HEO's Priorities For Action

More than 100 federal employees, administrators, and community-based organizational leaders attended a Sept. 7, 1996, Hispanic Leadership Retreat to discuss how to improve services offered to Hispanics by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the working environment at HHS for Hispanic employees. Retreat participants set priorities for a new vision of the Hispanic Employee Organization (HEO), a group that represents Hispanic employees of HHS. Members narrowed the list, and HEO leaders presented the list in an open letter to Secretary Donna Shalala. In the letter, they asked Shalala to consider incorporating following policies in her initiative, "Hispanic Agenda for Action: Improving Services to Hispanic Americans." An HHS commitment to immediate financial support for Hispanics that is equivalent to the financial support provided to the historically black colleges and universities, for comprehensive approaches to education, training, and access to HHS programs working through public/private partnerships with community-based organizations, schools (K-12), institutions of higher education, corporations, and government. An HHS commitment to the financial support of comprehensive public health, education, and social service delivery sites, starting with the immediate release of $50 million for a community-based demonstration project in the Baltimore area as a model for national implementation. An HHS commitment to customer service policies that are Hispanic-friendly, enforce civil rights laws, establish cultural competency standards for training all employees, and proactively address the issues of language barriers in education, information dissemination, and access to HHS programs. HHS provisions of equal access for Hispanics to HHS services and programs, including health, education, technical and other support services, and resources. Coordination of equal-access activities at all levels of government (federal/state/local). Replacement of current HHS Equal Employment Opportunity programs with diversity programs that have fixed terms for employee-elected officials, rotating among the minorities. Revisions of the HHS grievance systems. Undertaking of an independent, anonymous survey of employees concerning grievances. Establishment of an ombudsman type of employee committee for dispute resolution. Development of specific mentoring programs for Hispanics, and identification of Hispanics with promising career potential to ensure that they receive mentoring and career development opportunities. Targeting of decision-making jobs for increased Hispanic representation. These mentoring programs should be in addition to and in collaboration with HHS programs. Establishment of a strong HHS policy that investigates and reprimands agency managers who retaliate against HHS employees who advocate for increased Hispanic services. Establishment of an HHS program to recruit non-certified Latino health professionals trained in Latin America who can provide Hispanic customer service expertise in HHS programming while also receiving federally supported training to become certified to practice their health profession. Establishment and implementation of a strong HHS employment policy that requires a diverse applicant pool, strict adherence to federal equal opportunity regulations for the severely underrepresented Hispanic work force, and a five-year recruitment program aimed at the Hispanic community, with built-in accountability for managers. HEO should continue to participate in developing HHS policy on Hispanic issues at the highest possible level in the Office of the Secretary. The HEO leadership should also be appointed to the HHS Secretary's Advisory Board on Hispanic Issues, the steering committee for the Hispanic Agenda for Action. HEO and interested supporters should establish a national nonprofit organization with paid staff to advocate for Hispanic issues, sponsor conferences, and so forth. The recommended name of the organization is Hispanics United for Government Employees Inc. (HUGE Inc.). The HHS-HEO structure should be reorganized to be an umbrella organization, with chapters representing the HHS operating divisions as needed, with an organizational charter directly from the HHS Secretary. The HEOs should establish a stronger partnership with existing community groups representing Hispanics/Latinos. HEOs should build coalitions with other organizations and establish improved communication methods, including a rapid response network for responding to Hispanic issues.

HEO's Priorities For Action

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