Lack Of Racial Diversity And Reverse Racism - 1754 Words

The focus of this paper is on lack of racial diversity and reverse racism in the workplace. My aim is to design a racial justice professional development program for the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), an agency that I was employed in as a juvenile probation parole specialist (probation officer). The mission and goals of this agency are to provide appropriate services to juveniles who have been placed on probation by juvenile court or are committed to the department. At-risk youths who have not been placed on probation are also served by this agency in an effort to divert them from criminalistics behaviors. In order to accomplish the mission and goals of DJJ, the agency is reliant on the probation officers and other essential†¦show more content†¦Competency in multicultural social work is critical in advocating for services that clients benefit from and compliance with the standards and code of ethics set forth by the National Association of Social Worker’s ( NASW). Culturally competent social work practice is defined as the service provider’s acquisition of awareness, knowledge, and skills needed to function effectively in a pluralistic democratic society [ . . .], an on an organizational/societal level, advocating effectively to develop new theories, practices, policies, and organizational structures that are more responsive to all groups (Sue, 2006, pp. 29). Social service agencies are not limited to one particular race and it would be foolish to assume otherwise. â€Å"Nowhere is diversification of society more evident than in the workplace, [. . .], the changing complexion of the workplace† (Sue, 2006, pp. 4). A design of a racial justice professional development program for the agency is needed due to the diverse community it serves and the racial diversity and micro-aggression issues currently being experienced in the agency. â€Å"The term â€Å"microaggression,† used in studying cross-cultural communication (Sue et al., 2007), refers to subtle or dismissive messages that express racism, disrespect, or pessimism† (Nemec,