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THE NUMBER OF IMMIGRANTS in the United States has increased markedly within the past two decades. Changes in the immigration law in 1965 eliminated the national-origins quota system, which had favored north and west European immigrants. Since then, newcomers are more likely than previously to be from Asian and Latin American background (Foner, 1987). It is estimated that by the year 2015 more than half of the people in the United States will be from a background other than west European (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1988).
Despite this trend, many of the institutions in our society, as well as the professional staff they employ, often perceive and interact with culturally diverse people from a white American middle-class perspective (Ho, 1987). Although many immigrants speak other languages and hold very different cultural beliefs, their children frequently are taught curriculum based primarily on white western European culture. In both mental and physical health care facilities, Western medical concepts of health, diagnosis, and treatment prevail, while culturally diverse health beliefs, including spiritualism, herbal treatment, and acupuncture, are often devalued (Congress & Lyons, 1992).
How have professional social workers acknowledged the increasing cultural diversity of their clients? Although a growing number of books have specifically addressed cultural issues (Boyd-Franklin, 1990; Chau, 1991; Davis & Proctor, 1989; Devore & Schlesinger, 1991; Green, 1982; Ho, 1987; Jacobs & Bowles, 1988; Logan, Freeman, & McRoy, 1990; Lum, 1992; McGoldrick, Pearce, & Giordano, 1982; Mizio & Delaney, 1981; Pinderhughes, 1989; White, 1984), some concern remains that social work texts and journals in general have not focused sufficiently on cultural diversity (Lum, 1992). The Council on Social Work Education (1982) mandated that both MSW and BSW curriculum include teaching on cultural and ethnic issues. Some schools have chosen to offer a discrete course, whereas other schools have integrated this content into the total curriculum (Chestang, 1988). Regardless of the format, it is essential that both social work students and practitioners become sensitive to issues of cultural diversity in social work practice. The Ethnic Sensitive Inventory, a recently developed tool, helps social workers become more sensitive to the effect of their values on culturally diverse clients (Ho, 1991).
CULTURAGRAM IN FAMILY ASSESSMENT
Unlike earlier immigrants, who were predominantly single men, new immigrants are likely...