Need To Ensure Nondiscrimination in CETA Programs

The Department of Labor has not been able to determine whether Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) programs equitably serve all segments of the population. The act requires that prime sponsors, State and local governments operating CETA programs, provide CETA services free of discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, handicap, or political affiliation or belief.

GAO found that 11 prime sponsors visited generally did not adequately serve women, the handicapped, elderly persons, and some minorities, especially in on-the-job training and public service employment. Neither the Labor Department nor the prime sponsors have collected adequate data to determine whether CETA is equitably serving all segments of the population. Labor has developed a new reporting system, but the system is still inadequate. Both Labor and the prime sponsors lack the staff to sufficiently monitor equal opportunity activities. The type of jobs funded directly affected the participation of women or the handicapped. Prime sponsors generally funded positions that were traditionally filled by males. Many jobs funded under the public service employment program were in the professional or laborer categories, thus few women or the handicapped participated. The underrepresentation of employees from certain minorities in the prime sponsors' management may have contributed to the limited participation of enrollees from these minorities in the programs. Although Labor requires the prime sponsors' management to be representative of the population of the area, there is no compulsory reporting system . Labor has taken some steps, such as implementing a new equal opportunity reporting system and issuing new CETA regulations, to improve the enforcement of nondiscrimination requirements; however, there are still equal opportunity problems that need to be corrected.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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