National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (National CLAS Standards) (18)
| CLAS standard category . | Standard elements . | Recommended approaches . |
|---|---|---|
| Principal standard | 1. Provide effective, equitable, understandable, and respectful quality care and services that are responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy, and other communication needs. | |
| Governance, leadership, and workforce | 2. Advance and sustain organizational governance and leadership that promotes CLAS and health equity through policy, practices, and allocated resources. | - Diversify the endocrine workforce with culturally competent and bilingual providers - Support pathway programs to engage underrepresented students in applying to medical and graduate school - Mandate system-wide health care provider education that includes unconscious bias, diversity awareness, and antiracism training |
| 3. Recruit, promote, and support a culturally and linguistically diverse governance, leadership and workforce that are responsive to the population in the service area. | ||
| 4. Educate and train governance, leadership, and workforce in culturally and linguistically appropriate policies and practices on an ongoing basis. | ||
| Communication and language assistance | 5. Offer language assistance to individuals who have limited English proficiency and/or other communication needs, at no cost to them, to facilitate timely access to all health care and services. | - Establish robust language access services program using certified bilingual providers and interpretation services using multiple modalities (in-person, telephone, video remote) - Ensure that patient education materials are literacy-adapted and easy to understand. - Provide patient education materials and clinical area signage in most commonly spoken languages. |
| 6. Inform all individuals of the availability of language assistance services clearly and in their preferred language, verbally and in writing. | ||
| 7. Ensure the competence of individuals providing language assistance, recognizing that the use of untrained individuals and/or minors as interpreters should be avoided. | ||
| 8. Provide easy-to-understand print and multimedia materials and signage in the languages commonly used by the populations in the service area. | ||
| Engagement, continuous improvement, and accountability | 9. Establish culturally and linguistically appropriate goals, policies and management accountability, and infuse them throughout the organizations’ planning and operations. | - Collect and maintain accurate and reliable demographic data to monitor and evaluate disease outcome by race, ethnicity, sex, English proficiency, ability status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. - Train staff in proper interview techniques to ascertain patients’ self-identified demographic data. - Create and regularly monitor health equity dashboards as part of organizational quality improvement activities. - Incorporate multilevel, culturally tailored, and literacy-adapted interventions that target all aspects of health care delivery—patients, providers, and health care system |
| 10. Conduct ongoing assessments of the organization’s CLAS-related activities and integrate CLAS-related measures into assessment measurement and continuous quality improvement activities. | ||
| 11. Collect and maintain accurate and reliable demographic data to monitor and evaluate the impact of CLAS on health equity and outcomes and inform service delivery. | ||
| 12. Conduct regular assessments of community health assets and needs and use the results to plan and implement services that respond to the culturally and linguistic diversity of populations in the service area. | ||
| 13. Partner with the community to design, implement, and evaluate policies, practices, and services to ensure cultural and linguistic appropriateness. | ||
| 14. Create conflict- and grievance-resolution processes that are culturally and linguistically appropriate to identify, prevent, and resolve conflicts or complaints. | ||
| 15. Communicate the organization’s progress in implementing and sustaining CLAS to all stakeholders, constituents and the general public. |
| CLAS standard category . | Standard elements . | Recommended approaches . |
|---|---|---|
| Principal standard | 1. Provide effective, equitable, understandable, and respectful quality care and services that are responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy, and other communication needs. | |
| Governance, leadership, and workforce | 2. Advance and sustain organizational governance and leadership that promotes CLAS and health equity through policy, practices, and allocated resources. | - Diversify the endocrine workforce with culturally competent and bilingual providers - Support pathway programs to engage underrepresented students in applying to medical and graduate school - Mandate system-wide health care provider education that includes unconscious bias, diversity awareness, and antiracism training |
| 3. Recruit, promote, and support a culturally and linguistically diverse governance, leadership and workforce that are responsive to the population in the service area. | ||
| 4. Educate and train governance, leadership, and workforce in culturally and linguistically appropriate policies and practices on an ongoing basis. | ||
| Communication and language assistance | 5. Offer language assistance to individuals who have limited English proficiency and/or other communication needs, at no cost to them, to facilitate timely access to all health care and services. | - Establish robust language access services program using certified bilingual providers and interpretation services using multiple modalities (in-person, telephone, video remote) - Ensure that patient education materials are literacy-adapted and easy to understand. - Provide patient education materials and clinical area signage in most commonly spoken languages. |
| 6. Inform all individuals of the availability of language assistance services clearly and in their preferred language, verbally and in writing. | ||
| 7. Ensure the competence of individuals providing language assistance, recognizing that the use of untrained individuals and/or minors as interpreters should be avoided. | ||
| 8. Provide easy-to-understand print and multimedia materials and signage in the languages commonly used by the populations in the service area. | ||
| Engagement, continuous improvement, and accountability | 9. Establish culturally and linguistically appropriate goals, policies and management accountability, and infuse them throughout the organizations’ planning and operations. | - Collect and maintain accurate and reliable demographic data to monitor and evaluate disease outcome by race, ethnicity, sex, English proficiency, ability status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. - Train staff in proper interview techniques to ascertain patients’ self-identified demographic data. - Create and regularly monitor health equity dashboards as part of organizational quality improvement activities. - Incorporate multilevel, culturally tailored, and literacy-adapted interventions that target all aspects of health care delivery—patients, providers, and health care system |
| 10. Conduct ongoing assessments of the organization’s CLAS-related activities and integrate CLAS-related measures into assessment measurement and continuous quality improvement activities. | ||
| 11. Collect and maintain accurate and reliable demographic data to monitor and evaluate the impact of CLAS on health equity and outcomes and inform service delivery. | ||
| 12. Conduct regular assessments of community health assets and needs and use the results to plan and implement services that respond to the culturally and linguistic diversity of populations in the service area. | ||
| 13. Partner with the community to design, implement, and evaluate policies, practices, and services to ensure cultural and linguistic appropriateness. | ||
| 14. Create conflict- and grievance-resolution processes that are culturally and linguistically appropriate to identify, prevent, and resolve conflicts or complaints. | ||
| 15. Communicate the organization’s progress in implementing and sustaining CLAS to all stakeholders, constituents and the general public. |
National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (National CLAS Standards) (18)
| CLAS standard category . | Standard elements . | Recommended approaches . |
|---|---|---|
| Principal standard | 1. Provide effective, equitable, understandable, and respectful quality care and services that are responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy, and other communication needs. | |
| Governance, leadership, and workforce | 2. Advance and sustain organizational governance and leadership that promotes CLAS and health equity through policy, practices, and allocated resources. | - Diversify the endocrine workforce with culturally competent and bilingual providers - Support pathway programs to engage underrepresented students in applying to medical and graduate school - Mandate system-wide health care provider education that includes unconscious bias, diversity awareness, and antiracism training |
| 3. Recruit, promote, and support a culturally and linguistically diverse governance, leadership and workforce that are responsive to the population in the service area. | ||
| 4. Educate and train governance, leadership, and workforce in culturally and linguistically appropriate policies and practices on an ongoing basis. | ||
| Communication and language assistance | 5. Offer language assistance to individuals who have limited English proficiency and/or other communication needs, at no cost to them, to facilitate timely access to all health care and services. | - Establish robust language access services program using certified bilingual providers and interpretation services using multiple modalities (in-person, telephone, video remote) - Ensure that patient education materials are literacy-adapted and easy to understand. - Provide patient education materials and clinical area signage in most commonly spoken languages. |
| 6. Inform all individuals of the availability of language assistance services clearly and in their preferred language, verbally and in writing. | ||
| 7. Ensure the competence of individuals providing language assistance, recognizing that the use of untrained individuals and/or minors as interpreters should be avoided. | ||
| 8. Provide easy-to-understand print and multimedia materials and signage in the languages commonly used by the populations in the service area. | ||
| Engagement, continuous improvement, and accountability | 9. Establish culturally and linguistically appropriate goals, policies and management accountability, and infuse them throughout the organizations’ planning and operations. | - Collect and maintain accurate and reliable demographic data to monitor and evaluate disease outcome by race, ethnicity, sex, English proficiency, ability status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. - Train staff in proper interview techniques to ascertain patients’ self-identified demographic data. - Create and regularly monitor health equity dashboards as part of organizational quality improvement activities. - Incorporate multilevel, culturally tailored, and literacy-adapted interventions that target all aspects of health care delivery—patients, providers, and health care system |
| 10. Conduct ongoing assessments of the organization’s CLAS-related activities and integrate CLAS-related measures into assessment measurement and continuous quality improvement activities. | ||
| 11. Collect and maintain accurate and reliable demographic data to monitor and evaluate the impact of CLAS on health equity and outcomes and inform service delivery. | ||
| 12. Conduct regular assessments of community health assets and needs and use the results to plan and implement services that respond to the culturally and linguistic diversity of populations in the service area. | ||
| 13. Partner with the community to design, implement, and evaluate policies, practices, and services to ensure cultural and linguistic appropriateness. | ||
| 14. Create conflict- and grievance-resolution processes that are culturally and linguistically appropriate to identify, prevent, and resolve conflicts or complaints. | ||
| 15. Communicate the organization’s progress in implementing and sustaining CLAS to all stakeholders, constituents and the general public. |
| CLAS standard category . | Standard elements . | Recommended approaches . |
|---|---|---|
| Principal standard | 1. Provide effective, equitable, understandable, and respectful quality care and services that are responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy, and other communication needs. | |
| Governance, leadership, and workforce | 2. Advance and sustain organizational governance and leadership that promotes CLAS and health equity through policy, practices, and allocated resources. | - Diversify the endocrine workforce with culturally competent and bilingual providers - Support pathway programs to engage underrepresented students in applying to medical and graduate school - Mandate system-wide health care provider education that includes unconscious bias, diversity awareness, and antiracism training |
| 3. Recruit, promote, and support a culturally and linguistically diverse governance, leadership and workforce that are responsive to the population in the service area. | ||
| 4. Educate and train governance, leadership, and workforce in culturally and linguistically appropriate policies and practices on an ongoing basis. | ||
| Communication and language assistance | 5. Offer language assistance to individuals who have limited English proficiency and/or other communication needs, at no cost to them, to facilitate timely access to all health care and services. | - Establish robust language access services program using certified bilingual providers and interpretation services using multiple modalities (in-person, telephone, video remote) - Ensure that patient education materials are literacy-adapted and easy to understand. - Provide patient education materials and clinical area signage in most commonly spoken languages. |
| 6. Inform all individuals of the availability of language assistance services clearly and in their preferred language, verbally and in writing. | ||
| 7. Ensure the competence of individuals providing language assistance, recognizing that the use of untrained individuals and/or minors as interpreters should be avoided. | ||
| 8. Provide easy-to-understand print and multimedia materials and signage in the languages commonly used by the populations in the service area. | ||
| Engagement, continuous improvement, and accountability | 9. Establish culturally and linguistically appropriate goals, policies and management accountability, and infuse them throughout the organizations’ planning and operations. | - Collect and maintain accurate and reliable demographic data to monitor and evaluate disease outcome by race, ethnicity, sex, English proficiency, ability status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. - Train staff in proper interview techniques to ascertain patients’ self-identified demographic data. - Create and regularly monitor health equity dashboards as part of organizational quality improvement activities. - Incorporate multilevel, culturally tailored, and literacy-adapted interventions that target all aspects of health care delivery—patients, providers, and health care system |
| 10. Conduct ongoing assessments of the organization’s CLAS-related activities and integrate CLAS-related measures into assessment measurement and continuous quality improvement activities. | ||
| 11. Collect and maintain accurate and reliable demographic data to monitor and evaluate the impact of CLAS on health equity and outcomes and inform service delivery. | ||
| 12. Conduct regular assessments of community health assets and needs and use the results to plan and implement services that respond to the culturally and linguistic diversity of populations in the service area. | ||
| 13. Partner with the community to design, implement, and evaluate policies, practices, and services to ensure cultural and linguistic appropriateness. | ||
| 14. Create conflict- and grievance-resolution processes that are culturally and linguistically appropriate to identify, prevent, and resolve conflicts or complaints. | ||
| 15. Communicate the organization’s progress in implementing and sustaining CLAS to all stakeholders, constituents and the general public. |
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