It is the intent of the Commission to continue to work with all the federal agencies to assess the participation of Hispanics in Federal programs on a bi-annual basis. We also plan to have the data available electronically so that interested parties can access all of the data generated through these inventories.
In America's educational system, the Federal government serves as a resource broker, an educator, and establishes national education policy. As a resource broker, the Federal government acts as a leader, partner, and catalyst for systemic reform by leveraging scarce resources toward state and local initiatives with broad impact and long-term benefit (National Education Goals Report, The Federal Role in Meeting the National Education Goals, 1993). As an educator, the Federal government administers hundreds of educational programs, in addition to, internships, school to work, and training and development opportunities. National education policy, evaluation and research is carried out by the Department of Education.
Additionally, as a direct result of the Federal Agency Inventory conducted by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans and the Presidential Commission, some specific programs have been launched. For example, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has develped an aggressive recruitment program to recruit Hispanic undergraduate and graduate students for internships, fellowships, cooperative education and training programs. DOT also has announced a commitment to develop a program of communication and dialogue with Hispanic Serving Institutions. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has formed a departmental interagency committee to partner with Hispanic Serving Institutions and with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) also has established the first Hispanic Centers of Excellence Program to develop, implement, evaluate and document programs with Hispanic Serving Institutions. The Department of Commerce has launched a summer internship program for Hispanic undergradate and graduate students in partnership with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). DHHS also has set U.S. and Mexico border health issues as a top priority and has provided funding to evaluate health worker outreach programs and to identify and evaluate health data infrastructure systems for DHHS programs along the border. The Department of Energy has launched a new program,"The Hispanic Outreach Initiative: Partnering for the Future." Additionally, the Department of the Treasury has established a Departmental Advisory Committee on Hispanic Americans to institute a data tracking and collection system for future inventory reporting.
As a result of the creation of the President's Advisory Commission and White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, some Federal agencies have responded with a commitment to increase funding annually to educational programs for Hispanic Americans. Although the increases appear to be small, they will contribute toward a stronger, expansive and more comprehensive program over the years.
In this Appendix on the Federal Inventories, the purpose, methodology, analysis and findings, summary and recommendations are presented. The complete text of the inventories as well as the inventory instrument is available by request from the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans at the Department of Education. The office will also make the inventory and subsequent inventories available electronically, so as to provide a valuable data base on Hispanic participation in Federal Agency initiatives.
An analysis of the Federal inventories was conducted to identify and examine factors that impact the ability and effectiveness of Federal Agencies to fulfill the mandate of Executive Order 12900 (EO) (i.e., to eliminate inequalities, barriers to access, and to increase the participation of Hispanics in Federal education related programs).
Executive Order 12900 specifically outlines data to be provided by reporting agencies. In the inventory instructions, reporting agencies were asked to provide the following three pieces of information in their inventories: a) the dollar amounts of awards per component, a composite of the component, and the number of programs for each component/program; b) the number of participants for each program; and, c) the total number of Hispanic Americans/Latinos participating in each program.
The inventory expanded the scope of the previous Commission inventory by including pre-K through grade 12 education and higher education. This inventory covered actual spending and level of Hispanic participation for fiscal years 1993, 1994, and 1995 and projected spending and Hispanic participation for FY 1996.
The inventory instrument was developed from September 1994 through December 1994 by Federal liaisons from the Federal agencies, White House Initiative program staff and members of the Commission. In January 1995, an interagency meeting was convened to finalize the inventory instrument. White House initiative staff began meeting with the Federal agencies to train the liaisons and program staff from January 1995 and continue to do so. The inventory instrument consisted of forty-eight pages of questions and grids for respondents to provide critical information about program expenditures and participation by Latinos in these programs, as well as definitions and instructions.
The inventories were sent to 32 Federal agencies and responses were received from all agencies. The Federal liaison was the individual responsible for the completion of accurate inventories in a timely manner. The highest or second highest ranking person within each Department, Agency, Bureau or Commission signed off on the inventory. Incomplete inventories were returned to the agencies for additional information.
The data submitted by the various agencies provided a wide range of information regarding Hispanic American participation in the respective agency programs. Most reporting agencies failed to meet the goals established by the Executive Order (EO). Accordingly, this analysis addresses the data in light of the goals of the EO.
Executive Order 12900 directs Federal agencies to provide greater opportunities for Hispanic Americans to participate and benefit from Federal educational programs. The analysis of inventory data reveals that the majority of agencies have not adequately monitored and addressed Hispanic participation in these educational programs.
While there have been some improvements in the employment of Hispanics and other minorities in key leadership positions in the Federal agencies, Hispanic Americans continue to be under represented in key professional and management positions. Additionally, because Federal agencies are also on a staff reduction schedule through the year 2000, the proportion of Hispanic Americans in the Federal agency workforce could be at risk.
Hispanic Americans comprise 10 percent of the general workforce but only 5.7 percent of the Federal workforce. Whites comprise 40.6 percent of the workforce and 44.1 percent of the Federal workforce. African-Americans comprise 10.6 percent of the workforce and 17 percent of the Federal workforce; Asian-Americans comprise 3.8 percent of the general population workforce and Federal workforce. Seventy-seven percent of Hispanic Americans in the civilian workforce are in the Air Force, Army, Veterans Affairs, Treasury, Navy, and Justice Departments. (Source: 1994 Census Bureau and OPM)
Reporting
This first reporting cycle establishes the precedent for agencies to gauge Hispanic participation in their education programs, however, many of the agency reports contain information gaps. Insufficient and inconsistent data makes it difficult to assess the effectiveness of these programs. For example, only generalized information regarding awards and grants were usually provided. Most agencies do not have the tracking systems to assess or evaluate the equitable distribution of grants and rewards, therefore, critical information as to where these dollars are actually distributed is not possible.
Thus, it cannot be determined whether the funding provided was actually funneled to the direct intended source. Also, agencies tended not to include programs aimed at the elementary or secondary school levels but rather they reported allocations toward their educational programs, grants to Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), awards to other institutions of higher education, discretionary funds, funds for research and development (R & D) and legislatively mandated funding. This reporting discrepancy does not allow evaluation of the most important programs affecting Hispanic Americans where many educational deficiencies for Hispanics exist.
Federal Agency Interrelationships
All Federal agencies have a critical role in administering programs that enhance the participation of Hispanic Americans and all Americans in Federal educational programs. These programs are often inter-connected where one Federal agency may pick up where another agency leaves off, thereby providing a continuity of related services for expanded benefits. For example, the Department of Health and Human Services administers programs that benefit Hispanic Americans through family assistance programs that provide pre-natal and education services to mothers and families.
The Department of Agriculture provides educational benefits and programs that are interrelated to HHS by making food assistance available to Hispanic Americans with such programs as the Food Stamp Program, Special Nutrition Program, National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program which provides cash assistance to State Educational Agencies, the Summer Food Service Program to needy preschool and school-aged children, the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Special Milk Program for Children.
The interrelationship of the government's role has become increasingly important in providing educational programs to reduce infant mortality and in providing maternal and child health and related care. These programs continue to affect Hispanic Americans in providing treatment activities, developing family preservation, family support services as well as providing welfare aid services which will improve and enrich the lives of Hispanic Americans.
As currently structured, the inventories provide generalized information on how Federal agency programs complement each other in community based initiatives that impact the benefits and services provided to Hispanic Americans.
Outreach Strategies
The inventories provided limited information on agency strategies to support and assure Hispanic outreach and participation. Few agencies provided information to assess how this deficiency will be addressed and corrected.
Assessment and Evaluation
Specific information to identify measurable goals, objectives, or standards to evaluate the effectiveness of Federal agency programs with Hispanic Americans is generally weak in the data, and therefore, limits comparative assessments of the effectiveness of the programs. Some of the reporting agencies, however, listed data collection and benchmarking as a future goal.
Federally Assisted and Federally Conducted Programs
With the current instrument, it is not possible to assess whether programs are Federally-assisted or Federally-conducted programs. This distinction is important, because it can affect the review, evaluation, and impact of the program in relationship to Hispanic participation.
The following conclusions and patterns were drawn from the data provided by the agencies.
Executive Order Responsibility. The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans established a liaison network to establish a link between the Initiative office and the departments. Many departments, but not all, have now identified the best office and staff responsible for the annual collection of data and submission of the information to the White House Initiative office.
We recommend that all agencies identify the appropriate office and staff to respond to this request as soon as possible.
Data Tracking. All agencies were not prepared to report on data requested. Therefore, many of them reported that data had not been collected. Several, but not all agencies, identified data tracking as a goal to accomplish in FY 96.
We recommend that all agencies establish a data system which tracks number of participants and awards distributed for research and development, program evaluation, training, facilities and equipment, fellowships, internships, recruitment, student tuition, scholarships, private sector involvement, and administration to Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), school districts (K-12), Hispanic school districts, organizations, and Hispanic American organizations.
Rate of Awards to HSIs. With the exception of a few agencies, like the Small Business Administration and Corporation for National and Community Services, most agencies reported a three-year average below 5% for awards distributed to Hispanic Serving Institutions. Many agencies identified programs designed to increase participation but did not identify a percent goal to achieve in FY 96, or beyond.
We recommend that agencies with a participation rate of less than 10% identify an annual percent increase beginning immediately.
Exemplary Programs. All agencies presented excellent examples of successful models designed to increase the number of Hispanic American students and/or employees. Some agencies focused on parts of the "pipeline", i.e., Pre K-12 students, college and professional school students, and/or employment. Few developed programs designed to address the educational gaps in Hispanic American education in a coordinated or systematic manner.
We recommend that each agency identify specific programs to address each of these pipeline components: Pre K-12, college and professional schools, and employment.
We recommend that departments collaborate to build and complement existing programs and use successful models, i.e., K-12 programs at the Corporation for National and Community Service, Hispanic Association of Higher Education Colleges and Universities (HACU) programs at Departments of Commerce, Transportation and Agriculture, professional school programs at HHS and NASA, Centers of Excellence at HHS and Agriculture, etc.
Federal Agency Employment Profile. As outlined in a report prepared by the Office of Personnel Management, two clear trends emerge: first is the aging Hispanic American Federal workforce and second is the concentration of Hispanic American Federal employees in GS 9-12 levels which are support staff and entry level professional positions. Management and decision making positions are at the GS 14-15 and Senior Executive Service (SES) levels. The professional pipeline from entry level to senior executive service is not well established. Consequently, promotions to management and Senior Executive Service levels are rare.
We recommend that the the Office of Personnel Management and agencies establish programs to upgrade the Hispanic American employee "pipeline" from internships, to entry level, to mid-management, to management and Senior Executive Service positions.
Interagency Collaboration. Executive Order 12900 specifies that the White House Initiative office is authorized to utilize the services, personnel, information, and facilities of other Federal agencies. To date, agencies which have provided personnel include Army, Education, Labor, NASA, Navy, Transportation, and Treasury. Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense have also provided services.
We recommend that all agencies, currently participating in the Re-invention Working Group, identify measurable contributions in services, equipment, and/or personnel to the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.
Executive Order Renewal. The executive order is the tool used by the executive branch to direct agencies to execute programs. Executive Order 12900 is scheduled for renewal in 1997.
We recommend that the renewal version include clarification on agency responsibility to implement the executive order as outlined in recommendation #1 and language on the type of data to be tracked as described in recommendation #2; that procurement and contract language be inserted to allow for equitable Hispanic American participation; and that personnel hiring language be included to increase Hispanic American employment at all levels, but especially at the management and senior executive levels.
We recommend that language be included to allow the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) budget oversight for contributions to the White House Initiative Office.
White House Initiative Office. Given the importance of improving Hispanic American education and Federal outreach to the Hispanic American community, it is important that the work of the office be enhanced by an adequate number of permanent career-service staff to promote and encourage continuity. Currently, the office has two appointed positions and one support career staff. The remaining staff are detailees who are an important part of the interagency aspect of this office.
We recommend that permanent career staff be assigned to this office to establish long-term working relationships with agencies and other entities and for program coherence, and to continue the work of the Commission.
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Appendix B: Executive Order