WA State Department of Commerce 9/25/2017

Department of Justice Grants: Statutes and Regulations Related to Civil Rights and Nondiscrimination Updated as of July 2017 The Office for Civil Rights (OCR)at the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is generally responsible for ensuring that recipients of the Department of Justice (DOJ)grants awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) are not engaged in discrimination prohibited by law. Background:Civil rights laws and nondiscrimination provisions Because a DOJ award (this grant awarded by OVW) is a form of"federal financial assistance,"the recipient of a DOJ award (and any"subrecipient" at any tier) must comply with additional civil-rights-related requirements above and beyond those that otherwise would apply. In general,these additional civil rights requirements fall into one of two categories: • Civil rights laws(sometimes referred to as "cross-cutting"federal civil rights statutes).These apply to essentially any entity that receives an award of federal financial assistance-- regardless of which federal agency awards the grant--and encompass the "program or activity"funded in whole or in part with the federal financial assistance. • Nondiscrimination provisions. These are requirements or restrictions that apply to certain DOJ awards-- in addition to the civil rights laws-- because they are set out in a statute that applies specifically to one or more particular DOJ grant programs,or to DOJ awards made under a particular legal authority. Much like the civil rights laws,these provisions may apply variously to the programs, activity, or undertaking funded in whole or in part by DOJ. Overview of"Civil Rights Laws" Important "civil rights laws"that apply to all federal financial assistance--and to all recipient and subrecipients of DOJ awards made in FY 2017, are these: • Section 601 of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964(codified at 42 U.S.C. 2000d) Statutory provision: "No person in the United States shall,on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of,or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." DOJ implementing regulation:Subparts C and D of 28 C.F.R. Part 42. • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (codified at 29 U.S.C. 794) Statutory provision: "No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States, as defined in [29 U.S.C. 705(20)], shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance... ." DOJ implementing regulation:Subpart G of 28 C.F.R. Part 42.