Homework: Cultural Competency and Treatment
You know by now that forensic treatment settings serve culturally diverse populations. In this course, the terms diversity and culture are broadly defined to include not only race and ethnicity but also religion, gender, physical ability, socioeconomic status, and age. You need to take all aspects of culture into consideration when you select treatment outcomes and approaches. Because culture is so ingrained, cultural-related issues may not be readily apparent to the treatment provider or the offender. However, culture impacts the treatment process whether recognized or not. In order to treat forensic populations effectively, the treatment provider must be aware of the impact of cultural considerations and bring cultural competencies to the treatment process.
To prepare for this Homework:
i. Identify a culturally diverse forensic population that is of particular interest to you.
ii. Conduct an academic literature search in the Walden Library, and select at least one scholarly article from a peer-reviewed journal that discusses the unique characteristics, considerations, and/or challenges related to working with this population in a forensic setting.
iii. Consider the unique characteristics of your selected forensic population, and reflect on what you should consider when treating members of this population.
iv. Consider the challenges that you might encounter when working with a client from your selected population and how you would address these challenges.
Task (1-2 pages):
I. Describe the culturally diverse forensic population you researched. Cite and reference the article you selected.
II. Briefly summarize the research article, and explain how the role of culture is addressed in the treatment of the specific forensic population in the study.
III. Analyze the role of culture in the treatment of forensic populations. Use specifics from your selected research article to support your analysis.
IV. Explain the challenges you might encounter when working with a client from this population, and state how you would address these challenges.
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
i) The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
ii) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
iii) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
Readings
Fontes, L. A., & Tishelman, A. C. (2016). Language competence in forensic interviews for suspected child sexual abuse. Child abuse & neglect, 58, 51-62.
Konrad, N. (2016). Ethical issues on forensic-psychiatric examinations. Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, 2(1), 119-126.
Shepherd, S. M., & Lewis-Fernandez, R. (2016). Forensic risk assessment and cultural diversity: Contemporary challenges and future directions. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 22(4), 427-438.
Steffensmeier, D., Painter-Davis, N., & Ulmer, J. (2017). Intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, and age on criminal punishment. Sociological Perspectives, 60(4), 810-833.
Weiss, R. A., & Rosenfeld, B. (2012). Navigating cross-cultural issues in forensic assessment: Recommendations for practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 43(3), 234-240.
Mcarteret. (2015, Dec. 18). Cross-cultural healthcare quality quiz.