Apple is proposing 13 new "accessibility emojis" to represent people with disabilities. If Apple's proposal is well-received, these emojis will become official in 2019, and would become available on iPhones and some Android phones in the second half of that year. (Business Insider, 3/26/18).

One of the core elements for the District’s No Wrong Door (NWD) initiative is to cultivate a culturally and linguistically competent (CLC) system to improve access to long-term services and supports – starting at the “Front Door.”  Much of the NWD focus involves engaging Front Door agency staff – greeters, intake, outreach, and supervisors - in dialogue around cultural and linguistic competency, exploring collaborative approaches to enhance the quality of services and supports, and embedding cultural and linguistic competence into our organizational values, policies, structures, and practices.

In March, Vivian Guerra, DC Department on Disability Services (DDS), and Lanada Williams, DC Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), teamed up as co-chairs of the NWD/CLC subcommittee to deliver training to agency staff. 

Eleven DBH Access Hotline Staff engaged in various activities to gain self-awareness on CLC, identify the role of personal and agency values, and recognize the importance of cultural competency when interacting with District residents seeking services and supports.

DDS had training at their monthly managers’ meeting, at which they reflected on their leadership role,  their own cultural worldviews and personal values, and the role of values in decision-making. Both sessions provided opportunities for staff and leadership to explore the many facets of CLC and ways to use CLC to enhance long-term services and supports. 

The District was one of 10 states selected by the Administration on Community Living to participate in a national Community of Practice on Cultural and Linguistic Competence.  This Community of Practice builds upon the work of the No Wrong Door initiative and will continue to address ways to strengthen the Front Door to long-term services and supports across our NWD health and human services agencies.

For more information, please contact Vivian Guerra, NWD Cultural and Linguistic Competency Lead at vivian.guerra2@dc.gov. 

Community of Practice on Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Developmental Disabilities (CoP/CLC)

State Team Meeting

Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Time: 1-3 p.m.            
Location:  DDS – 250 E St. SW

DDS leads the District’s CoP in CLC, in which we come together on an ongoing basis to share ideas, provide technical assistance and support among peers, and discuss solutions to shared challenges in embedding cultural and linguistic competence principles and practices within the developmental disabilities system. 

 If you are interesting in attending or have questions, please contact Vivian Guerra, No Wrong Door - CLC Lead at vivian.guerra2@dc.gov

 Accessibility:  The space and bathrooms at DDS are wheelchair accessible. To request additional accommodations, including language access, please contact Vivian Guerra at vivian.guerra2@dc.gov. 

The District of Columbia’s Person-Centered Thinking (PCT) Learning Community entered 2018 by recommitting to its vision of energizing interagency service professionals and people receiving long-term supports and services. The Learning Community is dedicated to getting real results from person and family centered thinking and practices

Moving into its third year, participants of the Learning Community have clarified their vision, mission, core values, and commitments for the year ahead.

Responding to feedback provided in previous meetings, the DC Learning Community has committed to adapting the current two-day in-person DC Person-Centered Thinking Training to the needs and experiences of support professionals working as Home Health Aides, Personal Care Aides, and Direct Support Professionals. If you are interested in contributing your point of view, expertise, or experience to the adaptation of the curriculum, please attend our meetings!

The DC PCT Learning Community meets on the fourth Friday of every month from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

Department on Disability Services

250 E Street, SW 

Washington, DC 20024  

If you are interested in attending, have any questions, or would like to take a person-centered thinking training, please contact Emily Price at emily.price@dc.gov.