[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 4]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR271.6]

[Page 591-592]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
    CHAPTER II--FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 271_GENERAL INFORMATION AND DEFINITIONS--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  271.6  Complaint procedure.

    (a) State agency responsibility--(1) General scope. The State agency 
shall maintain a system of its choosing for handling program complaints 
filed by participants, potential participants, or other concerned 
individuals or groups. This shall not include complaints alleging 
discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, religious creed, national 
origin, political beliefs or handicap; such complaints shall be handled 
in accordance with Sec.  272.6. This procedure also need not include 
complaints that can be pursued through a fair hearing. Complaints 
regarding such areas as processing standards and service to participants 
and potential participants would generally be handled under this 
complaint procedure.
    (2) Minimum requirements. The State agency shall follow up on 
complaints, resolve complaints and take corrective action where 
warranted, and respond to the complainant on the State agency's 
disposition of the complaint. The State agency shall make information on 
the complaint system and how to file a complaint available to 
participants, potential participants and other interested persons. The 
State agency may make the information available through written 
materials or posters at certification offices or other appropriate 
means.
    (3) Complaint analysis. The State agency shall maintain records of 
complaints received and their disposition, and shall review records at 
least annually to assess whether patterns of problems may be present in 
local offices, project areas, or throughout the State. The results of 
this review shall be provided to the Performance Reporting System 
coordinator for appropriate action, and for inclusion, if appropriate, 
in the State Corrective Action Plan in accordance with Sec.  275.16 of 
this chapter. The information provided to the Performance Reporting 
System Coordinator shall include the identification, if any, of 
potential or actual patterns of deficiencies in local offices, project 
areas, or throughout the State, and any identification of causes of 
these problems.
    (4) Monitoring. FNS shall monitor State compliance with these 
requirements through the Performance Reporting System.
    (b) Regional office responsibility. (1) Persons or agencies desiring 
program information or wishing to file a complaint may contact the 
appropriate FNS Regional Office.
    (i) For Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Virginia, the Virgin Islands of the United 
States, and West Virginia: Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, U.S. Department 
of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, CN 02150, Trenton, NJ 08650.
    (ii) For Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee: Southeast Regional Office, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, 77 Forsyth Street 
SW., suite 112, Atlanta, GA 30303-3427.
    (iii) For Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and 
Wisconsin: Midwest Regional Office, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food 
and Nutrition Service, 77 West Jackson Blvd., 20th Floor, Chicago, IL 
60604-3507.
    (iv) For Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas: 
Southwest Regional Office, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and 
Nutrition Service, 1100 Commerce Street, suite 5-C-30, Dallas, TX 75242.
    (v) For Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, 
Oregon and Washington: Western Regional Office, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, 550 Kearny Street, room 400, 
San Francisco, CA 94108.
    (vi) For Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, 
Rhode Island, and Vermont: Northeast Regional Office, U.S. Department of

[[Page 592]]

Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, 10 Causeway St., Boston, MA 
02222-1069.
    (vii) For Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North 
Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming: Mountain Plains Regional 
Office, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, 1244 
Speer Blvd., suite 903, Denver, CO 80204-3581.
    (2) Complainants shall be advised of the appropriate State complaint 
handling and fair hearing procedures. Upon household request, other 
complaints shall be pursued by the Department rather than the State 
agency, unless the complaint is one upon which the complainant wishes to 
request a fair hearing.

[Amdt. 132, 43 FR 47882, Oct. 17, 1978, as amended at 45 FR 71350, Oct. 
28, 1980; Amdt. 187, 45 FR 85699, Dec. 30, 1980; Amdt. 211, 47 FR 53315, 
Nov. 26, 1982; Amdt. 237, 47 FR 57668, Dec. 28, 1982; Amdt. 250, 48 FR 
22130, May 17, 1983; Amdt. 269, 51 FR 10782, Mar. 28, 1986; Amdt. 356, 
59 FR 29713, June 9, 1994]