Title: Civil Rights Compliance in Child Nutrition Programs
1Civil Rights Compliance in Child Nutrition
Programs
- Information compiled by
- Angela Barnes, Civil Rights Liaison
- IN Dept. of Ed, Office of School and Community
Nutrition
2Sponsors receiving USDA funds must follow civil
rights regulations and policy
- Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) 113 regulations
cover the following Child Nutrition Programs - National School Lunch, Breakfast and Special Milk
Programs - Summer Food Program
- Food Distribution Program
- Child and Adult Care Food Program
3What is Discrimination?
- The act of distinguishing one person or
- group of persons from other, either
- intentionally, by neglect, or by the effect of
- actions or lack of actions based on their
- protected classes.
4 Discrimination Three Ds
The 3 Ds
- an individual or group is
- Denied benefits or services that
- others receive
- Delayed receiving benefits or services that
others receive, or - Treated Differently than others to their
disadvantage
5Examples of Discrimination
- Refuse a childs enrollment based on disability
- Failure to provide reasonable accommodations
- to disabled individuals
- Serving meals at a time, place, or manner
- that is discriminatory
- Selectively distributing applications
- Failure to provide the same eligibility criteria
- to all participants
- Failure to provide foreign language materials
regarding Child Nutrition Programs
6GOALS OF CIVIL RIGHTS
- Equal treatment for all applicants and
beneficiaries - Knowledge of rights and responsibilities
- Elimination of illegal barriers that prevent or
deter people from receiving benefits - Dignity and respect for all
7WHAT IS A PROTECTED CLASS?
- Any person or group of people who have
- characteristics for which discrimination
- is prohibited based on a law, regulation, or
- executive order. The protected classes are
- race, color, national origin, age,
- sex, and disability.
82004 Equal Opportunity for Religious
Organizations Laws Protect Faith-Based
Organizations
- Faith-based organizations (FBO) and community-
based organizations (CBO) have equal footing - Prohibits discrimination against an organization
on the basis of religion, religious belief or
character in the distribution of funds - Clarifies that FBOs can use space in their
facilities without removing religious art or
symbols
9Components of Civil Rights Compliance
- Assurances
- Public Notification System
- Outreach and Education
- Data Collection
- Language Assistance
- Civil Rights Complaint Procedures
- Technical Assistance and Training
10Assurances
- Assurances are contractual agreements in which a
state agency, local agency, or the sub-recipient
legally agrees to administer FNS programs in
accordance with all laws, regulations,
instructions, policies, and guidance related to
nondiscrimination. - Compliance is verified through compiling data,
maintaining records, and submitting required
reports.
11Public Notification System
- All sponsors participating in Child Nutrition
Programs must display the non-discrimination
poster in a prominent area where participants and
potential participants have access. - And Justice For All,
12Public Notification System
- All organizations participating in Child
- Nutrition Programs must provide
- informational materials in the appropriate
translation concerning the availability and
nutritional benefits of the meal programs - (NSLP, SBP, SMP, ASP, CACFP).
13NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT
- Long form the official USDA non-discrimination
statement for Indiana - Short form if material is one page or less and
is too small to include full statement - Dont forget web sites!!!
- Both non-discrimination statements can be found
on our website www.doe.in.gov/food
14When a Non-Discrimination Statement is Needed?
- Employee Handbooks
- Enrollment Forms
-
- Menus
- Newsletters
- Brochures
- Parent Handbooks
- Flyers
- Print or broadcast advertisements
- Informational
- Materials that
- require the
- Nondiscrimination
- Statement include
15Outreach and Education
- You want to reach as many potential eligible's as
possible. - You want to ensure program access
- You need to pay attention to under-represented
groups. - Include the required nondiscrimination statement
on all appropriate FNS and agency publications,
web sites, posters, and informational materials. - When using graphics, reflect diversity and
inclusion.
16Data Collection and Reporting
- Sites need to establish a system to collect
racial and - ethnic data
- Sources to determine the number of potentially
eligible children include census data or
institution enrollment data. - Visual identification or personal knowledge may
be used by sponsor official, or voluntary
self-identification by applicant on the free and
reduced price meal application form may be used
for race and ethnicity data collection. - Self-identification preferred for example, on
the household application. - Alternatively, staff can make an observation of
ethnicity and race. - RATIONALE Discrimination is often based on
perception, and - others would probably have a similar perception
as the person - doing the coding.
17Data Collection and Reporting (continued)
- Collect ethnicity data first, then race data
- Ethnicity categories
- - Hispanic or Latino
- - Non-Hispanic or Latino
- Race Categories
- - American Indian or Alaskan Native
- - Asian
- - Black or African American
- - Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
- - White
18Data Collection and Retention
- Each sponsor agrees to collect racial/ethnic data
and retain the data on file for 3 years plus the
current program year - Data must be collected on an annual basis
- Data concerning the number of potentially
eligible children, along with identification of
all sources of the information, shall be updated
annually and retained on file for 3 years plus
the current program year
19Limited English Proficiency(LEP)
- Definition
- Individuals who do not speak English as their
primary language and have limited ability to
read, speak, write, or understand English. - Recipients of Federal financial assistance have a
responsibility to take reasonable steps to ensure
meaningful access to their programs and
activities by persons with LEP.
20Limited English Proficiency(LEP) (Continued)
- Primary factors to consider when
- determining reasonable steps
- Number proportion of LEP persons served or
encountered in eligible population - Frequency of LEP persons contact with program
- Nature importance of program, activity, or
service and - Resources available to the recipient/costs .
- SHORTAGE OF RESOURCES DOES NOT ELIMINATE
REQUIREMENT!!!
21Limited English Proficiency(LEP) (continued)
- Children should not be used as interpreters.
- Volunteers may be used, but make sure they
understand interpreter ethics particularly
confidentiality! - Household applications in other languages can be
found at - - NSLP www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/FRP/frp.process.htm
- - CACFP www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Care/Translations/M
eal_Benefit_Form_Translations.htm - See www.lep.gov for more information and
resources
22Handling Civil Rights Complaints
- Right to file a complaint Any person who
believes he or she has been discriminated against
based on race, color, national origin, sex, age,
or disability has a right to file a complaint
within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory
action. - Complainants must forward completed verbal or
written complaints to the Indiana Department of
Education, or USDA within three days of receiving
a complaint.
23Handling Civil Rights Complaints
- Acceptance All civil rights complaints, written
or verbal, shall be accepted and forwarded to the
Civil Rights Division of the USDA Food and
Nutrition Service
24COMPLAINTS INVESTIGATION
- To file a complaint, complainants may write to
USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C.
20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 or (202)
720-6382 (TTY). In the Midwest Region they may
also write to Regional Director, Civil
Rights/EEO, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., FL 20, Chicago,
IL 60604-3591 or call (312) 353-3353.
25Handling Civil Rights Complaint
- Complaints can be written or verbal
- Anonymous complaints should be handled as any
other complaint - Sponsors must give complainants a Civil Rights
Complaint Form to complete - Document all potential complaints in a Civil
Rights Complaint Log - Have a central location where the Civil Rights
Complaint Forms and Civil Rights Complaint Log
will be kept - A sample civil rights complaint form and log can
be found on our website www.doe.in.gov/food
26The following information should be included in a
Civil Rights Complaint
- Name, address, phone number of complainant, if
provided (not required) - Specific name and location of entity delivering
the benefit or service - The nature of the incident, action, or method of
administration that led the complainant to feel
discriminated against
27The following information should be included in a
Civil Rights ComplaintContinued
- The basis on which the complainant feels
discrimination exists (race, color, national
origin, sex, age, or disability) - The names, titles, and business addresses of
persons who may have knowledge of the
discriminatory action. - The date(s) during which the alleged
discriminatory actions occurred, or if
continuing, the duration of such actions.
28Civil Rights Training for Sponsors/Staff
- All staff who work with Child Nutrition Programs
must receive training on all aspects of civil
rights compliance annually. - Topics -What is Discrimination?
- -Collecting/recording racial/ethnic data
- -Where to display posters
- -What is a Civil Rights complaint
- -How to handle a Civil Rights complaint
- Retain training records of the people who
received civil rights training.
29Civil Rights Training for Sponsors/Staff
- Develop fully implement sponsors civil rights
complaint procedure. - Explain to all staff what to do if they receive a
complaint. - Make available to all staff civil rights
complaint forms, logs, and complaint procedures. - Explain to all staff that it is the basic right
of the individual to file a complaint.
30Food for Thought
- How far you go in life depends on your being
tender with the young, compassionate with the
aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant
of the weak and strong. Because someday in life
you will have been all of these. - George Washington Carver
31CONTACT INFORMATION
- Angela Barnes, Civil Rights Liaison
- Department of Education
- Office of School Community Nutrition
- 151 West Ohio Street
- Indianapolis, IN 46204
- Phone 800-537-1142
- E-mail abarnes_at_doe.in.gov
- Web Site www.doe.in.gov/food