversity and competency policy.
4. The personnel policies and practices of the organization should reflect strategies to recruit, retain and promote qualified diverse and culturally competent staff at all levels of operation. This includes corporate, managerial, clinical, administrative, and support staff who are sensitive to the specific needs of the diverse racial and ethnic communities served, as well as qualified to fulfill the responsibilities of the particular job.
5. Every service provider should continually review and adjust its policies and procedures to ensure that they reflect the organization’s commitment to diversity and competency, including areas such as intake, treatment planning, discharge planning, and client satisfaction.
6. Every service provider should ensure that all written materials are fully accessible to all clients served, such as forms, rules and regulations, and consents for disclosure of information ("releases"). These materials should be available in a variety of languages and presentation formats that are easily understood by the populations served.
7. Every service provider should ensure that their management and staff undergo regular, formal training in diversity and competency.
8. The TAADAS Clearinghouse program should maintain current information and materials on competency-related issues and skills, and promote those materials in its marketing efforts.
9. TAADAS advocates that the Bureau of Alcohol & Drug Abuse Services develop a statewide service directory for providers that would list trainers with specific expertise in the area of cultural diversity/competency. This directory should be made available to all providers, and updated with reasonable frequency.
10. TAADAS recommends that The Bureau of Alcohol & Drug Abuse Services and TAADAS continually explore funding streams that would lend financial support to programs for their efforts to enhance services in the areas of cultural diversity and competency.
NOTE: TAADAS uses the term “diversity” broadly to encompass differences in the attributes of individuals (such as race, ethnicity, age, gender, etc.), while “competency” refers to the ability to understand and respond effectively to client needs based on these variations. Thus, diversity is a feature of the population and competency is a measure of effectiveness.
TAADAS is a statewide association made up of alcohol and drug abuse treatment and prevention professionals and others who have been affected by substance abuse whose mission is to educate the public and influence state/national policy decisions in order to improve services to those who are affected by alcoholism and/or drug addiction. TAADAS wants to keep alcohol and drug abuse issues in the forefront when decisions are made and to share information it receives with the membership. TAADAS represents thousands of consumers in recovery, family members, healthcare professionals and service providers. For more information or to join TAADAS call 615.780.5901 or fill out our online membership application.
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