Career Services to Multicultural Populations Forum – September 2021 11:30 a.m.

Instructions:

Create an original post and describe the major groups of people with whom you work and the backgrounds from which they originate. Identify the key resources that you use with this group.  Then respond to one classmate’s post. You will make a total of two posts.

Remember that our learning group works in a full value environment: We treat our colleagues with respect and professionalism. Our comments should reflect this culture.

10 thoughts on “Career Services to Multicultural Populations Forum – September 2021 11:30 a.m.”

  1. karen.shores says:

    As I am not serving clients at this time, I will need to describe my colleagues as those with whom I work. The major groups of people with whom I work are quite multicultural. My immediate group of colleagues includes individuals who I believe come from traditional Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Asian backgrounds. I do not know the specific backgrounds from which they originate, but all come from supportive families and seem to have similar values. All communicate in excellent English, are proficient in using technology, work well in teams and individually, have very impressive resumes, and like and respect each other. My Hispanic colleagues frequently communicate in their native language when at lunch or on break. I am trying to learn some Spanish so I can join in, but it is slow for me. My Hispanic and Asian colleagues are particularly involved in the welfare of their extended family. This is a cultural value that I highly admire. While our backgrounds must have been varied, we seem to all have come to this same place in our lives where, as professionals, we are choosing to serve our youth and our community through education and service. The key resources I use with this group are clear communications, active listening, empathy when appropriate, respect for the person and their ideas, inclusion, serving as a leader and/or a participant as appropriate, and showing appreciation.

    1. Tressa Dorsey says:

      I think this is a great way of working together, using the ingredients, educating yourself where and when you can to find understanding are all important.

    2. an.ta says:

      Karen, you do such a great job in reflecting on your own practices and experiences. I recognize that as one of your strengths because you are able to connect specific events and behaviors to outcomes then you seek personal development and support to better serve others. This was evident in you building your own capacity in communicating/learning Spanish and when you recognized and shared a difficult event that happened for you as an educator trying to support your students and their life/education/career choices during last Monday’s class discussion.

  2. an.ta says:

    I have been working with a variety of clients in the age range of 14 years of age to 34 years of age. Most of my client base has been first-generation college bound Hispanic/Latinx students both High School and College age. My other clients also consist of White/Caucasian, Native American, Black/African American, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian populations. In addition to the “general” group of clients, I have identified the following people and groups, I am working with 1 legal system re-entry adult, 6 juvenile justice/opportunity/at-promise youth, 4 homeless or foster youth, 1 military veteran, and 4 LGBTQ+ people. Of that specific group, I have noticed that 2 adults and 2 youth have shared that they have a learning or physical disability.

    The resources that I have utilized and have brought to our meetings include referrals to local non-profits like Empower Yolo, ALMS, RISE, Health and Human Services, and Probation. To streamline and align the various groups I have opted to gather all stakeholders in to at least 1-2 of the meetings I have with the client. It is more of a holistic “wrap around” approach like student study team (SST) meetings or IEP/504 meetings utilized in schools. There might also be the addition of an advocate, translator, faith-based support member, health professional, parent/spouse/caretaker, case manager, or probation officer. The team approach has helped reinforce the importance and value of community and support for the client. It is important to help all clients identify supports and ways to navigate towards them, the initial group collaboration/wrap around meetings support them in those first steps.

    1. bianca.solorio says:

      An you have created such great linkage to community support for our youth. I reflects with our youth we work with. As I mentioned in my post, most youth are not aware of the resources out in their own community. The wrap around services is also great with the youth that we work with because they need all the support they can have especially navigating through post secondary plans.

  3. bianca.solorio says:

    Currently, I am working with Homeless and foster high school youth at our community day school. Most of these youth come from different backgrounds from different socioeconomic statuses, cultures, and beliefs. Most of these youth are first generation college bound youth. These youth lack stability in their homes and school is the only constant thing they see. Some of the youth can identify a support system in school but most cannot identify family and friend support. Most of their key supports come from the school. Key resources that are used with the youth are respect, active listening, clear guidance and understanding, and provide all relatable resources to youth. Linking youth to community resources are vital to creating a teat to support the youth. the youth I work with usually are not aware of the community resources available to them, so connecting them to someone like An to support to career readiness.

    1. eric.banuelos says:

      Bianca,
      I think you are great at what you do and assuring the youth you serve are plugged into all the resources available. I enjoy and appreciate working with you to best serve the students we do.

  4. eric.banuelos says:

    I serve primarily adult learners at Woodland Adult Education, and high school seniors at Cesar Chavez Community School. At Woodland Adult Education the adult learners I serve come from a variety of cultural backgrounds, and range in age from 18 to I believe my oldest student was 74. ESL is one of our highly attended programs here at WAE, so again many different cultural backgrounds and they are all attending class here to learn the English language. I absolutely want to meet all my students where they are at, and help them eliminate barriers and assist them with the transition of what is next for them. In order to help them eliminate barriers, collaboration with community partners is key. Some of the community partners that I work closely with and refer to are, Yolo County Health and Human Service Agency One Stop, RISE, Empower Yolo, Yolo Food Bank, SPERO, Yolo County Housing Authority, Catholic Charities, and STEAC these are just a few, but making connections and building relationships with partners is crucial in order to be able to best serve our students. Barriers come in many forms so being familiar with all the resources in the community is very important .

    1. karen.swan says:

      I like the theme of knowing where services are offered in the community and connecting clients with those resources that is showing up in these comments. That is a very important part of helping the youth and adults we serve in order for them to eventually achieve career success.

  5. karen.swan says:

    The people I serve are primarily high school students at an alternative education high school. However, I am also taking this course so that I can be more effective at the other part of my job, which is developing Career and Technical Education related programming for adult and high school education programs. The populations served by all of these programs include individuals from the Latinx community, African-American students, white students, students whose families are low-income, students who will be first generation college students, students who have had very little success with the traditional school system, and some who have. One of the things I need to remember in serving this population is that the cultural pressures they are experiencing around college and careers are much different than the ones I experienced. As the economy shifts, so does the culture around post-high school transitions. Plus, many students experience unique familial cultures around college and career that may be influenced by their families backgrounds and experiences.
    Resources I rely on includes thorough information about options– information about what programs are offered where, and what a completer of those programs can expect to achieve in terms of wages and job openings. It’s important for the students to be able to see the whole picture of what is available to them after high school and where various options can lead them. It can also help if this information is available in other languages so students can show it to their parents or support people in their lives who may not speak English. Currently we are helping our school districts make brochures about their Career Tech Ed programs and encouraging them to print them in English and Spanish. The company that we are working with offers translation services, making this a simple decision and we have funds to support the additional cost. However, we need to consider who we may be leaving out by only printing in English and Spanish and look into translating these materials into other relevant languages as well.

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