Social workers have often considered cultural competence to be an individual ability or skill (Green;, 1999; Ponterotto, Sanchez, & Magids, 1990). Some scholars, however, have transcended this individual-based approach and addressed cultural competence at the interpersonal, agency and systems levels. (Yan & Wong, 2005; Hyde, 2004). In this study, the authors pursued a multilevel approach to studying cultural competence, conceptualized as the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of individuals, agencies, and wider systems to address the needs of underserved and minority populations. Professionals who work with victims of domestic violence were surveyed to assess cultural competence. There were positive relationships between individual cultural competence and both agency and systems cultural competence, indicating that individual, agency, and systems cultural competence are connected and that a multilevel approach to addressing the needs of underserved individuals could prove useful in promoting the ends of social justice.

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