The Ethnic Agency Defined

Worker Perceptions of Effectiveness and Minority-Relevant Education as a Function of Worker and Client Ethnicity

“…If there are many "minority agencies," then our data are simply reflecting agency demography, not matching by client race. Jenkins (1980) explored the concept of "ethnic agency," and concluded that "service to clients of different ethnic groups is not sufficient grounds to designate an agency as ethnic" (p. 249). On the other hand, Jenkins and Morrison (1978) note that client-worker matching was preferred by a larger proportion of ethnic child welfare workers compared to non-ethnic child welfare workers.…”

“…All that is available are smatterings of reports. For example, a study of Community Mental Health staff utilization patterns in the State of Washington found that "minority staff are much more likely to serve minority clients than are caucasian staff" (Peterson & Cox, 1988 Jenkins (1980) noted that in her study of "ethnic agencies," agencies whose clientele were more than 95% minority, ethnic personnel were the prime service providers. On the other hand, the literature suggests that minority clients are seen by both caucasian and minority workers, and there is no apriori reason to expect a proportionate discrepancy one way or the other.…”

Culturally Responsive Strategies Used to Deliver Ethnic-Specific Services to Asian Americans

“…In the 1970s Jenkins (1980) examined 54 agencies that served ethnic and racial groups with the purpose of defining ethnic agencies. She suggested that these agencies are defined by more than just serving a ma jority of ethnic clients and identified the following characteristics that the agencies in her study used to define themselves:…”

“…(Chow & Austin, 2008, pp. 47-49) While much of the literature on culturally appropriate services focuses on the micro level of practice (Davis, 1999), Jenkins (1980) and Chow and Austin (2008) fo cus on the macro. Both Jenkins (1980) and Chow and Austin (2008) contribute to the social work literature on how organizational domains target specific cultur al groups.…”

“…47-49) While much of the literature on culturally appropriate services focuses on the micro level of practice (Davis, 1999), Jenkins (1980) and Chow and Austin (2008) fo cus on the macro. Both Jenkins (1980) and Chow and Austin (2008) contribute to the social work literature on how organizational domains target specific cultur al groups. Jenkins ' (1980) seminal work on the ethnic agency provides a foundation on which ethnic specific services are defined whereas Chow and Austin (2008) define how public agencies can be more culturally re sponsive.…”