Skip to main content

Wraparound Principles of Safe at Home West Virginia – Culturally Competent

KVC West Virginia continues to provide quality services to children and families through the Safe at Home West Virginia initiative. This program, which is in its third full month, links families with services and resources in their communities. Safe at Home West Virginia is part of the state’s Title IV-E waiver demonstration project and looks to bring children back from out-of-state and in-state residential placement, while reuniting them with their own communities when possible. Safe at Home West Virginia uses the Wraparound Principles put forth by the National Wraparound Initiative. This is the sixth blog in the series about these principles.

PRINCIPLE NUMBER SIX – CULTURALLY COMPETENT

The National Wraparound Initiative describes the principle of being Culturally Competent as:

  • “The wraparound process demonstrates respect for and builds on the values, preferences, beliefs, culture, and identity of the child/youth and family, and their community.”

What this means for families – We are all shaped by our culture, values, and beliefs, and Safe at Home West Virginia looks to understand and use these as part of treatment. Learning about what culturally makes a family special leads to respect of these beliefs. When the team can learn about a family’s preferences and history, they can make a stronger and more viable plan that the family can follow. The team will view the family’s values and culture as part of their strengths and seek resources and support that align with those strengths.

It is important to note that resources that support family’s cultural styles and beliefs tend to be more natural in nature and are supports and resources that families can use once the more formal supports (like Safe at Home West Virginia) are no longer in place. Learn more about the wraparound principle of natural supports here.

To learn about how your community or organization can support youth and families participating in Safe at Home West Virginia, click here.  To understand more about how KVC is using the Wraparound Principles in Safe at Home West Virginia, visit our other blog posts.