Ethical Leadership for Advancing CLAS Standards

This training is designed for executive and director level positions interested in advancing CLAS (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services) Standards and creating a strategic plan that aligns with the MA Department of Public Health’s Strategic Plan to Advance Racial Equity 2024-2028. The national CLAS Standards provide a valuable framework for advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. Entities receiving funding from the MA Department of Public Health are required to demonstrate implementation of the CLAS Standards. This training explores ethical considerations for those charged with taking the helm of diversity initiatives. Leadership often mistakenly perceives diversity as external to the mission of the agency, rather than precisely the mission of the agency. Using the CLAS Standards framework, this training provides tools and strategies to create ethical protocols to ensure accountability, inclusion and transparency in planning, programming, decision making, and needs assessment.

Topics include:

• Dos and don’ts of ethical diversity leadership
• Leadership and governance structures that reflect CLAS Standards
• Checking your position to interrupt patterns of bias
• Leveraging your position to increase inclusion and accountability
• Ethical use of data to inform CLAS planning, programming and decision making
• Building coalitions and committees for decision making and accountability
• Implementing the CLAS Self Assessment and CLAS Workplan to advance equity in client services

Learning Objectives : By the end of this training, participants should be able to:

• Identify at least 4 principles for ethical diversity leadership
• Identify at least 4 data collection strategies to assess CLAS Standards strengths and gaps
• Identify at least 3 practices to ensure ethical collection and use of data
• Identify at least 4 common pitfalls made by leadership related to advancing CLAS Standards
• Identify at least 4 practices to advance CLAS Standards in workforce development and leadership
• Identify at least 4 ethical to advance CLAS Standards in client and community services