Agency Information Collection Activities: DHS Civil Rights Evaluation Tool 1601-0024, DHS Form 3095
| Published date | 19 November 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 73731 |
| Record Number | 2020-25543 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Homeland Security Department |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 224 (Thursday, November 19, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 224 (Thursday, November 19, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73731-73732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25543]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
[Docket Number DHS-2020-0047]
Agency Information Collection Activities: DHS Civil Rights
Evaluation Tool 1601-0024, DHS Form 3095
AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security, (DHS).
ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for comments; extension without
change of a currently approved collection, 1601-0024.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security, will submit the following
Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until January 19,
2021. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.1.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number Docket
# DHS-2020-0047, at:
[cir] Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Please follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number Docket # DHS-2020-0047. All comments received will be
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Recipients of federal financial assistance
from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are required to meet
certain legal requirements relating to nondiscrimination and
nondiscriminatory use of federal funds. Those requirements include
ensuring that entities receiving Federal financial assistance from the
Department of Homeland Security do not deny benefits or services, or
otherwise discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin,
disability, age, sex, or religion, in accordance with the following
authorities:
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) Public
Law 88-352, 42 U.S.C. 2000d-1 et seq., and the Department's
implementing regulation, 6 CFR part 21 and 44 CFR part 7, which
prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, color, or national
origin by recipients of Federal financial assistance. Title VI, through
its prohibition against discrimination on the basis of national origin,
requires recipients to take reasonable steps to provide meaningful
access to persons who are limited English proficient (LEP). See
Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI
Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited
English Proficient Persons, 76 FR 21755-21768 (April 18, 2011).
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section
504), Public Law 93-112, as amended by Public Law 93-516, 29 U.S.C.
794, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by
recipients of Federal financial assistance.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX),
20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq., and the Department's implementing regulations,
6 CFR part 17, and 44 CFR part 19, which prohibits discrimination on
the basis of sex in education program and activities received Federal
financial assistance.
Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Public Law 94-135, 42
U.S.C. Section 6101 et seq., and the Department implementing regulation
at 44 CFR part 7, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age by
recipients of Federal financial assistance.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security regulation 6 CFR part
19, which prohibits organizations that receive financial assistance
from DHS for a social service program from discriminating against
beneficiaries on the basis of religion or religious belief, a refusal
to hold a religious belief, or a refusal to attend or participate in a
religious practice.
The aforementioned civil rights authorities also prohibit
retaliatory acts against individuals for participating or opposing
discrimination in a complaint, investigation, or other proceeding
related to prohibited discrimination.
DHS has an obligation to enforce nondiscrimination requirements to
ensure that its federally assisted programs and activities are
administered in a nondiscriminatory manner. In order to carry out its
enforcement responsibilities, DHS must obtain a signed assurance of
compliance and collect and review information from recipients to
ascertain their compliance with applicable requirements. DHS
implementing regulations and the Department of Justice (DOJ) regulation
Coordination of Non-discrimination in Federally Assisted Program, 28
CFR part 42, provide for the collection of data and information from
recipients (see 28 CFR 42.406).
DHS uses DHS Form 3095: DHS Civil Rights Evaluation Tool as the
primary tool to implement this information collection. DHS is seeking
an extension of the form for another three-year period. DHS is not
proposing any changes to the information collected in the form but is
proposing changes to Section 1 of the form on instructions to
streamline the process for submitting the completed form.
DHS uses the form to collect civil rights related information from
all recipients of federal financial assistance from the Department.
Recipients are non-federal entities that receive federal financial
assistance in the form of a grant, cooperative agreement, or other type
of financial assistance directly from the Department and not through
another recipient or ``pass-through'' entity. This information
collection does not apply to subrecipients, federal contractors (unless
the contract includes the provision of financial assistance), nor the
ultimate beneficiaries of services, financial aid, or other benefits
from the Department.
Recipients are required to provide the information 30 days from
acceptance of award. Recipient of multiple awards of DHS financial
assistance only submit one completed form for their organization, not
per award. Recipient are required to complete the form once every two
years if they have an active award, not every time a grant is awarded.
Entities whose award does not run a full two years are required to
provide the information again if they receive a subsequent award more
than two (2) years after the prior award. In responding to Section 4:
Required Information, which contains the bulk of the information
collection, if the recipient's responses have not changed in the two
year period since their initial submission, the recipient does not need
to resubmit the information. Instead, the recipient will indicate ``no
change'' for each applicable item.
The purpose of the information collection is to advise recipients
of their
[[Page 73732]]
civil rights obligations and collect pertinent civil rights information
to ascertain if the recipient has in place adequate policies and
procedures to achieve compliance, and to determine what, if any,
further action may be needed (technical assistance, training,
compliance review, etc.) to ensure the recipient is able to meet its
civil rights requirements and will carry out its programs and
activities in a nondiscriminatory manner.
Over the past three years, DHS has used the information collected
via the DHS Civil Rights Evaluation Tool to identify gaps and
deficiencies in recipient programs and directly help recipients address
these gaps and deficiencies by providing technical assistance on
developing or improving policies and procedures to prevent
discrimination and ensure accessibility.
DHS requires recipients to submit their completed forms and
supporting information electronically, via email, to the Department, in
an effort to minimize administrative burden on the recipient and the
Department. DHS anticipates that records or files that will be used to
respond to the information collection are already maintained in
electronic format by the recipient, so providing the information
electronically further minimizes administrative burden. DHS allows
recipients to scan and submit documents that are not already maintained
electronically.
If the recipient is unable to submit their information
electronically, alternative arrangements will be made to submit
responses in hard copy.
DHS is pursuing further streamlining of the submission process
through development of an online portal that would allow recipients to
submit the data directly in a fully electronic form and eliminate the
need for recipients to email the form and supporting documents as
attachments.
The information collection will impact some small entities (e.g.,
non-profit service providers, local fire departments, etc.), however as
described in response to Question 2, recipients will only be required
to provide this information once every two years, not every time a
grant is awarded. Additionally, in responding to Section 4: Required
Information, if the recipient's responses have not changed in the two
year period since their initial submission, the recipient does not need
to resubmit the information. This will dramatically reduce the
administrative burden on recipients after the initial submission.
Additionally, DHS will further minimize burden on recipients by making
available sample policies and procedures to assist recipients in
completing Section 4 of the Form, and providing technical assistance
directly to the recipient as needed.
In accordance with the authorities identified in Question 1, the
Department is required to obtain a signed assurance of compliance from
recipients and to ensure that its federally assisted programs and
activities are administered in a nondiscriminatory manner. If the
information collection is not conducted or is conducted less
frequently, the Department will not be able to fulfill its obligations
to ascertain recipient compliance and enforce nondiscrimination in
recipient programs. This could lead to the award of federal financial
assistance to recipients that are not complying with federal civil
rights law, and the perpetuation of discrimination in the provision of
benefits and services to members of the public.
There are no confidentiality assurances associated with this
collection. The only privacy-sensitive information the form collects
are the names of Point of Contacts (POCs) from recipient organizations.
Coverage for the collection of this information is provided under a
Department Privacy Impact Assessment, DHS/ALL/PIA-006 General Contacts
List.
DHS is seeking an extension of the form for another three-year
period. DHS is not proposing any changes to the information collected
in the form but is proposing changes to Section 1 of the form on
instructions to streamline the process for submitting the completed
form. The changes to Section 1 do not impact the burden analysis. The
changes in costs in Item 14 reflect increased hourly rates for Federal
staff as reported by Office of Personnel Management for 2020, as well
as an increase in the number of staff participating in the review
process. Despite these increases, because the number of recipients
subject to the collection has decreased from the previous reporting
period, the total costs reported in Item 13 and 14 have also decreased.
The Office of Management and Budget is particularly interested in
comments which:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submissions of responses.
Analysis
Agency: Department of Homeland Security, (DHS).
Title: DHS Civil Rights Evaluation Tool.
OMB Number: 1601-0024.
Frequency: On Occasion.
Affected Public: State, Local and Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 2929.
Estimated Time per Respondent: 1 Hour.
Total Burden Hours: 11716.
Robert Dorr,
Executive Director, Business Management Directorate.
[FR Doc. 2020-25543 Filed 11-18-20; 8:45 am]
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