Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Office of the Secretary Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority AGENCY: Office for Civil Rights, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the Statement of Organization of the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. DATES: This reorganization was approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on May 14, 2026, and took effect on June 28, 2026. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To ensure clear, effective, and unified enforcement of Federal civil rights laws as they apply to health and human services, including the robust protection of conscience, religious freedom, and health information privacy and security, this action restores the Office for Civil Rights to a program-based structure that integrates rulemaking and priority enforcement under subject-matter divisions while centralizing intake, investigations, and case processing through a unified Enforcement Division that supports field office execution. Part A, Office of the Secretary, Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as last amended at 88 FR 12954 (Mar. 1, 2023), is amended at Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), to reflect the restructuring of OCR as follows: I. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, in the outline section at the beginning of the Chapter that reads: “AT.00 Mission AT.10 Organization AT.20 Functions” II. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, delete “Section AT.00 Mission” in its entirety and replace with the following: “AT.00 Mission The Office for Civil Rights is the Department's law enforcement agency charged with enforcing laws protecting civil rights, conscience and religious freedom, and health information privacy and security. OCR ensures that individuals and organizations participating in, and individuals receiving services from, HHS-funded programs are not subject to unlawful discrimination, and are free from coercion, and can exercise their conscience and religious freedom rights. OCR also ensures that Americans can trust the privacy, security, integrity, and availability of their identifiable health information. By rooting out invidious discrimination and removing unlawful barriers to HHS-funded services, OCR carries out the HHS mission of improving the health and well-being of all Americans and providing essential human services. By ensuring individuals and institutions can exercise their conscience and religious freedom rights, OCR furthers justice and tolerance in a pluralistic society and ensures that individuals are not deterred from entering the health and human services professions and are not coerced into leaving it, thereby encouraging access to services. By promoting the right to access health information and protecting the privacy and security of this information, OCR enables and empowers Americans to take control of their health and to engage in shared decision-making and helps ensure the integrity of the health care system and thereby promotes better health outcomes for the Nation. OCR accomplishes this by: • Enforcing laws, investigating complaints, conducting compliance reviews, promulgating regulations, developing policy, providing technical assistance, and engaging in public education and outreach to ensure understanding of and compliance with all the laws over which OCR has authority; • Ensuring that recipients of HHS Federal financial assistance comply with Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the bases of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, and religion; • Ensuring that Federal agencies, State and local governments, health care providers, health plans, and other covered entities comply with Federal laws protecting the free exercise of religion and conscience and the right to be free from coercion in HHS-conducted or funded programs; and • Ensuring that health care providers, health plans, health care clearinghouses, and their business associates adhere to Federal privacy, security, and breach notification regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) or 42 CFR part 2 (Part 2), as applicable, through the investigation of complaints, self-reports of breaches, compliance reviews, and audits.” III. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, delete “Section AT.10 Organization” in its entirety and replace with: “AT.10 Organization A. Immediate Office of the Director (AT) B. Operations and Resources Division (ATA) C. Civil Rights Division (ATB) D. Health Information Privacy, Data, and Cybersecurity Division (ATC) E. Enforcement Division (ATD) F. Conscience and Religious Freedom Division (ATE)” IV. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, Section “AT.20 Functions,” add “Immediate” before “Office of the Director (AT),” delete “protection” and replace with “and religious freedom,” insert “and Part 2” after “HIPAA,” delete “the exercise of conscience” and replace with “conscience and religious freedom,” and add a new sentence that reads “The Director provides centralized coordination of communications and external engagement, in collaboration with the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and the Director of the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs, respectively” after the sentence that ends “agencies responsible for similar or related matters.” V. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, Section “AT.20 Functions” at subsection “C. Policy Division (ATB),” delete in its entirety and replace with the following: AT.20 Functions “C. Civil Rights Division (ATB). The Civil Rights Division (CRD) is headed by the Deputy Director for Civil Rights, who reports to the Director. CRD oversees OCR's national civil rights program, including Federal civil rights statutes and regulations that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age. CRD provides national leadership in OCR's civil rights enforcement and compliance activities, including advising OCR staff nationwide on case development and quality and assisting in developing negotiation, enforcement, and litigation strategies. CRD promulgates regulations, policies, and guidance and provides technical assistance to assist covered entities with compliance, and provides subject-matter expertise for public education and outreach activities to stakeholders nationwide. CRD leads priority enforcement initiatives, including high-impact investigations and systemic compliance reviews, and provides subject-matter guidance on elevated, high-impact, and priority matters referred by the Enforcement Division in accordance with defined criteria. CRD also identifies and designs civil rights-specific training programs for OCR staff; reviews challenges to OCR's civil rights findings; coordinates OCR's government-wide responsibilities for implementation of Age Discrimination Act requirements; and liaises with, and provides civil rights technical assistance and advisory services to, HHS Operating Divisions; national advocacy, beneficiary, and provider groups; and other Federal departments and agencies, including through intra- and interagency workgroups.” VI. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, Section “AT.20 Functions,” at subsection “D. Health Information Privacy, Data, and Cybersecurity Division (ATC),” add “and Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records at 42 CFR part 2,” after “Security and Breach Notification Rules.” VII. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, Section “AT.20 Functions” at subsection “E. Enforcement Division (ATD),” delete in its entirety and replace with the following: AT.20 Functions “E. Enforcement Division (ATD). The Enforcement Division is headed by the Deputy Director for Enforcement, who reports to the Director. The Enforcement Division is responsible for overseeing OCR's field office operations and case-management functions to support the comprehensive implementation of all OCR authorities. The Enforcement Division serves as the central execution arm for intake, investigation, and case processing across OCR. The Division receives and triages complaints, conducts investigations and compliance reviews, and provides technical assistance and outreach across civil rights, conscience and religious freedom, and health information privacy programs. The Enforcement Division oversees centralized intake and case-management operations, including the Centralized Case Management Operation (CCMO), ensuring that complaints are received, evaluated, prioritized, and assigned in accordance with established criteria and program priorities. The Enforcement Division consults with the Civil Rights Division, the Health Information Privacy, Data, and Cybersecurity Division, and the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, as appropriate, and elevates high-impact and priority matters in accordance with defined criteria to ensure consistency with subject-matter expertise and Departmental decision-making. Field office operations are carried out under the executive direction of the Deputy Director for Enforcement, who is responsible for the execution of investigations, compliance reviews, outreach, and related enforcement activities across OCR's program areas. The Enforcement Division also directs case-management data analytics and operational performance measurement and coordinates leadership and professional development activities to support consistent, timely, and legally sufficient case processing across OCR.” VIII. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, Section “AT.20 Functions” at subsection “F. Strategic Planning Division (ATE),” delete in its entirety and replace with the following: AT.20 Functions “F. Conscience and Religious Freedom Division (ATE). The Conscience and Religious Freedom Division (CRFD) is headed by the Deputy Director for Conscience and Religious Freedom, who reports to the Director. CRFD is responsible for OCR's national conscience and religious freedom program, including enforcement of, and compliance with, laws protecting conscience and the free exercise of religion and prohibiting coercion and religious discrimination. These laws include, but are not limited to, the Church Amendments (42 U.S.C. 300a-7); the Coats-Snowe Amendment (42 U.S.C. 238n); the Weldon Amendment ( e.g., Pub. L. 119-75, div. B, tit. V, sec. 507(d) (2026)); Sections 1303(b)(4) and 1553 of the Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18023(b)(4) and 18113, respectively); the employment religious nondiscrimination provisions in the Public Telecommunications Financing Act of 1978 (47 U.S.C. 398(b)); and the religious nondiscrimination provisions in various block grant authorizing statutes. CRFD provides national leadership in OCR's enforcement and compliance activities within its subject-matter areas, including advising OCR staff nationwide on case development and quality and assisting in developing negotiation, enforcement, and litigation strategies. CRFD promulgates regulations, policies, and guidance, provides technical assistance to assist covered entities with compliance, and provides subject-matter expertise for public education and outreach activities to stakeholders nationwide. CRFD leads priority enforcement initiatives, including high-impact investigations and compliance reviews, and provides subject-matter guidance on elevated, high-impact, and priority matters referred by the Enforcement Division in accordance with defined criteria. CRFD also identifies and designs conscience and religious freedom-specific training programs for Departmental staff and provides technical assistance and advisory services to HHS Operating and Staff Divisions; national advocacy, beneficiary, and provider groups; religious organizations; faith-based organizations; for-profit and nonprofit entities; State and local governments; and other Federal departments and agencies, including through intra- and interagency workgroups.” IX. Pending further delegations, directives, or orders by the Secretary or the OCR Director, all delegations and redelegations of authority to positions of the affected organizations in effect prior to the date of this notice shall continue in effect in them or their successors, provided they are consistent with this reorganization. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services. [FR Doc. 2026-13142 Filed 6-29-26; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4153-01-P