Office of Minority Health

Grantee

Washington State Department of Health 
Olympia, WA 98504-7990

Project: Implementing CLAS Standards in Washington State
Amount: $150,000

The Department of Health works to protect and improve the health of people in Washington State and, in doing so, believes in the following values:  ethics, diversity, respect, communication and collaboration.

Project Abstract

Through the development of project partnerships with health-related associations, groups and organizations, this project will adopt and implement National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (National CLAS Standards) to improve the health of Washington’s diverse communities and to work toward the elimination of health disparities (by improving diversity, cultural competence and language access. The target populations of this project are minorities affected by health disparities, the health workforce and health organizations that serve minority populations. 

The Implementing CLAS Standards in Washington State project will engage in the following activities:

• Develop project partnerships with health-related associations and organizations
• Collect baseline data
• Provide training, information and technical assistance
• Evaluate the adoption and implementation of the National CLAS Standards

The project’s intended outcomes include but are not limited to:

• Improved understanding of the extent to which the National CLAS Standards begin to be adopted and implemented in Washington
• Distribution of information, resources, training and technical assistance on the National CLAS Standards to health-related associations and organizations
• Increased understanding of the National CLAS Standards, requirements and knowledge by health-related associations and organizations
• Creation and advancement of health equity policy at the state level
• Reduction in health disparities in Washington 

A structure, process and outcomes evaluation will be used to evaluate the evidence of intervention effectiveness and will include measures of project inputs, activities, short-term outcomes, intermediate-term outcomes and long-term outcomes.

Objectives:

• Increased awareness, education and outreach to address racial/ethnic minority health and health disparities problems

• Improved access to, and appropriate utilization of, health and other community-based services and systems through user-centered design for racial/ethnic minorities (e.g., health IT, culturally/ linguistically appropriate services, service provider education/ training, workforce diversity)

Healthy People 2020 objectives toward which the project’s results contribute:
This project will contribute to the Healthy People 2020 overarching goal to achieve health equity, eliminate disparities and improve the health of all groups. It will also contribute to the Healthy People 2020 foundational health measure related to disparities.