Conclusions

      The seniors living within Davis County, Utah, find themselves a part of an ever-growing change in ethnic and racial diversity. Demographers predict a strong growth in the number of elderly in the county. They also forecast a significant change in the racial and ethnic ratios for the county, including within the older adult population. For this particular locale, these changes will create opportunities but also come as a cultural shock to many of the older white population. Many of them who chose this county to live in precisely because it was, basically, an “all white community.”  The white elderly of this area have little experience in dealing with minority members at the three Senior Citizen Centers. A decent respect for their emotions and concerns requires planning that will give them a healthy method of adjusting to expected changes in the community and at the centers.

            Through planning and implementing a strategy of inclusiveness, the centers can increase multiculturalism. The centers should also show respect for the white elderly who currently use the centers yet may have problems with multiculturalism by being prepared to do informal counseling. The staff members work with the patrons on many issues and programs and are the logical choice when these seniors seek help. The staffs also have a mandate to reach into the community and serve all seniors with out regard to their race, ethnicity, religion, health status, sexual orientation, or language. Training the staffs in the areas of multiculturalism and informal counseling will give them the tools that they need in this changing environment.

            Of course, the staff members will not be licensed therapists and must recognize their limitations. It will be imperative for the staff members to know how to recognize a patron’s needs that would best be served by licensed counselors. They will need to know how to make referrals to licensed therapists and they will need to know what therapists are in their local area. Staff members should be prepared to give the referred client a basic idea of what to expect during the initial visit with a counselor.

            This paper is only a beginning step towards those goals and will need to be followed up at least semi-annually as one way to measure the effectiveness of positive multiculturalism within the three Davis County, Utah, Senior Citizen Centers.

References

Al-Krenawi, A. & Graham, J.R. (2003). Principles of social

           work practice in the Muslim Arab world. Arab Studies

           Quarterly, 25 (4), p75, 17p. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

           July 26, 2005.

Barrow, G.M. (1996) Aging, the Individual, and Society, Sixth Ed.

            Minneapolis/St. Paul: West Publishing Company.

Barry, T. (2005). Anti-immigrant backlash on the “home front”.

            NACLA Report on the Americas, 38 (6), p28, 5p, 3bw.

            Retrieved from EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

Bloch, D.P. (2004). Spirituality, complexity, and career counseling.

           Professional School Counseling, 7 (5), p343, 8p.

          Retrieved from EBSCOhost  November 11, 2004.

Bonnett, A.W. (2005). West Indian Americans and black history

           month. New York Amersterdam News, 96 (6), p13, 3p.

          Christian Science Monitor, 97 (73), p3, 3p, 1c. Retrieved

          from EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

Brinson, J.A. (2004). Recognizing our cultural biases as counselor

           supervisors: A reflective learning approach. Guidance &

           counseling, 19 (2), p81, 11p. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

             July 25, 2005.

Codes of Ethics for the Helping Professions, (2004) Second Ed.,

          ACA Codes of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Thomson

            Brooks/Cole, United States.

Compilation of the Older Americans Act of 1965 and the

         Native American Programs Act of 1974, as amended

        through December 31, 1992. (1993) Washington: U.S.

        Government Printing Office.

Corey, G., Corey, M.S., & Callanan, P. (2003) Issues & Ethics

            in the Helping Professions, Sixth Ed., Wadsworth Group,

          United States.

Crowther, M.R., Parker, M.W., & Larimore, W.L. (2002)

 Rowe and Kahn’s Model of Successful Aging

Revisited: Positive Spirituality – The Forgotten Factor.

The Gerontologist, Vol. 42. pp.613-620.

Federal Agency Forum on Aging Related Statistics. Older Americans

         2004: Key Indicators of Well-Being. Washington DC: U.S. 

        Government Printing Office. November 2004.

Gay, G. (2004). Beyond Brown, Promoting equality through

         multicultural education. Journal of Curriculum &

         supervision, 19 (3), p193, 24p. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

        July 25, 2005.

Goh, M. (2005). Cultural competence and master therapists: An

         inextricable relationship. Journal of Mental Health Counseling,

         27 (1), p71, 1p. Retrieved from EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

Herlihy, B. & Corey, G. (2001) ACA Ethical Standards Casebook,

         Fifth Ed. Alexandria, VA. American Counseling Association.

Hoffman, L.M. (2004). We’re so diverse: How students use their high

            school yearbooks to bridge the gaps. American Secondary

            Education, 33 (1), p4, 22p. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

            July 26, 2005.

Howze, Y. & Weberman, D. (2001). On racial kinship. Social Theory

          & Practice, 27 (3), p419, 18p. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

          July 25, 2005.

Hudson, R.B. & Kingson, E.R. (1991). Inclusive and fair: The case for

            universality in social programs. Generations, 15 (3), p51, 6p.

            Retrieved from EBSCOhost July 25, 2005.

Hyde, C.A. (2004) Multicultural development in human services

           agencies: Challenges and solutions. Social Work, 49 (1), p7,

            from EBSCOhost July 25, 2005 10p. Retrieved

Jones, H. (2004) A Research-Based Approach on Teaching to

            Diversity. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 31 (1), p12,

            8p. Retrieved from EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

Kim, B.S.K. & Lyons, H.Z. (2003). Experiential activities and

            multicultural counseling competence training. Journal of

            Counseling & Development, 81 (4), p400, 9p. Retrieved

             from EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

Kitsantas, A. & Talleyrand, R.M. (2005). The use of online resources

             to promote multicultural competencies among k-12

            preservice teachers: A model for self-regulatory learning.

            Education, 125 (4), p627, 11p, 1 chart. Retrieved from

            EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

Kuh, G.D. & Umback, P.D. (2005). Experiencing diversity. Liberal

           Education, 91 (1), p14, 8p, 2 charts. Retrieved from

           EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

Livezey, L.W. (2001). Communities and enclaves: Where Jews,

            Christians, Hindus, and Muslims share the neighborhoods.

            Cross Currents, 51 (1), p45, 26p. Retrieved from

             EBSCOhost July 25, 2005.

Lonborg, S.D. & Bowen, N. (2004). Counselors, communities, and

            spirituality: ethical and multicultural considerations.

            Professional School Counseling, 7 (5), p318, 6p, 3 charts.

            Retrieved from EBSCOhost December 2, 2004.

Mason, D., Peak, T., Krannich, R.S., & Sanderson, M.L. (2002)

           Planning for the Needs of Utah's Senior Citizens: Final

           Project Report, Volume 11: Senior Services Issues. Logan,

           Utah: Department of Sociology, Social Work, and

          Anthropology, Utah State University.

Mason, D., Peak, T., Krannich, R.S., & Sanderson, M.L. (2002)

         Planning for the Needs of Utah's Senior Citizens: Final

        Project Report, Executive Summary. Logan, Utah: Department

        of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology, Utah State

        University.

McCall, A.L. (2004). Using poetry in social studies classes to teach

         about cultural diversity and social justice. Social Studies, 95

         (4), p172, 5p. Retrieved from EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

NCCH (2003). Tools for change: Skill building. NCCH The National

         Center for Cultural Healing. Retrieved from Diversity Training

          and Cultural Competence Skill Building at NCCH November

          11, 2004.

http://www.culturalhealing.com/skillbuildings.htm

Ponzo, Z. (1992). Promoting successful aging: Problems,

           opportunities, and counseling guidelines. Journal of

           Counseling & Development, 71 (2), p210, 4p. Retrieved from

            EBSCOhost December 6, 2004.

Pope, M., Barret, B., Szymanski, D.M., Chung, Y.B., Singaravelu, H.,

          McLean, R., et al. (2004). Culturally appropriate career

          counseling with gay and lesbian clients. Career Development

          Quarterly, 53 (2), p157, 20p. Retrieved from EBSCOhost

          July 26, 2005.

Rayle, A.D. & Myers, J.E. (2004). Counseling adolescents toward

            wellness: the roles of ethnic identity, acculturation and

            mattering. Professional School Counseling, 8 (1), p81, 10p,

            3 diagrams. Retrieved from EBSCOhost November 11,

            2004.

Reid, K.S. (2005). Philadelphia to require black-history class.

           Education Week, 24 (41), p10, 5 p. Retrieved from

           EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

Reid, K.S. (2004). Massachusetts city defends use of race in

           assigning students to schools. Education Week, 23 (39), p6,

           2p, 4c. Retrieved from EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

Rummens, J.A. (2003). Conceptualizing identity and diversity:

           Overlaps, intersections, and processes. Canadian Ethnic

          Studies, 35 (3), P10, 16p, 1 chart, 15 diagrams. Retrieved

           from EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

Sampson, R.J., Morenoff, J.D., & Raudenbush, S. (2005). Social

          anatomy of racial and ethnic disparities in violence. American

          Journal of Public Health, 95 (2), p224, 9p, 3 charts, 1 graph.

          Retrieved from EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

Seeman, E.A., Buboltz Jr., W.C., Jenkins, S.M., Soper, B., & Woller,

          K. (2004). Ethnic and gender differences in psychological

          reactance: The importance of reactance in multicultural

           counselling (sic). Counseling Psychology Quarterly, 17 (2),

            p167, 10p. Retrieved from EBSCOhost July 25, 2005.

Tsubata, K. (2004). Tilting to the white? World & I, 19 (1), p62, 6p,

            3c. Retrieved from EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

Underwood, A., Adler, J. & Pape, E. (2005). When cultures clash.

            Newsweek (Atlantic Edition), 145 (20), P53, 3p, 2c. Retrieved

           from EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

U.S. Census Bureau: The Census 2000 Gateway Retrieved

            February 17, 2005

            http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html

Weatherspoon, N. (2005). Black history in moments, not months.

            Christian Science Monitor, 97 (61), p10, 1p. Retrieved from

             EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

White Kress, V.E., Eriksen, K.P., Rayle, A.D., & Ford, S.J.W. 

             (2005). The DSM-IV-TR and culture: Considerations for

             counselors. Journal of Counseling & Development, 83 (1),

              p97, 8p. Retrieved from EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.

Yeh, C.J., Hunter, C.D., Madan-Bahael, A., Chiang, L., & Arora, A.K.

            (2004). Indigenous and interdependent perspectives of

            healing: Implication for counseling and research. Journal of

            Counseling & Development, 82 (4), p410, 10p.

            Retrieved from EBSCOhost July 26, 2005.