Kylie Palzer Final DP

Acknowledgments I would like to thank Senior Services for providing me the great opportunity to work with the organization and research the organization’s efforts to dismantle institutional racism. In particular, a thousand thanks to: The uncountable Senior Services staff, volunteer, and board members who shared and trusted me with information, ideas, feedback, knowledge, and personal insights. Their contributions and willingness to participate made this project possible. Negin Almassi for showing me what true dedication is, and inspiring me with her unending knowledge, passion, and support. Farlis Lewis for her invaluable participation in creating the cultural competence surveys, and constant willingness to share and explain data. Professor Mark Long, for his guidance, dedication to providing needed information, and willingness to meet when I popped by his office unannounced. Irene Woo from Solid Ground, Rosemary Cunningham from Aging and Disability Services, and all the wonderful Race and Social Justice Change Team members from Seattle Public Utilities who shared data and informational materials with me. My mom, Mary Palzer, for her constant love, support, interest, and encouragement. Moises Ramirez, for his endless love, support, understanding, y cucharitas. All my friends and family - you inspire me.

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Table of Contents SECTIONS Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………………….1 Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………………..2 Executive Summary……….…………………………………………………………………….3 I. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………...14 II. Background of Senior Services and the Cultural Competence Initiative…………....14 III. Current Cultural Competence Initiative Efforts and Accomplishments………….…..15 IV. Current Impact of institutional racism and cultural competence………………….….17 V. Anonymous Interviews……………………………………………………………….…..17 VI. Senior Services Policies and Procedures……………………………………………...27 VII. Organizational Data Analysis…………………………………………………………....33 VIII. Senior Services Cultural Competence Surveys………..………………………….…..58 IX. Senior Services Board of Directors 2009 Cultural Competence Survey…………....60 X. Assessment of client survey pilot cultural competence questions…………….…….78 XI. Recommendations………………………………………………………………………..84 XII. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………......86 XIII. References……...…………………………………………………………………….…..89 XIV. Appendices……………………………………………………………………………….90

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Executive Summary Senior Services is the largest non-profit agency serving older adults and their loved ones in Washington State, and serves more than 50,000 clients annually within King County. Established in 1967, Senior Services provides aging services for seniors and their families through an integrated system of programs and senior centers. The mission1 of Senior Services programs and Senior Centers directs the organization to emphasize the well-being of individuals and families, while engaging the entire King County community in the aging enterprise. This involves undoing oppression – interlocking systems based on the perceived and real differences among social groups grounded in the false claim that one group is superior to another. In particular, this involves dismantling institutional racism – racism that is imbedded in our social institutions and is therefore an intricate part of the organization’s history. Institutional racism is inherently an intricate part of the organization’s history and in an effort to dismantle institutional racism the organization must also continually strive for cultural competence, which involves offering culturally accessible and relevant programs and services. These efforts embody the Cultural Competence Initiative. The purpose of the Cultural Competence Initiative is to undo institutional racism and create cultural competence at Senior Services, in order to better serve under-served elders and caregivers in communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered (LGBT) elders and caregivers and to ensure that the voices of under-served elders and caregivers are heard in undoing institutional oppression. Senior Services has been committed to undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence since 2003, and in 2007 hired the agency’s first Cultural Competence Manager and began agency-wide anti-oppression trainings, made possible through a Paul Allen Foundation 2-year grant. Since then, Senior Services has increased activities and efforts to realize the goals of the Cultural Competence Initiative. The Initiative’s advances include improving the areas of organizational structure and policies and procedures, building a common understanding of institutional racism and oppression through activities, discussions, and trainings, creating a more welcoming environment for people of color, and increasing accountability to communities of color. Nevertheless, Senior Services recognizes that there is much work to be done at increasing cultural competence. The organization needed someone to conduct research on how institutional racism continues to impact specific areas of the organization, so that community members, clients, staff, volunteers, and board members could better understand and identify where efforts needed to be focused. My research methods and project deliverables involved multiple components: • • • • • •

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Interviews with volunteer and staff members. Analysis of Senior Services policies and procedures. Analysis of Senior Services staff & client diversity across the organization, staff wages, and employment patterns. Creating a cultural competence evaluation system. Analysis of board member cultural competence survey. Analysis of client cultural competence pilot questions. Senior Services Mission: “To promote the emotional, social, and physical well-being of older adults.”

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Anonymous interviews with volunteer and staff members – Individual anonymous interviews with one volunteer and 16 staff members revealed numerous areas where institutional racism affects Senior Services, and where cultural competence could be increased. The interviews were anonymous because the names of staff members interviewed were kept confidential, although the content of the interviews was not. The following examples demonstrate main issues that at least one or more interviewee brought up: • • •

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Policies and programs often do not accommodate cultural or language barriers of clients. The clientele base of Senior Services is made up largely of white individuals and does not meet the needs of different cultural communities. Staff of color often feel they have to assimilate to the organizational culture, which is defined by ‘white’ culture. If they don’t, they are labeled as ‘not a team player’, they don’t fit in, and they have a hard time interacting with white staff in more social interactions at work. People of color are not able to speak freely – after meetings they have been “shushed” for disagreeing with their supervisor during a meeting. Volunteers are resistant to understanding and providing culturally competent services – they need to be involved in the initiative. There have been instances where staff members used inappropriate language to refer to the racial/ethnic background of a client or other staff members. Examples included “colored” and “oriental”. Board members have been known to say racist comments to an employee of color, and it is generally thought that board members are not conscience of what they say. There are stereotypes and judgments made about staff and clients, based upon their race or ethnicity. Assumptions are made about who clients are and what they might need in terms of race/gender/religion, etc Not a lot of thought is put into including everyone in the passing of information. Especially in terms of the Cultural Competence Initiative, people may be more committed to involvement if they knew the organizations’ long term plan. Many staff members felt they could bring cultural competence issues up with Negin or a co-worker of the similar position level, but many would not bring an issue up with upper-management. Staff feel more comfortable working with clients like them, so there is not as much thought about how to best serve communities of color. There should be more accountability to people of color. They don’t involve everyone like they should, program or agency wide. There is not a comfortable space to be able to express a race and culture within the organization, although they are getting better by having events such as the People of Color gathering. White interviewees generally felt that their work was easier and more comfortable, because they operated primarily in a ‘white’ environment where their own racial group dictated the office culture. Downtown, the Cultural Competence Initiative seems to be taken more seriously, although the effects have not trickled down much to service delivery. Rather, there is more awareness-raising going on right now than anything else. There needs to be more participation across the organization as a whole – right now it is usually the same people participating.

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Analysis of Senior Services policies and procedures – There are a number of policies and procedures that may disproportionately impact people of color or limit cultural competence across the organization. •

Hiring Policy and Procedures: Although there have been recent improvements to Senior Services’ hiring policies, the organization could make changes that would potentially increase applicants of color being hired, such as having a person of color on the interview panel, and not posting jobs internally before they post externally.

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Background Checks: Senior Services’ criminal background check policy may disproportionately impact people of color.

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Holidays: Currently, ten of Senior Services’ eleven paid holidays are traditional “American” holidays that immigrants and many people of color may not consider a holiday. For example, Senior Services closes its office on Christmas day and the majority of staff do not have the option of taking another day off in place. Overall, the holiday policy does not allow flexibility of holidays off. This issue is currently being addressed.

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Problem Resolution: The Problem Resolution policy is often seen as ineffective or uncomfortable for employees, especially if a staff of color is expected to resolve a problem by speaking with a white supervisor.

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Customer Grievance Process: If a customer has a grievance related to culturally competent services, discussing the issue directly with the person responsible for the program may not be the most effective remedy, and many clients may therefore chose not to say anything at all. Should the customer be a person of color, taking the issue up the often ‘white’ chain of command may also be discouraging for the client.

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Non-Discrimination in Service Delivery, Contracting and Business Practices: This policy includes language that states Senior Services will not “provide any person with facilities, services, financial aid or other benefits which are different, or are provided in a different form from that provided to others under the program or activity” and that Senior Services will not “deny any person any opportunity to participate in a program or activity as an employee”. While this policy is well intentioned, it does not recognize the fact that Senior Services may need to provide more or different programs/services to people of color, based on a heightened need. Furthermore, Senior Services holds valuable gatherings and meetings for employees of color, and part 6 of this policy indicates that this should be against policy, when in fact these meetings are an important component of the Cultural Competence Initiative.

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Professional Service Contracts: There is no policy or language that requires agencies Senior Services contracts with to comply with the Senior Services’ Cultural Competence Statement.

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Personal Appearance: Because Senior Services upper management is comprised of primarily white staff, white staff are primarily determining what ‘appropriate dress’ for the job is.

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Analysis of Senior Services staff & client diversity across the organization, staff wages, and employment patterns - The data analysis portion of my research explores the following areas: -

Diversity of clients served by Senior Services Diversity of Senior Services staff members Employment patterns of Senior Services staff members Senior Services staff member wages and tenure

Diversity of clients served by Senior Services This analysis found that 27.3% of King County’s population over the age of 64 is comprised of people of color. In total, only 21.2% of Senior Services’ clients are people of color. Thus, even when setting aside issues of long-term unmet need, it is possible that Senior Services is under-serving King County’s communities of color. Seven of the sixteen programs examined serve less than 27.3% people of color. Furthermore, in a general comparison of all Senior Service clients served and the clients served by King County’s Aging and Disability Services (ADS) in 2007 it was found that where Senior Services’ clientele is 64% white, ADS’ clientele is only 49% white. ADS is a division of the Seattle Human Services Department that plans, coordinates, and advocates for a comprehensive delivery system for older adults, family caregivers and people with disabilities in King County. Thus, ADS has both a clientele and provides services comparable to those of Senior Services. According to the comparison, ADS serves a much larger percentage of Asians/Pacific Islanders than Senior Services, and a slightly larger percentage of all other non-white races. Proportionate services may set the bar too low, particularly when considering a long term history of under-serving, possibly creating a greater demand for services among people of color, and the diverse needs of different communities. Nevertheless, it is helpful to begin by comparing data to other organizations and the surrounding community. In analyses that looked at clients served by individual senior centers, it was found that: •

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11% of the aging population in Northshore Senior Center’s catchment area is comprised of people of color, yet only 2.6% of Northshore’s clients are people of color. In particular the Asian population is underserved, and the multiracial, African American, and Hispanic/Latino populations are slightly underserved as well. The Central Area Senior Center serves a larger percentage of people of color than the area’s demographics. 68.7% of the Central Area Senior Center’s clients are African American, even though only 25% of the area’s elderly population is comprised of African Americans. This may be understood through the dynamics of gentrification and displacement in the Central Area. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that there is a large elderly Asian population (25%) living in the area, yet only 3% of the Senior Center’s clients are Asian. Northwest Senior Center’s client base is 14.5% people of color, which is slightly higher than the percentage of aged people living in the area, at 10%. At Shoreline Senior Center, 18% of the clients are people of color, which is just slightly higher than the area’s percentage of aged people of color, at 15%. The Sno Valley Senior Center serves 7% people of color, which is slightly higher than the catchment area’s aged population of 4% people of color.

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The Southeast Senior Center’s client base is 46.7% people of color, which is lower than the percent of aged people of color living in the area at 66%. Only 10.7% of the clientele is Asian, although the aged population living in the area is 35% Asian. At the West Seattle Senior Center 10% of the clients are people of color, in comparison, the area’s aged population is 16% people of color.

Diversity of Senior Services staff members This section explores the ethnic/racial diversity of Senior Services staff members, and the positions staff members hold. •

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In February 2009, Senior Services had 247 staff members. Of these,197 are white, 17 are Asian/Pacific Islander, 25 are African American, 4 are Hispanic/Latino, 2 are multiracial, and 2 are American Indian/Native Alaskan. Senior Services’ staff base has a slightly higher percentage of white people than the population of King County, at 79.4% and 76.2% respectively.2 20% (19/95 staff members) of the downtown office is staff of color, 11% (1/9 staff members) of Shoreline Senior Center, 0% of Sno Valley Senior Center, 0% of Northwest Senior Center, and 4% (2/48 staff members) of Northshore Senior Center. The sites that have a larger percentage of staff of color are the Warehouse at 45% (13/29 staff members), Southeast Senior Center at 57% (4/7 staff members), Vashon Maury Senior Center at 33% (1/3 staff members), Central Area Senior Center at 75% (3/4 staff members), and West Seattle Senior Center at 25% (2/8 staff members). The positions where a larger percent of staff are ethnically/racially diverse are positions such as craft workers, drivers, laborers & helpers, and service workers. There is a smaller percentage of diversity in positions that tend to have higher wages, such as executives, managers, professionals, and administrative, staff to an extent. In a comparison with the organization Solid Ground, their 478 member staff base was found to be more ethnically/racially diverse than Senior Services. Where Senior Services is 79.4% white, Solid Ground is only 66.9% white, and there is a higher percentage of staff of color from each ethnic/racial group, except with multi-racial staff.

Employment patterns of Senior Services staff members This section examines Senior Services employment pattern in the year 2008. The purpose of this analysis was to look at the current ethnic/racial diversity of Senior Services staff members, as well as the hiring and termination patterns over the year 2008. Unfortunately, there was a coding problem with the hiring and terminations data and much of the results were inconclusive. Nevertheless, the objectives and results of the analysis are detailed in this section. Senior Services staff member wages and tenure The analysis of staff member wages has two main components. One part of the analysis looked at what pay grades staff members of different ethnic/racial groups are situated in, across the organization. The other part of the pay analysis attempted to look 2

Please note that the statistical significance of these differences was not tested.

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at employees that share the same type of position within the same pay grade, and see if there was a pattern of differences in wages between staff of different ethnicities/races. •

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The data demonstrates that the pay grade with the largest amount and highest percentage of people of color is the lowest pay grade, and with each pay grade the percentage of people of color decreases. The starkest difference in average wages is among white staff members and African American staff members. As pay grades increase we see a larger difference in the average wages of white staff members and African American staff members. Only in pay grade 1 do African American staff members make slightly more ($0.24) more per hour on average than whites. There are no non-African American staff of color in pay grade 5, 6, or 7, one African American staff of color in pay grade 5 and none in pay grades 6 or 7. The two highest pay grades, 6 & 7, are all white and are comprised of the Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer, and Vice Presidents. There is a large difference in average tenure amongst different ethnic/racial groups. On average white staff currently employed at Senior Services have been there for 63 months. Asian/Pacific Islander staff on average have worked at the organization for 80 months, African Americans 44 months, and other people of color only 16 months. It could be that the organization more recently started hiring staff of certain ethnic/racial groups, or that white staff and Asian/Pacific Islander staff tend to stay longer.

Creating a cultural competence evaluation system Program Evaluation Manager Farlis Lewis, Cultural Competence Manager Negin Almassi and myself created three separate cultural competence surveys: A Board Member, Staff Member, and Volunteer Member Cultural Competence Survey. Although each survey is uniquely designed to address the type of work each group performs for Senior Services, the surveys were generally divided into 4 separate sections: Organizational Culture, Organizational Structure, Service Delivery, and Cultural Competence Initiative. These surveys will help the organization identify specific areas of priority for trainings or other anti-racism/cultural competency work, and will also indirectly educate staff on areas of cultural competence work that they can participate in. The survey will be used as an assessment at the organization level over time, to be administered every two years. Analysis of board member cultural competence survey •

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The Senior Services Board Member Survey was sent only to Senior Services board members via Survey Monkey in February 2009. Eleven of the 17 (65%) board members completed the survey within the two-week time-frame. Two of the eleven respondents were people of color, and the other 9 were white.

Below, each question/statement is grouped into 1 of 4 categories, according to the general survey results. •

Statements where responses indicated either agreement with positive statements, or disagreement with negative statements: o Q1 – “Senior Services understands and encourages different cultural styles and approaches to leadership.”

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o o o o o o o o

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Q2 - “Existing board members mentor new members on the board, paying attention to dynamics of racial exclusion.” Q5 - “People I work with on the Board of Directors make negative assumptions about my work ethic, based upon my race.” Q6 - “Board decision-making processes are transparent (i.e. that people understand what the decision-making process is)”. Q8 - “Our budget and resource allocations have an equitable impact across different cultural and racial communities” Q11 - “The Board does outreach to increase representation of underserved communities of color.” Q14 - “The Board seeks input and guidance from staff and board members of color.” Q 15 - “I am familiar with federal and state regulations with regards to antidiscrimination.” Q17 - “As an organization, Senior Services collaborates with different cultural/racial communities to make sure we are providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services.” Q18 - “The Cultural Competence Initiative is important” Q19 - “Most people on the Board feel the Cultural Competence Initiative is important.” Q23 - “I can better identify instances of oppression in our services after cultural competence training.” Q25 - “The Board has discussions about how institutional racism and lack of cultural competence affect our ability to meet our mission.” Q27 – “I am involved in some type of Cultural Competence activity.” (Nine of eleven respondents responded ‘yes’.

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Statements where responses from board members of color may have less positive, or mixed indications in comparison to those of white Board members: o Q3 - “I would feel comfortable referring members of their cultural or ethnic community to Senior Services, knowing that they will receive quality services.” o Q26 - “I intervene in an appropriate manner when I observe other board members or staff engaging in behaviors that show cultural insensitivity, bias, or prejudice.”

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Statements where the responses included more than a few board members that answered ‘Don’t Know’, indicating there may be a lack of understanding around some practices or issues: o Q7 - “There are instances of institutional racism and/or cultural incompetence within Board policies and procedures.” o Q9 - “Senior Services uses many different recruitment strategies to reach ethnically and culturally diverse candidates for staff, volunteers, and board members.” o Q10 - “Senior Services has fair and equitable hiring practices.” o Q12 - “The Board consults with communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and other communities in policy development, revision, and evaluation.” o Q13 - “Individual board members build and maintain relationships with communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and other groups.”

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o •

Q20 - “Opportunities for developing cross-cultural skills are provided to me by Senior Services.”

Statements where the responses indicated the board or the organization needs to develop a better understanding or familiarity with an issue: o Q4 - “I feel that my race brings me inherent unearned advantages” o Q16 - “I am familiar with federal and state regulations governing accessible services for ethnically and culturally diverse communities.” o Q22 - “I understand the Cultural Competence Initiative and would be confident explaining what it is to a new board member.”

Analysis of client cultural competence pilot questions In 2008, Senior Services distributed a survey to clients who used Information and Assistance services. Senior Services added one cultural competency question at the end of this member client survey. However, they piloted three different versions of a similar question to see how clients would respond differently, and to gauge which question actually measures whether or not clients feel services were culturally competent. This analysis examines the answers to this question on the survey, as this is one of few ways in which Senior Services has been able to survey customers about cultural competency in service delivery. The purpose is to determine which question clients seemed to understand the best, so that it could be used for future surveys in other program areas. Thus, this analysis examines the responses to the three questions. • • •

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(Version A) On 130 surveys, client members were asked: “Did you receive culturally appropriate service?” (Version B) On 140 surveys, client members were asked: “Did you receive culturally competent service?” (Version C) On 145 surveys, client members were asked: “Did you feel your cultural values were respected?” In the 130 surveys with Version A, 47.7% of respondents identified as being White/Caucasian while 45.4% identified as being a Person of Color (POC). In the 140 surveys with Version B, 50.7% of respondents identified as being White/Caucasian while 37.1% identified as being a POC. In the 145 surveys with Version B, 49.7% of respondents identified as being White/Caucasian while 29.7% identified as being a POC.

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Of the three different cultural competency questions piloted in the client surveys, Version C, “Did you feel your cultural values were respected?” had the lowest nonresponse rate at 11%, and the highest average ‘yes’ response rate. This could mean that Version C was the most easily understood question of the three, and/or that respondents felt it was asking something different than Versions A and B. For example, services that lack cultural competence may not necessarily ‘disrespect’ cultural values. There does not seem to be a significant difference between responses to the words ‘appropriate’ and ‘competent’ in Versions A and B of the cultural competence question.

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Of the three different cultural competency questions, Version B, “Did you receive culturally competent service?” had the largest difference between ethnicity/racial

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groups who answered yes. 83.1% of whites compared to 76.9% of POC (a 6.2% difference) answered that they received culturally competence service. For the same question, 5.6% of whites compared to 1.9% of POC answered ‘no.’ Overall respondents felt they received culturally competent services, with little variation across racial/ethnic groups. •

For all questions, there was a fairly similar response rate when POC responses were compared to those of White responses.

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There was not a pattern among response rates for specific ethnic/racial groups. For survey version A, Asian/Asian Americans had the lowest ‘yes’ and highest ‘no’ response rates. Yet for versions B and C, Black/African/African Americans had the lowest ‘yes’ response rates. Overall, response rates were fairly similar and the total POC response rates are not particularly driven by a particular ethnic/racial group.

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It may be that a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questionnaire will not help Senior Services understand what is driving responses and whether the question on the survey carries meaning for customers of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds.

Recommendations Policies and Procedures •

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Policies and procedures of programs that serve non-English speaking clients need to be evaluated and altered so that they accommodate and effectively serve the needs of all clients, not just clients that speak English fluently. If possible, Senior Services could create a more binding language with agencies they contract with to further ensure compliance with the Cultural Competence Initiative. The hiring policies and procedures could be improved to include at least one panelist of color during the interview process, and to not advertise internally before a position is posted externally.

Services the Organization Provides • •

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All programs and departments should strive to have materials made available to clients in non-English languages. In addition to linguistically appropriate services, all programs should assess how they could offer more culturally accommodating services by performing a needs assessment of their clients. Outreach efforts to communities of color have increased, but there is still a need for outreach that targets immigrant/refugee and communities of color. Each program/site should look at how diverse their client base is, based off of the data analysis provided in this paper, and assess whether or not they are meeting the needs of the entire community they could be serving. Programs and Senior Centers should focus more on listening and learning rather than only focusing on, or immediately jumping to outreach.

Organizational Culture and Communications

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Senior Services should increase efforts to dismantle the ‘white’ culture – the office culture that is created by and caters to white staff – that often pervades Senior Services working environment. Encourage employees to point out when ‘white’ culture is dominating. Be more open to different types of work cultures and communications styles, and create an environment where people of color are free to express themselves. Increase efforts to dismantle informal communications methods in which managers and staff share information with friends and tend to exclude other employees, whom are often staff of color. Encourage all staff members to voice their opinions and ideas in meetings where they are sometimes intimidated by management. Senior Services management should make staff members aware of how committed they are to the Initiative and having a Cultural Competence Manager, in the long term. Each department work group should include some type of cultural competence discussion in regular meetings. Senior Services needs to encourage employees to bring up cultural competence issues that arise. Since many are uncomfortable or feel it is useless to talk to upper management, there should be a committee or system in place that allows staff members to bring an issue to a neutral party that will help resolve the situation in a culturally competence manner. The organization and upper-management should be more accountable to staff members of color, more inclusive, and seek input.

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Senior Services needs to increase recruitment of board members, volunteers, and staff of color – across all positions and areas of the organization, not just programs or departments that are typically filled by people of color. Managers and the HR department should assess why certain ethnic/racial groups are not being hired into higher-paid positions, or are more likely to be hired into casual/contract/part-time positions that may result in lower tenures.

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Differences in staff wages across ethnic/racial groups should be further analyzed by program managers. They need to examine on a case-by-case basis why members of certain ethnic groups, particularly African American staff members, tend to earn a lower salary than other staff members in the same position.

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Volunteers should be included in future anti-oppression trainings, as well as in general Cultural Competence Initiative activities. Mandatory trainings should be continued for staff members, and a heightened encouragement for non-downtown staff members to participate in activities and events.

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Data Collection & Analysis •

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Senior Services could maintain more detailed information on staff member education level, race, and positions within the organization to run further analysis regarding staff qualifications and salary rates. It would be useful for the organization to increase efforts of compiling agency-wide data so that information is not so dispersed, and also so that data-collecting methods are more congruent. It would be useful if programs could collect more detailed client information in their data collection processes. In particular data collection should be expanded to include cultural backgrounds, and not just racial backgrounds.

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I. Introduction Senior Services is the largest non-profit agency serving older adults and their loved ones in Washington State, and serves more than 50,000 clients annually within King County. Established in 1967, Senior Services provides aging services for seniors and their families through an integrated system of programs and senior centers. The mission of Senior Services programs and Senior Centers directs the organization to emphasize the well-being of individuals and families, while engaging the entire King County community in the aging enterprise. This involves undoing oppression – interlocking systems based on the perceived and real differences among social groups grounded in the false claim that one group is superior to another. In particular, this involves dismantling institutional racism – racism that is imbedded in our social institutions and is therefore an intricate part of the organization’s history. In so doing, the organization must also continually strive for “cultural competence”, which means offering programs and services that meet the diverse needs of clients from all different cultures. These efforts embody the Cultural Competence Initiative. The purpose of the Cultural Competence Initiative is to undo institutional racism and create cultural competence at Senior Services, in order to better serve under-served elders and caregivers in communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and LGBT elders and caregivers and to ensure that the voices of under-served elders and caregivers are heard in undoing institutional oppression. This report begins by examining the history of Senior Services’ work around dismantling institutional racism and building cultural competence, and the current efforts and accomplishments that have been realized through the Cultural Competence Initiative. The major part of the study involves demonstrating the ways in which institutional racism continues to impact Senior Services and the clients the organization serves, revealing not only the need for the Cultural Competence Initiative, but also where efforts by all members of the organization can continue to be focused in the future to build a more culturally competent, equitable, and effective organization. Research methods involve anonymous staff interviews, literature reviews, and raw data analysis. An additional component to my project involved helping to create an evaluation system that can be used to create a baseline and measure the impact of institutional racism and the progress of the Cultural Competence Initiative over time. The process of creating this evaluation system and the results of the board member cultural competence survey are explored. The final portion of the study makes recommendations for the organization to increase cultural competency. II. Background of Senior Services and the Cultural Competence Initiative A long-term, committed effort to dismantle institutional racism and build cultural competence within Senior Services began in 2003, when a Cultural Competence Committee (originally called the “Diversity Committee”) of about 12 Senior Services staff members was established, and each program was asked to send people to participate. The members of the Cultural Competence Committee had noticed that a large majority of the staff were white, and that many of the agency’s programs and services had more reach in the white aging community. The committee realized that institutional racism needed to be examined and addressed, and as a committee they knew they needed to

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do something. The challenge was coming to a consensus on what direction to take and what would be the most beneficial, effective approach. Some committee members advocated for agency-wide training, some advocated for program-specific training, and across the agency there was a large variation in staff member’s understandings of racism. Overall, there was not a lot of staff support and the Cultural Competence Committee was struggling to find an effective approach. In 2003 Denise Klein also became the new Senior Services Executive Director. Denise came to Senior Services with a passion to build cultural competence, and saw that there was potential to work with the Cultural Competence Committee and really undo institutional racism in a way that included a top-down approach. The agency created cultural competence goals and began looking for funding to support staff trainings. In late 2004 the Cultural Competence Committee attended a two-day Undoing Institutional Racism Training offered by the People’s Institute3, and afterwards a monthly discussion group called Conversations on Race and Culture began and continues to the present time. Shortly after the Cultural Competence Committee attended the training, the organization submitted a proposal for a grant to support agency-wide cultural competency building activities. The first proposal was rejected, but a year later in the fall of 2006 the organization received a 2-year grant in the amount of $170,000 from the Paul Allen Foundation. With support from this grant, the Cultural Competence Committee was able to hire a cultural competency manager – a staff member that could focus their efforts to provide all-agency training and build cultural competency throughout the organization. In late June of 2007, Negin Almassi was hired as Senior Services’ first Cultural Competency Manager, and Senior Services has since committed to maintaining the Cultural Competence position long term. When Ms. Almassi began, the Cultural Competence Committee included four work groups: Training, Human Resources, Welcoming, and Evaluation. III. Current Cultural Competence Initiative Efforts and Accomplishments The following section outlines some of the key Initiative activities and accomplishments that have continued since June of 2007, as described in the organization’s “Institutional Racism and Power Analysis Project Proposal”, and as witnessed during my research. Building Common Language and Long-Term Commitment Throughout the Organization • Ongoing learning and discussion through departmental meetings facilitated by the Cultural Competence Manager and department managers. • Ongoing learning and discussion through monthly Conversations on Race and Culture meetings. Beginning in January of 2009, the monthly Conversations meetings for the 3

The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB), is a national and international collective of antiracist, multicultural community organizers and educators dedicated to building an effective movement for social transformation. PISAB considers racism the primary barrier preventing communities from building effective coalitions and overcoming institutionalized oppression and inequities. Through Undoing Racism™/Community Organizing Workshops, technical assistance and consultations, PISAB helps individuals, communities, organizations and institutions move beyond addressing the symptoms of racism to undoing the causes of racism so as to create a more just and equitable society. http://www.pisab.org/

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next three months involved viewing each section of the 3-part PBS series Race: The Power of an Illusion. After viewing a condensed version of each section, staff members gathered for discussion, relating the series topic to their work and experience with racism. • Ongoing learning and discussion through all-agency trainings on “understanding oppression” using the “Beyond Inclusion Model” of Leticia Nieto. 156 staff members attended the first series in spring of 2008, and trainings and debriefs continue for new staff and board members. • Recruiting new staff with commitment to learning cultural competence, through improved recruitment policies that get the word out to a more diverse network, advertising the agency’s cultural competence commitment on all job announcements, incorporating cultural competence into the interviewing process (discussed further in the hiring policy section), and previewing the initiative at new hire orientation. • A more engaged, productive Cultural Competence Committee and individual work groups (Human Resources, Training, Welcoming, and Community Accountability work groups). The Northshore Senior Center also recently created their own Cultural Competence Committee, to focus on issues that directly relate to their site. • Leadership at the board level from a Board Cultural Competence Task Force, formed in 2007, consisting of board members, community members, and staff. Improved Accountability to the Community • Evaluation: Senior Services piloted three different survey questions in order to improve their ability to assess the cultural competence of programs and services. The results of these pilot questions are analyzed in section XI of this report. • Outreach and Community Presence: The organization conducted focus groups with Hmong, Laotian, and Mien elders and with Filipino community leaders. This feedback was used to improve programs and responsiveness to elders in these communities. The organization will continue conducting focus groups with underserved elders, with a focus group with African American elders scheduled in spring of 2009. • Relationship Mapping: The organization created a map of the agency’s relationships with diverse organizations that are led by and serve elders of color, immigrant and refugee elders, lesbian and gay elders, and other diverse elders. This tool has improved Senior Services’ ability to communicate with community partners, make sure that diverse communities are at the table, and conduct community outreach. • Improving Trust and Communication: With support from the Cultural Competence Initiative, program staff and board members have been building deeper relationships with organizations in communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and more, including the following Senior Services programs: Meals on Wheels, Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA), Senior Rights Assistance, Senior Information and Assistance, Project Enhance, Kinship Care, Community Dining, and Caregiver Advocacy. Creating a More Welcoming Environment Training activities are contributing to creating a culture that is more welcoming of diverse people and that is more capable of celebrating cultural diversity and addressing injustice. Senior Services has created a more welcoming, inclusive physical environment at the

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Belltown site by celebrating décor of different cultures, and supported a project at Southeast Seattle Senior Center. Staff at many senior centers are incorporating cultural competence into the senior center culture. Systemic Change at the Institutional Level and Policy Accomplishments • Institutionalizing Cultural Competence Training: Senior Services passed policies outlining expectations for core and ongoing training on cultural competence and oppression for staff, volunteers, and board members at all sites. • Human Resources Policies: Senior Services now includes the cultural competence statement on all job announcements.4 The Human Resources department has created and is continually expanding a cultural competence mailing list in order to ensure that diverse job seekers apply to our positions. The organization also passed a new policy mandating a minimum of one cultural competence question in all rounds of interviews.5 • Contracting: Service delivery is complex, mediated through multiple community partners. With 25 sites all over King County, the Community Dining program is a prime example. Senior Services site coordinators are based in partner senior centers. The program has added the following language in contracts: Senior Services desires an environment that is welcoming and culturally sensitive for everyone. Community center staff are expected to make all requested efforts to assure this is the case. Racial and sexual harassment will not be tolerated and will be grounds for service termination. IV. Current Impact of Institutional Racism and Cultural Competence As demonstrated above, Senior Services has made a long-term commitment to undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence. Efforts and accomplishments are numerous. Yet, in order to continually realize the Cultural Competence Initiative, Senior Services needs to fully analyze how institutional racism plays out within the organization, and where cultural competence needs to be heightened. The following sections of this paper detail research conducted in an effort to learn just how institutional racism impacts Senior Services. The main methods of research included anonymous interviews, policies and procedures analysis, and various staff and client data analyses. The last two methods involve a client survey analysis, and a board member survey analysis. V. Anonymous Interviews As part of the process of documenting the history and current impact of institutional racism, oppression, and cultural competence within Senior Services, Negin Almassi and I separately conducted anonymous interviews with 1 volunteer and 16 staff members from all different levels of the organization in order to provide examples and insight into understanding data presented later in this report. Staff were not chosen randomly, but were selected based upon their tendency to be involved with the Cultural Competence Initiative and related issues, as these members

4 5

The Cultural Competence Statement can be viewed in Appendix A A comprehensive list of Cultural Competence Interview Questions can be viewed in Appendix B

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would be likely to have information, thoughts, and experiences to share.6 Nevertheless, there was an effort to choose staff members that broadly represented the organization as a whole, in terms of program area/department, and position level within the organization. Five of the interviewees were people of color, and all 17 were women. The same general list of interview questions was used to guide each interview, although the list was not strictly adhered to and some questions may have been skipped, and additional questions may have been asked, based upon the flow of the conversation. Most interviews lasted anywhere from between 20 minutes to 1 hour, depending upon the availability of the interviewee. Information from the interviews provided valuable insight into the views and experiences of many staff members, and helped identify issues that would be important to further research. The following section highlights specific examples and experiences that staff members shared, that contain important insights into the history and current impact of institutional racism at Senior Services.7 Any information that may indirectly identify an interviewee has been omitted8, for the sake of protecting the identity of the generous staff members who shared their time and experiences with us. Main Themes from Interviews Some of the main responses to the 6 - part question “Where do you see instances of institutional racism or cultural incompetence now within:” included: a) Any policies and/or procedures of the organization? • •

•

•

The challenge with policies is that many are formulated by members of agent groups9. Policies often don’t accommodate cultural or language barriers of clients. For example, the Meals on Wheels program has no interpretation or translation policy, and no non-English informational materials. With the hiring policy, jobs are posted internally first to give staff the opportunity to move up, but that gives an advantage to whites, since the organization is predominantly white (the hiring policy is further analyzed in the policies section of the project). The holiday policy offers 12 holidays each year, and 11 are agency-wide that regard traditional “American” holidays, with only one being a personal holiday that could be used to celebrate non-American holidays (the holiday policy is also further analyzed in the policies section of the project).

6

It is important to recognize that just because staff interviewed had a tendency to be involved with the Initiative, not all staff viewed the Initiative favorably, and there was an effort to interview staff with a variety of viewpoints. 7 It is important to recognize that responses reflect the views and experiences of the interviewees, and while their insights carry significant meaning, I was not always able to support insights with empirical data because often the data either does not exist, or it would have been difficult to fully research within the timeframe the project was conducted. 8 With the exception of Executive Director Denise Klein 9 “Agent” refers to “members of dominant social groups who have unearned privilege, who knowingly or unknowingly exploit and reap unfair advantage over members of target groups”, according to Leticia Nieto’s Anti-Oppression Workshop Definitions.

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b) The services that the organization provides? •

•

•

•

•

•

Many staff members remarked on how the clientele base of Senior Services is made up largely of white individuals and does not meet the needs of different cultural communities. (This issue was further researched using annual program data, which is explored in the data analysis section of this project.) The types of meals in the Community Dining and Meals on Wheels program tend to be catered more towards white Americans and serve traditional American meals – almost totally in the Meals and Wheels program. They “make exceptions” for people of color, such as Asian dishes for example. In effect, there are quick, piece-meal solutions to ‘problems’ that shouldn’t be considered problems at all. Furthermore, the Community Dining program volunteer base is largely white, and they are trying to serve people of color, with no base of shared cultural understanding. Many programs do not make efforts to accommodate non-English speakers, and what their needs are. People act like “this is the way it is” and if the system doesn’t work for non-English speakers, then that’s too bad. Immigrants and nonEnglish speakers are often considered ‘outside the norm.’ Senior Services needs more SHIBA outreach to immigrant communities, and even more special or unique services that meet the needs of undocumented immigrant communities. They need more people that are able to speak ‘different cultures’10 and really provide more cultural versatility in their outreach methods by having different types of outreach for different communities. When this has been brought this up, staff have been told that Senior Services does not have the funds and resources to operate this way, but a lot of this could be addressed with heightened awareness alone. Organizations and businesses that Senior Services contracts with do not have to comply with the cultural competency statement, and in effect do not have to attempt to offer culturally competent services.

c) The way staff treat or talk about other staff and clients? •

•

•

•

Staff of color often feel they have to assimilate to the organizational culture, which is defined by ‘white’ culture. If they don’t, they are labeled as ‘not a team player’, they don’t fit in, and they have a hard time interacting with white staff in more social interactions at work. There is cronyism among senior management, and there is a circle of trust and friendship that is often based upon whether or not they like certain people and feel comfortable around them, which tends to benefit white staff members disproportionately. Many staff members (white and of color) are not convinced there is an effort to keep the staff of color that work at Senior Services – they are not seen as an asset. There was an instance where a staff member of color was being harassed because some sites didn’t like that person’s communications style. Management didn’t address or take care of the problem, and responded by simply changing

10

For example, some Hispanic communities need volunteers or staff members to provide services in Spanish with an additional cultural understanding of their unique cultural needs – such as some clients being undocumented.

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•

• •

•

• •

•

•

•

the staff member’s job role. This reinforced the notion that communication styles that are different from the majority and often ‘white’ style of communication are negative or disruptive. There is often a ‘superior-subordinate mentality’ at Senior Services. Managers speak down to staff from their high positions, and because there is mostly white people in upper-management, it perpetuates white people’s power. People of color are not able to speak freely – after meetings they have been “shushed” for disagreeing with their supervisor during a meeting. At the downtown offices, staff of color can’t be as open as they would like because what they say is remembered, and may end up negatively affecting jobs status. There are people of color that have higher education but occupy entry-level positions, and it does not seem that their education is valued in the same way as white staff, who seem to have greater mobility within the organization.11 Volunteers are resistant to understanding and providing culturally competent services – they often get frustrated with non-English speakers. There have been instances where staff members used harmful language to refer to the racial/ethnic background of a client or other staff members. Examples included “colored” and “oriental”. Board members have been known to say racist comments to an employee of color, and it is generally thought that board members are not conscious of what they say. There are stereotypes and judgments made about staff and clients, based upon their race or ethnicity. Assumptions are made about who clients are and what they might need in terms of race/gender/religion, etc. People still say “Merry Christmas” and “God bless you”, without considering that these are agent membership phrases.12 Some Senior Services shuttle drivers are people of color, and are treated less fairly by management. For example, in cases where drivers serve the communities of their own cultural background, if there is an issue that arises they are expected to take the “Senior Services” stance, rather than represent their community or try to meet their needs. Management doesn’t see that Senior Services could mesh procedures with cultural needs, and that drivers could represent both their community and the organization.

d) The way information is disseminated through the organization • Office culture is based on ‘white culture’, and supports white communication styles in terms of emails, grammar, speed, efficiency, time, etc. • Most diversity comes from ‘lower paid jobs’, and ‘lower paid jobs’ tend not to use email as a main tool of communications. Since dissemination of information is mostly through email, staff of color are less likely to receive organizational information. • Not a lot of thought is put into including everyone in the passing of information. Especially in terms of the Cultural Competence Initiative, people may be more committed to involvement if they knew the organizations’ long term plan. 11

Unfortunately, due to limited data and time, it was not possible to further research education-level or quality and previous years experience in the aging field when analyzing the different wages and pay grades staff members hold. This is an important area for further research. 12 According to Leticia Nieto’s model, within the category of religion agent members can be Cultural Christians, Agnostics, or Atheists.

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•

•

Leadership really needs to get the word out to people of color within the community when roles and positions are open, especially for leadership openings. It doesn’t seem to be happening now. Executive Director Denise Klein expressed that she puts a lot of effort into recruiting people of color into managerial positions – it is a priority of hers. However, many staff members seem unaware of this. There may be more trust in upper management if upper management really communicated to staff members how they are actively committed to the Cultural Competence Initiative.

e) The way decisions are made? • Board Members seem to be recruited as friends of current board members, and the current board is primarily white. Since members are chosen in this manner, and based upon their ability to financially support the organization and bring in other funding because of their status, it seems as though Board Members are rarely chosen because of their values or life experience and the board remains very culturally and demographically ‘white’ and like-minded. • The body that makes major decisions changed from the “senior management team” to “the leadership team”, which broadened and included anyone who supervises people, in effect including more staff of color, and most decisions are now made through this team now. However, it often seems as though the cabinet (made up of VPs and the Executive Director) makes decisions in advance during their meetings, and in effect they shut the Leadership Team meetings down. • Similarly, another staff member noted that the agency is very un-bureaucratic and a lot of decisions are made informally, through social networks and people who have things in common and stick together, which tends to be the white upper-management and whomever they choose to include. • Certain positions get typed as “people of color” positions, and people of color are recruited for those positions. Since that recruitment does not happen for all the other positions, those are by default “white” positions. f)

Financial / Budget decisions are made? Senior Centers seem to be pitted against each other in fundraising, and Centers that serve a more diverse and historically less financially viable clientele are expected to compete with wealthier ones. • In a related manner, staff members remarked on salary disparities as a result of program differences – if a program does not have ample funding, it cannot afford to increase staff salaries like other programs. This disproportionately affects staff of color that tend to work in sites with more clientele of color. • It was also mentioned that Senior Services is hiring people of color at a lower salary than they deserve, and it is difficult for staff of color to get raises. (The issue of wage equity is further researched in the data analysis section of this project). • A lot of money is restricted by the donors, and if most donors are white, then you have white people determining how the money is spent to a certain extent. •

When interviewees were asked how they handled some of the above issues or situations, some of the responses included: •

Some staff members try to bring ‘perspective’ if there is an entry into the situation or conversation.

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• • •

One manager deals with situations by pointing out that the Cultural Competence Manager Negin wouldn’t have liked something that was said or done. It was often felt to be pointless to bring an issue up to management. Depending on the situation, some staff members will let people know they’re uncomfortable with what’s going on.

6. When interviewees were asked if they would be feel supported or not at work bringing up these issues, some of the main responses were: •

•

• •

•

“I would feel supported if I had a say in how the situation would be handled.” Staff members may not be as willing to bring up an issue if they don’t feel like they can be involved in the resolution. “I don’t feel supported by higher ups or by colleagues when I bring up instances of institutional racism. Excuses get made for it. The person who brings it up is expected to solve the problem, even when they are a Target of an –ism.” Many staff members felt they could bring issues up with Negin or a co-worker of the similar position level, but many would not bring an issue up with upper-management. There is support from supervisors and managers, and encouragement to go to Cultural Competence Committee meetings, but some staff don’t see a lot of action after managers have heard them out. One white staff member remarked that there seems to be an ideology that if you’re resistant, you’re racist, rather than understanding that managers may be thinking about the best way to deliver the initiative to their staff members and be most effective.

When asked “To what extent are structure, control, decision-making and accountability systems controlled exclusively or predominantly by white people?” the main responses included: • The organization is primarily controlled by white individuals who make up the large majority of upper management (this issue is further addressed in the data analysis portion of this project.) • Often it is mostly white staff that show up to all-agency meetings. Senior Services needs to ask why white staff are better able to come to these meetings; do they feel more welcomed? Do they have more flexible schedules? It is likely that having meetings downtown indirectly disadvantages people of color because it is more difficult for them to make it to the meetings due to the location and/or meeting times. • Recently there has been more accountability with having Negin as the Cultural Competence Manager. When asked “In what ways do white people have greater access to Senior Services and its programs than do people of color?” many responses dealt with the following issues: •

•

Language barriers are a huge issue. Senior Services needs more brochures translated to languages other than English, and other forms of communications, such as more bilingual direct service staff. They need a more diverse staff for clients to identify with. For people of color or immigrants, it’s much more difficult to access information, and they’re more hesitant because there isn’t complete understanding of what the services are there for. People of color are more likely to be low-income citizens, and low-income citizens don’t have as easy of access to services, transportation, asking for help, access to information, etc. than people with more financial resources.

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•

•

•

SHIBA representatives are not supposed to prepare client paperwork for them, but some immigrant clients really need SHIBA to help fill out the paperwork and application for them. Some paperwork is not translated into non-English languages, and the process to have it ‘officially’ translated takes a long time. Immigrant clients do not have access to information and resources like white/American clients, and some do not know how the systems work here. Technology may pose as barriers, especially for immigrants and people of color. Senior Services needs to address the question of how to get resources to minorities. The organization currently serves people who have the easiest access, which is more often than not, white Americans. Staff feel more comfortable working with clients like them, so there is not as much thought about how to best serve communities of color. At the two senior centers with a majority of staff of color, there are more clients of color, and this may be because they are more comfortable seeking services where the staff ethnically represent them, and services are more catered to them.

When asked “In what ways is Senior Services accountable or not to the people of color it employs or serves?” the general responses were that: •

• •

• •

There is no accountability, and there should be more accountability to people of color. Senior Services does not involve everyone like it should, program or agency wide. There is an effort to get more input from staff of color and clients of color, but this really depends upon the program area. There is not a comfortable space to be able to express a race and culture within the organization, although they are getting better by having events such as the People of Color gathering. They need to have more follow-up to trainings, and more personal follow-ups. The Cultural Competence Initiative is the main source of accountability now.

When asked “In what ways is Senior Services’ identity - it’s mission, purpose, underlying values and culture – designed to exclude or limit control and access by people of color?” some of the responses included the following ideas: •

•

When hiring Senior Services focuses too much on education and on number of years in the aging field, without it correlating to skills. They also focus only on highly educated volunteers and board members. The organization does not tolerate people with accents.

When asked “How are whites in the organization more privileged than people of color?” responses included the following topics: •

• •

White staff have all the higher paying jobs, the jobs with power. They have the ability to move easily through the organization, and are promoted easier. On the other hand, staff of color fill more of the lower paid, entry-level jobs (this issue is further researched in the data analysis portion of the project) When people you would go to for support in a conflict don’t look like you or have shared experiences of racism, that’s a disadvantage. It requires vulnerability. Whites have more privilege, can be loud or complain and be taken seriously without seeming threatening.

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•

One white staff member remarked that she sees herself reflected in the power structure. She’s comfortable, the job is flexible in schedule and workload, and since the organization has faith in her ability to do well, she is confident.

When asked “How does your race affect the decisions you make at work, and your relationships with people at work?” some responses were that: •

• •

White interviewees generally felt that their work was easier and more comfortable, because they operated primarily in a ‘white’ environment where their own racial group dictated the office culture. Generally people of color have closer relationships with people of color, and felt more comfortable with people in their same age/gender/ethnicity. Many of the white staff members interviewed are motivated to unlearn racism, so they have been consciously supportive of staff of color and the relationships they have with staff of color.

When asked “How much energy do you expend to be here at work, based on your race?” • Most white interviewees said it was easy to be white, because they have the choice of thinking about their race or not. Many imagined and had gleaned from conversations with people of color that people of color expend much more energy at work, based upon their race. • However, whites often think they’re surrounded by like-minded people, so they often say things without thinking about how offensive they’ll be. For an anti-racist white ally, that takes a lot of energy, but they recognize they still have the choice of expending energy. • Staff of color responded generally that they do expend energy at work, based upon their race, depending on the issue that arises and how they are able to deal with it. “There is a lot of deflecting and picking battles – it can be exhausting.” When asked “What has Senior Services done to address cultural incompetence and institutional racism?” here were some of the general points brought up: • • • •

• •

Having the Cultural Competence Committee Adding the Cultural Competency Statement to all emails and major documents.13 Holding the People of Color gathering. Changing the hiring policies and procedures to include cultural competence interviewing questions. However, some people feel there are changes to policies without genuine intention to change institutional racism. There’s always a way around the new policies. For example, applications now go through HR, which is a good intention, but some staff members question how effective new hiring policies are in getting more people of color. Building a common language through cultural competence trainings. Senior Services’ outward public commitment is very visible.

13

“At Senior Services we embrace the belief that cultural, social, and other differences should be respected and celebrated. We are building a staff team with extraordinary cultural competence and also providing that team with tools to positively address institutionalized racism. All our employees are responsible for providing and supporting a culturally competent work environment that will enrich our interactions with each other and our products and services. This provides the foundation for empowering our customers (primarily those who are aging and giving care to others) so their needs are justly represented and their desires amply fulfilled.”

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• • • • • • • •

• •

The Cultural Competence Initiative has been effective in making people of color willing to work here. Policies and procedures are getting better because of the Cultural Competence Initiative. Changing some organizational language - no longer have a ‘Christmas party’ but a Holiday Party. Hiring a long-term commitment Cultural Competence Manager. Cultural Competence Manager Negin opens up avenues of communications between upper management and staff of color that otherwise would not be there. The Cultural Competence Initiative has brought the sensitive subject of religion and cultural practices out. There is more sensitivity, curiosity. There is a lot happening downtown to address issues and bring new cultural perspective, but everyone is not successfully being reached. The Cultural Competence Initiative needs to meet staff members where they’re at, and not assume that all staff members are at the same level of understanding. Many site staff just think of it as “something downtown is working on”. Activities and trainings are set up for office workers, and less is being done to reach site locations and really work around the staff schedules there. Forming the Cultural Competence Committee.

When asked “What is the impact of these changes? Is it taken seriously?” interviewees gave the following responses: •

• • • •

At the downtown Seattle office the Cultural Competence Initiative seems to be taken more seriously, although the effects have not trickled down much to service delivery. Rather, there is more awareness-raising going on right now than anything else. There needs to be more participation across the organization as a whole – right now it is usually the same people participating. The agency needs to have a better vision of the initiative, and multiple trainings per year. There needs to be mandatory trainings for not only staff and board members, but volunteers as well. Sometimes it feels like changes lean too much on policy, and policy changes won’t change everything. The organization needs to look at how people are held accountable.

“What roles does Senior Services play in creating, fostering and reinforcing the internalization of racial superiority of white people?” •

•

Since the agency is largely made up of white staff, especially when it comes to decision-making positions, it sort of perpetuates the notion that white people are the ones responsible and capable of taking care of society. There are power dynamics about us ‘giving out’ – as though people are ‘lucky to have our services’.

When asked “What level(s) of the organization would be most effective at implementing changes that strengthen cultural competence and address institutional racism?” there were very diverse responses: •

Service delivery staff need tochange, and management needs to provide resources and support.

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• • • •

HR, The Board of Directors, and the VPs need to change, walk the talk, and become more diverse All levels of the organization are needed to be effective at creating change. There needs to be a bottom-up movement, and staff are going to have to demand change from management. It needs to be a sincere, top down approach and very top-supportive. Higher-ups need to be the driving forces.

When asked “How could your area of the organization affect change?” Some of the main responses involved the following topics: •

• • • • • •

Recruitment is a huge issue – there needs to be large efforts to recruit people of color into managerial, VP, and Board Member positions. This would have a huge impact. Employees, volunteers, and board members really need to be made aware that white privilege does exist. There needs to be more activities and trainings at site locations that take into account the unique schedules of workers in those areas. The organization needs to take a closer look at the communities it isn’t serving, and see who can be served more effectively. Try to recruit more volunteers of color and have a less white, male, upper-class volunteer base. There needs to be more sharing of best practices, info, etc. across programs and departments. Senior Services still needs to incorporate cultural competence exercises and/or discussions into all staff meetings.

Interview Conclusions There was a noticeable difference in the levels of participation and understanding between sites where the staff are predominately white, and downtown staff. Site staff do not seem as far along as downtown staff in their understanding and integration of the Cultural Competence Initiative, and often feel as though the initiative is something the downtown office does; one site manager noted that the majority of her staff are resistant to any activities or trainings around the Cultural Competence Initiative. In effect, site managers have a hard time trying to integrate the initiative into staff work and activities without losing a rapport with staff because of the uncomfortable nature of the work. It is important that site managers and other managers that face particular resistance from staff have strong support from the Cultural Competence Manager and Committee. Furthermore, it is important that managers relate the long-term nature of cultural competence work in a positive light, so that staff understand this is work cannot be avoided, and is a crucial component to Senior Services’ mission. Furthermore, some of the new policies designed to increase cultural competency have a negative affect on certain areas of the organization. For example, the panel interview process is hard on small programs and site locations when they need to fill an interview fast. (A detailed analysis of the hiring and interview process is included in the policies and procedures section.) In another hiring policy issue, one manager expressed feeling pressured to hire more staff of color, but HR is now ‘sanitizing’ resumes and cover letters so that hiring managers don’t know if an applicant is a person of color or not. The

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manager does not feel supported in bringing up these issues, and doesn’t get responses to some of her questions around this issue. Generally, many staff members expressed that they do not feel supported bringing up issues that relate to instances of institutional racism, and many feel upper management does not put their verbal commitment into action. One staff member expressed that communication is lacking in terms of how serious management is taking the longevity of the Cultural Competence Initiative. Many staff members feel that the Cultural Competence Manager leads the majority of the work, and they wondered at the time of interviews what will happen when the 2-year grant that funds the position expires. Will management continue to fund the position through other means? Will the work be continued in another manner? The long-term plan is not communicated to staff members, which could result in limited participation if staff members feel that the Initiative is not a long-term commitment. VI. Senior Services Policies and Procedures This section examines Senior Services’ policies and procedures and the ways that they may be institutionally racist and/or have a disproportionately negative impact on people of color. Hiring Policy and Procedures During several anonymous interviews with different Senior Services staff members, the hiring policies and procedures were identified as areas where institutional racism is evident. Many staff feel that the hiring practices result in having a majority white staff, where the higher-paid positions go primarily to white people. The Hiring Policy and Procedure Flow Chart demonstrates the hiring process, as well as the steps where institutional racism results in a system that does not result in equitable hiring. The blue squares depict steps in the hiring process, according to policy. The red squares depict issues that tend to arise due to certain policies. Note that the dashed red squares acknowledge where Senior Services is taking action to prevent the negative effects of institutional racism that play out in certain steps. Accordingly, in step A of the procedure, Senior Services has changed its policies so that positions that may have previously required minimum education levels can now exchange those education requirements for years of experience. This addresses the fact that our educational system is institutionally racist in many ways, and as a result people of color are less likely to have college education than white people.14 In step B, job openings are posted internally for 5 days, and if an applicant is chosen successfully, the opening is filled and never posted externally. Although this policy

14

According to a report released by the Applied Research Center called "Facing The Consequences”, data collected in a dozen school districts around the country confirms that public schools consistently fail to provide the same quality of education for students of color as for white students. If students of color are receiving a poorer quality of education than white students, then they will also be less likely to attend colleges and universities.

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demonstrates that Senior Services values existing employees and wants to reward good work with promotions and mobility throughout the organization, this policy is problematic for two main reasons. Since Senior Services is 80% white, the organization is less likely to increase diversity by primarily hiring with the organization. Furthermore, as demonstrated in the wages and positions analysis, staff of color are more likely to hold positions that do not have access to email or a computer, which is where the jobs are posted internally. It is up to the discretion of managers and other staff to inform them of opening. Therefore, it is less likely that they will learn about the opening and apply because they are not guaranteed to hear about it. In step C, external job postings are advertised depending on the budget of the hiring department. Therefore, if the budget is small a department may choose to only advertise in a couple mainstream advertising sources (Seattle times, Criagslist, etc.) and there may be less priority on targeting publications and forums where people of color are likely to have high exposure to the information. However, in 2008 and 2009 HR paid to have all positions advertised in NWColors, an online website publication geared towards audiences of color. Other free forums are used for postings that may reach people of color, such as the Mayor’s Office, King County Latino Network Group, and a Cultural Competence listserve. When the budget allows, advertisements may also be posted in the Northwest Asian Weekly, the Seattle Times, and other paid publications. Unfortunately it is difficult to monitor which forums result in most cost-effective way to inform people of color about job openings. Senior Services is moving towards improved data collection on this by asking how candidates they found out about the job in their first interview. In steps E and F, interviews are conducted by at least two panelists, who ask questions designed by the hiring manager, including at least one pre-approved cultural competence question from a list made available to staff. However, it is questionable how heavily the applicant’s answer to the question is weighted in the hiring decision. Although each interview answer is scored from 1 – 5 by the panelists, it is at the discretion of the hiring manager to weigh the answers accordingly. Currently there is no agency-wide minimum expected qualification for cultural competence questions. Furthermore, it is not required that each hiring panel have at least one panelist of color. Having at least one panelist of color could have a positive impact on applicants of color being hired. This does not necessarily reflect the idea that a panel of white staff are less likely to hire a person of color; rather, it could also be that an applicant of color may feel more comfortable if there is at least one other person of color in the panel, and in turn may feel more confident and perform better in the interview. The Seattle-based organization Solid Ground found that when they instituted this policy in 2003, they saw a significant increase in the number of people of color hired over the next year.15 The hiring procedure is streamlined by HR in order to prevent practices that may result in inequitable hiring. The ‘sanitization’ policy was a preventative measure put in place to ensure that managers do not discriminate or show bias based upon race, ethnicity, age, gender, sex, or religion when deciding who to interview or hire. During more than one interview there were instances brought up where in the past, an applicant was not interviewed or hired because of their race. Having HR streamline the process also works to keep track of how many applicants are not interviewed or hired, and why. The streamlining process does create a lengthier timeframe for hiring a new employee, which 15

Solid Ground Anti-Racism Case Study (A), University of Washington Electronic Hallway

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some staff members mentioned as issues during anonymous interviews. In an effort to promote equitable hiring practices, the process does take a longer time than it did when departments were in charge of their own hiring. Furthermore, during interviews some managers expressed frustration at the fact that because they do not know the race of applicants, they cannot make sure that they choose a culturally/racially diverse applicant pool for interviews.

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Hiring Policy & Procedure Flow Chart Job position becomes available and hiring manager sends a requisition form to HR, detailing the minimum requirements of the open position.

a

Senior Services makes an effort to substitute education requirements with experience requirements, when possible.

. HR posts the job internally for 5 days (as long as the position does not require technical skills or experience that most employees do not have – Nurse positions or Minor Home Repair Specialists are not posted internally for example)

b

c

Applications that meet the minimum requirements are ‘sanitized’ of any gender, race, ethnicity, age, or religious specific information, and are sent to the hiring manager to review.

d

Manager picks applicants to interview and sends interview questions, including one preapproved cultural competence question to HR, for the interview panel.

Chosen applicants are interviewed by at least 2 panelists, and their answers to questions are ranked on a scale of 1 – 5. There is usually a second interview for promising interviewees.

e

f

Interview scores are sent back to manager, for hiring decisions.

g

New employee is hired Criminal Background after passing the background check.

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If there are no qualified applicants, HR posts the position externally for at least 5 days.

This results in maintaining a fairly ‘white’ staff base.

Places of external postings depend on budget of hiring department to an extent. There is an effort to advertise in publications/sites that have exposure to people of color, but it is difficult to track which methods have the most efficient results.

There is no policy that requires at least one person of racial or other diversity on the panel. There is no policy on how rankings are weighted, so it is questionable how serious the answer to the cultural competence question is taken in the hiring decision.

If interviews were with internal applicants and manager is not satisfied, they may request HR to post the job opening externally.

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Background Checks Senior Services requires a background check for all staff members and volunteers, for the primary purpose of ensuring that client and staff/volunteer safety is maintained at all times – undoubtedly an important step in the hiring process. However, some staff members have suggested that this policy can have a disproportionately negative impact on applicants of color, due to the institutional racism that pervades our criminal justice systems. For example, a person of color is much more likely to be arrested and convicted for a non-violent crime, such as drug possession, than a white person.16 As a result, a person of color is more likely to have a criminal record for crimes that may not have an impact on their ability to perform their job at Senior Services well, but they may not be allowed to work for the organization. This issue was raised during more than one anonymous staff interview; however, the HR department says that criminal backgrounds are considered on a case-by-case basis, so applicants still have a chance, given the nature of their background. There seems to be a disconnect with the policy, and the procedure that actually takes place, according to some of the staff members I spoke with. Holidays Currently, Senior Services provides employees 11 paid holidays. o o o o o o o o o o o

New Years Day MLK day (3rd Monday in January) President’s day Memorial Day Independence day Labor Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Day Day after Thanksgiving Christmas Day One Personal Floating Holiday

Currently, ten of Senior Services’ eleven paid holidays are traditional “American” holidays that immigrants and many people of color may not consider a holiday. For example, Senior Services closes its office on Christmas day and the majority of staff do not have the option of taking another day off in place. There are many other days that could be holidays to immigrant staff and staff of color, yet they are only allowed one personal holiday per year. Overall, the holiday policy does not allow flexibility of holidays off. To address this issue, Senior Services created a Holiday Committee. The Holiday Committee asked all staff members to complete a survey (Appendix C) in order to find out how much interest there would be in being able to ‘exchange’ an official holiday for a different personal holiday, so that staff may work on government holidays, but take off more personal holidays. The feedback from the survey is still being assessed, and further information is being gathered. 16

For example, according to Justice Works, in Seattle African Americans account for 8% of the population. However, 57% of the drug arrests are black while they are only 7% of the drug users. This is an arrest rate of 22 times greater than whites. http://www.justiceworks.info/

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Personal Appearance According to Senior Services Personal Appearance policy, employees “are expected to maintain a neat, clean appearance while working. As an employee, you must dress appropriately for the job.” If staff have any questions concerning what is and is not appropriate dress, they are advised to ask their supervisor. Because Senior Services upper management is comprised of primarily white staff, this means that white staff are primarily determining what ‘appropriate dress’ for the job is. Members from different cultures may have very different ideas of what is appropriate, and it is important that Senior Services maintains a flexible interpretation that is inclusive of cultural differences. Problem Resolution Senior Services Problem Resolution policy “encourages discussion and dialogue between employees and their supervisors.” If a problem cannot be resolved in this fashion, employees are to bring the issue to HR or their governing VP and up the ‘chain of command’ so to speak, until the matter is resolved. Several employees admitted during anonymous interviews that they are not comfortable at all bringing problems up to their superiors, especially if the problem relates to an instance where institutional racism or a lack of cultural competence is involved. Often staff members in particular do not feel comfortable bringing issues up to their supervisors. The Problem Resolution policy is often seen as ineffective or uncomfortable for employees, especially if a staff of color is expected to resolve a problem by speaking with a white supervisor who does not havea record of understanding and responding to institutional racism. Customer Grievance Process The Customer Grievance Process Policy in the Administrative Manual states that should a grievance occur: “1. The customer is encouraged to discuss the problem with the person directly responsible for the program which provides the service. The goal is to resolve the problem in an amicable and timely manner at this level. 2. Should dissatisfaction continue, the customer is informed of the agency’s grievance procedure. In the following order: a. Call or write the supervisor of the program or center b. Call or write the manager that oversees the program or center c. Call or write the CEO of the agency” However, if the customer has a grievance related to culturally competent services, discussing the issue directly with the person responsible for the program may not be the most effective remedy, and many clients may therefore chose not to say anything at all. Should the customer be a person of color, taking the issue up the often ‘white’ chain of command may also be uncomfortable for the client. Non-Discrimination in Service Delivery, Contracting and Business Practices The Non-Discrimination in Service Delivery Policy states that “Senior Services shall not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, marital status, family status….etc. Specifically, Senior Services will not…2. Provide any person with facilities, services, financial aid or other benefits which are different, or are provided in a different form from that provided

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to others under the program or activity and …6. Deny any person any opportunity to participate in a program or activity as an employee.” While this policy is well intentioned, it does not recognize the fact that Senior Services may need to provide more or different programs/services to people of color, based on a heightened need. Furthermore, Senior Services holds valuable gatherings and meetings for employees of color, and part 6 of this policy indicates that this should be against policy, when in fact these meetings are an important component of the Cultural Competence Initiative. Professional Service Contracts There is no policy or language that requires agencies with Senior Services contracts to comply with the Senior Services’ Cultural Competence Statement. More than one staff member brought this up during anonymous interviews, and felt that in effect Senior Services allows culturally incompetent services to be carried out. VII. Organizational Data Analysis The data analysis portion of my research explores the following areas: -

Diversity of clients served by Senior Services Diversity of Senior Services staff members Employment patterns of Senior Services staff members Senior Services staff member wages and tenure

Data was collected from Senior Services’ Human Resources department, and it is important to note that some data sources may have slightly different numbers, depending on when the data was collected. For example, data on how many staff members are currently employed at Senior Services may vary slightly in different analyses, depending on the source used and when that data was collected. Nevertheless all data was collected in either the last quarter of 2008 or the first quarter of 2009, and thus numbers only vary slightly, which should not affect the conclusions of the analyses. Diversity of clients served by Senior Services Graph 1 below illustrates the percentage of people of color served by Senior Services in 2007, in comparison to the percentage of people of color in King County over the age of 64. Senior Services’ 2008 program-use information was not ready before the analysis began. Data was gathered from Senior Services’ Agency Demographic Source Data, and the 2000 census data, as this is still the most accurate source of demographics data for King County. The census data age groups were broken into the following categories: Under 18, 18-64, 65-74, and 75+. Therefore I only looked at the King County demographics of the population above 64 years old. Senior Services does serve citizens younger than 65 years old, but this was the best way I could look at the demographics of King County’s aging population and compare them to the clients Senior Services serves.

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It is important to recognize that a program is not expected to serve the exact proportion of people of color that make up the proportion of people of color living in King County. A program may ‘under-serve’ or ‘over-serve’ a community of color for various reasons. For example, Seattle has a strong base of organizations that serve the Asian and Pacific Islander communities, so it may be the case that Senior Services is serving a small portion of King County’s Asian and Pacific Islander communities because their needs are better met elsewhere. On the other hand, some Senior Services programs may particular serve people of color because there is a heightened need for aging services in certain communities. For example, in King County older African Americans and multiracial residents have significantly higher rates of disabilities than other racial groups.17 Furthermore, as demonstrated in Graph 2 below, African Americans over the age of 65 have the highest poverty rates among elders in King County, followed by Asian/Pacific Islanders and Hispanics/Latinos. Graph 1

Clients Served by Program, Compared to Demographics of King County

Ki ng C

ou Ad n ul Al t D TO ty l S ay T A en H L io ea r C lt en h t Co Ho S ers H m m Se mu esh IBA ni n ar or ity in g R Pr igh Din i o t n M ject s As g ea E s . ls nh .. on an M In fo ob Wh ce r W ma ile M eel at tio a s er n rk Co & e t ns Ass er ... M v in or Ca atio H o re n m giv Ki e R er Tr nsh epa an ip ir s p Ca o r re t Ou atio tre n ac h

100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0%

People of Color

White

As demonstrated in graph 1, 27.3% of King County’s population over the age of 64 is comprised of people of color. In total, 21.2% of Senior Services’ clients are people of color. Thus, it is possible that Senior Services is under-serving King County’s communities of color. Of the 254 clients served in the Adult Day Health program, only 6.3% are people of color, which is the program serving the smallest percentage of people of color. The Meals on Wheels program served 657 clients in 2007, and 29.3% of those clients were people of color. Meals on Wheels is serving a slightly higher percentage of people of color than the percentage of King County made up of people of color. The Senior Outreach program, which has traditionally served the African American community, serves 623 clients and the largest percentage of people of color at 76.9%. Appendix D contains the percentage of people of color being served by each program in 2007.

17

ADS Area Planning on Aging 2008-2011, page 20

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18

Graph 2, Percentage of 65+ King County Population Below Poverty Rate, by Race/Ethnicity

18

ADS Area Planning on Aging 2008-2011, page 24

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The purpose of the comparison is to demonstrate how programs are serving specific communities of color. This allows Senior Services to begin understanding where certain programs may or may not be meeting the needs of certain communities, and look into the reasons why that may be occurring. Graph 3 below reveals the different ethnic/racial groups that Senior Services’ programs are serving, in comparison to the demographics of King County. Again, Appendix D contains the number and percentage of clients from each racial/ethnic group being served by all programs.19 Graph 3

Clients Served by Program, Compared to King County Demographics 100% White

80%

Hispanic/Latino

60%

Other/Multiracial

40%

Asian/Pacific Islander

20%

Native American African American

Kin g

Co un TO ty Tr Ou T an t AL s re M K port ach ino in at r H ship ion om C W e R are Inf ate o r r C C a ep a m o re ir at ns gi ion er ve A va r M ssis tion M obi tan ea l e c e Se l Co nio Pr s on Mar m r oj W ke m Rig ec h t u n h t E ee ity ts nh ls Di Ass an nin ist ce g an Ho and ce m N. e S .. Al ha lS rin en Ad io SH g ult r C IBA D a en t y H ers ea lth

0%

As mentioned above, comparing the demographics of Senior Services’ clients to King County’s demographics does not directly indicate whether or not members of a population are accessing quality services they need. Graph 4 below is a general comparison of all Senior Service clients served and the clients served by King County’s Aging and Disability Services (ADS) in 2007. ADS operates and funds programs that support King County’s aging populations in need of services. By comparing the ethnic and racial diversity of clients that Senior Services serves to the clients supported through ADS, we have a good idea of which communities Senior Services may be over or under serving, based upon need. Accordingly, it is clear that ADS serves a much larger percentage of Asians/Pacific Islanders than Senior Services, and a slightly larger percentage of all other non-white races. Where Senior Services’ clientele is 64% white, ADS’ clientele is only 49% white.

19

The “Other/Multiracial” group includes clients that identified as more than one race, or marked “other” and therefore it is unknown how they identify, but it can be assumed they are a person of color because they did not mark “White”.

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Graph 4

Comparison of Client Diversity 80% 60%

49%

40% 20%

ADS

2% 2% Unknown

4% 2%

White

10% 9%

Other/Multiracial

American Indian/Alaskan Native

0%

7% 1%

Black/African American

2%

Hispanic/Latino

13% 15%

20%

Asian/PI

% of clients served

64%

Senior Services

Diversity of Clients and Staff by Senior Center This section further explores the diversity of clients served, by Senior Centers in particular. This analysis compares the ethnic and racial diversity of clients to the demographics of the surrounding areas, called ‘catchment’ areas. Demographics of each Senior Center’s catchment area were gathered in 2007. The catchment area is comprised of the zip codes surrounding the Senior Center, and the racial/ethnic demographics of the aging population living in those zip codes, according to 2000 census data. Accordingly, the racial and ethnic demographics of the clients served by each Senior Center in 2007 are compared to the demographics of the surrounding area, to further investigate where certain populations may be over or under-served. Again, a simple comparison does not directly tell us if Senior Centers are over or under-serving certain populations. Rather, the comparison can be used as a jumping-off point for further research as to why a certain population may comprise a large or small percentage of clients served. This analysis looks at the racial/ethnic demographics of Senior Center staff members as well, and diversity of staff members is further discussed in the following section. In Graph 5 below we see that 11% of the aging population in Northshore Senior Center’s catchment area is comprised of people of color, yet only 2.6% of Northshore’s clients are people of color. Graph 6 breaks down the racial/ethnic demographics of the people of color served by Northshore and living in the area. In particular the Asian population is underserved, and the multiracial, African American, and Hispanic/Latino populations are slightly underserved as well. Only 2 of the 46 employees are people of color, both multiracial. Thus, neither the clientele nor the staff are as diverse as the geographic area.

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Graph 5

Northshore Senior Center (Whites and People of Color) 100%

2.6%

4.3%

96.3%

95.7%

11.0%

80% 60% 89.0%

40%

People of Color

20%

White

0% Area Demographics

Clients

46 Employees

Graph 6

Northshore Senior Center (Specific Ethnicities of People of Color) 2.0%

0.7%

2.0% 1.0%

0.4%

6.0%

1.5%

Multiracial 4.3%

Hispanic/Latino African American Asian

Area Demographics

Clients

46 Employees

In Graph 7 below, we see that the Central Area Senior Center serves a larger percentage of people of color than the area’s demographics. However, this does not necessarily mean that the Senior Center is over-serving people of color. Until recent years the Central Area was primarily home to a large African American community. In recent years gentrification has seen a large percentage of the African American community move from the area. It could be that the Central Area Senior Center is still a community gathering point for many of the African American elders who were either from the area, or see the Senior Center as a culturally welcoming place. 68.7% of the Central Area Senior Center’s clients are African American, even though only 25% of the area’s elderly population is comprised of African Americans. Furthermore, there is a large elderly Asian population (25%) living in the area, yet only 3% of the Senior Center’s clients are Asian. The area also has a small Pacific Islander and Hispanic/Latino community that are not being served. The small staff is primarily African American and reflects the client base. However, as discussed further in this paper, it is not necessarily a goal that staff ethnically or racially reflect the clients.

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Graph 7

Central Area Senior Center (Whites and People of COlor) 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0%

61.0%

78.8%

75.0% People of Color

41.0% Area Demographics

19.2%

25.0%

Clients

4 Employees

White

Graph 8

Central Area Senior Center (Specific Ethnicities of People of Color)

4.0%

5.1% 1.0%

2.0%

Multiracial

2.0%

Pacific Islander

25.0% 75.0%

68.7%

Hispanic/Latino

28.0% 3.0% Area Demographics

Native American/Alaskan

Clients

African American 4 Employees

Asian

Graphs 9 and 10 below show the racial/ethnic demographics of the Ballard/Northwest Senior Center. The senior center’s client base is 14.5% people of color, which is slightly higher than the percentage of aging people living in the area, at 10%. Furthermore, the ethnic/racial communities served by the senior center well represent the demographics of the area, serving the Asian, African American, Native American, multiracial, and Hispanic/Latino populations. The small staff base is all white.

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Graph 9

Northwest Senior Center (Whites and People of Color) 100%

10.0%

14.5%

91.0%

85.1%

80% 60% 40%

100.0% People of Color

20% White

0% Area Demographics

Clients

3 Employees

Graph 10

Northwest Senior Center (Specific Ethnicities of People of Color) 0.9% 1.0% 3.5%

Multiracial

1.0%

3.1%

Native American/Alaskan

4.0%

6.6%

Area Demographics

Clients

2.0% 2.0%

Hispanic/Latino African American Asian 3 Employees

At Shoreline Senior Center, 18% of the clients are people of color, which is just slightly higher than the area’s percentage of aging people of color, at 15%. The Senior Center serves a slightly more diverse community than is represented by the catchment area as well, although the Hispanic/Latino and African American communities are slightly ‘underserved’. The Senior Center has one staff member of color out of nine.

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Graph 11

Shoreline Senior Center (Whites and People of Color) 100%

15.0%

18.0%

11.0%

86.0%

81.1%

89.0%

80% 60% 40%

People of Color

20%

White

0% Area Demographics

Clients

9 Employees

Graph 12

Shoreline Senior Center (Specific Ethnicities of People of Color) 2.0% 2.0%

1.0%

1.0% 0.5%

0.5% 1.4%

Multiracial 0.9%

9.0%

12.4%

Area Demographics

Clients

Pacific Islander 11.0%

Native American/Alaskan Hispanic/Latino African American

9 Employees

Asian

The Sno Valley Senior Center serves 7% people of color, which is slightly higher than the catchment area’s aging population of 4% people of color. The clients of color served are Hispanic/Latino and African American, although the people of color living in the catchment area are primarily multiracial, Asian, and Hispanic/Latino. The small multiracial community in the area may include the Native American population in the area, which appears to be underserved. There are no staff members of color working at the Sno Valley Senior Center.

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Graph 13

Sno Valley Senior Center (Whites and People of Color) 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0%

4.0%

7.0%

94.0%

90.1%

100.0% People of Color White

Area Demographics

Clients

12 Emplolyees

Graph 14

Sno Valley Senior Center (Specific Ethnicities of People of Color) 2.0% 1.0%

3.0% Multiracial Hispanic/Latino 4.0%

African American

1.0%

Asian Area Demographics

Clients

12 Emplolyees

As demonstrated in Graphs 15 and 16 below, The Southeast Senior Center’s client base is 46.7% people of color, which is lower than the percent of aging people of color living in the area at 66%. Only 10.7% of the clientele is Asian, although the aging population living in the area is 35% Asian. On the other hand, the 33% of the clientele base is African American, although the aged population living in the area is only 22% African American. As discussed before, this does not necessarily mean that the Senior Center needs to focus on serving more Asians and less African Americans, but it is a pattern that warrants further research. It may be the case that elder Asians in the community are having their needs met by another agency, and that African Americans in the area have a heightened need for the center’s services. As with the Central Area Senior Center, the race/ethnicity of the staff base well represents the diversity of the clients.

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Graph 15

Southeast Senior Center (Whites and People of Color) 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0%

46.7%

66.0%

57.1% People of Color

53.4%

35.0% Area Demographics

Clients

42.9%

White

7 Employees

Graph 16

Southeast Senior Center (Specific Ethnicities of People of Color) 4.0% 3.0%

1.0%

22.0%

1.0% 1.0%

1.0% 33.0%

Pacific Islander

28.6%

Native American/Alaskan

10.7%

14.3%

Hispanic/Latino

Clients

7 Employees

35.0% Area Demographics

Multiracial 14.3%

African American Asian

At the Senior Center of West Seattle Senior Center 10% of the clients are people of color, in comparison to the area’s aged population being 16% people of color. The senior center serves an Asian population of 7%, although there are few Asians in the area. This Hispanic/Latino community is well represented in the Senior Center, although the African American, Pacific Islander, and multiracial communities are slightly underrepresented. Two of the 8 staff members are African American.

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Graph 17

Senior Center of West Seattle (Whites and People of Color) 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0%

16.0%

10.0%

85.0%

89.5%

25.0% People of Color

75.0%

White Area Demographics

Clients

8 Employees

Graph 18

Senior Center of West Seattle (Specific Ethnicities of People of Color) 0.8% 3.0%

1.0%

0.4% Multiracial

3.4% 1.0%

0.8%

Pacific Islander 25.0%

2.0% 7.0%

Hispanic/Latino

2.0% Area Demographics

Native American/Alaskan

African American Clients

8 Employees

Asian

Overall, the client, staff, and area demographics data for each Senior Center demonstrate a mixture of results, where in some cases Senior Centers under-serve people of color and have a staff base that is less racially/culturally diverse than the area’s demographics. Other Senior Centers may serve a clientele base that overrepresents the demographics of a racial/cultural community living in that area. However, as discussed in the introduction of this section, this does not automatically imply that a community is being over-served.

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Senior Services Staff Ethnic/Racial Diversity This section explores the ethnic/racial diversity of Senior Services staff members, and the positions staff members hold. As of February 2009, Senior Services has 247 staff members. 197 are white, 17 are Asian/Pacific Islander, 25 are African American, 4 are Hispanic/Latino, 2 are multiracial, and 2 are American Indian/Native Alaskan. Graph 19

Racial Diversity of Senior Services Staff Hispanic/Latino 2% Black/African American 10% Asian/Pacific Islander 7%

Multiracial 1% American Indian/Native Alaskan 1%

White 79%

Currently, Senior Services has 12 staff members who speak a language other than English, and directly work with clients. Seven of those staff members have fluent command of a non-English language, and the languages spoken include: French, German, Spanish, Lamet, Thai, Khmu, Hmong, Laotian, Ilocano, Phangasinan, Korean, and Bolinao. Each of the Asian languages are spoken by one of four Senior Services staff members. Senior Services clients would most likely benefit by having more staff members that speak other non-English languages. Graph 20 below compares the percentage of people of color working at Senior Services to the percentage of people of color over the age of 18 in King County. The idea is not for Senior Services’ staff to exactly reflect the racial diversity of the County, but rather to get a general idea of how diverse the staff is. It would be too simplistic that the percentage of Senior Services staff by race/ethnicity should match exactly the percent of the population of King County by race/ethnicity. Rather this is a starting point for understanding how diverse the staff is in comparison to the populations of the area. Senior Services’ staff base has a slightly higher percentage of white people than the population of King County, at 79.4% and 76.2% respectively.

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Graph 20

Comparison of Senior Services Staff Diversity 100.00% 80.00%

76.20% 79.4%

60.00% 40.00%

/A l

n/ PI

er ic an

M ul

As ia

as ka n

l ac ia tir

tin ic /L a an

King County 2006

Am

H is p

k/ Af ric an

Am

W hi

er ic an

te

0.00%

o

13.40% 7.1% 6% 10.3% 6.40% 1.6% 3.40% 1.2% 1% 0.4%

20.00%

N at

Bl ac

iv e

Senior Services

Graph 21 below shows the percentage of staff of color working in the different Senior Services site locations. Graph 21

Staff of Color Within Departments 75.0%

80.0% 57.0%

60.0%

25.0% 11.0%

4.0% SC of WEST SEATTLE

CENTRAL AREA SC

0.0% SOUTHEAST SC

SNO VALLEY SC

DOWNTOWN

0.0%

WAREHOUSE (MHR, MOW & TRANSPORTATION

0.0%

NORTHWEST SC

20.0%

BALLARD/ NORTHSHORE SC

20.0%

SHORELINE SC

40.0%

45.0%

The blue bars indicate a site where there is a smaller percentage of staff of color than there is in the King County area - under 23.8% people of color. The orange bars indicate a site location where there is a higher percentage – over 23.8% people of color. 20% (19/95 staff members) of the downtown office is staff of color, 11% (1/9 staff members) of Shoreline Senior Center, 0% of Sno Valley Senior Center, 0% of Northwest Senior Center, and 4% (2/48 staff members) of Northshore Senior Center. The sites that have a larger percentage of staff of color are the Warehouse at 45% (13/29 staff Page 46 of 121

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members), Southeast Senior Center at 57% (4/7 staff members), Vashon Maury Senior Center at 33% (1/3 staff members), Central Area Senior Center at 75% (3/4 staff members), and West Seattle Senior Center at 25% (2/8 staff members). Graph 22 below demonstrates what may be driving the percentages we see above in Graph 21. The positions where a larger percentage of staff are ethnically/racially diverse are positions such as craft workers, drivers, laborers & helpers, and service workers. There is a smaller percentage of diversity in positions that tend to have higher wages, such as executives, managers, professionals, and administrative staff to an extent. This difference in ethnic/racial diversity across positions and sites will be further explored in the section below that looks at pay grades and wages of staff members. It is important to pay attention to where staff of color are employed within the organization. For example, there is the largest percentage of staff of color in Senior Centers that have a high percentage of clients of color. Staff of color are an asset to all areas of the organization, and should not just be primarily placed in sites or programs where there is a large percentage of clients of color. Graph 22

Senior Services Diversity by Postion 100.0% 100.0% 80.0% 57.1%

60.0% 6.7%

15.8%

15.0%

20.0%

First/Mid Officials & Managers

Professionals

Administrative Suport

20.0%

Executive/Sr. Officials/Managers

40.0%

26.7%

23.1%

Service Workers (food, NA, AA)

Laborers & Helpers

Operatives (drivers)

Craft Workers

0.0%

Graph 23 below shows another comparison of Senior Services staff member ethnic/racial diversity. Solid Ground is a local human services organization in Seattle that works to eliminate poverty and prejudice within the community. Solid Ground has been actively working to undo institutional racism within the organization for several years, and in many ways has been a model for Senior Services.

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Graph 23

Comparison of Senior Services and Solid Ground Staff Diversity 79.4%

80.0%

66.9%

60.0%

Senior Services Solid Ground

40.0%

/P I As ia n

an /A l.. .

Am

er ic

o

N

at iv e

H

Bl ac k/ Af ric an

is pa

Am

W

hi te

er ic an

0.0%

M

20.0%

ul tir ac ia l

10.7% 10.3%16.5% 7.1% 3.6% 1.6% 1.2%0.0% 0.4% 2.3%

ni c/ La tin

Percent Staff

100.0%

As demonstrated in Graph 23, Solid Ground’s 478 member staff base is more ethnically/racially diverse than Senior Services. Where Senior Services is 79.4% white, Solid Ground is only 66.9% white, and there is a higher percentage of staff of color from each ethnic/racial group, except with multi-racial staff. Because Solid Ground categorizes their positions differently it was impossible to compare how ethnicity/race varied across positions between the two organizations. However, Graph 24 below does demonstrate that ethnic/racial staff diversity at Solid Ground is also more well-distributed across all position categories. Graph 24

Solid Ground Diversity by Position 50.0%

44.6%

44.4%

38.3%

40.0%

33.1%

28.6%

25.7%

30.0%

21.2%

23.3%

20.0% 10.0%

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ta l To nc y

ov er ni ng G

Ag e

Bo ar d

er O th

er ic al Cl

l na

Pa ra pr of es si o

Te

ch n

ica l

na l Pr of es sio

M an

ag

er ia

l

0.0%

K. Palzer Degree Project

Although this analysis only examines staff diversity, it is important to look at volunteer and board member diversity as well, as this can have an impact on the ability for Senior Services to build cultural competence. During more than one anonymous interview it was mentioned that Senior Services volunteer base tends to be very ‘white’, and that volunteers often do not interact with clients in the most culturally appropriate manner. In terms of board member diversity, Senior Services has been directly impacted by the lack of ethnic/racial diversity. In 2008 one of Senior Services major funders, Aging and Disability Services (ADS) reduced Senior Services funding by $90,000. One of the reasons stated for this reduction was due to the lack of ethnic/racial diversity on Senior Services Board of Directors. This is just one example of how lack of diversity can directly have a negative impact on Senior Services’ ability to provide valuable services. Senior Services Staff Employment Patterns The following section examines Senior Services employment patterns in the year 2008. Unfortunately, I was unable to look at employment patterns over a longer period of time because prior hiring and terminations records did not have details on race/ethnicity. The purpose of the this analysis was to look at the current ethnic/racial diversity of Senior Services staff members, as well as the hiring and termination patterns over the year 2008. Unfortunately, there was a coding problem with the hiring and terminations data. In the middle of 2008 the ethnicity coding system used by the Human Resources department changed, and this may account for the issue that arose.20 It is likely that future coding will be accurate, given that the coding system probably will not change for a while.

20

The numbers assigned to each ethnicity changed from the old system to the new system in 2008. In the spreadsheet that documents each hired and terminated staff member’s ethnicity in 2008 the numbers from the new system were entered in a way that was supposed to differentiate them from the old system. However, when analyzing the old and new coding system ethnicities the results show staff demographics that are inaccurate. For example, 22 Hispanics/Latinos being hired in and 21 being terminated in 2008. These numbers are much too large, and led me to believe some ethnicities were coded as Hispanic/Latino due to a coding mix-up when the system changed from the old system to the new system.

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Graph 25

188

60 48 11 3

Native American/Alaskan

Multiracial

1

5

1

1 1 Other

3

Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

2221 3 Hispanic/Latino

7 5

Asian

24

Black/African American

200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

White

Number of Employees

Employment in 2008

Employee Ethnicities Employees Beginning 2008

Hires

Terminations

Graph 25 above demonstrates the number of employees who worked at Senior Services in the beginning of 2008, the number of employees hired throughout the year, and the number terminated throughout the year. Unfortunately the graph is incorrect due to the ethnicity coding discrepancy mentioned above. According to the data, 22 Hispanics/Latinos were hired and 21 were terminated in 2008. This number is much too high to be accurate, because there was no where near 22 Hispanics/Latinos hired or terminated in 2008.. Unfortunately this means that the inaccuracy in the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity category probably affected the accuracy of some of the other race/ethnicity categories due to the coding discrepancy. As a result, it is not possible to know for sure how many employees in each ethnicity/race category were hired and terminated. Nevertheless, the purpose of the analysis is an important one and could be further examined by HR or managers. Senior Services should look to see how diverse their staff is, and at what frequency different ethnic groups are hired and terminated. Graph 26 below displays the partial results of an analysis that looked at the reasons staff members left Senior Services in 2008. However, these results are not totally accurate for two reasons. The first reason relates to the coding issue explained above. Because the number of terminations for each ethnic/racial group are inaccurate, we cannot accurately relate the reasons staff left the organization to their race/ethnicity. Furthermore, where there was a single employee that represented an entire ethnic/racial group that left because they were ‘not a good match/terminated’, and it would have been easy for current employees to easily identify who that employee was, so they were taken out of the analysis.

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Graph 26

Reasons for Ending Employment in 2008 1

100% 90%

2 1

80% 70%

8

3

60% 50% 40%

13 Retired

2 5

Moving

1

Lay Off/Contract Ended

30% 20%

27

10

Medical Reasons

1

10% 0%

hi te W

er O th ia n/ As

c/ L an i H is p

No Reason/Resignation/Other Opportunities/Casual

Bl

ac k/ Af

ri c an

Am

er

at in o

ic an

Not Good Match/Terminated

Again, although the analysis was unable to provide meaningful conclusions, the purpose of the analysis is important and should be further examined by HR or managers in the future. Are staff members from certain ethnic/racial groups ending their employment for different reasons? Are certain staff members more likely to be hired as contract or casual workers, and therefore less likely to stay long-term? Are certain staff members viewed as ‘not a good match’ more often than others? The issue of staff tenure is related to this analysis, and is also explored further in this paper. The following section furthers the analysis of staff members by exploring wages and pay grades. Staff Member Wages and Pay Grades The analysis of staff member wages has two main components. One part of the analysis looked at what pay grades staff members of different ethnic/racial groups are situated in, across the organization. Senior Services has seven pay grades that each staff member falls under, depending on the job description. At the time of the analysis, employees could make the following wages per hour by pay grade: Grade 1: Grade 2: Grade 3: Grade 4: Grade 5: Grade 6 Grade 7:

Between $9.79 and $15.66 Between $12.24 and $19.58 Between $15.29 and $24.47 Between $19.12 and $30.59 Between $23.90 and $38.24 Between $29.87 and $47.80 Between $37.34 and $59.74

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Pay grades are assigned to positions, depending on the work involved, and employees begin making an hourly wage within their pay grade, over time increasing their pay as long as it does not exceed the maximum amount allowed in their pay grade. The starting point of the pay grade structure was Washington State minimum wage of $7.16 in January of 2004, with an adjustment each year to reflect the cost of living adjustment. The years 2005, 2006, and 2008 each experienced a 3% increase. Each grade has a spread of 60%, and there is a 25% incremental increase from the mid-point of one range to the mid-point of the next range. The pie graph below demonstrates the number of employees in each pay grade at the time of the analysis, and shows the distribution of staff in each pay grade across the organization. There were 91, or 36% of the organization’s staff members in pay grade1, 28 (11%) of the organization’s staff members in pay grade 2, 65 (26%) in pay grade 3, 44 (18%) in pay grade 4, 17 (7%) in pay grade 5, and six (2%) in pay grades 6 and 7. I combined pay grades 6 and 7 because pay grade 6 only includes five staff members (the Vice Presidents) and pay grade 7 only includes one staff member, the Executive Director. Graph 27 Number of Employees in each Pay Grade

17 6

1

44

91

2 3 4 5 6&7

65

28

Graph 28 below demonstrates the percentage of employees in each pay grade at the time of the analysis, in terms of white staff members and staff members of color. Pay grade 1, which has 91 staff members, is 57% white and 43% people of color. Pay grade 2, with 28 staff members, is 71% white and 29% people of color. Pay grade 3, with 65 staff members is 80% white and 20% people of color. Pay grade 4, with 44 staff members is 86% white and 14% people of color. Pay grade 5, with 17 staff members is 88% white and 12% people of color, and pay grades 6 & 7 are 100% white. The data demonstrates that the pay grade with the largest amount and highest percentage of people of color is the lowest pay grade, and with each pay grade the percentage of people of color decreases.

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Graph 28

Percentage of Staff Within Paygrades 100.00% 80.00% 60.00%

Whites

40.00%

People of Color

20.00% 0.00% Pay Grade 1 Pay Grade 2 Pay Grade 3 Pay Grade 4 Pay Grade 5 Pay Grade 6 ($9.79 ($12.24 ($15.29 ($19.12 ($23.90 - & 7 ($29.87 $15.66) $19.58) $24.47) $30.59) $38.24) - $59.74)

The next graphs compared wages of specific ethnic/racial groups of staff members within the organization. I grouped the ethnic groups into ‘white’, ‘African American’, and ‘Non-African American people of color’ because there is such a small number of nonAfrican American staff of color that it was hard to make comparisons when I got more detailed. The starkest difference in average wages was amongst white staff members and African American staff members. As demonstrated in Graph 29 below, from each pay grade we see a larger difference in the average wages of white staff members and African American staff members. Only in pay grade 1 do African American staff members (numbering 14) make slightly more ($0.24) more per hour on average than whites (numbering 69). In pay grade 2 African American staff members (numbering two) make $0.37 less per hour on average than white staff members (numbering 20). In pay grade 3 African American staff members (numbering five) make $0.57 less per hour on average than white staff members (numbering 52). In pay grade 4 African American staff members (numbering three) make $2.22 less per hour on average than white staff members (numbering 38). In pay grade 5 African American staff members (numbering two) make $3.27 less per hour on average than white staff members (numbering 15). There are no African American staff members in pay grades 6 or 7.

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Graph 29

Difference in Wages Along Paygrades $45.00 $40.40 $40.00 $35.00 $29.42 $26.15 $30.00 $22.57 $25.00 $20.35 White $18.33 $17.76 $20.00 $14.21$13.84 African Americans $15.00 $11.80 $12.04 $10.00 $5.00 $0.00 $0.00 Pay Grade 1 Pay Grade 2 Pay Grade 3 Pay Grade 4 Pay Grade 5 Pay Grade 6 ($9.79 ($12.24 ($15.29 ($19.12 ($23.90 - & 7 ($29.87 $15.66) $19.58) $24.47) $30.59) $38.24) - $59.74)

It is important to question these differences. The majority of African American staff members are in pay grade 1 – are African American staff members more likely to fill jobs that pay the lowest wages? Do the differences in wages have to do with tenure? If so, do wage discrepancies disappear when comparing staff with similar lengths of employment? Do white staff receive raises more frequently and if so, why? The next graph compares the average wages of white staff members and non-African American staff of color. As demonstrated in Graph 30 below, white staff members (numbering 69) and non-African American staff members of color (numbering 8) make nearly the exact same hourly wage on average, in pay grade 1. In pay grade 2, white staff members (20) make $2.37 less on average than non-African American staff members of color (6). In pay grade 3, white staff members (52) make $0.94 more on average than non-African American staff members of color (8). In pay grade 4, white staff members (38) make $2.29 less on average than non-African American staff members of color (3). There are no non-African American staff members of color in pay grades 5, 6, or 7. The largest percentage of non-African American staff members of color are Asian/Pacific Islander, and one of the reasons a few non-African American staff members of color may make a higher hourly wage than some whites could be that Asian/Pacific Islander staff tend to have the longest tenures at Senior Services, and therefore may be making the maximum amount within their pay grade, due to experience. Tenure is further discussed below, but this is something to be considered. Something managers should also question is the lack of non-African American people of color in pay grade 5 (pay grades 6 & 7 are all white, and this should be questioned as well.)

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Graph 30

Difference in W ages Along Paygrades $45.00 $40.00 $35.00 $29.42 $30.00 $24.86 $22.57 $25.00 $18.33 $17.39 $20.00 $14.21 $16.58 $15.00 $11.80 $11.76 $10.00 $5.00 $0.00 Pay G rade 1 ($9.79 $15.66)

Pay Pay G rade 2 Grade 3 ($12.24 - ($15.29 $19.58) $24.47) W hites

$40.40

Pay Pay Pay G rade 4 G rade 5 G rade 6 + ($19.12 - ($23.90 - ($29.87 $30.59) $38.24) $47.80)

Non African Am erican People of Color

Graph 31 below looks at the differences in average wages between non-African American staff members of color and African Americans. In pay grade 1, African American staff members (numbering 14) make $0.28 more per hour on average than the 8 non-African American staff members of color. In pay grade 2, the 6 non-African American staff members of color make $2.74 more per hour on average than the 2 African American staff members. In pay grade 3, the 5 African American staff members of color make $0.37 more per hour on average than the 8 non-African American staff members of color. In pay grade 4, the 3 non-African American staff members of color make $4.51 more per hour on average than the 3 African American staff members. Again, this comparison raises further questions similar to above. Graph 31

Differences in Wages Along Paygrades $26.15 $30.00 $24.86 $25.00 $20.35 $17.39$17.76 $20.00 $16.58 $13.84 $15.00 $11.76 $12.04 $10.00 $5.00 $0.00 Pay Grade Pay Grade Pay Grade Pay Grade Pay Grade Pay Grade 1 ($9.79 - 2 ($12.24 3 ($15.29 4 ($19.12 5 ($23.90 6+ $15.66) - $19.58) - $24.47) - $30.59) - $38.24) ($29.87 $47.80) Non-African American People of Color Page 55 of 121

African American K. Palzer Degree Project

The other part of the pay analysis looks at employees that share the same type of position within the same pay grade, and see if there is a pattern of differences in wages between staff of different ethnicities/races. Again, ethnicity/race groups were broken out into African American, Non-African American Person of Color, and White. In Table 1 below, the number in parenthesis indicates the number of employees working in that position. The dollar amount indicates the difference in wages that racial/ethnic group earns in comparison to the overall average earnings of all races/ethnicities in that position. The differences are shown instead of actual wages to protect staff from having their wages directly publicized. Any position where staff members were all from the same ethnic/racial group is not displayed, because there was no comparison to be made. Table 1

African American Pay Grade 1: $9.79 - $15.66 Client Services Rep. (1) $1.20 Custodian (1) - $1.60 Driver (3) $0.14 Food Prep Specialist (2) - $0.49 Warehouse (2) - $0.50 Assistant/Driver Nursing Assistant Security Guard (5) $0.62 Pay Grade 2: $12.24 - $19.58 Admin Asst I Site Coordinator (1) - $1.39 Pay Grade 3: $15.29 - $24.47 Admin Asst II (1) - $0.39 Advocate (1) $1.64 Coordinator (1) $1.04 Fitness Instructor Outreach Specialist (1) $2.31 Program Manager - Senior Center Pay Grade 4: $19.12 - $30.59 Assistant Director/Exec (1) - $0.63 Admin Asst Manager (1) - $3.81 Program Supervisor (1) - $1.86 Pay Grade 5: $23.90 - $38.24 Manager (1) - $3.12 Director (1) - $2.09

Non -African Am. POC

White

Total Average Wages

(1) - $1.21 (28) $0.01 (9) $0.19 (7) $0.24

$13.23 $12.10 $11.78 $10.99 $13.04

(1) - $1.32

(8) $0.17 (2) - $1.56

$12.32 $11.75

(1) $2.14 (1) $1.97

(6) - $0.36 (8) - $0.07

$13.41 $13.63

(1) $0.87 (2) $ - 0.89 (3) $0.02 (1) - $3.20

(10) - $0.05 (5) $0.02 (17) - $0.07 (1) $3.20 (4) - $0.58 (1) $1.64

$16.13 $18.34 $18.08 $18.65 $16.36 $19.13

(2) $0.31

$19.75

(5) $0.62 (2) - $0.54

$24.31 $23.31

(7) $0.44 (7) $0.30

$27.12 $30.38

(2) $0.80 (3) - $0.23 (1) - $0.74 (1) - $0.69

(1) - $1.65

(1) $0.69 (2) $1.48

According to the data above, there are 10 positions where African American staff on average earn less than the overall average wage within their position. There are 7 positions where non-African American staff of color on average earn less than the overall average wage within their position, and 8 positions where white staff on average earn less than the overall average wage within their position. It appears that African

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Americans see a slightly more instances where they make less on average than everyone that holds the same position as them. Nevertheless, it is difficult to draw conclusions about why there are differences in average wages of employees who share the same type of position, because we do not know all the factors that affect wages, such as tenure of each employee, prior experience, education, etc. However, the information above should be useful for managers who are aware of these factors, and may want to examine any differences in pay of their employees. The following section examines overall average tenure of employees at Senior Services. Average Months Worked of Current Employees Graph 32 uses February 2009 staff employment data to demonstrate on average, how many months current employees have worked with Senior Services. The idea behind the analysis is to see if certain ethnic groups are likely to stay longer periods of time as employees. Clearly there is a large difference in average tenure amongst different ethnic/racial groups, and it is important to question these differences. On average white staff currently employed at Senior Services have been there for 62.79 months. Asian/Pacific Islander staff on average have worked at the organization for 80 months, African Americans 44 months, and other people of color only 16 months. Are people of a certain ethnicity/race more likely to be hired into contract or casual jobs? Why? Are people of a certain ethnicity/race more likely to be terminated, or to quit because they are dissatisfied or do not feel comfortable working at Senior Services? It could also be that the tenure data reflects progress of the organization in hiring more staff of color in recent years. These questions could not be answered by this analysis alone, but Senior Services staff and managers should examine these issues, given the large difference in average tenures displayed below. Graph 32

Average Months Worked 90.00 80.28 80.00 70.00 Months Worked

61.79 60.00 43.73

50.00 40.00 30.00

16.16

20.00 10.00 0.00 White (197)

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Asian/Pacific Islander (17)

Black/African American (25)

Other People of Color (8)

K. Palzer Degree Project

VIII. Senior Services Cultural Competence Surveys One of the major components of my project was to help design an evaluation system that Senior Services could use to measure the progress of undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence over time. The goal was to create baseline that indicates a certain level of cultural competence, and then look at results over time, most likely administering the evaluation bi-annually. This can also help the organization identify specific areas of priority for trainings or other anti-racism/cultural competency work, and will also indirectly educate staff on areas of cultural competence work that they can participate in. Program Evaluation Manager Farlis Lewis, Cultural Competence Manager Negin Almassi and myself created three separate surveys: A Board Member, Staff Member, and Volunteer Member Cultural Competence Survey. Design All surveys were designed to take no more than 20 minutes, and will be administered through Survey Monkey, with hard copy versions made available for respondents who would find it easier to fill out a paper version. As of May 2009 the board survey has been administered and the staff and volunteer surveys will be administered at future dates. All three versions of the Cultural Competence Survey can be viewed in appendices D, E, and F. The survey is comprised of statements to which respondents have the option of answering “Strongly Disagree”, “Disagree”, “Agree”, “Strongly Agree”, or “Don’t Know”. Some questions allow for detailed examples or comments as they pertain to the question. In the beginning of the survey, respondents are informed that all results will be anonymous and confidential, and are instructed to answer with the response that best demonstrates their knowledge or opinion. Respondents are told that if they do not understand a question, or it does not apply to their work, to select "I don't know". There is no “Neutral” option because we want respondents to really think about how they would respond to the statement, rather than opt out. All three surveys were piloted with five to ten volunteers, staff members, and board members before finalization. Their feedback helped us make the surveys easier to understand, and more effective in the way questions were worded or arranged. Some survey questions are designed with the future in mind – in other words, we are not expecting the organization to be at a level that many questions refer to, but hopefully in time these questions will become more relevant as cultural competence increases within the organization. Although each survey is uniquely designed to address the type of work each group performs for Senior Services, the surveys are generally divided into 4 separate sections: Organizational Culture, Organizational Structure, Service Delivery, and Cultural Competence Initiative. Each section is explained below. The first sections of the surveys pertain to the organizational culture of Senior Services. Questions relate to the working environment of the organization, and how comfortable employees of color feel being themselves without having to alter their behaviors or work style, and how equitably they are treated. This section also contains questions related to how well white employees understand white privilege and how it benefits them in the organization. Certain questions can be used to gauge how prevalent institutional racism is within the culture of the organization, and some can be used to gauge how aware staff members are of it. For example, in the Staff Survey question number 5 states: “I expend energy at work, because of my race.” If the majority of people of color answered “strongly agree”, then this would be a strong indicator that staff members of color feel they have to work harder than white staff members to carry out their job. On the other

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hand, question number 3 states: “I feel that my race brings me inherent unearned advantages”. This is designed to gauge how well white staff members understand that they have certain privileges because they are white. It also indicates a level of cultural competence, because the more white staff members are aware of their white privilege, the more they can act to undo institutional racism in the organization. The second sections of the surveys pertain to the organization structure of Senior Services. The staff and volunteer member surveys contain this section, although the board member survey does not. The organizational structure section contains questions as they relate to structural components of the organization, such as policies, procedures, and participation. The board member survey did not include this section because board members are not responsible for operational aspects of the organization. The third sections of the surveys pertain to service delivery. Staff members that do not work directly with clients are requested to skip this section, as they are often not exposed to the service delivery operations. The questions in this section relate to how culturally competent Senior Services’ service delivery is, and if clients’ needs are culturally appropriately met. The board member survey questions in this section are a bit unique from the other two surveys, and focus on the Board’s outreach delivery and inclusiveness. The staff and volunteer surveys have an additional detailed section that focuses strictly on cultural and linguistic service delivery as well. Many of these questions are beyond where the organization is right now, but we feel it was important to include them because they embody goals of the cultural competence initiative, and the goal is that they will become relevant in time. For example, question 32 in the staff survey states: “My department is encouraged to measure how well it is meeting our client’s cultural and linguistic needs, through various assessments or evaluations.” We realize that few, if any, departments are able to perform these types of assessments or evaluations, but hopefully over time this will happen. The fourth section of the surveys focus on the Cultural Competence Initiative. Questions relate to how the Initiative is valued and realized individually and by department, as well as how respondents participate in the Initiative and how much they have learned through various activities or trainings. The staff survey has an additional section that is only for the Executive Director, Vice Presidents, Supervisors, Managers, and Center Directors to fill out. This section relates the Cultural Competence Initiative to managerial styles and behaviors. The last section of the survey asks respondents to share information about themselves, such as race/ethnic background, gender, tenure, age, position, and geographic location within the organization. These questions not only help us understand if we’ve gotten a representative demographic of the agency, but are also very useful in cross-tabulating certain questions. For example, it is useful to know how people of different ethnicities/races, age groups, or even site locations may respond differently to certain questions. Overall, we designed the surveys so that questions did not lead respondents to a certain answer, and some questions are similar to others so that we can analyze issues from more than one angle. The staff member survey was not administered before the project was completed, because it was recognized that staff should have ample preparation for the survey, and understand the importance of it. After piloting the volunteer survey it was apparent that volunteers may not be ready for the survey yet. Whereas most staff

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and board members have completed some form of cultural competence training and are aware of the Initiative, most volunteers have not been involved in the Initiative at this point, and none have attended training. Therefore, much of the language and concepts would be confusing to volunteers. It was decided that the survey would be held off until volunteers had gained a base knowledge of what the Cultural Competence Initiative is. However, the board member survey was administered in early 2009, and the results of this first survey are explored in the following section.

IX. Senior Services Board of Directors 2009 Cultural Competence Survey Survey Design The Senior Services Board Member Survey was designed as a tool for evaluating the impact of Institutional Racism at Senior Services, and the effects and progress of the Cultural Competence Initiative over time in relation to each Board of Directors’ work. This is the first survey, and therefore this data could be used as a baseline for measuring progress and impact over time, although it should be noted that each Senior Center Board of Directors will have different results, and the data in this report only includes responses from the Senior Services Board of Directors, and not from any Senior Center Board of Directors. The survey is divided into three sections: • Organizational Culture: Questions 1-10 relate cultural competency to the working environment of the board and board members, as well as the board’s relationship with staff and the organization as a whole. • Service Delivery: Questions 11-17 relate cultural competence to how board members carry out their work within the community and the organization. • Cultural Competence: Questions 18-29 relate directly to the Cultural Competence Initiative, and how board members understand and value the Initiative. Respondents have the option of marking: Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree, or Don’t Know. In the opening instructions respondents were told to mark “Don’t Know” if they did not understand a statement, or if it did not apply to their experience. The Survey Respondents The Senior Services Board Member Survey was sent to Senior Services board members via Survey Monkey in February 2009 21. Eleven of the 17 board members (65%) completed the survey within the two-week timeframe.

21

•

Two of the eleven respondents were people of color, and the other 9 were white. For the purposes of protecting the identity of the respondents, the detailed ethnicities of the respondents will not be revealed in this report, in regards to their answers.

•

Five of the respondents identify as female, and six identify as male. There is an even gender distribution in the respondents.

See Appendix G for the hard copy version of the survey

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•

Nine of the survey respondents had been a board member from 0 – 5 years. One board member has been with the board for over 15 years.

•

Three board members were between 45 – 54 years in age. Six were between 55 – 64 years in age. Two board members were between 65 and 74 years in age.

•

One board member speaks a language other than English, with an understanding of the culture of that language. Nine board members do not speak another language fluently other than English.

Summary Below, each question/statement is grouped into 1 of 4 categories, according to the general survey results. •

Statements where responses indicated either agreement with positive statements, or disagreement with negative statements: o Q1 – “Senior Services understands and encourages different cultural styles and approaches to leadership.” o Q2 - “Existing board members mentor new members on the board, paying attention to dynamics of racial exclusion.” o Q5 - “People I work with on the Board of Directors make negative assumptions about my work ethic, based upon my race.” o Q6 - “Board decision-making processes are transparent (i.e. that people understand what the decision-making process is)”. o Q8 - “Our budget and resource allocations have an equitable impact across different cultural and racial communities” o Q11 - “The Board does outreach to increase representation of underserved communities of color.” o Q14 - “The Board seeks input and guidance from staff and board members of color.” o Q 15 - “I am familiar with federal and state regulations with regards to anti-discrimination.” o Q17 - “As an organization, Senior Services collaborates with different cultural/racial communities to make sure we are providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services.” o Q18 - “The Cultural Competence Initiative is important” o Q19 - “Most people on the Board feel the Cultural Competence Initiative is important.” o Q23 - “I can better identify instances of oppression in our services after cultural competence training.” o Q25 - “The Board has discussions about how institutional racism and lack of cultural competence affect our ability to meet our mission.” o Q27 – Nine out of the eleven respondents are involved in some type of Cultural Competence activity.

•

Statements where responses from board members of color may have less positive, or mixed indications in comparison to those of white Board members:

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o

o

Q3 - “I would feel comfortable referring members of my cultural or ethnic community to Senior Services, knowing that they will receive quality services.” Q26 - “I intervene in an appropriate manner when I observe other board members or staff engaging in behaviors that show cultural insensitivity, bias, or prejudice.”

•

Statements where the responses included more than a few board members that answered ‘Don’t Know’, indicating there may be a lack of understanding around some practices or issues: o Q7 - “There are instances of institutional racism and/or cultural incompetence within Board policies and procedures.” o Q9 - “Senior Services uses many different recruitment strategies to reach ethnically and culturally diverse candidates for staff, volunteers, and board members.” o Q10 - “Senior Services has fair and equitable hiring practices.” o Q12 - “The Board consults with communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and other communities in policy development, revision, and evaluation.” o Q13 - “Individual board members build and maintain relationships with communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and other groups.” o Q20 - “Opportunities for developing cross-cultural skills are provided to me by Senior Services.”

•

Statements where the responses indicated the board or the organization needs to create more understanding around an issue: o Q4 - “I feel that my race brings me inherent unearned advantages” o Q16 - “I am familiar with federal and state regulations governing accessible services for ethnically and culturally diverse communities.” o Q22 - “I understand the Cultural Competence Initiative and would be confident explaining what it is to a new board member.”

Survey Analysis Because there are only 11 survey respondents, I refrain from using percentages in describing the results. For most questions I identified the responses between board members of color and white board members, to see if there were any noticeable differences in responses. With such a small sample, it would have been difficult to prove any statistically significant differences between responses of board members of color and white board members. Organizational Culture 1. Both people of color and 8 of the 9 white people either agreed or strongly agreed that “Senior Services understands and encourages different cultural styles and approaches to leadership.” One white board member answered that they did not know.

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"Senior Services understands and encourages different cultural styles and approaches to leadership" Number of Board Members

12 10 8

White

6

People of Color

4 2 0 Strongly Agree/Agree

Don't Know

Response to Statement

2. Two white board members disagreed that “Existing board members mentor new members on the board, paying attention to dynamics of racial exclusion.” One person of color and four white board members, five in total, agreed, and one additional white person strongly agreed. One person of color answered that they didn’t know.

Number of Board Members

“Existing board members mentor new members on the board, paying attention to dynamics of racial exclusion” 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

White People of Color

Disagree

Strongly Agree/Agree

Don't Know

Response to Statement

3. One board member of color strongly disagreed that they would feel comfortable referring members of their cultural or ethnic community to Senior Services, knowing that they will receive quality services, however, the other board member of color agreed. One white board member strongly disagreed, whereas the other 8 either agreed or strongly agreed.

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"I would feel comfortable referring members of my cultural or ethnic community to Senior Services, knowing that they will receive quality services" Number of Board Members

10 8 6

White

4

People of Color

2 0 Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree/Agree

Responses to Statement

4. Two white board members strongly disagreed with the statement “I feel that my race brings me inherent unearned advantages”, and 4 other white board members disagreed. Two white board members agreed that their race brings them inherent unearned advantages, and one strongly agreed. One board member of color also agreed that their race brought them inherent unearned advantages, and the other didn’t know.

6 4

White

2

People of Color

Don't Know

Strongly Agree/Agree

0

Strongly Disagree/Disa gree

Number of Board Members

"I feel that my race brings me inherent unearned advantages"

Responses to Statement

I ran a crosstab of the board members’ responses to question four, and how many times they had participated in a cultural competence training within the last year. There does not seem to be any relationship between the amount of trainings a board member participated in, and whether or not they feel their race brings them inherent unearned advantages: Of the six white board members that either strongly disagreed or disagreed that their race brings them inherent unearned advantages, two had attended one training, two had attended two trainings, and two had attended three trainings. The three other white board members that either agreed or strongly agreed had all attended two trainings.

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5. No board members agreed with the statement that “People I work with on the Board of Directors make negative assumptions about my work ethic, based upon my race.” 6. No board members disagreed that “Board decision-making processes are transparent (i.e. that people understand what the decision-making process is). 7. One white board member strongly agreed that “There are instances of institutional racism and/or cultural incompetence within Board policies and procedures.” Six board members either strongly disagreed or disagreed, and four didn’t know. Respondents were given the option of giving examples, and none were given.

6 4

White

2

People of Color

Strongly Agree/Agree

Don't Know

0

Strongly Disagree/Agr ee

Number of Board Members

"There are instances of institutional racism and/or a lack of cultural competence within Board policies and procedures"

Responses to Statement

8. One white board member disagreed with the statement “Our budget and resource allocations have an equitable impact across different cultural and racial communities”, and one white board member didn’t know. The rest either agreed or strongly agreed to the statement.

Number of Board Members

"Our budget and resource allocations have an equitable impact across different cultural and racial communities" 10 8 6

White

4

People of Color

2 0 Disagree

Strongly Agree/Agree

Don't know

Responses to Statement

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9. One board member of color and four white board members answered ‘Don’t Know’ to the statement “Senior Services uses many different recruitment strategies to reach ethnically and culturally diverse candidates for staff, volunteers, and board members.” The rest, one board member of color and five white board members, agreed to the statement.

Number of Board Members

"Senior Services uses many different recruitment strategies to reach ethnically and culturally diverse candidates for staff, volunteer, and board members." 5 4 3

People of Color

2

White

1 0 Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statement

10. Four white board members answered “Don’t Know” to the statement “Senior Services has fair and equitable hiring practices.” All other board members either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement.

"Senior Services has fair and equitable hiring practices”

Number of Board Members

8 6 White

4

People of Color

2 0 Strongly Agree/Agree

Don't know

Responses to Statement

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Service Delivery 11. One white board member answered “Don’t Know” to the statement “The Board does outreach to increase representation of underserved communities of color.” All other board members either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement.

"The Board does outreach to increase representation of underserved communities of color” Number of Board Members

10 8 6

White

4

People of Color

2 0 Agree/Strongly Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statement

12. The two board members of color and four white board members answered “Don’t Know to the statement “The Board consults with communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and other communities in policy development, revision, and evaluation.” Five white board members either agreed or strongly agreed.

Number of Board Members

“The Board consults with communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and other communities in policy development, revision, and evaluation.” 6 4

White

2

People of Color

0 Agree/Strongly Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statement

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13. The two board members of color and two white board members answered “Don’t Know” to the statement “Individual board members build and maintain relationships with communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and other groups.” Seven white board members either agreed or strongly agreed.

Number of Board Members

“Individual board members build and maintain relationships with communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and other groups.” 8 6 White

4

People of Color

2 0 Strongly Agree/Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statements

14. Both board members of color and six white board members either agreed or strongly agreed that “The Board seeks input and guidance from staff and board members of color.” Three white board members answered “Don’t Know”.

“The Board seeks input and guidance from staff and board members of color”

Number of Board Members

10 8 6

White

4

People of Color

2 0 Strongly Agree/Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statement

15. All board members either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I am familiar with federal and state regulations with regards to anti-discrimination.”

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16. One board member of color and one white board member disagreed with the statement “I am familiar with federal and state regulations governing accessible services for ethnically and culturally diverse communities.” All other nine board members either agreed or strongly agreed to the statement.

“I am familiar with federal and state regulations governing accessible services for ethnically and culturally diverse communities” Number of Board Members

10 8 6

White

4

People of Color

2 0 Disagree

Agree/Strongly Agree

Responses to Statement

17. Two white board members answered “Don’t Know” to the statement “As an organization, Senior Services collaborates with different cultural/racial communities to make sure we are providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services.” All other board members either agreed or strongly agreed.

Number of Board Members

“As an organization, Senior Services collaborates with different cultural/racial communities to make sure we are providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services" 10 8 White

6 4

People of Color

2 0 Agree/Strongly Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statement

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Cultural Competence Initiative 18. One white board member answered “Don’t Know” to the statement “The Cultural Competence Initiative is important”. All other board members were evenly split between either agree or strongly agree.

Number of Board Members

“The Cultural Competence Initiative is important” 10 8 6

White

4

People of Color

2 0 Agree/Strongly Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statement

19. Two white board members answered “Don’t Know” to the statement “Most people on the Board feel the Cultural Competence Initiative is important.” All other board members either agreed or strongly agreed.

“Most people on the Board feel the Cultural Competence Initiative is important"

Number of Board Members

10 8 6

White

4

People of Color

2 0 Agree/Strongly Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statement

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20. One board member of color and three white board members answered “Don’t Know” to the statement “Opportunities for developing cross-cultural skills are provided to me by Senior Services.” All other board members either agreed or strongly agreed.

“Opportunities for developing cross-cultural skills are provided to me by Senior Services”

Number of Board Members

8 6 White

4

People of Color

2 0 Agree/Strongly Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statement

21. Three board members participated in Cultural Competence training once within the last year, five board members participated in training twice within the last year, and three board members participated three times within the last year.

"How many times have you participated in Cultural Competence Training within the last year?" Number of Board Members

6 5 4

People of Color

3

White

2 1 0 1

2

3

Number of times

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22. One board member of color and two white board members disagreed with the statement “I understand the Cultural Competence Initiative and would be confident explaining what it is to a new board member.” One board member of color and six white board members either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, and one white board member answered “Don’t Know”.

Number of Board Members

“I understand the Cultural Competence Initiative and would be confident explaining what it is to a new board member” 8 6 White

4

People of Color

2 0 Disagree

Agree/Strongly Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statement

23. Two white board members answered “Don’t Know” with the statement “I can better identify instances of oppression in our services after cultural competence training.” All other board members either agreed or strongly agreed to the statement.

“I can better identify instances of oppression in our services after cultural competence training”

Number of Board Members

10 8 6

White

4

People of Color

2 0 Agree/Strongly Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statement

There does not appear to be a correlation between how many times a board member participated in cultural competence training within the last year, and if they can better identify instances of oppression in the agency’s

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services after cultural competence training. Of the 8 board members who agreed that they can better identify instances, 2 had training once within the last year, 3 had training 2 times, and 3 had training 3 times. One board member strongly agreed with the statement, and they had training twice within the last year. Of the two board members who answered “Don’t Know” one had training once, and one had training twice. Cultural Competence Training and Identifing Oppression in Services

Number of People

3

2

agree strongly agree don't know

1

0 1

2

3

Number of Trainings in Last Year

24. One white board member disagreed and another white board member strongly disagreed with the statement “The Board undergoes regular training to develop skills in undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence.” One board member of color and four white board members agreed to the statement, and one white board member strongly agreed. The other board member of color and two white board members didn’t know.

Number of Board Members

“The Board undergoes regular training to develop skills in undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence” 8 6 White

4

People of Color

2 0 Disagree/Strongly Agree/Strongly Disagree Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statement

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25. One white board member disagreed with the statement “The Board has discussions about how institutional racism and lack of cultural competence affect our ability to meet our mission.” Both board members of color and five white board members agreed to the statement, and one white board member strongly agreed. Two white board members didn’t know.

Number of Board Members

“The Board has discussions about how institutional racism and lack of cultural competence affect our ability to meet our mission” 8 6

White

4

People of Color

2 0 Disagree

Agree/Strongly Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statement

26. One board member of color and one white board member disagreed with the statement “I intervene in an appropriate manner when I observe other board members or staff engaging in behaviors that show cultural insensitivity, bias, or prejudice.” Six white board members agreed to the statement, while the other two white board members and one board member of color ‘didn’t know’. For the board members that disagreed with the statement, it would be important to understand why. For example, the person of color may have different reasons for not intervening than a white person – they may not feel they would be supported in their intervening actions.

Number of Board Members

“I intervene in an appropriate manner when I observe other board members or staff engaging in behaviors that show cultural insensitivity, bias, or prejudice” 8 6 White

4

People of Color

2 0 Disagree

Agree

Don't Know

Responses to Statement

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27. Of the 11 board members, 9 are involved in some sort of cultural competence activity. “I am actively involved in the following cultural competence activities”

Serve on Cultural Competence Task Force Regularly attend events sponsored by communities of color and other diverse communities Other Regularly attend events sponsored by communities of color and other diverse communities, and Other Serve on Cultural Competence Task Force, Regularly attend events sponsored by communities of color and other diverse communities, and Other

Board members of Color

White Board members

Comments:

1 1

3

2 1

“Not Actively” and “Life” “Visiting our service centers. Lunches and board meetings at community centers”

1

“I am responsible for insuring my staff have information re. cultural differences in regard to healthcare delivery and expectations, I am on another board that intends to address issues of health disparities and culturally respectful end of life services.”

28. For each of the following levels of the organization, each survey respondent answered whether or not they thought each level has a crucial role in dismantling institutional racism and increasing cultural competence. All board members thought the Board of Directors and Center Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Executive Director, and Vice Presidents have a crucial role in dismantling institutional racism and increasing cultural competence. Three board members did not think Volunteers had a crucial role, four board members do not think Non-Direct Service Staff have a crucial role, and two board members do not think Direct Service Staff have a crucial role.

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“The following levels of the organization have a crucial role in dismantling institutional racism and increasing cultural competence:”

Yes

No

The Board of Directors

11

0

Volunteers

8

3

Center Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Executive Director, Vice Presidents

11

0

Non-Direct Service Staff: Administrative Assistants, HR Staff, Resource Development, Accounting, Facilities, IT, etc.

7

4

Direct Service Staff: Advocates, Program Coordinators, Drivers, Specialists, Social Workers, etc.

9

2

29. For each of the following levels of the organization, survey respondents answered how they agreed with the statement “The following levels of our organization are committed to Cultural Competence.” • One white board member strongly disagreed that any of the organizational levels are committed to Cultural Competence. • 9 out of the 11 respondents either strongly agreed or agreed that The Board of Directors, Center Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Executive Director, and Vice Presidents are committed to Cultural Competence. • For the other levels of the organization, respondents either strongly agreed/agreed or didn’t know. This may demonstrate limited understanding of or exposure to how Volunteers, Non-Direct Service Staff and Direct Service staff are carrying out the Cultural Competence Initiative. “The following levels of our organization are committed to Cultural Competence”

The Board of Directors

Strongly Agree 3

Volunteers Center Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Executive Director, Vice Presidents

3

Non-Direct Service Staff: Administrative Assistants, HR Staff, Resource Development, Accounting, Facilities, IT, etc. Direct Service Staff: Advocates, Program Coordinators, Drivers, Specialists, Social Workers, etc.

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2

Agree

Strongly Don’t Disagree Know

6

1

1

4

1

5

6

1

1

3

1

7

3

1

5

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Respondents’ answers to question 29 also correlate to answers from question 28: All respondents thought The Board of Directors, Center Directors, Supervisors, Managers, the Executive Director, and Vice Presidents have a crucial role in dismantling institutional racism, and 9 out of 11 respondents agreed or strongly agreed that those levels are committed. It could be that most respondents have the most exposure to what these two levels of the organization are doing in particular, and overall it seems that the majority of board members genuinely believe that the organization takes cultural competence seriously.

Limitations and Recommendations of the Survey In the opening instructions, respondents were told to mark “Don’t Know” if they did not understand a statement, or if the statement did not apply to their experience. For many questions several respondents marked “Don’t Know”, and it would be useful to know if they didn’t understand the statement or if it doesn’t apply to their work, since these are very different responses. Perhaps board members feel a statement doesn’t apply to their work, when in actuality it does, or it should. On the other hand, the presence of many “Don’t Know” responses may indicate an area where board members need further information or training. Some board members have been with Senior Services for a very short time, and therefore may have marked “Don’t Know” on many questions. It would be useful to know if board members have been with Senior Services for less than one year, in order to further understand why some respondents answered “Don’t Know” to a lot of questions. In the future, there should be the option of marking “less than one year” for the question that asks how long a board member has been involved with the organization. This could then be cross tabulated with responses to statements, to see if this accounts for the presence of “Don’t Know” to many statements. Because our response group was fairly small (11 respondents in total, 2 of color and 9 white) it was not senisble to test the significance of differences between respondents. In the future when there is a larger pool of respondents, it would be useful to see if board members tend to have different responses by race or ethnicity. It was also difficult to determine if there were significant differences between responses of “Strongly Agree” and “Agree”, and “Strongly Disagree” and “Disagree”. It could be that the different responses just capture personality differences between respondents, and not necessarily responses that indicate the strength they feel about the statement. When looking at the raw data, it appears that some respondents are more likely to use statements with the word “Strongly” in the answer than others. In effect, I ended up grouping responses for many of the questions in the analysis. Lastly, it is important to recognize that this survey only captures the view of the board members – it would be interesting to compare the results of staff member survey results to those of the board, and see how the responses to similar questions differ or relate. For example, board members generally agreed that “Senior Services understands and encourages different cultural styles and approaches to leadership.” Perhaps staff members generally disagree? It would be interesting and useful to see how board member, staff, and volunteer views compare.

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X. Assessment of client survey pilot cultural competence questions In 2008, Senior Services distributed a survey to clients who used Information and Assistance services. The survey was designed to gauge the quality of service received by the clients, and 415 clients responded. The graph below displays the ethnic/racial distribution of the respondents.

Pacific Islander/ Hawaiian Native 1%

Race/Ethnicity of Respondents

Native American/ Alaska Native Hispanic/ 2% Latino 3%

Other 1%

Black/African/ African American 21%

Unknown 13%

White, Caucasian 50%

Asian/ Asian American 9%

Senior Services added one cultural competency question at the end of this member client survey. However, they piloted three different versions of a similar question to see how clients would respond differently, and to gauge which question really got at whether or not clients felt services were culturally competent. This analysis examines the answers to this question on the survey, as this is one of few ways in which Senior Services has been able to survey clients about cultural competency in service delivery. The idea behind this was to see which question clients seemed to understand the best, so that it could be used for future surveys in other program areas. Thus, this analysis examines the responses to the three questions. • • •

(Version A) On 130 surveys, client members were asked: “Did you receive culturally appropriate service?” (Version B) On 140 surveys, client members were asked: “Did you receive culturally competent service?” (Version C) On 145 surveys, client members were asked: “Did you feel your cultural values were respected?”

Version A: “Did you receive culturally appropriate service?” In the 130 surveys with Version A, 47.7% of respondents identified as being White/Caucasian while 45.4% identified as being a Person of Color (POC)22. The distribution of Whites and POC is fairly even.23 22

A POC identified as one of the following: 1) Black/African/African American 2) Asian/ Asian American 3) Hispanic/Latino 4) Native American/Alaska Native 5) Pacific Islander/Hawaiian Native 6) Other 7) MultiRacial.

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•

• •

20% of whites (13 people) answered ‘I don’t know’ or did not answer at all, and 15% of POC (9) answered ‘I don’t know’ or did not answer at all. A slightly larger percentage of whites were not clear on this question. 3.2% of whites (2) answered ‘no’, and 5.1% of POC (3) answered ‘no.’ Few respondents answered no, with slightly more POC answering ‘no’. 75.8% of whites (47) answered ‘yes, and 79.7% of POC (47) answered ‘yes.’ There was a very similar response rate for both racial/ethnic groups, and a large majority of the clients either did not respond or feel that they receive culturally appropriate services. "Did you Recieve Culturally Appropriate Services?"

79.7%

75.8%

White 20%

POC 15%

non-response

5.1%

3.2% no

yes

I also ran the same analysis by ethnicity/race to see if there were differences in responses across each ethnic/racial group. However, I was only able to compare 1) Black/African/African American 2) Asian/ Asian American 3) Whites and 4) Other POC because representation was low for all other ethnic/racial groups.24 •

• •

20% of whites (13) answered ‘I don’t know’ (14.5%) or did not answer at all (6.5%), 19% of Black/African/African Americans (8) answered ‘I don’t know’ (9.5%) or did not answer at all (9.5%), no Asian/ Asian American answered ‘I don’t know’ nor left the answer blank, and 12.5 % of Other POC (1 person) did not answer the question. 3.2% of whites (2) answered ‘no’, no Black/African/African Americans answered ‘no’, 33.3% of Asian/ Asian Americans (3) answered ‘no’, and no Other POC said ‘no’. 75.8% of whites (47) answered ‘yes’, 81% of Black/African/African Americans (34) answered ‘yes’, 66.7% of Asian/ Asian American (6) answered ‘yes’, and 87.5% of Other POC (7) said ‘yes’.

23

6.9% of respondents did not include their race/ethnicity, and are not included in this portion of the analysis. 24 Here ‘other POC’ refers to 1) Hispanic/Latino 2) Native American/Alaska Native 3) Pacific Islander/Hawaiian Native 4) Other and 5) Multi-Racial.

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"Did you recieve culturally appropriate services?" 87.5% 81% 75.8% 66.7%

Black/African/African American

33.3% 19% 12.5%

Other POC

20%

White 3.2% Asian/Asian American

non-response

no

yes

Version B: “Did you receive culturally competent service?” In the 140 surveys with Version B, 50.7% of respondents identified as being White/Caucasian while 37.1% identified as being a Person of Color25. There were more White identified respondents to this question. •

• •

11% of whites (8) answered ‘I don’t know’ or did not answer at all, and 21% of POC (11) answered ‘I don’t know’ or did not answer at all. A larger percentage of POC were not clear on this question. 5.6% of whites (4) answered ‘no’, and 1.9% of POC (1) answered ‘no.’ Few respondents answered no, with slightly more whites answering ‘no’. 83.1% of whites (59) answered ‘yes, while 76.9% of POC (40) answered ‘yes.’ There was a slightly higher tendency for Whites to answer ‘yes’. "Did you recieve culturally competent service?" 83.1%

76.9%

White POC

21% 11%

non-response

5.6%

1.9% no

yes

For the same analysis by separate ethnicity/racial groups: •

11% of whites (8) answered ‘I don’t know’ (8.5%) or did not answer at all (2.8%), 21% of Black/African/African Americans (5) answered ‘I don’t know’ (17.4%) or did not answer at all (4.3%), 21% of Asian/ Asian American (3) answered ‘I don’t know’

25

12.1% of respondents did not include their race/ethnicity, and are not included in this portion of the analysis.

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• •

(7.1%) or left the answer blank (14.3%), and 20 % of Other POC (3) answered ‘I don’t know’ (13.3%) or left the answer blank (6.7%). 5.6% of whites (4) answered ‘no’, 4.3% of Black/African/African Americans (1) answered ‘no’, and no Asian/ Asian Americans or Other POC said ‘no’. 83.1% of whites (59) answered ‘yes, 73.9% of Black/African/African Americans (17) answered ‘yes’, 78.6% of Asian/ Asian American (11) answered ‘yes’, and 80% of Other POC (12) said ‘yes’. Here we see that a large majority of all ethnic/racial groups either did not respond or responded positively, and feel that they receive culturally competence service. "Did you recieve culturally competent service?" 83.1%

78.6% 80% 73.9% White

21% 11%

Black/African/African American Asian/Asian American

21% 20% 5.6%

4.3% Other POC

non-response

no

yes

Version C: “Did you feel your cultural values were respected?” In the 145 surveys with Version B, 49.7% of respondents identified as being White/Caucasian while 29.7% identified as being a Person of Color26. There were more White identified respondents to this question. •

• •

11% of whites (8) answered ‘I don’t know’ or did not answer at all, and 16% of POC (7) answered ‘I don’t know’ or did not answer at all. A slightly larger percentage of POC were not clear on this question. 2.8% of whites (2) answered ‘no’, while no POC answered ‘no.’ Few respondents answered no. 86.1% of whites (62) answered ‘yes, while 83.7% of POC (36) answered ‘yes.’ There was almost the exact same response rate for both racial/ethnic groups.

26

20.7% of respondents did not include their race/ethnicity, and are not included in this portion of the analysis.

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"Did you feel your cultural values were respected?" 86.1%

83.7%

White POC 11%

16% 2.8%

non-response

0.0% no

yes

For the same analysis by separate ethnicity/racial groups: •

• •

11% of whites (8) answered ‘I don’t know’ or did not answer at all, 19% of Black/African/African Americans (4) answered ‘I don’t know’ (9.5%) or did not answer at all (9.5%), 15% of Asian/ Asian American (2) answered ‘I don’t know’ (7.7%) or left the answer blank (7.7%), and 11.1 % of Other POC (1) answered ‘I don’t know’. 2.8% of whites (2) answered ‘no’, while no Black/African/African Americans, Asian/ Asian Americans, or Other POC answered ‘no’. 86.1% of whites (62) answered ‘yes, 81% of Black/African/African Americans (17) answered ‘yes’, 84.6% of Asian/ Asian American (11) answered ‘yes’, and 88.9% of Other POC (8) said ‘yes’.

"Did you feel your cultural values were respected?" 86.1% 81%84.6%88.9%

White Black/African/African American

19% 15% 11.1% 11% non-response

Asian/Asian American 2.8% no

Other POC yes

Which Question had the highest overall non-response (‘I don’t know’ or no answer) rate? •

Version A: “Did you receive culturally appropriate service?” 16% Version B: “Did you receive culturally competent service?” 14% • Version C: “Did you feel your cultural values were respected?” 11% ……………………………………………………………………………………………… •

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Senior Services also had two other questions on the survey that we can use to determine if white member clients and member clients of color receive a different quality of service. Two questions were asked: • •

(Question 1) “Were you treated respectfully when you called?” (Question 2) “Do you feel your concerns were heard?”

Of the 415 surveys in total, 49.4% of respondents identified as being White, while 37.1% of respondents identified as a POC.27 There were more White-identified respondents to this question. Question 1: “Were you treated respectfully when you called?” • • •

3% of whites (8) answered ‘I don’t know’ or did not answer at all, and 7% of POC answered (12) ‘I don’t know’ or did not answer at all. 2% of whites (4) answered ‘no’, while no POC answered ‘no.’ 94.1% of whites (193) answered ‘yes, while 92.2% of POC (142) answered ‘yes.’ There was almost the exact same response rate for both racial/ethnic groups.

Question 2: “Do you feel your concerns were heard?” • • •

9.3% of whites (19) answered ‘I don’t know’ or did not answer at all, and 7.8% of POC (12) answered ‘I don’t know’ or did not answer at all. 4.9% of whites (10) answered ‘no’, while 2.6% of POC (4) answered ‘no.’ Few respondents answered no, and slightly more Whites. 85.9% of whites (176) answered ‘yes, while 89.6% of POC (138) answered ‘yes.’ There was a very similar response rate for both racial/ethnic groups.

…………………………………………………………………………………………… General Findings from Client Survey Cultural Competence Survey Responses •

Of the three different cultural competency questions piloted in the client surveys, Version C, “Did you feel your cultural values were respected?” had the lowest nonresponse rate at 11%, and the highest average ‘yes’ response rate. This could mean that Version C was the most easily understood question of the three, and/or that respondents felt it was asking something different than Versions A and B. For example, services that lack cultural competence may not necessarily ‘disrespect’ cultural values. There does not seem to be a significant difference between responses to the words ‘appropriate’ and ‘competent’ in Versions A and B of the cultural competence question.

•

Of the three different cultural competency questions, Version B, “Did you receive culturally competent service?” had the largest difference between ethnicity/racial groups who answered yes. 83.1% of whites compared to 76.9% of POC answered that they received culturally competence service. However, for the same question, 5.6% of whites compared to 1.9% of POC answered ‘no.’

27

13.5% of respondents did not include their race/ethnicity, and are not included in this portion of the analysis.

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•

For all questions, there was a fairly similar response rate when POC responses were compared to those of White responses.

•

There was not a pattern among response rates for specific ethnic/racial groups. For survey version A, Asian/Asian Americans had the lowest ‘yes’ and highest ‘no’ response rates. Yet for versions B and C, Black/African/African Americans had the lowest ‘yes’ response rates. Overall, response rates were fairly similar and the total POC response rates are not particularly driven by a particular ethnic/racial group.

XI. Recommendations Policies and Procedures •

•

•

Policies and procedures of programs that serve non-English speaking clients need to be evaluated and altered so that they accommodate and effectively serve the needs of all clients, not just clients that speak English fluently. This would mean having translation and interpretation policies for all programs, or other methods that address language barrier issues. Non-English speakers should not be considered ‘exceptions’. Although Senior Services has added language in their contracts with outside agencies that expresses Senior Services’ expectations around cultural competency, businesses that Senior Services contracts with do not have to comply with the cultural competency statement, and in effect do not have to attempt to offer culturally competent services. If possible, Senior Services could create a more binding language with agencies they contract with to further ensure compliance. The hiring policies and procedures could be improved to include at least one panelist of color during the interview process, and to not advertise internally before a position is posted externally, as this results in a disproportionately white applicant pool and limits the potential for Senior Services to increase diversity.

Services the Organization Provides •

•

•

•

All programs and departments should strive to have materials made available to clients in non-English languages. An analysis I was not able to perform was a language assessment of Senior Services clients, by program/site. It would be very useful for each program or department to assess what languages are primarily spoken by their clients, and make an effort to have materials and interpretation services made available in those languages so that all clients can have equal access to important information. In addition to linguistically appropriate services, all programs should assess how they could offer more culturally accommodating services by performing a needs assessment of their clients. For example, Meals on Wheels could start to serve meals that meet the cultural diet of the clients they serve. This is important, as a client’s diet may have both a physical and an emotional impact on their well-being. Outreach efforts to communities of color have increased, but there is still a need for outreach that targets immigrant/refugee and communities of color. These communities need to be offered services that meet their needs, and thus Senior Services needs to have a tter understanding of what these needs are. Data indicates that Senior Services is under-serving communities of color. Each program/site should look at how diverse their client base is, based off of the data analysis provided in this paper, and assess whether or not they are meeting the

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needs of the entire community they could be serving. The data suggests that some Senior Services programs/site are under-serving communities of color, and therefore the organization should increase efforts to better meet these communities needs. Organizational Culture and Communications •

• •

•

•

•

Senior Services should encourage employees to point out when ‘white’ culture is dominating, and make an effort to dismantle ‘white’ culture that dominates the office culture. Be more open to different types of work cultures and communications styles, and create an environment where people of color are free to express themselves. Increase efforts to dismantle informal communications methods in which managers and staff share information with friends, excluding other employees. Encourage all staff members to voice their opinions and ideas in meetings where they are sometimes intimidated by management. Perhaps create some type of forum where staff can convene without upper-management, and then share their ideas anonymously or as a group so that individual staff members are not singled out for saying things that go against management. Senior Services management should make staff members aware of how committed they are to the Initiative and having a Cultural Competence Manager, in the long term. Give examples of what they’re doing to increase competence within the organization. Many staff members feel managers do not ‘walk the talk’. Each department work group should include some type of cultural competence discussion in regular meetings. Senior Services needs to encourage employees to bring up cultural competence issues that arise. Since many are uncomfortable or feel it is useless to talk to upper management, there should be a committee or system in place that allows staff members to bring an issue to a neutral party that will help resolve the situation in a culturally competent manner. This could involve the Cultural Competence Manager for example. The organization and upper-management should be more accountable to staff members of color, more inclusive, and seek input.

Employment •

•

•

Senior Services needs to increase recruitment of board members, volunteers, and staff of color – across all positions and areas of the organization, not just programs or departments that are typically filled by people of color. Staff members of color tend to fill the lower-paid positions. Managers and the HR department should assess why certain ethnic/racial groups are being hired into lower-paid positions, or more casual/contract/part-time positions that result in lower tenures. It is important to analyze how staff member’s education levels are monetarily valued within the organization, across different ethnic/racial groups. This data is not currently available, but it would be an important analysis. Furthermore, it would be important to see how often employees are given raises or promoted within the organization, across different ethnic/racial groups.

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Staff Wages •

Program managers to examine on a case-by-case basis why members of certain ethnic groups make less money than other staff members in the same position should further analyze differences in staff wages across ethnic/racial groups.

Cultural Competence Activities •

•

Volunteers should be included in future anti-oppression trainings, as well as in general Cultural Competence Initiative activities. Many volunteers work directly with clients, and many are not aware of the importance of building cultural competence or what that looks like. This work should be continued for board members as well, although they have had more participation than volunteers. Mandatory trainings should be continued for staff members, and a heightened encouragement for non-downtown staff members to participate in activities and events, since it usually seems to be the downtown staff members that make up the majority of participants.

Data Collection •

•

Data collection and analysis can be a difficult and time-consuming process, especially for such a large, disjointed organization such as Senior Services with its various programs and site locations. Nevertheless, it may be useful for the organization to increase efforts of compiling agency-wide data so that information is not so dispersed, and also so that data-collecting methods are more congruent. For example, in some cases different programs or departments have different ways of classifying different racial/ethnic groups. For cross-organizational comparisons, this becomes difficult. Furthermore, it would be useful if programs could collect more detailed client information in their data collection processes. Particularly when it comes to cultural backgrounds, and not just racial backgrounds. This way Senior Services could identify specific needs that may exist within certain communities, such as the Eritrean population of King County, which would not necessarily be made obvious if Eritrean clients checked the “Black/African American/African” box on a survey. However, I recognize that this would be a difficult, time-consuming process in terms of data collection and analysis. Perhaps it could be used by specific programs that would benefit most from more detailed outreach and research.

XII. Conclusion Senior Services is committed to, and continues to work at undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence. Since receiving the Paul Allen Foundation Grant and hiring a Cultural Competence Manager in the spring of 2007, Senior Services has increased activities and efforts to realize the Cultural Competence Initiative. Numerous advances and accomplishments have been realized in the areas of organizational structure and policies and procedures, building a common understanding of institutional racism and oppression through activities, discussions, and trainings, creating a more welcoming environment for people of color, and increasing accountability to communities

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of color. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by staff members and various methods of research and data analysis, Senior Services still has much work that needs to be done in order to continue to realize the Cultural Competence Initiative and undo institutional racism. Undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence are crucial to maximizing Senior Services’ ability to effectively and equitably serve the entire aging population in King County, and thus the Cultural Competence Initiative is a vital component to Senior Services’ work.

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XIII. References •

Anonymous Interviews (conducted fall of 2008)

•

Aging and Disability Services (ADS) Area Planning on Aging (2008)

•

“An Analysis of Racism in the Criminal Justice System as Experienced by African Americans” Justice Works (September 8, 2001) http://www.justiceworks.info/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_ page&PAGE_id=41&MMN_position=54:4

•

Anti-Oppression Workshop Definitions of Leticia Nieto

•

“Facing the Consequences: An Examination of Racial Discrimination in U.S. Public Schools” by the Applied Research Center, March 2000

•

King County 2000 Census data

•

Senior Services Employee Handbook (2006)

•

Senior Services Administrative Policy Manual

•

Senior Services Human Resources Data

•

Solid Ground Anti-Racism Case Study, University of Washington Electronic Hallway

•

Solid Ground EEOC Report (2008)

•

The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond http://www.pisab.org/

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XIV. Appendices

Appendix A – Senior Services Cultural Competence Statement

At Senior Services we embrace the belief that cultural, social, and other differences should be respected and celebrated. We are building a staff team with extraordinary cultural competence and also providing that team with tools to positively address institutionalized racism. All our employees are responsible for providing and supporting a culturally competent work environment that will enrich our interactions with each other and our products and services. This provides the foundation for empowering our customers (primarily those who are aging and giving care to others) so their needs are justly represented and their desires amply fulfilled.

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Appendix B - Cultural Competence Interview Questions Bank As of 8/29/2008 Only questions appearing on this list may be used. If you wish to make a ‘deposit’, please send your question to Karen Beisner, in Human Resources ([email protected]). Once the question has been reviewed and approved, it will be added to this list. General 1. How do you see cultural competence as being relevant to the work you would do in this position? 2. What contributions would you bring to the Cultural Competence Initiative? 3. Describe a situation in which you or someone you know experienced discrimination. How did you respond to it? 4. In your position as (insert), how do you plan to use or demonstrate the values of cultural competence? 5. Please describe specific work experiences or assignments you have had related to cultural diversity, cultural competence, or anti-racism. 6. This job will require interaction with people who are of diverse cultural and racial backgrounds. Describe a time when you have encouraged this and how you handled it? 7. At Senior Services we embrace the belief that cultural, social, and other differences should be respected and celebrated. We are building a staff team with extraordinary cultural competence and also providing that team with tools to positively address institutionalized racism. What does cultural competence mean to you? 8. Describe a cross-cultural problem which you solved on your last or current job and how you arrived at the solution.

Client Services 1. Senior Services staff, clients, and volunteers represent a diversity of racial backgrounds, immigration backgrounds, sexual orientations, and more. Describe your experience working with people from diverse backgrounds. 2. Senior Services believes that cultural competence is an important skill we need in order to empower our customers, that is, people who are aging and caregivers. What does “empowering our customers” mean to you? 3. In looking at the demographics of people who use our programs, is clear that the ____ community is underserved. What would you do to ensure that we are better serving this community? 4. You assist with MOW delivery at a Senior Center. When working there, you commonly hear comments or complaints by long-term, reliable volunteers about other volunteers, staff, and clients of color. Persons discussed are typically referred to as “them,” “they,” and are identified by race or ethnicity—the “black girl,” “the Vietnamese or whatever fellow,” and so on. Tone and whisper volume also convey

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an us -vs. them point of view. High turnover at the center further indicates a racial divide. How would you react to such comments you overhear, or that are said to you? How might you use such a situation to raise awareness and encourage commonality? 5. An important goal of your Outreach plan is to expand the MOW Program into underserved areas, typically culturally diverse and low-income neighborhoods. In one such area, the volunteers who run the MOW site are primarily white people who are inexperienced or uneasy with diversity. You task is to build a volunteer staff that reflects the diversity of the area MOW will serve. How would prepare your current, reliable team of volunteers for increased cultural diversity? How would you prepare the culturally diverse volunteers coming on board to join a team that is on a diversity learning curve? 6. Each MOW site has its own meal delivery process, which varies from other sites, even though the tasks and goals are the same. MOW teams are primarily volunteers. Team members know how to do their own job well, but not necessarily, how to do another’s job. Typically, volunteers are not experienced in training others to do what they do. You are called to a MOW site as pinch-hit coordinator on a one-time basis, or the first time on short notice. You don’t have a chance to learn the site’s process ahead. What would be your approach to ensuring clients receive the meals they ordered, and your tasks—meal inventory, new clients recorded, payments recorded/deposited, mileage reimbursement forms collected and so on) are completed correctly on time?

Volunteer Management 1. Senior Services staff, clients, and volunteers represent a diversity of racial backgrounds, immigration backgrounds, sexual orientations, and more. Describe your experience working with volunteers from diverse backgrounds. 2. In looking at the demographics of our volunteers, is clear that the ____ community is underrepresented. What would you do to ensure that we are better serving this community? Resource Development

1. Do you have experience raising money from under-represented communities (i.e. of color, GLBT, disabled)? If so, what was different about working with that community? Could you give an example and any lessons learned?

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Appendix C - Holiday Policy Survey We Need Your Input!

A workgroup has been convened to look at possibilities for making our Holiday Benefit more culturally competent. So that we can proceed with the needs and desires of our staff in mind, we ask that you complete this brief survey. No names are needed…just the data. Please turn this form in to Human Resources A.S.A.P.

Please circle your response: How satisfied are you with our current holiday benefit (11 federal holidays + 1 personal holiday)? 1=it’s awful 2=it’s ok

3=it’s really pretty good 4=it’s incredible

Would you prefer to be able to substitute one of our current holidays for another day of your choosing? For example: You would prefer to work on Veteran’s Day, in exchange for taking Juneteenth off. Yes

or

No

Why?____________________________________

If you wanted to work on a holiday that the agency is closed, in exchange for taking a different day of your choosing, is there work that you could perform when the agency is closed? Yes or No

Comments:_____________________________________

If you couldn’t perform your own job on a day the agency is closed, would you be willing to perform different work and/or at a different location, as long as you were paid? Yes or No

Comments:_____________________________________

How important would a more flexible holiday benefit be to you? 1=not at all important 2=somewhat important

3=important

4=very important

Do you have an idea or suggestion you’d like to share? Yes or No

Comments:_____________________________________

Thank you for your feedback!

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Appendix D: Ethnic and Racial Diversity of Clients in Senior Service 2007 Programs

2007 Programs All Senior Centers Percent Adult Day Health Percent Community Dining and Nutrition Percent Meals on Wheels Percent Mobile Market Percent Information Assistance Percent Senior Rights Assistance Percent Kinship Care Percent Transportation Percent Home Sharing Percent Minor Home Repair Percent Outreach Percent Project Enhance Percent Caregiver Percent Water Conservation Percent SHIBA Percent TOTAL Percent

Black 1,323 6.44% 3 1.18% 224 5.79% 362 16.14% 128 17.66% 795 20.82% 165 11.39% 70 26.02% 182 5.24% 11 6.96% 247 29.90% 404 64.85% 519 13.38% 409 34.87% 64 15.53% 131 3.79% 5,037 9.09%

Native Am 180 0.88% 0.00% 39 1.01% 56 2.50% 13 1.79% 45 1.18% 19 1.31% 11 4.09% 32 0.92% 2 1.27% 6 0.73% 5 0.80% 29 0.75% 22 1.88% 1 0.24% 4 0.12% 464 0.84%

Asian

Hawaii/PI 890 4.33% 6 2.36% 322 8.32% 88 3.92% 27 3.72% 386 10.11% 95 6.56% 25 9.29% 1,228 35.38% 11 6.96% 112 13.56% 56 8.99% 255 6.57% 53 4.52% 76 18.45% 263 7.60% 3,893 7.02%

Other

Multiracial 481 2.34% 1 0.39% 123 3.18% 106 4.73% 34 4.69% 108 2.83% 51 3.52% 13 4.83% 134 3.86% 4 2.53% 20 2.42% 6 0.96% 47 1.21% 25 2.13% 11 2.67% 26 0.75% 1,190 2.15%

Hispanic 192 0.93% 6 2.36% 191 4.94% 45 2.01% 16 2.21% 102 2.67% 31 2.14% 15 5.58% 225 6.48% 7 4.43% 19 2.30% 8 1.28% 172 4.43% 26 2.22% 11 2.67% 99 2.86% 1,165 2.10%

White 17,486 85.08% 238 93.70% 2,970 76.76% 1,586 70.71% 507 69.93% 2,382 62.39% 1,088 75.09% 135 50.19% 1,670 48.11% 123 77.85% 422 51.09% 144 23.11% 2,858 73.66% 638 54.39% 249 60.44% 2,937 84.88% 35,433 63.94%

POC 3,066 14.92% 16 6.30% 899 23.24% 657 29.29% 218 30.07% 1,436 37.61% 361 24.91% 134 49.81% 1,801 51.89% 35 22.15% 404 48.91% 479 76.89% 1,022 26.34% 535 45.61% 163 39.56% 523 15.12% 11,749 21.20% TOTAL

Total 20,552 254 3,869 2,243 725 3,818 1,449 269 3,471 158 826 623 3,880 1,173 412 3,460 47,182

55,418

Appendix E

Staff Cultural Competence Survey As part of Senior Services' Cultural Competence Initiative, we are surveying all staff members. Please do not feel that you or your department are expected to be performing every expectation listed on the survey. Your responses to this survey will provide us with baseline data - a starting point from which to measure the organization's progress over time in undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence. Accordingly, Senior Services will use the results as a learning tool for guiding how the cultural competence initiative is implemented. Your answers to the survey are ANONYMOUS and CONFIDENTIAL. Any data that will be reported will be in aggregate form so there will be no way that individual respondents are identifiable. We encourage you to be as candid as possible in your responses. We realize you may not be able to answer every question. If you do not understand a question, or it does not apply to your work, please select "I don't know". The survey takes about 15-20 minutes to complete. We know how busy you are, and appreciate your taking the time to participate. For more information about the initiative, please visit the Grapevine and view the documents posted under “Cultural Competence.” (http://www.seniorservices.org/intranet/ssskc/Resources.htm). If you have any questions, please contact: Questions about the survey: Farlis Lewis at 206-268-6705 Questions about the initiative: Negin Almassi at 206-727-6257 Thank you!

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department. Organizational Culture 1. I feel comfortable talking about institutional racism or cultural competence at work. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

2. My department creates a welcoming working environment for staff of color. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

3. I feel that my race brings me inherent unearned advantages. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

4. My coworkers at Senior Services make negative assumptions about my work ethic, based upon my race. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

5. I expend energy at work, because of my race. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

6. My department understands and draws upon the assets of culturally and racially diverse perspectives. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

7. Senior Services understands and encourages different cultural styles and approaches to leadership. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

8. Staff of color at Senior Services are able to meet together at work and talk about issues of racial oppression without fear of repercussion. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

9. Senior Services offers sufficient opportunities for employees to learn and discuss what white privilege is, without fear of repercussion. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

10. I would feel comfortable referring members of my cultural or ethnic community to Senior Services, knowing that they will receive quality services. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

97

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department. Organizational Structure 11. There are instances of institutional racism and/or lack of cultural competence within our policies and procedures. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Examples:

12. I feel that my input is considered and valued in Senior Services’ decisionmaking processes. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

13. Staff of color are regularly asked if the policies, procedures, and programs of Senior Services are equitable. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

14. Our budget and resource allocations have an equitable impact across different cultural and racial communities. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

15. Senior Services uses many different recruitment strategies to reach ethnically and culturally diverse candidates for staff, volunteer, and board members. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

16. Senior Services has fair and equitable hiring practices. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

17. What is your position category? If you are Non-Direct Service Staff (Administrative Assistants, HR Staff, Resource Development, Accounting, Facilities, IT, etc.) Please skip to the Cultural Competence Initiative Section, and begin with # 34. All others - Center Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Executive Directors, VPs, Advocates, Program Coordinators, Drivers, Specialists, Social Workers, etc. please continue to the next question.

98

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department.

Organizational Service Delivery 18. My department refers clients to networks specializing in the same ethnic and cultural background of our clients. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

19. My department has turned away clients due to communication or other barriers. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Examples:

20. There are instances of institutional racism and/or lack of cultural competence within the services my department delivers. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Examples:

21. My department creates a welcoming environment to clients of color. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

22. Clients feel comfortable discussing issues of discrimination or bias with me. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

23. My department really makes efforts to offer culturally appropriate services. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

99

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department. 24. My department values input and assistance on decision making from communities and clients. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

25. My department values input and assistance on decision making from communities and clients of color. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

26. My department does outreach to increase services to underserved communities of color. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Cultural and Linguistic Service Delivery 27. In my department, clients receive effective, understandable, and respectful care that is provided in a manner compatible with their: i. Strongly Disagree

ii. Strongly Disagree

iii. Strongly Disagree

cultural beliefs Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

cultural practices Disagree

preferred language Disagree

28. I receive ongoing education and training in culturally and linguistically appropriate service delivery. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

29. To the best of its ability, my department offers and provides language assistance services, including bilingual staff and interpreter services, at no cost to each client with limited English proficiency. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

30. My department provides clients both verbal offers and written notices informing them of their right to receive language assistance services, in their preferred language. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

31. My department provides materials and posts signs in the languages of the clients and communities represented in the service area. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

100

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department. 32. My department is encouraged to measure how well it is meeting our client’s cultural and linguistic needs, through various assessments or evaluations. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

33. Senior Services collaborates with different cultural/racial communities to make sure we are providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Cultural Competence Initiative 34. The Cultural Competence Initiative is important. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

35. Most people in my department feel the Cultural Competence Initiative is important. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

36. How many times have you participated in cultural competence training within the last year? 0

1

2

3

4 or more

37. I understand the Cultural Competence Initiative and would be confident explaining what it is to a new staff member. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

38. I can better identify instances of oppression in our services after training. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

39. I intervene in an appropriate manner when I observe other staff, volunteers or clients within my department or Senior Center engaging in behaviors that show cultural insensitivity, bias, or prejudice. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

40. I am actively involved in the following cultural competence activities: (circle all that apply) -

Serve on a Cultural Competency Committee

-

Regularly attend Conversations

-

Other ________________________________________________

41. Discussions about racism, privilege, power and accountability are encouraged in my department. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

101

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department. 42. The following levels of the organization have a crucial role in dismantling institutional racism and building cultural competence: (circle all that apply) -

The Board of Directors

-

Volunteers

-

Center Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Executive Director, Vice Presidents

-

Non-Direct Service Staff: Administrative Assistants, HR Staff, Resource Development, Accounting, Facilities, IT, etc.

-

Direct Service Staff: Advocates, Program Coordinators, Drivers, Specialists, Social Workers, etc.

43. The following levels of our organization are committed to undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence (circle all that apply): i.

The Board of Directors

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

ii.

Volunteers

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

iii.

Don’t Know

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Non-Direct Service Staff: Administrative Assistants, HR Staff, Resource Development, Accounting, Facilities, IT, etc.

Strongly Disagree

v.

Strongly Agree

Center Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Executive Director, Vice Presidents

Strongly Disagree

iv.

Agree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Direct Service Staff: Advocates, Program Coordinators, Drivers, Specialists, Social Workers, etc.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Executive Director, Vice Presidents, Supervisors, Managers, Center Directors ONLY (others skip to question # 52)

44. Are you an Executive Director, Vice President, Supervisor, Manager, or Center Director? If yes, please continue. ALL others skip to the section “Tell us about yourself, # 53.

102

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department. 45. I make active efforts to support communities of color in aging policy. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Examples:

46. My program consults with communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and other communities in policy development, revision, and evaluation. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

47. I actively encourage staff to discuss and problem-solve issues of institutional racism and cultural competence. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Examples:

48. I adjust my management/supervisory style to be sensitive to the cultural backgrounds of my employees. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

49. When hiring, I advertise my positions in ethnic community media and in racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

103

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department. 50. When hiring, I look for candidates who have experience working with diverse communities and interest in learning more about providing culturally competent services. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

51. I am familiar with federal and state regulations with regards to antidiscrimination. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

52. I am familiar with federal and state regulations governing accessible services for ethnically and culturally diverse communities. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Please tell us about yourself. (This information will NOT be used to identify individual responses. Data will be reported in aggregate form.) 53. What is your racial/ethnic background? Please circle all that apply: -

American Indian or Alaskan Native Hawaiian Native or Pacific Islander South Asian or Southeast Asian / Asian American (i.e. Chinese, Filipino, Pakistani, Indian, etc.) Black / African American Native of Africa (i.e. Kenyan, Somalian, Nigerian, etc.) Latino / Hispanic Middle Eastern or North African / Middle Eastern American White / Caucasian / European – American Other (please specify) _____________________________

54. Please circle all that you identify as: - Male - Female - Transgender -

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Person with Disabilities Veteran

55. How long have you been with Senior Services? - 0 – 5 years - 6 – 10 years -

11 – 15 years Over 15 years

56. What is your age? - Below 25 years - 25 – 34 years - 35 – 44 years - 45 – 54 years

-

55 – 64 years 65 – 74 years Over 74 years

104

57. What is your position category? - Center Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Executive Director, Vice Presidents - Non-Direct Service Staff: Administrative Assistants, HR Staff, Resource Development, Accounting, Facilities, IT, etc. - Direct Service Staff: Advocates, Program Coordinators, Drivers, Specialists, Social Workers, etc. 58. Do you manage or supervise staff or volunteers? - Yes - No 59. What is your department, center, or program? Accounting, Human Resources, Northshore Adult Day Health Facilities, Contract Management Northshore Senior Center (Belltown) Northshore Transportation Program Ballard Northwest Senior Center Project Enhance Caregiver Advocates, Kinship Care Resource Development Central Area Senior Center Senior Center of West Seattle Community Dining Senior Outreach Community Engagement, SHIBA, Shoreline Lake Forest Park Senior Senior Rights Assistance Center Executive Administration Sno Valley Senior Center Information and Assistance Southeast Senior Center Information Technology Transportation Meals on Wheels Other (please specify) Minor Home Repair ____________________________ 60. Do you speak a language other than English fluently, with an understanding of the cultures(s) of that language? - Yes - No 61. Does your work ever involve working directly with clients? - Yes - No THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Appendix F

Volunteer Member Cultural Competence Survey As part of Senior Services' Cultural Competence Initiative, we are surveying all Volunteer members. Please do not feel that you or your department are expected to be performing every expectation listed on the survey. Your responses to this survey will provide us with baseline data - a starting point from which to measure the organization's progress over time in undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence. Accordingly, Senior Services will use the results as a learning tool for guiding how the cultural competence initiative is implemented. Your answers to the survey are ANONYMOUS and CONFIDENTIAL. Any data that will be reported will be in aggregate form so there will be no way that individual respondents are identifiable. We encourage you to be as candid as possible in your responses. We realize you may not be able to answer every question. If you do not understand a question, or it does not apply to your work, please select "I don't know". The survey takes about 15-20 minutes to complete. We know how busy you are, and appreciate your taking the time to participate. For more information about the initiative, please visit the Grapevine and view the documents posted under “Cultural Competence.” (http://www.seniorservices.org/intranet/ssskc/Resources.htm). If you have any questions, please contact: Questions about the survey: Farlis Lewis at 206-268-6705 Questions about the initiative: Negin Almassi at 206-727-6257 Thank you!

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department.

Organizational Culture 1. I feel comfortable talking about institutional racism or cultural competence at work. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

2. My department creates a welcoming working environment for people of color. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

3. I feel that my race brings me inherent unearned advantages. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

4. My coworkers at Senior Services make negative assumptions about my work ethic, based upon my race. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

5. I expend energy at work, because of my race. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

6. My department understands and draws upon the assets of culturally and racially diverse perspectives. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

7. Senior Services understands and encourages different cultural styles and approaches to leadership. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

8. My department creates a welcoming environment to clients of color. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

9. I would feel comfortable referring members of my cultural or ethnic community to Senior Services, knowing that they will receive quality services. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

107

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department.

Organizational Structure 10. There are instances of institutional racism and/or lack of cultural competence within our policies and procedures. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Examples:

11. I feel that my input is considered and valued in Senior Services’ decisionmaking processes. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

12. Staff/Volunteer Members of color are regularly asked if the policies, procedures, and programs of Senior Services are equitable. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

13. Our budget and resource allocations have an equitable impact across different cultural and racial communities. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

14. Senior Services uses many different recruitment strategies to reach ethnically and culturally diverse candidates for staff, volunteer, and board members. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

15. Senior Services has fair and equitable hiring practices. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Organizational Service Delivery 16. My department refers clients to networks specializing in the same ethnic and cultural background of our clients. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

108

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department. 17. My department has turned away clients due to communication or other barriers. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Examples:

18. There are instances of institutional racism and/or lack of cultural competence within the services my department delivers. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Examples:

19. My department creates a welcoming environment to clients of color. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

20. Clients feel comfortable discussing issues of discrimination or bias with me. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

21. My department really makes efforts to offer culturally appropriate services. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

22. My department values input and assistance on decision making from communities and clients. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

23. My department values input and assistance on decision making from communities and clients of color. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

109

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department. 24. My department does outreach to increase services to underserved communities of color. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Cultural and Linguistic Service Delivery 25. In my department, clients receive effective, understandable, and respectful care that is provided in a manner compatible with their: i. Strongly Disagree

ii. Strongly Disagree

iii. Strongly Disagree

cultural beliefs Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

cultural practices Disagree

preferred language Disagree

26. I receive ongoing education and training in culturally and linguistically appropriate service delivery. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

27. To the best of its ability, my department offers and provides language assistance services, including bilingual staff and interpreter services, at no cost to each client with limited English proficiency. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

28. My department provides clients both verbal offers and written notices informing them of their right to receive language assistance services, in their preferred language. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

29. My department provides materials and posts signs in the languages of the clients and communities represented in the service area. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

30. My department is encouraged to measure how well it is meeting our client’s cultural and linguistic needs, through various assessments or evaluations. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

31. Senior Services collaborates with different cultural/racial communities to make sure we are providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

110

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department. Cultural Competence Initiative 32. The Cultural Competence Initiative is important. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

33. Most people in my department feel the Cultural Competence Initiative is important. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

34. How many times have you participated in cultural competence training within the last year? 0

1

2

3

4 or more

35. I understand the Cultural Competence Initiative and would be confident explaining what it is to a new staff member. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

36. I can better identify instances of oppression in our services after training. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

37. I intervene in an appropriate manner when I observe other staff, volunteers or clients within my department or Senior Center engaging in behaviors that show cultural insensitivity, bias, or prejudice. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

38. I am actively involved in the following cultural competence activities: (circle all that apply) a. Serve on a Cultural Competency Committee b. Regularly attend Conversations c. Other ________________________________________________ 39. Discussions about racism, privilege, power and accountability are encouraged in my department. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

40. The following levels of the organization have a crucial role in dismantling institutional racism and building cultural competence: (circle all that apply) a. The Board of Directors b. Volunteers c. Center Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Executive Director, Vice Presidents

111

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department. d. Non-Direct Service Staff: Administrative Assistants, HR Staff, Resource Development, Accounting, Facilities, IT, etc. e. Direct Service Staff: Advocates, Program Coordinators, Drivers, Specialists, Social Workers, etc. 41. The following levels of our organization are committed to undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence (circle all that apply): i.

The Board of Directors

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

ii.

Volunteers

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

iii.

Don’t Know

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Non-Direct Service Staff: Administrative Assistants, HR Staff, Resource Development, Accounting, Facilities, IT, etc.

Strongly Disagree

v.

Strongly Agree

Center Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Executive Director, Vice Presidents

Strongly Disagree

iv.

Agree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Direct Service Staff: Advocates, Program Coordinators, Drivers, Specialists, Social Workers, etc.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Please tell us about yourself. (This section will help us ensure that we have a diverse group of people replying to the survey. This information will NOT be used to identify individual responses. ) 42. What is your racial/ethnic background? Please circle all that apply: a. American Indian or Alaskan Native b. Hawaiian Native or Pacific Islander c. South Asian or Southeast Asian / Asian American (i.e. Chinese, Filipino, Pakistani, Indian, etc.) d. Black / African American e. Native of Africa (i.e. Kenyan, Somalian, Nigerian, etc.) f. Latino / Hispanic g. Middle Eastern or North African / Middle Eastern American h. White / Caucasian / European – American i. Other (please specify) _____________________________

112

In these questions, the phrase “My Department” refers to your program, senior center, or administrative department. 43. Please circle all that you identify as: a. Male d. b. Female e. c. Transgender f.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Person with Disabilities Veteran

44. How long have you been with Senior Services? a. 0 – 5 years c. 11 – 15 years b. 6 – 10 years d. Over 15 years 45. What is your age? a. Below 25 years b. 25 – 34 years c. 35 – 44 years d. 45 – 54 years

e. 55 – 64 years f. 65 – 74 years g. Over 74 years

46. What is your department, center, or program? Accounting, Human Resources, Northshore Adult Day Health Facilities, Contract Management Northshore Senior Center (Belltown) Northshore Transportation Program Ballard Northwest Senior Center Project Enhance Caregiver Advocates, Kinship Care Resource Development Central Area Senior Center Senior Center of West Seattle Community Dining Senior Outreach Community Engagement, SHIBA, Shoreline Lake Forest Park Senior Senior Rights Assistance Center Executive Administration Sno Valley Senior Center Information and Assistance Southeast Senior Center Information Technology Transportation Meals on Wheels Other (please specify) Minor Home Repair ____________________________ 47. Do you speak a language other than English fluently, with an understanding of the cultures(s) of that language? a. Yes b. No 48. Does your work ever involve working directly with clients? a. Yes b. No

THANK YOU VERY MUCH! 113

Appendix G

Board Member Cultural Competence Survey As part of Senior Services' Cultural Competence Initiative, we are surveying the members of all boards of Senior Services and its Senior Centers. Your responses to this survey will provide us with baseline data - a starting point from which to measure the organization's progress over time in undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence. Accordingly, Senior Services will use the results as a learning tool for guiding how the Cultural Competence Initiative is implemented. Consistent with the work of the Cultural Competence Task Group, this survey focuses both on *undoing institutional racism* and on *building cultural competence.* We realize that you may not be able to answer every question. If you do not understand a question, or it does not apply to your Board experience, please select "I don't know". Your answers to the survey are ANONYMOUS and CONFIDENTIAL. Any data that will be reported will be in aggregate form so there will be no way that individual respondents are identifiable. We encourage you to be as candid as possible in your responses. The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete. We know how busy you are, and appreciate your taking the time to participate. You cannot save the survey and come back to it later, so please give yourself enough time to complete it in one sitting.

If you have any questions, please contact: Questions about the survey: Farlis Lewis at 206-268-6705 Questions about the initiative: Negin Almassi at 206-727-6257 Thank you!

Organizational Culture 62. Senior Services understands and encourages different cultural styles and approaches to leadership. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

63. Existing board members mentor new members on the board, paying attention to dynamics of racial exclusion. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

64. I would feel comfortable referring members of my cultural or ethnic community to Senior Services, knowing that they will receive quality services. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

65. I feel that my race brings me inherent unearned advantages. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

66. People I work with on the Board of Directors make negative assumptions about my work ethic, based upon my race. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

67. Board decision-making processes are transparent (i.e. people understand what the decision-making process is). Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

68. There are instances of institutional racism and/or a lack of cultural competence within Board policies and procedures. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Examples:

69. Our budget and resource allocations have an equitable impact across different cultural and racial communities. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

115

70. Senior Services uses many different recruitment strategies to reach ethnically and culturally diverse candidates for staff, volunteer, and board members. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

71. Senior Services has fair and equitable hiring practices. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Service Delivery 72. The Board does outreach to increase representation of underserved communities of color. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

73. The Board consults with communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and other communities in policy development, revision, and evaluation. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

74. Individual board members build and maintain relationships with communities of color, immigrant and refugee communities, and other diverse groups. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

75. The Board seeks input and guidance from staff and board members of color. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

76. I am familiar with federal and state regulations with regards to antidiscrimination. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

77. I am familiar with federal and state regulations governing accessible services for ethnically and culturally diverse communities. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

78. As an organization, Senior Services collaborates with different culturalracial communities to make sure we are providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

116

Cultural Competence Initiative 79. The Cultural Competence Initiative is important. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

80. Most people on the Board feel the Cultural Competence Initiative is important. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

81. Opportunities for developing cross-cultural skills are provided to me by Senior Services. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

82. How many times have you participated in cultural competence training within the last year? 0

1

2

3

4 or more

83. I understand the Cultural Competence Initiative, and would be confident explaining what it is to a new board member. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

84. I can better identify instances of oppression in our services after cultural competence training. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

85. The Board of Directors undergoes regular training to develop skills in undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

86. The Board of Directors has discussions about how institutional racism and lack of cultural competence affect our ability to meet our mission. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

87. I intervene in an appropriate manner when I observe behaviors that show cultural insensitivity, bias, or prejudice. Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

88. I am actively involved in the following cultural competence activities: (circle all that apply) -

Serve on a Cultural Competency Committee

-

Regularly attend Conversations

-

Other ________________________________________________

117

89. The following levels of the organization have a crucial role in dismantling institutional racism and building cultural competence: (circle all that apply) -

The Board of Directors

-

Volunteers

-

Center Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Executive Director, Vice Presidents

-

Non-Direct Service Staff: Administrative Assistants, HR Staff, Resource Development, Accounting, Facilities, IT, etc.

-

Direct Service Staff: Advocates, Program Coordinators, Drivers, Specialists, Social Workers, etc.

90. The following levels of our organization are committed to undoing institutional racism and building cultural competence (circle all that apply): i.

The Board of Directors

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

ii.

Volunteers

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

iii.

Don’t Know

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Non-Direct Service Staff: Administrative Assistants, HR Staff, Resource Development, Accounting, Facilities, IT, etc.

Strongly Disagree

v.

Strongly Agree

Center Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Executive Director, Vice Presidents

Strongly Disagree

iv.

Agree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

Direct Service Staff: Advocates, Program Coordinators, Drivers, Specialists, Social Workers, etc.

Strongly Disagree

Disagree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Don’t Know

118

Please tell us about yourself. (This section will help us ensure that we have a diverse group of people replying to the survey. This information will NOT be used to identify individual responses.) 91. What is your racial/ethnic background? Please circle all that apply: - American Indian or Alaskan Native - Hawaiian Native or Pacific Islander - South Asian or Southeast Asian / Asian American (i.e. Chinese, Filipino, Pakistani, Indian, etc.) - Black / African American - Native of Africa (i.e. Kenyan, Somalian, Nigerian, etc.) - Latino / Hispanic - Middle Eastern or North African / Middle Eastern American - White / Caucasian / European – American - Other (please specify) _____________________________ 92. Please circle all that you identify as: - Male - Female - Transgender -

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Person with Disabilities Veteran

93. How long have you been with Senior Services? - 0 – 5 years - 6 – 10 years -

11 – 15 years Over 15 years

94. What is your age? - Below 34 years - 35 – 44 years - 45 – 54 years

55 – 64 years 65 – 74 years Over 75 years

95. Which Board do you serve on? Ballard Northwest Senior Center Central Area Senior Center Northshore Senior Center Senior Center of West Seattle

-

Senior Services Shoreline / Lake Forest Park Senior Center Sno-Valley Senior Center Southeast Seattle Senior Center

96. Do you speak a language other than English fluently, with an understanding of the cultures(s) of that language? - Yes - No

119