Employment Specialist Supplemental: Cultural Humility And Self-Reflection In The Job Coaching Partnership

In recent years, supported employment organizations have been prioritizing the need to provide culturally competent employment supports, which includes learning how to support people with disabilities from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. However, this focus on acquiring knowledge about different cultural groups can become its own obstacle. Too often, a focus on “becoming culturally competent” can lead to the development of stereotypes, or functions to protect ourselves from the shame or vulnerability that we experience when we are concerned about making a cultural misstep. Rather than considering what we know about others, cultural humility asks us to first consider what we truly know about ourselves so that we can be aware of our how own beliefs, values, and world view impact those that we support. This workshop will demonstrate that by reframing the expectation that a job coach must enter a supported employment relationship already “competent” in the culture of another, they will be better, more authentic, and more impactful partners and champions for employment success.

Note: This training currently is ONLY open to employees of New Jersey CBVI, DDD, and DVRS, DDD/Medicaid Approved Providers, DVRS approved vendors, and individuals with disabilities and family members.

To meet the training needs of the entire state, there is a limit of participants per agency for this training.

Certificates: Certificates of Attendance with training title and duration will be provided.