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Welcome
Caring Across Cultures
Welcome to the Caring Across Cultures (CAC) learning community!
Our focus is on helping people with disabilities and the direct care workers who assist them build stronger, meaningful relationships.
Identifying and understanding the cultural differences that exist between two people is a critical step in the relationship-building process.
About
CAC’s materials cover role expectations for workers and employers, explore the challenges of different cultural backgrounds, and offer strategies to overcome those challenges.
Who are the CAC materials designed for?
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Direct care workers. Also referred to as helpers, caregivers, aides, personal care assistants
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People with disabilities, older adults, and their families. People who qualify to live in a nursing home or group home, but choose to self-direct their care in their own home. We refer to these individuals as “employers”.
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Provider agencies. Agencies who hire direct care workers and assign them to work in the homes of people with disabilities and older adults
Why were the CAC materials developed?
To help workers and employers build strong relationships by:
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Reflecting on personal identity
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Exploring how and why people are different
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Getting to know each other
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Improving communication skills
How do I use the materials?
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Complete the online courses on your own or with someone
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Explore the library for the resources that interest you the most
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Complete the worksheets on your own, and then discuss with the other person in your relationship to get the most benefit
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Use the User Guide for additional direction with the learning experiences
What kind of materials does CAC offer?
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Four (4) online courses
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A library of short informational documents, reflection activities, and links to additional resources
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A User Guide for advice about using the materials
Start With This Important Information
Before you begin exploring the courses and library, it's important for you to understand the thoughtful choices we made about some terms we use in the CAC materials.
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We chose our words carefully in order to respect the different language preferences of people in the disability community and to make the idea of "employer" in home and community-based services easier to understand.
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Spanish versions: Talking and Thinking About Disability | Who is an Employer
Courses
To get the most value from our courses, be sure to check out the User Guide.
Is direct care work a good fit for your skills and interests? The information in this course will help you answer that question.
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Learn how people might think and behave differently from you and why. Use this knowledge to handle differences in a relationship with more understanding and acceptance
Explore your beliefs about disability and why they matter as a direct care worker. You’ll also learn basic expectations that disabled people have of their workers.
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Handling differences with skill instead of emotion is what’s best for a relationship. Learn how self-awareness, curiosity, listening, and empathy can help.
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Library
Acknowledgements
Many individuals and organizations helped InControl Wisconsin create Caring Across Cultures. Primary funding for the research and development of CAC was provided by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, through a grant from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Work was carried out by the CAC team, including project managers Cindy Desch and David Verban, instructional designer Dawn Ramin, InControl Associate Stacy Ellingen, and Michelle Roach and her team at Promote Local.
Contact Us
We would love to hear from you!
