Respond to two peers’ initial posts with recommendations of strategies that the agency can implement to overcome perceived barriers and inquiry if they have attempted to implement any of these.
Student post down below:
Early definitions of diversity often used words like wickedness, disagreement, and perversity (Isbell & Heath, 2017). However, by the seventeenth century, diversity was a virtue, as the realization that differences and uniqueness lead to more creativity (Isbell & Heath, 2017). One unique, diverse population is the rural Appalachian American population in West Virginia. Depicted in movies as uneducated, back-wood and redneck, this population must overcome the stigma associated with them.
West Virginia is very rural and ranks last in the nation in the economy. Although West Virginia is considered a very poor state, many of the people who live there have a difficult time accepting assistance. For our organization, the Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), we make it a priority in reaching those in need. Through our social media campaign, our outreach programs in rural towns, collaboration with other agencies, and our willingness to go to homes when a client cannot come to us, gives us an advantage to ensure the people of West Virginia are cared for.
As the DHHR responsible for the safety and well-being of family and children in West Virginia, we also must train our staff to be family centered. Our staff must understand that being poor is not a reason that a family cannot take care of their children. Staff training has helped in this. However, our staff still face the judicial system which is much more punitive to families and believe that their income should be a certain amount to care for their children. Community training through our court improvement program is trying to educate the system as a whole, but changing minds takes time.