You asked us to identify the person in each agency responsible for procuring the diversity training required by PA 01-53.

By law, state agencies must use their available appropriations to provide a minimum of three hours of diversity training and education to all staff, including part-time employees working more than 20 hours a week, by July 1, 2002. The law requires each agency to report on its diversity training and education program as part of the affirmative action plan that it files with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). CHRO takes this information and prepares an annual status report for the General Assembly (CGS § 46A-54 (16), as amended by PA 01-53). We extracted the information in this report on executive-branch from CHRO's second report, dated January 2002. We have attached a copy for your information.

James Tracy, Office of Legislative Management, provided the information regarding the legislative branch, and Vita Shimkowitz, Judicial Department purchasing manager, provided the information regarding the judicial branch.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGENCIES

The Department of Administrative Services was primarily responsible for securing diversity trainers. It consulted with CHRO before sending out a request for proposals (RFP) in early 2000. By June, an executive committee had selected six state-approved diversity trainers: The Anti-Defamation League's A World of Difference; Bari-Ellen Roberts, Inc. , and Associates; Dreamcatchers, LLC; Human Resources Consortium, LLC; Life Skills Associates and Rosario & Associates; and National Multicultural Institute/InterConnect, Inc. Executive branch agencies could choose any vendor on this list to provide training.

The criteria used to select these vendors were: curriculum content, experience and background, financial stability, implementation strategy, and evaluation procedure.

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH AGENCIES

The Office of Legislative Management assembled a six-person select committee, representing several different legislative branch agencies, to put together an RFP for diversity trainers and screen or evaluate the responses. The agencies represented were the African-American Affairs Commission, Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, capitol police, and legislative management.

Four companies responded to the October 1999 RFP: Life Skills Associates and Rosario & Associates, Workforce Training Associates, Life Goes On Cycle Therapy Center, and The Sable Group. The committee asked the first three companies to conduct a mock training session, which the committee evaluated. After this session, the committee chose Workforce Training Associates to conduct the training.

The criteria used to select these vendors were: experience, expertise, quantity and quality of other similar training sessions, and knowledge of relevant state laws.

JUDICIAL BRANCH AGENCIES

The Judicial Department's purchasing division sent out an RFP for diversity trainers in March of 2001. Five companies responded: Workforce Training Associates, Bari-Ellen Roberts, Inc. , and Associates, Life Skills Associates, Human Resources Consortium, and Galos and Associates.

The division assembled a committee made up of continuing education and court operations staff to interview each company. The department ultimately hired Galos and Associates. The criteria the committee used to select the trainer were: methodology, expertise, qualifications or certification, quality and quantity of similar training sessions, and curriculum outline.

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