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![NRCS This Week mast head](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090111095809im_/http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/news/thisweek/images/mastheaddshadow3.jpg)
NRCS Receives Ethics Awards
At a recent ethics retreat, sponsored by USDA’s Office of Ethics, NRCS
received three awards for its Ethics Program. These include one individual award
for the NRCS Ethics Guidance on Technical Service
Providers to Caryl Butcher, Director, NRCS Ethics Office, and two agency awards for Ethics
Program Improvement, and for Sustained Ethics Program Excellence Two Consecutive
Years
NRCS was recognized for a variety of initiatives to improve and enhance the NRCS
Ethics Program. These included
• Inclusion and emphasis on ethics in national training on agreements.
• Integration of ethics concepts and controls in cooperative agreements
procedures.
• Integration of ethics concepts and controls in contribution agreements
procedures.
• Inclusion and emphasis on ethics in national training on the Technical Service
Provider (TSP) assistance process.
• Integration of ethics concepts and controls in all TSP program manuals and
handbooks.
• Mandatory in-person ethics training on relations with nongovernmental
organizations for NRCS leadership.
• Mandatory in-person ethics training on political activity and lobbying for
NRCS leadership.
• Mandatory in-person ethics training for employees involved with employee
organizations.
• Direction to review agreements for conflicting interests based on co-location
and programmatic relationships.
• Standardized use of a conflict of interest provision in an easement program’s
agreements (FRPP).
• Quality quarterly reports on confidential financial disclosure report filers.
• Ethics in NRCS was elevated from one full-time specialist to five full-time
employees plus a student intern.
• Planning a national conference for mandatory training for NRCS state ethics
advisors [August 2005, Orlando FL].
The awards reflect a lot of hard work by the NRCS Ethics Staff to ensure
understanding by employees at all levels about how to avoid conflicting
interests in the delivery of NRCS programs and services. However, this was a
broader team effort that represents the importance and value of a fully
integrated approach to ethics.
Your contact is Caryl J. Butcher,
Director, NRCS Ethics Office, at 301-504-2207.
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