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CENTRAL OFFICE & CIVIL RIGHTS COORDINATOR RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Policy Bureau Chief will communicate complaints received with the Civil Rights Coordinator and DPHHS legal team. 2. Copies of complaints are sent to the Regional Director in Denver and referred to the FNS Regional Office for Civil Rights within five days of receipt. 3. Publicize the federal procedures for filing a complaint regarding discrimination. 4. Respond to requests for information regarding nondiscrimination statutes and policies, complaint procedures, and the rights of clients within 10 days of the date of the request. 5. Include a nondiscrimination statement on all program informational material. 6. Ensure all graphics for SNAP information convey the message of equal opportunity by displaying clients of different races, colors, sexes, and national origins. 7. Acknowledge receipt of any civil rights complaints received within five days and advise the complainant of the action(s) planned with a copy (cc) to the Office of Public Assistance (OPA); 8. Maintain a log of all complaints received including complainant's name, date of incident, date of complaint, basis of complaint, and the resolution of the complaint including the date of resolution. Forward the associated records to FNS prior to issuing a final disposition of the complaint. 9. Maintain a file of all discrimination and general complaints for review by federal and state reviewers. 10. Train all staff involved with administering SNAP on an ongoing basis about civil rights requirements; and 11. Inform households and grassroots SNAP organizations of program changes RACIAL/ETHNIC DATA COLLECTION DPHHS obtains data on SNAP recipients by racial/ethnic category. Applicants are requested to voluntarily provide their race or ethnicity on application forms. The application form must clearly indicate that the information is voluntary, that it will not affect the eligibility or the level of benefits, and that the reason for the information is to assure that program benefits are distributed without regard to race, color, or national origin. The State agency must develop alternative means of collecting the ethnic and racial data on households, such as by observation during the interview, when the information is not provided voluntarily by the household on the application form. Revised Date: March 7, 2023