HHS Office for Civil Rights Issues Guidance on Civil Rights Laws and Welfare Reform

HHS News Release

The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued a two-part guidance to help states and other public entities comply with federal civil rights laws as they implement their welfare reform programs and create new programs. These materials, titled Civil Rights Laws and Welfare Reform--An Overview and Technical Assistance for Caseworkers on Civil Rights Law and Welfare Reform, explain how federal civil rights laws apply in welfare programs.

for California

"Today's guidance will assist officials involved in welfare programs to identify potential civil rights issues and help them to prevent even unintentional discrimination from occurring," said Thomas E. Perez, OCR director. "These documents continue our efforts to provide education and technical assistance about these issues to those involved in implementing welfare programs. We must ensure all eligible people are free from discrimination and have equal opportunities to participate in welfare programs."

A variety of federal nondiscrimination laws prohibit federally assisted programs from being administered in a manner that discriminates or has the effect of discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, sex, age, religion or political belief. These laws are designed to ensure that covered programs do not exclude or deny benefits or services to persons, or provide different or lesser benefits to persons on any of these prohibited bases.

Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), states and other welfare service providers have legal obligations to comply with federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination. The first part of today's guidance includes an overview of civil rights laws and welfare reform. It also includes a list of federal agencies to contact for more information.

The second part of the guidance provides technical assistance to caseworkers, citing specific examples of potentially violative conduct, such as the following:

*A predominantly minority community is provided lower benefits, fewer services or is subject to harsher rules than a predominantly non-minority community.

*A local welfare office makes assumptions regarding a person's citizenship, immigration status and eligibility for benefits based on the person's race, surname, accent or ability to speak English, and asks only those who look or sound foreign about their citizenship or immigration status.

*In a computer-training program, trainees over age 40 are discouraged from seeking referrals to computer systems jobs. These older trainees are told that the systems jobs require travel between different job sites, are tiring and are more suitable for the younger trainees.

*A provider offers job-training opportunities in electrical repair work, but has accepted no women into the training program even though several qualified women have requested admission.

*A job-training provider fails to provide reasonable accommodation, such as instructional materials in braille or audiotape for a trainee who is blind.

PRWORA gives states broad discretion in how to implement their welfare programs. It also imposes several new obligations on states, including implementing programs with increased work requirements for welfare beneficiaries. HHS coordinated this guidance jointly with the U.S. departments of Labor, Justice, Education and Agriculture and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

OCR intends to follow up with a series of training and technical assistance programs across the country for state caseworkers and other welfare service providers.

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Contacts: Omar Guerrero HHS Office for Civil Rights, (202) 619-0403
Michael Kharfen, HHS Administration for Children and Families, (202) 401-9215