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    2-1-1 is a free three digit telephone number that Virginians can call for resources for counseling services, crisis intervention, volunteer opportunities and other health and human service referrals. Visit the 2-1-1 website.

Cultural and Linguistic Competence

DBHDS defines culture in the broad sense, as there are other things in addition to race, language, and ethnicity that contribute to a person’s sense of self. These may be more specific or more general subgroups based on attributes (such as gender or sexual orientation), or shared life experiences (such as survival of violence and/or trauma, education, or homelessness). Multiple memberships in subgroups contribute to an individual’s personal identity and sense of “culture”. Understanding how these factors affect a person is important to providing culturally competent care.

The Office of Cultural & Linguistic Competence, established in August 2008, leads efforts to provide improved services to multicultural consumers and works toward eliminating the disparities within the state’s mental health, intellectual disability and substance-use disorder system. During the initial development of the office, the office will focus on several key areas:

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CLC Information and Resources Group

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Join the free CLC Information and Resources Group to share information about culture and language.  The group is hosted on the Yahoo! Groups Web site.  To subscribe, enter your e-mail address in the box below and click on the purple Join Now! button.  Once you have subscribed, click on the purple Log In button (left) to enter the CLC group site.

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For more information or to be added to an email list - contact Cecily Rodriguez, Director (804) 786-5872.

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***Please Note: The department name has changed to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services on July 1, 2009 (from the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services).  The department’s new Web site address is www.dbhds.virginia.gov.  The previous Web site address will continue to work for up to a year after July 1, 2009.***
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