Title VI Policy

The Human Services Coalition, Inc. policy is to  assure full compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights act of 1964, the Restoration Act of 1987, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities.  Title VI states that “no person shall on the grounds of race, color, national origin, or disability be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination” under any Human Services Coalition sponsored program or activity.  There is no distinction between the sources of funding.

Human Services Coalition, Inc. also assures that every effort will be made to prevent discrimination through the impacts of its programs, policies and activities on minority and low-income populations. Furthermore, Human Services Coalition, Inc. will take reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to services for persons with limited English proficiency.

The Executive Director has delegated the authority to Kathleen Schlather, Title VI Program Coordinator, to oversee and implement FTA Title VI requirements.

Signed

M. Kathleen Schlather, Executive Director

Notifying the Public of Rights Under Title VI
Human Services Coalition, Inc.

Human Services Coalition, Inc. operates its programs and services without regard to race, color, national origin or disability in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Any person who believes she or he has been aggrieved by any unlawful discriminatory practice under Title VI may file a complaint with Human Services Coalition, Inc.

For more information on the Human Services Coalition’s civil rights program, and the procedures to file a complaint, contact Kathleen Schlather,
607.273.8686, ext. 228 (TTY 7-1-1); email kschlather@hsctc.org; or visit our administrative office at 118 N. Tioga Street Suite 304, Ithaca NY. For more information, visit www.hsctc.org

A complainant may file a complaint directly with the Tompkins County Office of Human Rights or the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) by filing a complaint directly with the corresponding offices of Civil Rights:  Tompkins County Office of Human Rights,  120 W. Martin Luther King, JR. Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 FTA: ATTN: Title VI Program Coordinator, East Building, 5^th Floor-TCR 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington DC 20590. 

Kathleen Schlather 607.273.8686 ext. 228

These procedures provide guidance for all complaints filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) as they relate to any program or activity that is administered by Human Services Coalition, Inc including consultants, contractors and vendors. Intimidation or retaliation as a result of a complaint is prohibited by law. In addition to these procedures, complainants reserve the right to file a formal complaint with other State or Federal agencies or to seek private counsel for complaints alleging discrimination.  Every effort will be made to resolve complaints at the lowest possible level.

1. Any person who believes he and/or she has been discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, or disability may file a Title VI complaint by completing and submitting the agency’s Title VI Complaint Form.
2. Formal complaints must be filed within 180 calendar days of the last date of the alleged act of discrimination or the date when the alleged discrimination became known to the complainant(s), or where there has been a continuing course of conduct, the date on which the conduct was discontinued or the latest instance of the conduct.
3. Complaints must be in writing and signed by the complainant(s) and must include the complainant(s) name, address and phone number. The Title VI contact person will assist the complainant with documenting the issues if necessary.
4. Allegations received by fax or e-mail will be acknowledged and processed, once the identity of the complainant(s) and the intent to proceed with the complaint have been established. For this, the complainant is required to mail a signed, original copy of the fax or email transmittal for the complaint to be processed.
5. Allegations received by telephone will be reduced to writing and provided to the complainant for confirmation or revision before processing. A complaint form will be forwarded to the complainant for him/her to complete, sign and return for processing.
6. Once submitted Human Services Coalition, Inc will review the complaint form to determine jurisdiction. All complaints will receive an acknowledgement letter informing her/him whether the complaint will be investigated by the Human Services Coalition, Inc or submitted to the County, State or Federal authority for guidance.
7. The Human Services Coalition has 90 days to investigate the complaint. If more information is needed to resolve the case, the Authority may contact the complainant. The complainant has 10 business days from the date of the letter to send requested information to the investigator assigned to the case. If the investigator is not contacted by the complainant or does not receive the additional information within 10 business days, the Authority can administratively close the case. A case can be administratively closed also if the complainant no longer wishes to pursue their case.
8. After the investigator reviews the complaint, she/he will issue one of two letters to the complainant: a closure letter or a letter of finding (LOF). A closure letter summarizes the allegations and states that there was not a Title VI violation and that the case will be closed. An LOF summarizes the allegations and the interviews regarding the alleged incident, and explains whether any disciplinary action, additional training of the staff member or other action will occur. If the complainant wishes to appeal the decision, she/he has 10 days after the date of the letter or the LOF to do so.
9. A complainant dissatisfied with the Human Services Coalition’s decision may file a complaint with the Tompkins County Office of Human Rights or the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) offices of Civil Right. Tompkins County Office of Human Rights,  120 W. Martin Luther King, JR. Street, Ithaca, NY 14850  FTA: Attention Title VI Program Coordinator, East Building, 5^th Floor-TCR 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington DC 20590
10. A copy of these procedures can be found online at: www.hsctc.org