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Addressing the field's cultural drought: suggestions for attracting and retaining bilingual and bicultural staff.

Article Excerpt
"I am sorry, but our current wait for services is approximately four weeks. We will have someone give you a call when an opening becomes available."

"I am sorry, but we do not have any providers who speak Spanish. I can refer you to another agency."

All too often individuals needing mental health services hear such statements when they seek help. Bilingual and bicultural certified professionals are in high demand, but agencies often do not have enough qualified providers to meet growing racial/ethnic populations' needs. Thus, organizations struggle nor only to find highly qualified certified staff, but also staff proficient within specific languages and cultures. As agencies identify specific groups' needs and begin the hiring process, they discover the dearth of qualified, culturally competent, bilingual behavioral and mental health providers.

Although professionals of all racial/ ethnic backgrounds with proficiencies in all languages are needed, the exponential growth of the United States' Latino population highlights the need for Spanishspeaking and/or Latino providers. According to the Census Bureau's 2007 American Community Survey, Spanish is the primary language spoken at home by more than 34 million people age 5 and older. (1) In 2007, the country's Latino population reached 45.5 million--approximately 15.1% of the total population. Nationally, Latinos are the fastest-growing racial/ethnic minority group. The Census Bureau projects that by 2050, Latinos will make up 30% of the population. (2)

As the national Latino population has grown, the number of behavioral and mental health providers specializing in this group has not kept up, resulting in an "implosion" within the field. In...

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