Assuring Cultural Competence in Health Care:
Recommendations for National Standards and
an Outcomes-Focused Research Agenda


Recommendations for National Standards and a National Public Comment Process

Summary

This project makes recommendations for national standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) in health care. Based on an analytical review of key laws, regulations, contracts, and standards currently in use by federal and state agencies and other national organizations, these standards were developed with input from a national advisory committee of policymakers, health care providers, and researchers. Each standard is accompanied by commentary that addresses the proposed guideline's relationship to existing laws and standards, and offers recommendations for implementation and oversight to providers, policymakers, and advocates.

The Office of Minority Health has determined that the appropriate next step is for the draft CLAS standards to undergo a national process of public comment that will result in a broader awareness of HHS interest in CLAS, significant input from stakeholder groups on the draft standards, and a final revision of the standards and accompanying commentary supported by the expertise of a national advisory committee. The final revisions will be published in the Federal Register as recommended national standards for adoption or adaptation by stakeholder organizations and agencies.

The following webpages contain complete information about the CLAS standards project and the national public comment process, which will run from January-April 2000. We encourage you to review the standards and the complete report, and to comment on them by submitting your comments and/or participating in the three regional meetings.

CLAS Standards

• Project Overview

• Draft Standards
• Full Report and Commentary
• Project Staff and Advisory Committee

Federal Register Notice and Public Comment Process

• Federal Register Notice
  

Regional Meetings

• Summary Reports from Regional Meetings

Final CLAS Standards (December 22, 2000)

• Federal Register version
• Navigable HTML version

Comprehensive Final Report (March 2001)

• Adobe Acrobat version

Executive Summary (March 2001)

• English
• Spanish