Documenting Your Civil Rights Activities

How to demonstrate compliance through documentation and data

Our responsibilities

As a recipient of federal funding, Cooperative Extension is required to comply with civil rights laws to:

1) assure nondiscrimination and equal opportunity

2) make up for historic and continuing discrimination toward protected groups by reaching out with special efforts (affirmative action).

Documentation and data should demonstrate

who those audiences are for your specific programs.

how you reach audiences protected by the Title VI Civil Rights Law of 1964

Review compliance with your team

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/admin/crights/

Working as a team is important Use the PowerPoints for new

colleaguesStart now

Share contacts, processes, data

Work with your county colleagues to share processes, data and contacts

This work should be part of the civil rights story you tell on your civil rights day

DocumentationDemographic data about your

county and your audiencesCivil rights charts and self-

assessment questionnairesInformation about your partnersPromotional materialsMailing listsInternal, office functions

Civil rights filesSet of civil rights files in county

office that is accessible to all colleagues

In addition to documentation that supports program outreach—paper copies of UW-Extension and Cooperative Extension policies

Questions?Your Examples?

Demographic dataFocus on data about people

protected by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Race, ethnicity, gender and age.Small populations of these

groups in your county? Collect data on groups that are traditionally underserved based on your participant data

Data sourcesApplied Population LaboratoryUS CensusLocal sources—schools, gov.

agencies, non-profitsMaps and plat book pages can be

very helpful

Civil rights charts and assessment questionnaires, on-line submission

Charts 1 and 2 for everyoneChart 3 for 4-H clubsChart 3a for 4-H campsChart 4 for WHCE clubs

Potential audience

Program Goals

Who has Interest and will Benefit

Potential Audience

Demographics of potential audienceConsider all data sources,

especially local sourcesConsider the geographic area of

your potential.Have you included groups

protected by civil rights laws? Other neglected audiences?

Is past location and past practice inclusive?

Applying the demographicsShould you use the total population of your

county? Probably not. Be more specific based on the goals of your program and you capability to reach and implement your program.

Consider the participant numbers of previous years and expect to increase realistically.

Should you use the racial/ethnic percentages of the entire county? Probably not. Be more specific based on the goals of your program and what you know about your defined audience.

Questions?Your Examples?

Information about partners

Lists of◦organizations you collaborate with◦groups that provide input to your

programming◦leader groups, judging committees◦All with notations about the racial,

ethnic and gender of the members

Questions?Your Examples?

Public notification of nondiscrimination policies

Place examples in civil rights files:◦Nondiscrimination statement on

promotional materials, websites, e-mail signatures

◦Accommodations statement on specific program announcements

◦711 Relay number◦Annual letters to primary partners—in

files They should sign off agreeing to our policies

Promotional materialsFile copies of news releases, radio spots,

newsletters, flyers that help you reach protected groups and neglected audiences

Post it notes about the sources you used:◦partner’s newsletter◦school letter to parents◦free shopper◦neighborhood newspaper◦notes should be relevant to civil rights

outreach to targeted audiences

Questions?Your Examples?

Mailing listsInforms Chart #2Surface mailing lists, e-mail listsPaper copiesNotations about race, ethnicity,

gender (percentages)Lists should be updated

frequently

Questions?Your Examples?

County office operationsPosition descriptions-- should be updated to

include civil rights responsibilitiesExamples of materials with nondiscrimation

statements, 711 Relay numberMarketing plans the demonstration attention

to civil rights outreachProgram plans of work and civil rights plans

(keep up to date)Success stories that demonstrate civil rights

outreachMinutes of staff meetings where civil rights

outreach was discussed

Questions?Your Examples?