Civil Rights

Cooperative Extension employees must ensure that all reasonable efforts is made to reach out to involve minorities and clientele with disabilities in Cooperative Extension programs and to properly record the effort. In addition to providing the notices above, the following activities are regarded as a minimum effort:

Programming:

1. All new Extension advisory council committee members, new employees, and all new volunteer leaders must be oriented to Cooperative Extension’s Civil Rights/Equal Employment Opportunity (CR/EEO) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) responsibilities.
2. Cooperative Extension staff should review minority data concerning their area and should plan/evaluate steps to assure that “all reasonable effort” is achieved. Give particular emphasis to information related to total population by race, agriculturally-related data by race and sex, types of enterprises generating economic activity and indications of individual and family well-being. The Department of Justice has indicated that “all reasonable effort” is fulfilled when there is: a) extensive use of mass media; b) personal telephone calls or written communication to potential minority or handicapped clientele; and c) personal contact by county staff members with a representative number of potential recipients.
3. County/specialist unit plans of work should reflect special efforts that will be planned for the purpose of reaching minority and handicapped clientele.
4. Program announcements and brochures should state that the program is open to the public regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, including transgender status or gender expression, national origin or citizenship status, age, disability or veteran status, and that Cooperative Extension provides, upon request, reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals. Printed material that actively seeks members, participants or beneficiaries of Cooperative Extension services, programs or activities must contain a version of the non-discrimination statement. “And Justice for All” poster should be posted prominently at all offices, summer camps and major function rooms.
5. All new homemaker groups and 4-H clubs should clearly delineate the geographic boundaries of their units. Established groups and clubs are encouraged to delineate their boundaries.
6. The USDA requires us to annually have a representative of a group we work with on an ongoing basis (e.g., county Extension homemaker groups, 4-H Leaders Association or 4-H club, agricultural producers group, master gardeners, etc.) sign a statement stating that the group or any of its members will not discriminate against any individual who wants to use Extension’s services. The signed statement is to be annually updated and kept in your office civil rights file. Failure for group representatives to annually sign the statement may result in Cooperative Extension’s inability to serve that group according to USDA civil rights policy. Extension volunteers, in their orientation to Extension and as part of any volunteer training they receive, are expected to comply with Alcorn’s non-discrimination statement as representatives of the University in the community. Should you have any questions about the statements or procedures for ensuring Extension volunteer group compliance with federal and Alcorn non-discrimination policies, please contact your supervisor. Our intent is to work with community groups whose membership and educational activities are open to anyone without discrimination based on the criteria outlined in the USDA and university statements. The non-discrimination statement is to be signed annually and kept in the county office civil rights file.
7. County staff should periodically check with local USDA offices to obtain names of minority farmers or land owners. Similar checks are made with other agencies to obtain potential minority clientele.
8. Minutes of meetings in which CR/EEO efforts/training may be recorded should be kept, i.e., staff meetings, executive committee meetings and all advisory committee meetings, in the office civil rights file.
9. Each county/specialist unit should maintain a CR/EEO file for filing related regulations/notices, etc. and for each employee to record contacts and CR/EEO happenings. The county level civil rights files should include contents in accordance with the prescribed civil rights checklist. When collecting contact demographic data, please utilize program forms such as the event registration form, which should include all appropriate demographic data. In some cases, clients have the option not to complete the form in its entirety, the program staff member may augment the demographic data collected through their visual inspection of the attendees. The registration form lists the basic civil rights categories requested by our federal partners and may be tailored to include other groups covered by the non-discrimination policy. The civil rights file should be kept up-to-date, and all pertinent information logged locally as well as in the planning and reporting systems. The log of accommodation requests and accommodations provided should be kept in the local civil rights file as well. Accommodations can be anything the programmer did to assist an attendee to fully participate given some limitation they were experiencing. When in doubt it is better to record what was done than to determine it was not meaningful or significant.
10. CR/EEO success stories should be reported to Carolyn Banks at [email protected] or 601.877.6260 to meet the February 15, June 15 and October 15 reporting deadlines.
11. Cooperative Extension offices should maintain a procedure for handling alleged discrimination. Each employee should be familiar with the complaint procedure, and be able to handle a complaint promptly and courteously.
12. County civil rights coordinators should periodically review with all employees Cooperative Extension responsibilities for CR/EEO requirements under the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972, Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973, all as amended, and under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
13. Internal reviews of Extension’s county and campus units will take place annually with each office to be reviewed at least every three years or sooner as determined by Extension’s civil rights officer.
14. Staff who do not comply with Cooperative Extension’s civil rights expectations may be subject to disciplinary procedures.