The Allocations Committee (AC) met via conference call on July 20, 2005 at 2:05 p.m. to discuss the upcoming allocations process to take place at the end of July and a reallocation request from BVCAA.

CTHPCA Members present: Parker Willson - Chair, Marla Madison, Janet Cates, Sissy Riffin, Blair Hodgkins, Rita Castro

BVCOG staff present: Christopher Hamilton, Crystal Crowell

The meeting was called to order at 2:05 p.m.

The Chair asked if everyone had reviewed the request. All have reviewed. The Chair then asked if any committee members had any questions. No members had questions. The committee was then asked if they agreed with and approved the reallocation request for BVCAA State Services grant for 2004 - 2005. All committee members agreed. The Chair stated that consensus was reached on the request.

The request will be sent to the Executive Committee with the recommendation from the Allocation Committee that it be approved.

The Chair then discussed the new timeline for allocations with the committee. The allocations process that had originally been scheduled for July 25 and 26 has been cancelled. The Allocations Committee will meet in Austin on August 9, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., after the Central Texas HIV Planning Council (CTHPC) meeting. The committee will reconvene at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, August 10. The meeting place for Wednesday has not yet been determined. Suggestions were made as to the location. Ms. Crowell informed the committee that the meeting place is dependent on availability and cost, but the AA will try to accommodate committee members as best as possible. As soon as meeting place arrangements are finalized, the committee will be notified.

A question was raised outside of the committee meetings as to whether or not the allocations had to be completed in August. After consulting with a representative from DSHS, the allocations have to be completed prior to the AA distributing the requests for proposals. The time line for allocations was discussed. Mr. Hamilton noted that the committee could go into the first two weeks of September with sufficient time remaining for public comment prior to the October meeting of the CTHPC.

Ms. Crowell informed committee members that they would be receiving data and information to be used for allocations prior to the August 9 meeting. Committee members were instructed to review and become comfortable with the data prior to the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:15 p.m.

Posted by BVCOG-HIV at 08:50 PM | Permalink

The Allocations Committee (AC) met via conference call on July 19, 2005 at 10:05 a.m. to discuss the upcoming allocations process to take place at the end of July and a reallocation request from BVCAA.

CTHPCA Members present: Parker Willson - Chair, Marla Madison, Janet Cates, Sissy Riffin

BVCOG staff present: Christopher Hamilton

The meeting started at 10:05 a.m., but a quorum of members was not present. Those present agreed upon a time to reschedule; the committee will meet via conference call on Wednesday, July 20, at 2 p.m., to discuss the reallocation request from BVCAA as well as the upcoming allocation process.

Discussion of a new timeline for allocations was brought up. The Allocations Committee will meet in Austin after the August 9 Planning Council meeting for training on the core six service categories, threshold setting, and scenario planning. The committee will resume meetings on Wednesday, August 10, for threshold setting and scenario planning. At that meeting, the committee will decide when it will meet to do the actual allocations, which will take place in Bryan.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:20 a.m.

Posted by BVCOG-HIV at 08:48 PM | Permalink

The Membership Committee met on July 18, 2005 at 1 p.m. to review tasks to complete, discuss those tasks, and develop a time line for completion.

Members Present: Rita Castro (Interim Chair), Dennis Nelson, Marla Madison, Sam Guerrero, Jerry Oliver

BVCOG Staff: Crystal Crowell, Christopher Hamilton

Rita Castro called the meeting to order at 1 p.m.

Ms. Castro stated that she would be the Interim Chair of the Membership Committee until a new committee chair is placed. She is going to contact Christine Harris about becoming the Membership Committee Chair. If Ms. Harris declines, Ms. Castro will continue to be Interim Chair until Sam Guerrero takes over and Planning Council Chair and can appoint a new Membership Committee Chair at that time.

Crystal Crowell and Christopher Hamilton discussed some topics for the Membership Committee to begin thinking about. Ms. Crowell noted that many of the items were brought up in previous discussions, but no action had been taken.

Topics for the committee to think about include a policies and procedures manual for the Membership Committee, retention of applications in various circumstances such as when Planning Council positions are completely filled, recruitment to augment the Planning Council, trainings for new members, and discuss core competencies.

The question of what areas are needed for recruitment was brought up. Specifically, can the committee look at the composition of the Council to determine what competencies are needed, what geographic areas are not represented, as well as other factors that will round out the Council membership. It was suggested that the forthcoming Consumer Committee may be a source of recruiting.

Other questions that were raised for the committee to think about include the policies for retaining applications, procedures for notifying applicants that were voted in and applicants not voted in, and voting procedures for applicants.

The committee asked for a list of the topics to consider as well as a priority ranking and draft timeline suggested by BVCOG.

In relation to core competencies, it was suggested that the Membership Committee receive each month a report of the core competencies of each committee and the Planning Council. BVCOG will send this to the Membership Committee each month.

At the August 9 Planning Council meeting, a survey will be distributed to all council members asking them to rank the competencies needed for each committee and the Planning Council as a whole. The results of this will be needed by the Membership Committee in forming a membership plan.

Ms. Crowell brought up the orientation manual for new members. A draft manual was done, but no further action was taken. It was suggested that this draft be reviewed and work continued on it rather than start anew. Another item related to this is a recruitment brochure that can be used for potential applicants, explaining what the council does and expectations of council members. It was noted that HRSA/HAB has produced a document about Ryan White C.A.R.E. Act that would be useful in this respect.

The question of who would train new members of the Planning Council was raised. It was suggested that that be another item for the Membership Committee to discuss.

The list of to-do items for the committee was determined:
° Develop a membership plan,
° Develop policies and procedures for the committee,
° Create an orientation packet for new members,
° Recruit new members to the Planning Council,
° Create a recruitment brochure.

The committee decided to start by examining reports of the competencies of committees and the Planning Council. It was agreed that targeted recruitment would be the best approach at this point. Mr. Hamilton will send to the committee reports on the current competencies of each committee before the next Membership Committee meeting.

A suggestion was brought forward of integrating recruitment efforts with other entities such as the CPGs or Title I.

The committee asked for examples of membership materials from others areas prior to developing new materials. Mr. Hamilton will send available materials to the committee prior to its next meeting.

The committee agreed that some form of recruitment should take place while developing the membership plan, then proceed to the other tasks. This will be discussed at the next meeting of the Membership Committee.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:35 p.m.

Posted by BVCOG-HIV at 08:07 PM | Permalink