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  **DEOA: Office for Civil Rights**

  **FY 2008 Program Performance Plan**

  Strategic Goal 4

  Other

  DEOA, Section 203
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  **Program      **To ensure equal access to education and promote
  Goal:**        educational excellence throughout the nation through the
                 vigorous enforcement of civil rights.**

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  ***Objective 1 of 2:***   *To provide high-quality customer service throughout the
                            case-resolution process.*

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  **Measure 1.1 of 1:**                                       
  Mean score of Office                                        
  for Civil Rights                                            
  customer survey                                             
  responses.   (Desired                                       
  direction: increase)                                        
    1711                                                      

  **Year**                **Target**       **Actual\          **Status**
                                           (or date           
                                           expected)**        

  2005                    Set a Baseline   3.66               Target Met

  2006                    3.66             3.84               Target Exceeded

  2007                    3.66             3.96               Target Exceeded

  2008                    3.66             (January 2009)     Pending

  2009                    3.66             (January 2010)     Pending
  ----------------------- ---------------- ------------------ ----------------------------

**Source**. Data is derived from the U.S. Department of Education Office
for Civil Rights\' Case Management System and Survey Tracker software.

**Frequency of Data Collection**. Other

**Data Quality**. Survey forms are sent to both complainants and
recipients after complaints are investigated and resolved. However,
about  60% of OCR\'s complaints are closed administratively
without investigation. Administrative closures are determined
without recipient invlovement so in those cases, only complainants
receive survey forms.  Because OCR considers recipients and complainants
to be customers of equal value, the target mean score of survey
responses is calculated by taking an average of the complainant and
recipient mean scores.\
\
The survey data collection process causes a three month delay between
the time a complaint is resolved/administratively closed and scored
survey data are available. Survey forms are mailed to complainants and
recipients two weeks after complaints are resolved/administratively
closed.  Customers are then given one month to respond to the survey. 
Approximately 5% of customers respond  electronically and the rest mail
their surveys to headquarters.  Responses sent to headquarters
are entered manually into the Survey Tracker database and data from the
previous three months are electronically scored at the beginning of
every quarter. As a result, year-end data for each fiscal year are
available after the first quarter of the subsequent fiscal year.  \
\
FY 2008 customer service survey data will be available at the end of the
first quarter of FY 2009.

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  ***Objective 2 of 2:***   *To obtain results by the efficient management of civil
                            rights compliance activities.*

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  **Measure 2.1 of 2:**                                       
  The percentage of                                           
  Office for Civil Rights                                     
  complaints resolved                                         
  within 180 days.                                            
    (Desired direction:                                       
  increase)   1004                                            

  **Year**                **Target**       **Actual\          **Status**
                                           (or date           
                                           expected)**        

  1997                                     80                 Measure not in place

  1998                                     81                 Measure not in place

  1999                    80               80                 Target Met

  2000                    80               78                 Did Not Meet Target

  2001                    80               84                 Target Exceeded

  2002                    80               89                 Target Exceeded

  2003                    80               91                 Target Exceeded

  2004                    80               92                 Target Exceeded

  2005                    80               92                 Target Exceeded

  2006                    80               91                 Target Exceeded

  2007                    80               93                 Target Exceeded

  2008                    80               (October 2008)     Pending

  2009                    80               (October 2009)     Pending
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**Source**. U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Case
Management System

**Frequency of Data Collection**. Annual

**Data Quality**. In FY 2006, OCR changed the measurement of this
objective from 80% of all complaints that resolve within the fiscal year
to 80% of new complaints that resolve within the fiscal year.  An
additional measure (2.2) was added to track the number of pending
complaints over 180 days.  Together, these measures cover OCR\'s entire
complaint workload.

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  **Measure 2.2 of 2:**                                       
  Percentage of pending                                       
  civil rights complaints                                     
  that are over 180 days                                      
  old.   (Desired                                             
  direction: decrease)                                        
    1844                                                      

  **Year**                **Target**       **Actual\          **Status**
                                           (or date           
                                           expected)**        

  2006                    25               21                 Did Better Than Target

  2007                    25               18                 Did Better Than Target

  2008                    25               (October 2008)     Pending

  2009                    25               (October 2009)     Pending
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**Source**. U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, Case
Management System

**Frequency of Data Collection**. Other

**Data Quality**. While the Office for Civil Rights is able to resolve
the majority of complaints in 180 days, some cases are so complex and/or
sensitive that they canot be resolved within that timeframe.  By capping
the percentage of overage cases at no more than 25%, OCR can ensure that
there is no significant backlog of overage cases.