On September 18, 1997, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a memorandum to Heads of Executive Departments and Independent Agencies that raised concerns about Hispanic underrepresentation in the Federal workforce. In this memorandum, OPM proposed a Nine-Point Plan to improve the representation of Hispanics in the Federal workforce.
The Nine-Point Plan encourages Federal agencies to:
Nine-Point Plans
The following are examples of accomplishments obtained from agency submissions in support of the Nine-Point Plan during FY 2001. This section complements the summary of Human Resources Initiatives.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) developed a recruitment cadre that has helped USDA to increase the hiring of Hispanic employees from 211 in FY 1999 to 484 in FY 2001. USDA produced 5,000 Hispanic Recruitment Mini Compact Diskettes to present information about their programs and career opportunities. The Natural Resources Conservation Service coordinated a Hispanic Summer Intern Program as part of a $120,000 agreement with the HACU National Internship Program. The Agricultural Research Service established Training Scholarship Programs to assist in the professional development of support and wage grade employees. The Economic Research Service has developed cooperative research relationship with quite a number of schools with substantial representation of Hispanic students. The range of research topics is very broad; the funding totals $655,000. Among the research efforts is a series of small grants aimed at supporting research to identify approaches to designing and evaluating food assistance programs serving ethnically diverse, low-income populations. USDA hired 93 HACU interns in FY 2001.
The Department of the Air Force (AF) sent civilian recruiters to 17 Hispanic Serving Institutions. The AF used the Student Career Experience and Outstanding Scholar Direct Hire Programs to bring in new Hispanic employees (28 out of 383).
The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) has a Mentoring Program, in which Hispanic women made up six percent of the mentorees. In BBG's Management Partners Program, Hispanic males made up 22 percent of the participants. In FY 2001, 11 (8.8 percent) of BBG’s new hires were Hispanic. BBG has a collateral-duty Hispanic Employment Manager.
The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) hired 349 students in FY 2001. Of these, 20 (5%) were Hispanics who were hired in scientific and engineering fields. DOC awarded $278,000 to support the HACU National Internship Program. The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) continued to support the Colorado Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program. Thirty-seven percent of the students participating in MESA are Hispanic. MESA provided funding to Solar Energy International to assist minority and underprivileged youth in the 2nd Annual Renewable Energy Camp.
Hispanics made up nine percent of the Defense Contract Audit Agency’s (DCAA) entry-level hires. In FY 2001, DCAA also hired 9 HACU interns.
The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) has identified Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders as underrepresented minority groups in their workforce. DFAS has established a formal outreach initiative for recruitment of these groups.
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has a full-time EEO Specialist with duties as a HEP Manager, who works with Human Resources and Management to implement the Nine-Point Plan.
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) continues to monitor the progress of its Hispanic employees through the quantitative and qualitative analysis of quarterly data, including recruiting, hiring, training, and career development opportunities, and awards. During FY 2001, the DIA hired 23 Hispanic employees, which made up 7 percent of the new hires.
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) maintains a relationship with professional organizations such as Women in Science and Engineering, the Society of Hispanic Engineers, the National Association of Hispanic Federal Employees, and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) to seek candidates for employment in professional positions. DLA has sent 30 Hispanic employees to agency career development programs.
The Defense Security Service (DSS) has appointed a Hispanic Program Manager.
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) was reorganized and it established the Special Programs Recruitment Branch to enhance their ability to attract and sustain a diverse highly motivated workforce. The DTRA Field Office in Albuquerque is involved with the New Mexico Project Partnership Initiative, an established project of National Image, Inc., that provides development and employment opportunities to students at the junior high, high school, and college levels. Information is provided to the Hispanic community via newsletters and the Mathematics Engineering and Science Achievement pipeline. A DTRA employee at the Albuquerque office was the recipient of the 2000 Civil Rights Advocate of the Year Award. The Albuquerque office employs 2 HACU interns and Hispanic students at this site representing approximately 90 percent of the student population employed. Six Hispanic employees participated in governmentwide career development programs. At both headquarters and at the Albuquerque office the HEP Manager responsibilities are collateral-duty positions.
The Department of Education (ED) continues to use a contractor to work with various Hispanic businesses, educational and community groups, as well as various Hispanic media outlets, and to generate interest in and awareness of ED job vacancies. In addition, the contractor is developing a promotional brochure that focuses on the benefits of working at ED and is establishing a supplemental mailing list to send promotional materials to 200 Hispanic organization and businesses. Out of 12 PMIs from FY 1999, two Hispanics were converted to career conditional appointments. Forty persons were hired under the Outstanding Scholars Appointing Authority and the Administrative Careers With America Bicultural/Bilingual Appointing Authority. Hispanics represent 17.5 percent of the hires.
One Hispanic was among the six individuals selected to participate in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) PMI Program. Seven Minority Institute Faculty Fellows were hired and five HACU interns were also hired. Seventeen Hispanics participated in career development programs that are governmentwide. Another two Hispanics participated in formal agency Career Development Programs.
The Department of Energy's (DOE) Albuquerque Operations Office used the Student Employment Program (SEP) to hire ten Hispanic students out of a total of sixteen. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had 23 Hispanic employees participating in formal governmentwide career development programs. Three Hispanic employees participated in formal agency career development programs.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported that Hispanics constituted 17 percent of their FY 2001 hires.
The Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) entered into a partnership with Bell Multicultural High School to provide mentoring to students enrolled in its Business Cluster, which includes majors in business, finance, multilingual communications, math, engineering and science. Bell's student body is 60 percent Hispanic. The Ex-Im Bank hired student participants in the mentor program as summer interns; all were Hispanic females. The mentors received special awards for their extra efforts and dedicated community service. One Hispanic participated in a formal agency career development program.
The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) reports that Hispanic representation has increased each quarter since the introduction of the Hispanic Agenda for Action in FY 1996. Representation is now at 3.3%, up from 2.7% in FY 1996. HHS leads the Federal government in the employment of Hispanic interns through the HACU National Internship Program and directly from Hispanic Serving Institutions. In FY 2001, HHS brought in 98 Hispanic interns for summer internships and 53 for semester internships. HHS focuses on activities that encourage students to consider HHS as their employer of first choice once they are in a position to accept full-time employment.
HHS’s National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Corporate Recruitment Team conducted three site visits to academic institutions in New York City, Los Angeles,and San Antonio. The recruiting teams were comprised of staff from the NIH Institutes and Centers. Institutions were selected because of their high percentage of Hispanic students registered. This recruitment effort resulted in over 600 resumes being collected that are currently under review for possible interviews and placement. The NIH's Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) hosted the Board of Directors of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses for a 2-day briefing on research and training opportunities at the NIH. OEO staff participated in the Hispanic Roundtable Conference in which 15 Hispanic faculty and 15 NIH personnel met for 2 days to discuss new activities that the NIH could implement in order to increase Hispanic representation. Recommendations were to be forwarded to the Office of the Director, NIH.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Departmental Equal Employment Opportunity conducts quarterly workforce analyses of each Program Office and advises Principal Staff of underrepresentation. An analysis of staff utilization, internal movement, and career advancement and development of Hispanic employees revealed that, of the Hispanic workforce:
42.8 percent occupy positions at the 13 and above grade levels;
14.0 percent were promoted during FY2001;
11.0 percent occupy managerial/supervisory positions;
8.0 percent participated in some type of developmental program; and
11.7 is the average grade.
Twenty-one Hispanics participated in formal HUD career development programs and 34 Hispanics in governmentwide career development programs.
The Department of Interior (DOI) is using QuickHire, an automated recruitment system, which is a web-based rating and ranking system that streamlined the application, review, and evaluation process. One DOI Bureau has seen more than a 100 percent increase in applications per job and per announcement over the last 15 months. Innovations such as this will allow DOI to reach more diverse candidates. In addition, this web-based system automatically notifies organizations that represent minority groups that include persons with the types of skills that DOI is seeking. Under a partnership with New Mexico State University, DOI has provided $50,000 to strengthen the agreement to include member institutions of the New Mexico Alliance for Minority Participation (AMP). This enlarged partnership aims at leadership development of minority students in New Mexico AMP, and recruitment of Hispanic students throughout the Hispanic Serving Institution network. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) workforce is 13.5 percent Hispanic and Hispanics make up 4.9 percent of DOJ’s attorneys. Sixty percent of the Department's Hispanic employees are concentrated in the DOJ’s Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The INS, Tucson sector, arranged with a local community college to develop an Associate of Arts degree program in law enforcement. Of the 156 agents that have participated in the program, 40 were Hispanics. The INS participated in four governmentwide formal career development programs. Of the eight INS employees who attended the Federal Executive Institute, two (25 percent) were Hispanic. Of the eight INS employees who participated in the Executive Potential Program, one was Hispanic. Of the 12 INS employees participating in the Executive Leadership Program for Mid-Level Employees, one was Hispanic. Of the 35 INS employees in the New Leader Program, seven were Hispanic. DOJ’s Bureau of Prisons currently has 303 Hispanics participating in formal agency career development programs. All major DOJ components have either full-time or part-time HEP Managers.
The Department of Labor's (DOL) provided a grant of $250,000 to HACU to work with HSIs. In addition, 16 Hispanics are participating in formal agency and governmentwide career development programs. The DOL Hispanic Employment Program Committee partnered with OPM to host another seminar at DOL's Headquarters. The workshop "Communicating Across Cultures" discussed the communication barriers that keep Hispanics from advancing in the Federal government and offered constructive tips for removing such barriers. This workshop was attended by 60 DOL employees, 98 percent of whom were Hispanic.
DOL maintained a presence at career fairs and conferences by running nine workshops to provide specific guidance for Hispanic students in their search for Federal employment and the preparation of a competitive application for Federal jobs. DOL has been a supporter of the HACU initiative. Labor had a total of 16 HACU interns in FY 2001. During FY 2001, DOL hired seven (13.7 percent) Hispanic students through the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP), 18 (6.1 percent) through the Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP), 16 through the HACU internship program, and 5 through the Bilingual/Bicultural hiring authority. At the present time, one (6 percent) Hispanic is in the PMI Program. Three Hispanics are enrolled in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management Development Program. Hispanic representation in this developmental program is 21 percent. Three (13 percent) Hispanic participants were selected for the agency Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program. Subsequently, two have been selected for the Senior Executive Service. Twenty percent of this year's hires in DOL's Clerical Support Program were Hispanic. Two Hispanics are participating in the Executive Leadership Program for Mid-Level Employees, and one Hispanic was selected for the Aspiring Leader Program.
DOL has a full-time departmental HEP Manager.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) uses developmental programs to enhance internal recruiting. NASA uses formal programs, in combination with informal developmental processes (i.e., mentoring, on-the-job training, rotational assignments, ad hoc committees, boards and panels, and high visibility special projects) to provide an effective range of options for custom-tailoring developmental experiences of employees to meet individual needs and organization objectives. NASA has designed and implemented the new Undergraduate Student Research Program to improve the pipeline of undergraduate students majoring in engineering, and science. The 104 students in the program included 17 Hispanic participants.
The Ames Research Center (ARC) employees assisted the National Hispanic University (NHU) to hire scientists and engineers for full-time, one-year assignments to strengthen science and engineering programs. Senior ARC employees have also taught mathematics and entrance exam preparations courses. At ARC one Hispanic male engineer was selected for a prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology Program Management Program.
The Glenn Research Center (GRC) awarded 11 research grants totaling one million dollars to 4 Hispanic Serving Institutions. The Langley Research Center (LARC) recruited employees through the Society of Advancement of Chicanos, the HACU, the Society of Mexican Engineers and Scientists Conference, and the Hispanic Engineers National Achievements Awards Conference. The LARC Scholars Program included HSI students for summer employment from May through July. These students were exceptional undergraduates whose fields of study ranged from engineering to computer sciences. The Kennedy Space Center's VISION (Very Intensive Scientific Inter-curricular Onsite Education) developed 122 one-hour science and technology modules for teachers to utilize in classrooms. NASA had a total of 17 Hispanic students participating in the Undergraduate Research Program and hired 11 PMIs. NASA had 63 Hispanics participating in formal agency career development programs and 19 Hispanics participating in formal governmentwide career development programs.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) hired 8 Hispanic individuals in FY 2001.
The National Science Foundation (NSF), in FY 2001 hired 18 students under the HACU National Internship Program. Eleven students were employed at NSF under the Student Temporary Employment Program. Four Hispanic employees participated in formal governmentwide.career development programs. NSF has a HEP Manager.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) relies heavily on diversity-oriented career fairs to recruit members from underrepresented groups. In addition, NRC placed 168 ads in different journals, publications, and web sites. NRC has 17 Hispanics who participated in the formal agency career development programs and one Hispanic who participated in formal governmentwide career development program.
The Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) performance management system for program managers has a performance element that is used to rate them on the degree to which they personally impact and advance affirmative recruitment goals and objectives. OPM has placed 12 HACU interns and five Hispanics participated in centrally funded leadership development programs.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) hired 4 HACU interns and approximately 50 employees volunteered their time to mentor students at the local Thompson Elementary School, whose children were 47 percent Hispanic.
The Selective Service System (SSS) has 6 Hispanics in 13 of its key positions. The Agency uses the Upward Mobility Program and the Merit Promotion Program for career positions. In FY 2001, twenty percent (two of 10) of the new hires were Hispanic.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) had 73 employees who participated in career development programs, including 12 Hispanics (16%). Also, there were 60 persons appointed under the Student Temporary Employment Program in FY 2001, including 6 Hispanics.
The Social Security Administration's (SSA) new hires in FY 2001 were 23.1 percent Hispanic. SSA had 899 participants in its student programs of which 161 or 17.9 percent were Hispanic. SSA had 15 PMIs of which 1 (6.7 percent) was Hispanic. In FY 2001, Hispanic employees comprised 10.9 percent of the SSA permanent workforce and received 8.5 percent of all training opportunities. In SSA's FY 2001 Advance Leadership Program, Hispanics comprised 12.2 percent of the participants. SSA has a full-time HEP Manager to oversee and coordinate the program.
The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) continues its strong links with the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus (RUM) and other universities. FHWA recruits students into the Professional Development Program, the Summer Transportation Internship Program for Diverse Groups, and the Eisenhower Grants Program.
The Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) hired 32 Hispanics as either agents or inspectors. The following Treasury organizations used the HACU Intern Program in hiring Hispanic Intern Students: Financial Management Service (11), Secret Service (2), and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (14).
Treasury Bureaus used the Student Employment Program appointing authorities to develop additional student, intern, or fellowship programs to meet bureau specific business needs. ATF employed 6 Hispanic students under the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP). Customs employed 19 SCEP students from HSIs and converted 6 Hispanic students to career conditional appointments. In addition, 16 of the Interns attended HSIs, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) hired 14 Hispanic students under various student employment programs, of which 9 were converted to career conditional positions. The Secret Service employed 18 Hispanics students in the Student Temporary Employment Program and converted 1 Hispanic student to a full-time position.
A total of 534 Hispanics participated in formal agency-wide career development programs and seven Hispanics participated in formal governmentwide career development programs. All Treasury Bureaus have HEP Managers at their headquarters.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has trained 71 Hispanics in governmentwide career development programs and 481 Hispanics in their formal agency career development programs.
