SECTION 340:50-1-8. Reporting racial/ethnic groups

  The Oklahoma Department of Human Services is required to obtain ethnic and racial data on household members participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the manner described by the Food and Nutrition Service per Section 272.6(g) of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(1)   Self-identification. The applicant is asked to self-identify ethnic and racial information regarding all participating household members on the application and, when necessary, during the interview.

(A)   The application must clearly indicate that the:

(i)   provision of ethnic and racial data is voluntary and will not affect the eligibility or benefit level of food benefits; and

(ii)   information is needed to ensure that food benefits are distributed without regard to race, color, or national origin.

(B)   When the applicant does not self-identify ethnic and racial information on the application prior to the interview, the worker asks the applicant to provide ethnic and racial information during the interview and explains:

(i)   provision of ethnic and racial data is voluntary and will not affect the eligibility or benefit level of food benefits; and

(ii)   information is needed to ensure that food benefits are distributed without regard to race, color, or national origin.

(2)   Worker identification. When the applicant chooses not to provide ethnic and race information, the applicant is informed that when possible, the worker makes a visual identification of the applicant's ethnicity and race, and records the data in the system.

(3)   Race and Ethnic Categories. To provide flexibility and ensure data quality, separate categories are used to collect and report ethnicity and race information.

(A)   The applicant is asked to provide ethnicity information first. The ethnicity question is "Are you Hispanic or Latino?" The term "Spanish origin" may be used in addition to "Hispanic" or "Latino." Hispanic or Latino refers to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

(B)   The applicant is then offered the option of selecting one or more racial designations. Racial designations include:

(i)   American Indian or Alaskan Native referring to a person with origins in the original peoples of North or South America, including Central America, and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment;

(ii)   Asian referring to a person with origins in the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, or Vietnam;

(iii)   Black or African American referring to a person with origins of the black racial groups of Africa. Terms, such as "Haitian" or "Negro" may be used in addition to "Black" or "African American;"

(iv)   Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander referring to a person with origins in the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

(v)   White, referring to a person with origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.

[Source: Amended at 34 Ok Reg 1504, eff 9-15-17]