ASCR provides overall leadership, coordination, and direction for USDA's civil rights programs, including matters related to program delivery, compliance and equal employment opportunity. ASCR ensures compliance with applicable federal civil rights laws such as:

• Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
• The Age Discrimination Act of 1975
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

ASCR is composed of three offices, Office of Outreach and Diversity, Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center and Office of Adjudication and Compliance.

ASCR's mission is to provide leadership and direction for the fair and equitable treatment of all USDA customers and employees while ensuring the delivery of quality programs and enforcement of civil rights. ASCR ensures compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies for USDA customers and employees regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, political beliefs, parental status, protected genetic information, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all bases apply to all programs.)

Joe Leonard, Jr. Ph.D
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack swore in Dr. Joe Leonard, Jr., as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights on April 6, 2009. (Link to Full Biography)

Mary McNeil,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
(Link to Full Biography)

Last Modified: 05/20/2009