Health and Human Services Department

The Office of the Secretary of the HHS includes the offices of the Assistant Secretaries, the Inspector General, and the General Counsel. Individuals in these offices, along with other senior officials at HHS, assist the secretary with the overall management responsibilities of the HHS and aid in the day-to-day operations of the department. For example, the Program Support Center (PSC), which is part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management, offers support services in such areas as human resources and financial management.

In addition, the Office for Civil Rights administers and enforces laws that prohibit discrimination in federally assisted health and human services programs. These laws include Title VI of the CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 (42 U.S.C.A. § 2000d et seq.), which prohibits discrimination with regard to race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C.A. § 6101 et seq.); and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.A. § 12101 et seq.).

The secretary is accountable to Congress and to the public for departmental expenditures of taxpayers' money. Thus, the secretary and other members of the HHS staff spend a great deal of time testifying before congressional committees, making speeches before national organizations interested in and affected by HHS policy, and meeting with the press and the public to explain HHS actions. The secretary and the HHS staff also prepare special reports, sometimes at the request of the president, on national problems related to health and human services. In addition, the secretary is required by law to submit to the president and to Congress periodic reports that explain how tax money was spent to address

and solve a particular problem and whether progress on the problem was achieved.

The headquarters of the HHS department is located in Washington, D.C., and ten regional HHS offices are located throughout the United States. The regional directors of these offices represent the secretary in any official HHS dealings with state and local government organizations. They promote a general understanding of HHS programs, policies, and objectives; advise the secretary on the potential local effects of HHS policies and decisions; and provide administrative services and support to HHS programs and activities in the regions.