Southwest District CES Civil Rights Plan

Based on the objective, “Internal and external advisory boards and committees are diverse with respect to gender, ethnicity, and community representation and are representative of the population in the geographic areas being served.” the Otero County Cooperative Extension Advisory Board complies with these requirements.

Based on the objective, “County Extension Agent knows where to locate procedures for handling program and employment complaints from clientele and office personnel.” the County Extension 4-H Agent would access these procedures at: http://cahe.nmsu.edu/ces/civilrights/ or
http://cahe.nmsu.edu/ces/civilrights/how-to-file-a-complaint.html


Based on the objective, “The USDA “…And Justice for All” poster showing the nondiscrimination policy statement and how to file a civil rights complaint is prominently displayed in office areas visited by the public.” the Otero County Cooperative Extension Office is in compliance.

Based on the objective, “County Extension Agent will be able to discuss the importance of Extension Service civil rights compliance and will be able to place compliance records in appropriate files.” sign-in sheets requesting age, adult or child, grade in school,gender and race are placed at the door and/or passed around to each individual. All programs are advertised in writing as, “New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator.” and verbally as, “All programs are available to everyone regardless of age, ancestry, color, mental or physical disability, gender, serious medical condition, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, spousal affiliation, or veteran status.” Sign-in sheet data is utilized in Otero County’s ES237 report and the data is examined to determine if our program enrollment race ratios are reflective of our county’s race ratios.


Based on the objective, “County Extension Agent will be able to define and explain civil rights parity.” The County Extension 4-H/Ag Agent defines civil rights parity as, "a quantitive goal or balance that results when the percentage of protected classes who are program clientele are within 20 percent of the percentage for each protected class in the potential clientele." and “all people regardless of age, ancestry, color, mental or physical disability, gender, serious medical condition, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, spousal affiliation, or veteran status are equal in the site of their creator and our federal government and are therefore entitled to equal and fair treatment, which is the same kindness, fairness, and respect in every aspect of life one would extend to his or own beloved family member and/or the same manner he/she would wish to be treated himself/herself.

Based on the objective, “County Extension Agent will be able to define "all reasonable efforts" and cite examples.” the Otero County 4-H agent gives the following definition,
The minimum reasonable effort required by extension personnel includes all of the following items:
1. Use of all available mass media, including radio, newspaper, and television, to inform potential program recipients of opportunities to participate.
2. Personal letters and circulars addressed to defined potential recipients inviting them to participate, including dates and places of meetings or other planned activities.
3. Personal visits by the county extension staff member(s) to a representative number of defined potential recipients in the geographically defined area to encourage participation.

Elizabeth Gordon has signed on to support Southwest District CES Civil Rights Plan within Otero County.

In this office, I have attained all of my goals relating to my short term objectives. Each time a new staff person is hired they are trained on filling out proper paperwork and filing it in the proper file. All printed matter includes the nondiscrimination statement making it clear to the recipient that Hidalgo CES is compliant with Civil Rights laws. In the case of programming and activities there is always the availability of reasonable accomodations for individuals with disabilites. These are extremely important so that the office has actions and documentation supporting its compliance with Civil Rights laws. All persons involved in programs (staff and participants) are impacted by these results.

Christina (Christy) Rubio has signed on to support Southwest District CES Civil Rights Plan within Hidalgo County.