"The Starship Enterprise was a metaphor for Starship Earth, and the strength of this starship lay in its diversity coming together.” George Takei

Welcome to our newly redesigned New Jersey Statewide Network for Cultural Competence (NJSNCC) website! 

We hope that you will find this to be the “go-to place” for learning about and sharing best and promising practices, cutting edge initiatives, ongoing activities, and available resources in the field of cultural and linguistic competence.  You will also be able to connect, network, and collaborate with other interested and dedicated colleagues who are working in this area.

 The NJSNCC was formed in 2002 as an initiative of New Jersey Department of Health. We are a growing and thriving community of individuals and organizations committed to improving access, utilization, and quality of service delivery to our culturally and linguistically diverse populations, both here in New Jersey and nationally.

Since 2010, the NJSNCC has sponsored five annual conferences that have addressed the following important topics:

• First Annual NJSNCC Conference on Cultural and Linguistic Competence (2010)
• Model Communication Strategies for a Multicultural Society: How Health and Human Service Providers Can Better Serve New Jersey’s Diverse Communities and Foster Health Equity (2012)
• Improving the Quality of Care & Services for Diverse Communities: New Directions of New Jersey and the Nation (2014)
• Improving Trauma-Informed Care and Services for DiversePopulations: Best and Promising Practices (2015)
• Achieving Equity in Maternal, Child, & Family Health: A Call to Action (2016)

The NJSNCC has also hosted six excellent and very positively received free webinars (archived on this website) on the following important topics:

• Racial/Ethnic Minority Fathers of Individuals with Autism: Considerations for Care & Support
• Community Interpreting, Best Practices: A Lightning Overview of Current National Standards
• Becoming a Culturally Competent Medical Home
• Impact of Cultural Competence in the Delivery of Disability Services and Supports
• Cultural Implications of Screening for Families from Diverse Backgrounds
• A Collaborative Approach to Providing Effective Fire & Emergency Services to Diverse Groups,

The NJSNCC also has a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/NJStatewideNetwork) where informative, timely, and relevant articles are posted on a weekly basis. Please visit and Like us.

The NJSNCC meets on a Quarterly basis and we invite you to find out more about our work, become an active member, and join us in our ongoing efforts. Thanks very much for your interest! 

Sincerely,

Robert C. Like, MD, MS, Chair, NJSNCC