State Cooperative Extension units are mandated to ensure that employees both understand and apply the principles of federal civil rights laws and regulations in their work. Knowledge of these laws and regulations is most often gained through training and employee in-service programs. Most units maintain civil rights reference and resource files for employees to refer to. Periodically, units are subject to federal civil rights compliance reviews to assist them with providing “And Justice for All” to their clientele.

Cooperative Extension’s duty to prepare staff to fully meet civil rights requirements is a legal, ethical, and moral responsibility, essential to fulfilling their stewardship as public servants. When training and preparing staff, the following areas should be the basis for civil rights understanding and assessment:

• knowledge of laws,
• rules and regulations;
• procedures for processing discrimination complaints;
• understanding the statewide Equal Opportunity/Diversity plan;
• staff civil rights training;
• development and use of mailing lists;
• assigned civil rights responsibilities for Extension staff;
• program accessibility standards; internal compliance reviews;
• Title IX nondiscrimination on the basis of gender;
• ongoing administration of the civil rights program in one’s state;
• Extension program participant data collection and analysis;
• public notification standards; and
• the uses of advisory committees and boards in Extension programs.

A unique approach to determine if employees understand these civil rights areas has been developed and adopted by the Utah State University Cooperative Extension program. Each employee annually completes a Civil Rights self assessment tool which assists employees in identifying their proficiencies and deficiencies. The tool also provides immediate remediation resources to assist when deficiencies are identified. This tool has been in use for two years and has given each employee an opportunity to assess their own civil rights competencies and then to develop a remediation plan for personal improvement.

The self assessment instrument requires the employee respondent to determine his or her level of knowledge and understanding in each area and then rate themselves as either proficient or needing improvement. If the respondent determines they are not proficient in the question area they can immediately access resource materials to assist them in improving their deficiency. An example of the tool with instructions is provided in Table 1. The interactive resources are linked to each question and are computer clickable to the respondent whether they are using the CD-based assessment tool or the internet web-based version. Numerous resources can be linked to each question, providing instantaneous assistance to the respondent as they complete the assessment. If the employee respondent is using the internet while completing the assessment, then links to resource sites further expand relevant and current resources to the user. For example, if the respondent is trying to determine their knowledge of the potential recipients of their programs in their county/parish, then the resource help file links directly to FedStats where the respondent can select the state/county/parish and immediately access needed demographic information.

Upon completion of the tool, the respondent develops a personal improvement plan and then prints out a certificate of self assessment detailing their responses to each of the assessment questions. Extension employees complete the self assessment annually both as a means to recertify their knowledge and understanding of civil rights and to update their skills and knowledge.

Once the respondent completes the self assessment and prints out the certification document, an electronic copy of their certification is automatically emailed to the Utah State Extension office as a record of their personal civil rights compliance efforts. The employee places a copy of their personal certification into the county/parish civil rights file as documentation of their self training and proficiency. Since the tool delineates needed improvement areas, it has become a mini needs assessment tool for the civil rights/diversity leadership who is responsible for providing ongoing training to employees.

If you would like a copy of the tool on CD, or require further information on how this tool might be used in your state, contact:

Dallas Holmes
Institutional Research Specialist
And Civil Rights Liaison
Utah State University
Logan, Utah 84322
435.797.7041

Power Point Presentation on the Self Assessment Tool at the 2005 National Extension Diversity Conference in Greensboro.