CLAS Guide, Report, and Toolkit
The National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (The National CLAS Standards) aim to improve health care quality by establishing a framework for organizations to serve the nation's increasingly diverse communities.
Over the past several years, behavioral health providers and education systems are recognizing the value of the National CLAS Standards in addressing behavioral health disparities. To advance this effort, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) collaborated with OMH to develop the Behavioral Health Implementation Guide for the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (Behavioral Health Implementation Guide).
This Behavioral Health Implementation Guide underscores the ways in which the National CLAS Standards can improve access to behavioral health care, promote quality behavioral health programs and practice, and ultimately reduce persistent disparities in mental health and substance use treatment for underserved minority communities
In addition, OMH developed a framework and toolkit to guide health care organizations’ efforts in evaluating their implementation of the National CLAS Standards. The full report can be accessed below along with the toolkit which distills the elements of the framework and can help guide evaluations across four settings (ambulatory care, behavioral health, hospitals, and public health).
Last Edited: 02/11/2025