Grantee Civil Rights Information Grantee Obligations/Office for Civil Rights Website As a condition of the receipt of federal grant funding through the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA), ICJIA grantees must comply with civil rights laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination. The following sections provide information and links to websites that will be helpful to ICJIA grantees in complying with these civil rights requirements. In addition, they provide information on certifications grantees must complete as a condition of receiving federal grant funding through ICJIA. If you have suggestions on the content or organization of this website, please contact ICJIA at 312-795-8550 or click on http://www.icjia.state.il.us/public/index.cfm?metasection=forms&metapage=comments. Civil Rights Laws, Regulations and Publications and Required Certification The federal Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Office of Justice Programs (OJP) website includes information that will assist grantees in complying with civil rights laws and regulations. The site includes information regarding Equal Employment Opportunity Plans, the prohibition against national origin discrimination affecting persons with limited English proficiency, and other civil rights law and regulations: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ocr/ The OCR site provides links to specific civil rights laws and regulations that are applicable to ICJIA grantees that receive federal OJP funding, including but not limited to Byrne Formula Grant (also referred to as ADAA), Justice Information Technology Integration Implementation (JITII), Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants (JAIBG), Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT), Local Law Enforcement Block Grants (LLEBG), Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), and Violent Offender Incentive/Truth in Sentencing (VOI/TIS) funding. The following laws and regulations, which may be found at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ocr/statutes.htm, apply to ICJIA grantees that receive OJP funding: - The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968
- Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
- Section 1407 of the Victims of Crime Act
- Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
- Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
- The Age Discrimination Act of 1975
- Nondiscrimination regulations at Title 28 and Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations
Additional civil rights information that will be useful to grantees may be found at the Coordination and Review Section of the Division of Civil Rights, Department of Justice website: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/links.htm. The Coordination and Review Section site also includes publications that may address questions that grantees have about the civil laws and regulations that apply to them, at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/pubs.htm. To document adherence to these requirements, all grantees are required to complete a Civil Rights Certification (MS Word, 1 p. ) for every federal grant they receive from ICJIA. In this certification, the grantee is certifying that it complies with civil rights laws and regulations and that it will forward a copy of findings of discrimination to ICJIA. The grantee must attach a copy of findings of discrimination made within the past 5 years to the certification, unless the grantee has already submitted them to ICJIA. If a grantee has already submitted all current findings to ICJIA, there is no need to resubmit them. ICJIA must forward a copy of the findings to OCR. See Certification Instructions (MS Word, 1 p.) for additional information on how to complete the Civil Rights Certification. Equal Employment Opportunity Plans and Required Certification Certain grantees are required to develop an Equal Employment Opportunity Plan (EEO Plan). The EEO Plan analyzes a grantee's labor market data and employment practices to identify possible barriers to participation of women and minorities in the grantee's workforce. The OCR site includes information about when an EEO Plan is required and how to develop an EEO Plan: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ocr/eeop.htm To document adherence to these requirements, all grantees are required to complete an EEO Plan Certification (MS Word, 1 p.), for every federal grant they receive from ICJIA. The EEO Plan Certification assists grantees in determining whether they must develop an EEO Plan, or are exempt from the EEO Plan requirement.The EEO Plan Certification has two sections, Section A and B. ONLY ONE section should be completed by the grantee. For grantees that are exempt from the EEO Plan requirement (see SECTION A), the certification documents the exemption criteria that apply. For grantees that are required to have a current EEO Plan (see SECTION B), the certification documents the location of the EEO Plan and that the plan is available for review by the public, its employees, and officials of ICJIA and OCR. - SECTION A (EEO Plan is not required): Some grantees are not required to develop an EEO Plan. If one or more of the checkboxes in Section A apply to the grantee, then the grantee is exempt from the EEO Plan requirement and is NOT required to develop an EEO Plan. If this is the case, the grantee completes SECTION A, ONLY.
- SECTION B (EEO Plan is required): If none of the boxes in Section A apply to the grantee, then the grantee IS REQUIRED to develop an EEO Plan. If the grantee is a covered entity type (please note that units of government, such as cities, towns, counties and state agencies are NOT non-profit organizations, and are covered entity types), has 50 or more employees and receives a single grant of $25,000 or more, then it must have a current EEO Plan. In addition, if the grantee receives $500,000 or more through a single grant, or $1,000,000 or more in aggregate grant funds in an 18-month period, the grantee must submit a copy of its EEO Plan to ICJIA. ICJIA will forward the EEO Plan to OCR for review and approval.
Click to view Certification Instructions (MS Word, 1 p. ) for additional information on how to complete these certifications. For grantees that are required to develop an EEO Plan, specific instructions on how to develop a plan are included in OCR's Seven-Step Guide to the Design and Development of an Equal Employment Opportunity Plan, which may be accessed at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ocr/seven.htm Training Opportunities The Institute for Training and Development of the Illinois Department for Human Rights offers trainings that grantees are welcome to attend. Institute seminar and workshop topics have included Equal Employment Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Laws, Sexual Harassment Prevention, Diversity Awareness, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Immigration and Nationality Act. See the Institute website for more information: http://www.state.il.us/dhr/Institute/Inst-p1.htm Documents
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