OCLOIENT SES1112 ED 032 552 cc 004 229 ay-Ayers. George E.. Ed Rehabilitating the Culturally Disadvantageil. Rehabilitation Services Administration (DHEW). Washington. D.C. Pub Date 16 Aug 67 Note-140p_; Report of a Regional Conferenceon Rehabilitating the Culturally Disadvantaged held at Mankato State College. Mankato. Minnesota. August 16-18. 1967 EDRS Price MF -S0.75 HC -S7.10 Descriptors- Culturaily Disadvantaged. Disadvantaged Environment. DisadvantagedYouth. Indians. Program Descriptions. Rehabilitation. Rehabilitation Programs. Vocational Rehabilitation A conference on rehabilitating the culturally disadvantagedwas held at Mankato College in 1967. The purposeswere to provide the trainees (1) the essential information relative to the characteriQtics and problems of.as well as the methods for. rehabilitating the culturally deprived; (2)an opportunity to cooperatively develop criteria for utilization by state vocational rehabilitation agencies in diagnosing cultural deprivation; and (3) an opportunity to delineate and develop procedures for increasingtheprovision of vocationrehabilitationservicestotheculturally disadvantaged. The four sections of the report deal with the followingareas: (1) rehabilitating the culturally deprived. (2) approachesto rehabilitating the culturally deprived. (3) representative rehabilitationprograms for the culturally disadvantaged. and (4) summary reports of workshop sessions. Topics discussedinclude: (1) preparingdiagnosticiansforworkingwiththeculturallydisadvantaged.(2) communicating with the culturally disadvantaged. (3) approaches in rehabilitating the Indian. and (4) The Minnesota Rampac Project. A list of conferenceparticipants and a bibliography are included. (Author/KJ) I 1 IMP REHABILITATING THE CULTURALLY DISADVANTAGED MANKATO STATE COLLEGE rfik1867 MINNESOTA 1967 , U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT. POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE Of EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY. REHABILITATING THE CULTURALLY DISADVANTAGED Proceedings of a Regional Conference on Rehabilitating the Culturally Disadvantaged IJ held at Mankato State College, Mankato, Minnesota August 16-18, 1967 it Editedby George E. Ayers AssociateProfessor &Director RehabilitationCounseling Program In cooperation with the REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION Social Rehabilitation Services Department of Health, Education and Welfare Washington, D. C. 20201 I if it Many people see only the negativeenvironmental conditions thatsurround the disadvantaged, and they believethat this is the culture.They feel that it is democratic and liberalto "accept" this culture (justas another way of life). But understanding of this culturemust include a genuine appreciation of the positives thathave arisen out of effort, however insufficient at times, tocope with the difficult environment. This is different from thestandard view which, by accentingdeprivation, emphasizes weakness. In fact, one of thegreat difficulties with form- ulations like "culturally deprived,""disadvantaged," "culturally handl.- capped," "impoverished," and thelike is that they connoteinadequacy, rather than presenta rounded picture of the culture which wouldhave to include strengthsas well as deficiencies. Frank Reissman FOREWORD Since the early 1900's, the field ofvocational rehabilitation has experi- enced multitudinous changes.Yet, these metamorphic changes onlyrepresent the threshold as to what the next fiftyyears may have in store for us. Traditional concepts and practicesare beginning to erode so rapidly that it is conceivable that developmentsin the future will be phenomenal. One area already experiencing significantchange which will affect thesys- tem of delivering rehabilitation services isthe clientele served. Voca- tional rehabilitation programs have.beenrelatively successful in serving the physically, mentally, and emotionallyhandicapped. As a result of the enactment of the Vocational RehabilitationAmendments of 1965, however, eligibility for rehabilitation servicesprovided by state vocational rehab- ilitation agencieswas extended to the culturally disadvantaged. It is incontestable that state vocationalrehabilitation agencies have movedvery slowly in approaching thisnew disability group. Two salient factors--the lack of knowledge and developmentof diagnostic criteria and the lack of experience with this disabilitygroup-seem to have influenced the provision of vocational rehabilitation servicesto the culturally disadvantaged. In an effort to rectify theseproblems, a conferenceon "Rehabilitating the Culturally Disadvantaged"was held at Mankato State College August 16-18, 1967. The purpose of this conferencewas to provide the trainees 41) the essential information relativeto the characteristics and problems of,as well as the methods for, rehabilitatingthe culturally disadvantaged; (2) an opportunity to cooperatively develop criteriafor utilization by state vocational rehabilitation agenciesin diagnosing cultural deprivation;and (3) an opportunity to delineate and develop procedures forincreasing the provision of vocational rehabilitationservices to the culturally disadvan- taged. State directors and selectedadministrative personnel from Region VI attended this conference. All participants examined, gathered,and brought to this conference for discussionpurposes information relevant to the procedures used in their stateagency in diagnosing and providing services to the culturally disadvantaged.This advance preparation for theconfer- ence on the part of the participants contributedsignificantly to the over- all achievement of the objectivesset forth. G. S. A. ii PREFACE My charge for this conference was to list the purpose and objectives of the conference. There was no need to reiterate these factors since each parti- cipant received such information prior to the conference. I therefore would like to pose some questions that will necessitate consideration by rehabilitation personnel in dealing with the rehabilitation of the culturally disadvantaged. 1. Do we need a working definition of the culturally disadvantaged? 2. If an individual is a member of a certain ethnic group, do we automatically characterize and categorize this person in terms of preconceived attitudes toward this group? 3. What are the essential eligibility criteria required for working with this type of client? 4. How do you handle latent prejudices held by vocational rehabili- tation staff towards a particular ethnic group? 5. Has Title IV of the Civil Rights Act (Assurance of Compliance) been a problem with community agencies which indirectly influ- ence services to the minority groups? I have often been called an opportunist. And I don't think there is a core opportune time than right now to relate to you a few cf my thoughts relative to working with the culturally disadvantaged.Many counselors are skeptical about their ability to work with individuals who are members of a minority group or who are socially, economically, or emotionally deprived. They do not respect the importance of the intuitive process, the personal sensiti- vity, and the perceptiveness through which a good counselor builds up a positive relationship with these people. Any person who works directly with disadvantaged people can sharpen his intuition and facilitate his deliberate actions if he understands the basic principles of helping a person with his problems. This understanding becomes more prevalent if the counselor is working with an educationally and socially disadvantaged person whose sum total of life experiences has been and is very different from those of people he has known in his own community. It was my hope that this con- ference would suggest some elementary guidelines for rehabilitation workers in this area. One of the basic elements important to a helping relationship is the element of empathy, the understanding of the client from the client's own frame of reference. Empathy is different from sympathy, although they both imply a caring for the individual. When a counselor has empathy for a client, he appreciates how the client feels. He puts himself in the client's place, yet he does not over-identify with the client's feelings or troubles. Barrett Leonard, in his article "Significant Aspects of a Helping Relation- ship," which appeared in the April, 1963, issue of Mental Hygiene, stated that "an important element in a helping relationship is that of having re- spect for and caring for the client as unconditionally as possible." The iii iv question now becomes one of how we can show compassion without becoming over emotionally involved. Barrett Leonard feels that part of the answer to the above problem may lie in the vocational rehabilitation counselor's approach to the problem. He must be understanding and show a genuine regard for the client's dev- elopment. Another factor Leonard mentions is trustworthiness. How can we be genuine, dependable, and internally as well as externally consistent? How can we as counselors avoid becoming unrealistic in our expectations? How can we avoid feelings of hopelessness and futility provoked by the very nature of the client's problems? How can we develop more consistent atti- tudes towards the minority groups? Any attempt to convince yourself that you feel accepting of a member of a minority group, when in fact you feel annoyed or hostile, is being inter- nally inconsistent. Sooner or later