National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care: A Blueprint for Advancing and Sustaining CLAS Policy and Practice

First developed by the Office of Minority Health (OMH) in 2000, the national CLAS Standards have been widely circulated and implemented. In 2010, OMH launched a project to update the Standards to reflect growth in the field of cultural competency and increasing diversity in the nation. The new Standards emerged out of an extensive consultation process with stakeholders and experts, many of whom recommended clarification as to the Standards' intention, terminology and implementation strategies.

The Standards now reflect a broader and more inclusive definition of culture, encompassing racial/ethnic, linguistic, religious/spiritual, sociological and biological markers of difference. The Standards are also directed toward a broader audience than the original Standards, including policy makers and legislators, accrediting and credentialing agencies, educators and community-based organizations. The 15 standards are grouped into three categories:  

1. Governance, Leadership, and Workforce;
2. Communication and Language Assistance; and
3. Engagement, Continuous Quality Improvement, and Accountability.  

This publication, National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care, contains both the standards and a "blueprint" for the implementation of each standard. The Blueprint explains the purpose and components of each standard, along with model implementation practices and useful resources. The Standards themselves are also available in a separate file. (Summary by Nick Montalto.)

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