FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 8, 1998

CONTACT: Ivonne Cuñarro (202) 606-1800 iccunarr@opm.gov

CHC Members and OPM Director Announce Plan To Improve Representation of Hispanics in the Federal Government

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Joined by Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Janice R. Lachance today unveiled the agencys 10-point plan to improve Hispanic representation in the federal government.

The announcement was made during a press conference on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol.

OPMs plan focuses on developing a larger Hispanic job applicant pool by employing the following strategies: recruiting widely, nurturing academic relations, and developing employees.

Current OPM statistics show that Hispanics represent 6.2 percent of the federal workforce, but they represent 11 percent of the civilian labor force. In fact, Hispanics are the only minority group whose representation in the federal governments workforce falls short of their representation in the civilian labor force.

In response to this trend, last year Lachance announced a government-wide Hispanic Employment Initiative and called on all executive departments and federal agencies to recognize the need to assure equal employment opportunities for all. As as part of these efforts the Department of Treasury, the Department of Interior and OPM have donated 25 touch-screen computer job information kiosks at Hispanic serving institutions across the nation. The kiosks provide ready access to information on job vacancies in the federal government, internships and student employment programs.

Our efforts have been fruitful, but we recognize that we must do more to narrow the gap between Hispanics in the civilian labor force and their representation in the federal governments workforce, said Lachance.

While the Hispanic Employment Initiative provided the federal government with a blueprint for developing recruitment and career development strategies, todays OPM 10-point plan shows how to implement and monitor the effectivenes of these strategies in OPM or other agencies, she said.

In summary, the 10-point plan:

• Encourages OPM managers to recruit widely for positions at all levels of the federal workforce, including at the GS-13 to 15 and Senior Executive Service levels.

• Promotes recruitment for positions covered by the Luevano consent decree, which provided for a special hiring authority at the GS-5 to GS-7 levels, under the Bilingual/Bicultural and Outstanding Scholar programs.

• Nurtures our academic relationships with institutions who are part of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.

• Establishes an OPM internship program to provide career opportunities for college graduates and other applicants who would start working at the GS-5 to GS-7 levels.

• Reaches out to Hispanic students by providing opportunities to participate in internship and student employment programs.

• Ensures that Hispanic OPM employees receive full consideration for developmental opportunities to enhance their leadership skills and for career advancement.

• Designates Hispanic Employment Program Managers to oversee and implement these efforts.

• Establishes mechanisms to monitor monthly the success in reaching out to the Hispanic community, recruiting qualified Hispanic applicants, and providing leadership training to employees.

• Provides an annual budget for recruitment information and outreach activities.

• Raises awareness among OPM supervisors of their responsibilities in ensuring a diverse workforce.

We are proud to be an integral part of the Administrations efforts to ensure that the federal government is representative of the peoples of this nation and to advance the Presidents Educational Excellence Initiative for Hispanic Americans, Lachance said.

A highly educated and fully diverse federal workforce would facilitate the understanding among our communities, enhance our public service, provide role models for all our children, and, most importantly, strengthen our nation, she added.

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