INDIANA BULLETIN NO. 260-8-1

SUBJECT: INF – Standard Procedures for USDA Nondiscrimination Statement Usage

Purpose: This bulletin is to notify employees of the current USDA nondiscrimination statement and its usage.

Expiration Date: September 30, 2008

According to Department Regulation 4300-3, the USDA nondiscrimination statement should be posted in all USDA offices and included on all materials produced by USDA and its agencies for public information, public education, or public distribution. This would include all printed and non-printed (audio, video, Internet, etc.) materials. News releases are the exception and do not require the statement.

Conservation partners’ materials are not required to include the USDA nondiscrimination statement when mentioning a USDA agency. An example would be a Soil and Water Conservation District newsletter article that includes information about NRCS. However, if NRCS is co-sponsoring an event or publication with a conservation partner, the USDA nondiscrimination statement should be printed on handout materials.

If the material is too small to permit the full statement, the alternative statement should be included in print size no smaller than the text used in the document and should read, “USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.”

The full statement, revised July 2005, reads:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

The USDA nondiscrimination statement is available on the Indiana NRCS Web homepage by clicking on the “Nondiscrimination Statement” link at the bottom.

/s/

JANE E. HARDISTY State Conservationist

DIST: O