Transcript Recordkeeping - Office of Family Health Services

USDA Civil Rights and Special
Nutrition Programs
Training Objectives
• Demonstrate knowledge of Civil Rights requirements
for Special Nutrition Programs
• Develop and implement policies and procedures to
ensure compliance with all USDA requirements
• Ensure that benefits of Special Nutrition Programs are
made available to all eligible participants in a nondiscriminatory manner
Discrimination Defined
• Different treatment which makes a distinction of one
person or group of persons from others
• Intentionally;
• By neglect; or
• By the actions or lack of actions based on the
protected class
“The Four D’s”
Examples of Discrimination
• Refusing a participant’s enrollment based on disability
• Failing to provide reasonable accommodations to
disabled individuals
• Serving meals at a time, place, or manner that is
discriminatory
• Selectively distributing applications
• Failing to provide the same eligibility criteria to all
participants
Protected Classes
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Race
Color
National Origin
Age
Sex
Disability
Components of Civil Rights Compliance
 Public Notification System
 Outreach and Education
 Civil Rights Complaint Procedures
 Data Collection
 Reasonable Accommodations
 Technical Assistance and Training
 Customer Service
 Conflict Resolution
Public Notification: Components
• Program availability
• Each agency or other sub-recipient must take
action to inform potentially eligible persons of
their program rights.
• Complaint information
• Applicants and participants must be advised at
the service delivery point of their right to file a
complaint, and the complaint process.
• Non discrimination statement
• Institutions must communicate the nondiscrimination statement
Public Notification: Methods
• Outreach--Inform potentially eligible applicants
about the program
• Provide information in alternative formats available
for those with disabilities, i.e. Spanish
• Include non discrimination statement on all
informational material provided to the public
• Convey equal opportunity message in all pictures that
are used to provide program information
• Prominently display the “And Justice for All” poster,
and, for programs serving children), the “Building for
the Future” poster
Non-Discrimination Statement
Institutions are required to use the following language
on all informational materials:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and
applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity,
religion, reprisal and, where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual
orientation, or if all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program, or
protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the
Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.)
If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program
Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or
at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of
the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington,
D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at [email protected].
Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities and wish to file either an EEO or
program complaint please contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339 or (800) 8456136 (in Spanish).
Persons with disabilities who wish to file a program complaint, please see information above on how to
contact us by mail directly or by email. If you require alternative means of communication for program
information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) please contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 7202600 (voice and TDD).
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Non-Discrimination Statement
If the material or document is too small to permit
the full statement to be included (one 8 ½ x 11
page front and back or less), the material MUST,
at a minimum, include the following:
“This institution is an equal
opportunity provider and employer.”
Examples of Informational Materials
•Enrollment Forms
•Menus
•Employee Handbooks
•Newsletters
•Brochures
•Flyers
•Parent/Student Handbooks
•Websites
•Print or Broadcast Advertisements
Outreach and Education
• Reach as many potential children as possible.
• Ensure program access.
• Identify and pay particular attention to underrepresented groups.
• Include the required nondiscrimination statement on
all appropriate special nutrition program and agency
publications, web sites, posters, and informational
materials.
• When using graphics, reflect diversity and inclusion.
Complaint Procedures
• Sponsors are required to develop and implement a
written Civil Rights Complaint Procedure for handling
any discrimination complaint that may be received.
• If the complaint form if returned to Sponsor, Sponsor
must forward the form to the USDA within 3 working
days.
Complaint
received by
sponsor
Complaint
documented in
Civil Rights
Complaint Log
Civil Rights
Complaint
Form
completed
Recognizing a Civil Rights Complaint
A complaint of unequal treatment may be:
• Verbal
• In writing
• Observed
Submitting a Complaint
• A Civil Rights Complaint Form must be readily
available at all sites.
• Sponsors must make every effort to assist a
complainant and make reasonable accommodation
for complainants with a disability.
Submitting a Complaint
To file a complaint of discrimination:
• Write:
U.S. Director Office on Adjudication
1400 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20250-9410
• E-mail: [email protected]
• Call: (800) 632-9992 or (202) 260-1026
Deadline for Filing a Complaint
• A complaint can be filed within 180 days of the alleged
discriminatory action.
• A waiver of the 180 day filing deadline may be granted
for the following reasons:
(1) the discriminatory act could not reasonably be
expected to be known within the 180-day period;
(2) illness or incapacitation;
(3) the same complaint was filed with another
Federal, state, or local agency; and
(4) any other basis determined by the Director of
the Office of Adjudication.
Civil Rights Complaint Log
• All complaints must be documented in the Civil
Rights Complaint Log.
• Log must be dated and kept current for 3 years + the
current year, even if no complaints have been
received.
• If no complaints have been received, sponsors
should document “no complaints received” in the
Log at the end of the fiscal year.
Racial and Ethnic Data Reporting
• Ethnic and racial data is used to determine how
effectively your program is reaching potentially
eligible children and where outreach may be
needed.
• Sponsors are required to collect racial and ethnic data
annually and maintain the data on file.
Collecting and Reporting Data
• Establish a system to collect ethnic and racial data on
participants annually
• It is optional for participants to provide sponsors
information, but it is a requirement for sponsors to
collect it annually.
• Data collectors may not second guess, change, or
challenge a self-declaration of ethnicity and race made
by a participant unless such declarations are blatantly
false
How and What Data to Collect
Two Step Process:
• Step 1: Ethnicity Categories (Specify “mark one”)
• Hispanic or Latino
• Non-Hispanic or Non-Latino
• Step 2: Racial Categories (Specify “mark one or more”)
• American Indian or Alaskan Native
• Asian
• Black or African American
• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
• White
Methods for Determining Ethnic Data
• Information provided by the participant (preferred)
• Income Eligibility Statements
• Enrollment Forms
• If a participant/family chooses not to provide
racial/ethnic information, you may use one of the
following two methods:
• Visual identification by a staff person or sponsor
• Personal knowledge, records or other
documentation the institution possesses that
identifies household racial/ethnic data
Reasonable Accommodations:
Disability
A “person with a disability” means any person who has a
physical or mental impairment which substantially
limits one or more major life activities, has a record of
such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an
impairment.
Reasonable Accommodations:
Disability
• Provide facilities for participants with disabilities
• Example: accessible parking lots, entrances and
exits, halls, elevators, rest rooms, service animals,
Braille signage, alternative arrangements for service
• Provide appropriate information in alternative
formats for persons with disabilities
• Example: Braille program materials, sign language
interpreters
• Provide food substitutions for students with
disabilities when documented in writing by a licensed
physician
Reasonable Accommodations:
Disability
• All sponsors participating in Special Nutrition
Programs are required to provide food substitutions or
modifications if:
• A medical statement is on file that describes the
participant’s disability and what foods must be
omitted and indicates the substitutions or
modifications that the participant needs
Reasonable Accommodations:
Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
Definition: Individuals who do not speak English as
their primary language and have a limited ability to
read, speak, write, or understand English.
• Upon request, make available to the public,
participants, and potential participants information
about program eligibility, benefits, services, and
procedures for filing a complaint, in English and/or in
the appropriate translation
• If needed, the use of alternative means of
communication (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) is
required
Technical Assistance and Training
• All sponsors and staff who work with the Special
Nutrition Program must receive training on all aspects
of civil rights compliance annually.
• Sponsors must retain training records of the people
who received civil rights training.
Customer Service
• All participants must be allowed
equal opportunities to participate
in Special Nutrition programs regardless of race, color,
national origin, sex, age, or disability.
• All participants must be treated in the same manner
(i.e. seating arrangements, serving lines, services and
facilities, assignment of eating periods, methods of
selection for application approval processes).
Conflict Resolution
The USDA recommends using an Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR) program:
ADR Definition: Use of a neutral third party (usually
a person acting as a facilitator) to resolve informally a
complaint of discrimination through use of various
techniques such as fact finding, mediation, peer
panels, facilitation, ombudsman support, or
conciliation.
For more information, go to:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/Admin/civilrights/conflictres.a
sp
A Review: Required Components of
Civil Rights Compliance
 Public Notification System
 Outreach and Education
 Civil Rights Complaint Procedures
 Data Collection
 Reasonable Accommodations
 Technical Assistance and Training
 Customer Service
 Conflict Resolution
Questions?