Book Description

During this four-volume study, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights evaluated 11 federal agencies to determine whether or not they have responded to recommendations offered in previous reports and if civil rights enforcement improved as a result. Throughout the volumes, the Commission has identified good and inadequate civil rights practices that affect federal agencies' ability to carry out their enforcement responsibilities. This final volume evaluates the extent to which the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have implemented the Commission's previous recommendations. These agencies oversee federally conducted and federally assisted programs that have consequences for the nation's social welfare. Affected people rely on forceful enforcement of the civil rights statutes for which these agencies have responsibility to afford equal access to education and quality health care, protection from employment discrimination, and safe and decent housing. It is the federal agencies' responsibility to ensure that they and their grant recipients administer programs and services without discrimination and provide equal access to all beneficiaries and participants. The strengths and weaknesses in each agency's enforcement practices are reviewed in this evaluation. (Contains 12 figures, 19 tables, and 644 footnotes.).