Latino Community Outreach Best Practices and Recommendations
From the Latino Public Participation Report
Pay attention to informal networks within the Latino community because their informal communication structures play significant roles in successfully disseminating information and knowledge.
Confianza, or trust, is an important value in the Latino community. Hence, local government agencies and/or entities interested in increasing Latino public participation should collaborate with organizations that have effectively built trust within the Latino community and that provide a direct service to the community.
Provide opportunities for informal interaction by creating spaces that feel culturally safe.
Train or hire staff who are culturally competent. The Office of Minority Health (OMH), for example, recommends national standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) in health care. Although these standards are directed at health care organizations, we feel that Lane County’s Latino community would benefit if other organizations worked under similar guidelines. However, it’s important that agencies and organizations not become too dependent on a few culturally competent staff for two reasons (1) it can overburden them as they are in high demand, and (2) every staff person in these organizations should be able to adequately serve the Latino population.
Replicate the public participation workshops at a larger scale throughout Eugene/Springfield.
Measure the indicators developed by Sightline to get a clear idea of how Lane County is progressing on important issues Latinos identified.
