The Ombuds Blog: USDA Expands Ombuds Program for External Stakeholders

January 05, 2017

USDA Expands Ombuds Program for External Stakeholders

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's has announced that its Office of the Ombudsperson will undertake a new initiative to help women and Hispanic farmers and ranchers with accessing the Department's services and programs. According to a press release, the USDA Ombuds "seeks a fair process for everyone involved and helps USDA identify and address issues relating to program access by women and Hispanic producers, ... focused strategically on ... programs in California, Missouri, New Mexico and Texas."

Secretary Tom Vilsack said, "I strongly support this office and its functions in ensuring civil rights at USDA and continuing to improve service delivery to our stakeholders." The office was created as part of the Keepseagle v. Vilsack settlement to serve Native American farmers and ranchers before directing efforts to serve women and Hispanic farmers. The USDA Ombudsperson is Joanne Dea.

Related posts: GAO Urges USDA to Hire Ombuds (2008); Job Posting; Internship; USDA Ombuds Seeks Data Analysts.

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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Austria -- Ombudsstelle

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany -- Ombudspersonen

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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January 05, 2017

USDA Expands Ombuds Program for External Stakeholders

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