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It is again suggested that people from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities comprise a disproportionately high percentage of mental health inpatients. Furthermore, the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) concluded the Department of Health (DH) did not have ‘due regard’ to the Race Equality Duty, retaining major concerns regarding the ability of the DH to ensure future compliance (CRE, 2007). In light of these ongoing problems the DH published a five‐year action plan, Delivering Race Equality (DRE) in Mental Health Care to develop race equality and cultural competence training for mental health practitioners (DH, 2005).A focused review of literature was undertaken, structured around three questions.1. How is cultural competence in mental health care defined?2. How is cultural competence in mental health care delivered?3. How is the delivery of cultural competence in mental health care evaluated?Consensus is lacking on definition of cultural competence and on the sequence of when the components should be acquired, some terms being used interchangeably. It is unclear how cultural competence in mental health care can be delivered. No attempts have been adequately evaluated, particularly by service users (Bhui et al, 2007). More innovative research is needed to develop a consensual definition of cultural competence and to facilitate the delivery and evaluation of such, in ways acceptable to service users and service providers.

The population of the USA consists of a culturally diverse mix of individuals, many of them recent immigrants, from a wide range of ethnic and racial groups. Given an increasing multicultural and multilingual population, an urgent need for cross‐cultural community and health services, and for culturally competent practitioners, has emerged in the profession of mental health. The reality of that diversity raises two crucial implications: the profession needs more culturally competent practitioners to work with multicultural service‐users; and the clinical assessment and treatment of the population has become more challenging and complex. This paper seeks to explore vital cultural components in training mental health practitioners to work with multiethnic groups.

A qualitative and purposive methodology with structured interview questions was employed to gather data for analysis. The process of data analysis included line‐by‐line transcription of each interview and then the data were coded and categorized. Professors, experienced clinicians, and researchers in the multicultural field were interviewed for data collection.

The findings were organized into four essential components in achieving cultural competency in mental health training. Attitudinal components: cultural appreciation, learning curiosity, assumption free, and cognitive flexibility; emotional components: emotional knowledge, reflective ability, worldview knowledge, and cultural alertness; intellectual components: cultural knowledge, single culture, and clinical knowledge; and integrative practice components: cultural engagement, integrative assessment, and integrative intervention process.

The findings contribute to an expanded understanding and integration of major cultural elements in mental health training and practice.

Despite contemporary concerns arising from high levels of serious mental illness in this group, there is no convincing evidence that the mental well‐being of black men is generally poor. The potential for general practice to influence mental well‐being derives from the totality of its services to patients. Black and minority ethnic (BME) users report lower levels of satisfaction with general practice services than the population as a whole. A review of evidence indicates poorer access to effective care in general practice by BME users. For general practice to become a service that is culturally competent for multicultural communities the setting of consultations and skills‐employed need to maximise patient enablement, and patient profile data, including self‐ascribed ethnicity, needs to be developed and utilised for routine race equality audit.

The dramatic population growth of Hispanics and immigrants, combined with the issue of diversity, in the United States population raises several important questions about the future role of public administration and the delivery of culturally appropriate and culturally responsive public programs and public services in the post modern era of diversity. What is cultural competency in public programs and public service delivery? Can public agencies become culturally competent organizations? What is a cultural competency model for public administration and public service delivery? Aims to answer these questions that point to the need for a “new” kind of public servant and public service agency provider– one who possesses explicit cultural competency skills to work with racial/ethnic and cultural/linguistic groups in the delivery of public programs and public services.

Utilizing a literature review approach, the paper examines the concept of culture in public administration and argues that “culture” and “competency” must be tied together thereby leading to a contemporary standard and operational framework for advancing cultural competency in public administration and public service delivery. The article argues that cultural competency can enhance public administration/public service delivery normative values by increasing an agency's ability to work efficiently, effectively, and equitably in the context of cultural differences.

The paper concludes that there are five reasons for incorporating cultural competency into the study and practice of public administration/public service delivery and moving a public agency toward cultural competence.

Embracing cultural competency in public service delivery recognizes the salience of understanding the cultural context in which any direct public service encounter occurs. Advancing cultural competency presents an opportunity to address the incomplete and often times inaccurate public services and public programs provided to minority populations. A focus on cultural competency increases the relevancy of a public agency's administration, services and programs to the groups that can best utilize them. Having knowledge, awareness, and skills in cultural competency, service delivery professionals are better prepared to do their jobs.

This paper should be of value to both academics and practitioners as they grapple with diversity and immigration issues, public administration, public programs and public service delivery.

Purpose – The United States has and will continue to experience increasing levels of diversity in all segments of the population. To address the information needs of diverse students, it is important for school library certification programs to offer a curriculum that addresses such topics as the role of culturally competent library service for diverse K-12 student patrons as well as teaching future school librarians how to provide services and programs that include all members of the school community, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students.

Design – We use a combination of a literature review, an explanation of the tenets of cultural competence, and relevant descriptions of experiences of LGBT youth to generate practical solutions for transforming the curriculum and culture in Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) programs with the goal of better serving LGBT patrons in secondary schools.

Findings – Twelve specific solutions were identified that focus on transforming the curricular and cultural landscape of MLIS programs as they relate to promoting diversity and inclusivity in preparing school librarians to serve LGBT students.

Value – The chapter ultimately emphasizes the unfortunate outcome resulting from MLIS programs failing to prepare school librarians who are aware of the importance of embracing and demonstrating culturally competent and inclusive services for LGBT students. It also shares strategies for improving curricular practices that affect the culture of MLIS programs and, by extension, the atmosphere in school library programs.

This commentary outlines the role and benefits of peer‐professional partnerships in developing and providing culturally competent health promotion services. There is evidence that both paid and voluntary peer leaders can effectively work with public health professionals, to increase reach, access and positive outcomes through culturally tailored interventions. This paper outlines many of the advantages of these partnerships for public health practice, while acknowledging some limitations and calls for a greater application and evaluation of peer‐professional models in preventative health services.

The purpose of this article is two‐fold. First, it applies the PEN‐3 model to the topic of domestic violence within the Chinese American and Chinese immigrant community. The PEN‐3 model was developed by Collins Airhihenbuwa, and it focuses on placing culture at the forefront of health promotion. It consists of three dimensions: cultural identity, relationships and expectations, and cultural empowerment. The article offers practice recommendations from the PEN‐3 analysis to plan culturally relevant and sensitive domestic violence prevention, education, and services targeted to the Chinese American and Chinese immigrant community.

Using existing literature in the areas of domestic violence and health, mental health, and counseling interventions with Chinese Americans and immigrants, the PEN‐3 model, as an organizing framework, was applied to understand the phenomenon of domestic violence among Chinese Americans and Chinese immigrants in the United States.

How Chinese Americans and Chinese immigrants perceive domestic violence and how they obtain formal assistance are embedded within a larger sociocultural context including a host of factors ranging from personal, family, community, environmental, and structural variables.

The PEN‐3 model reinforces the importance in addressing domestic violence within an ecological and cultural framework. Harnessing traditional Chinese value systems (i.e. emphasis on collectivism, hierarchy, patriarchy) and collaborating with the community are essential in promoting culturally sensitive interventions.

Practice articles examining the application of the PEN‐3 model on domestic violence among Chinese Americans and Chinese immigrants are lacking. More often than not, culture and other social forces are minimized by practitioners who are guided by “Western ways of knowing.”

This study investigated how superintendents lead the process of within-district racial and socioeconomic integration.

The researchers used Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology to analyze interviews with superintendents, documents and videos from four school districts in suburban, southeastern Pennsylvania.

The emergent “Leadership for In-District Integration” theory indicated that superintendents who led redistricting initiatives aligned their systems for organizational equity only after developing culturally competent leadership practices and building trusting relationships within the school community. Despite these efforts, only two of the four districts achieved racial or socioeconomic balance in the targeted grade levels. In all districts the efforts to integrate their schools for equity were ongoing.

The current study's findings indicate that school leaders may face less conflict with constituents about school desegregation if they capitalize on existing needs to redraw district boundaries for other purposes. Superintendents seeking to engage in such work should set clear goals for what constitutes desegregation, view integration as more than demographic balancing and seek support to develop culturally competent leadership practices that build trusting relationships among community members.

The Leadership for In-District Integration theory adds conceptual and practical value to the field of educational administration by effectively illustrating what it meant to superintendents to integrate a school system and revealing insights that may help other school leaders make such a change. This research is significant because it is one of the few studies that focuses primarily on leadership factors associated with integration within suburban school districts.

Although the need for cultural competence in clinical care has been well articulated for over four decades, the goal of integrating and addressing cultural issues in care remains elusive. The challenges can be attributed to a lack of clarity on definitions and a lack of understanding of what constitutes cultural competence. What to know and what to do are questions that are frequently raised in discussions of cultural competence. Previous literature has described cultural competence in terms of affective, behavioural, and cognitive domains. The purpose of this paper is to build on this discourse by discussing key attributes within each domain and extending the framework to highlight the dynamics of difference, clarify the goal of equity, and recognise the importance of practice environments in the development of cultural competence in clinical care.