Board of Directors
State of New Hampshire Prevention Certification
October 28, 2013
Meeting Minutes
Attending: Tim Lena, Donna Arias, Marissa Carlson, Mary Forsythe-Taber,Diane Casale, Valerie Morgan (BDAS), Lori McGoon (NHADACA). Present by phone: Cyndi Desrosiers (administrator), Bob Thompson
The meeting was called to order at 8:45am with a moment of silence.
1. September meeting minutes were reviewed. Tim motion to accept,Donna moved to accept &Mary seconded, all were in favor with one abstention.
2. Treasurer’s Report – Diane. Status quo on the budget. Only October spending was Cyndi’s contract.Marissa will proctor December testing along with Diane.
3. Consultant Report – Cyndi.Reviewed findings from other states about any mentoring programs. South Carolina does have a program and will send us additional info about their process manual, etc. Reviewed one-page summary of the process, and the BDAS proposal for increased funding. Cyndi has been making progress on scanning CPS files & applications to move into more electronic record keeping. IC&RC study guide for CPS test has been released and is now up on our website – more of a guide to the test structure than a more question-focused study guide of the sort we used to have. 2 people scheduled to test in December.
Donna raised the need/interest for a more thorough study guide, or perhaps books to recommend to people preparing for the test. Cyndi still has the old study guide, but that no longer matches the test. She still can send that out, with that caveat. IC&RC has a bibliography available, and that is on our website in a prominent place. There was concern that the main text book that we have used (Hogan, 2003) is outdated.
Discussion about creating various profession-specific versions of the one-page description. Some progress is being made with National Guard awareness – potential movement to recommend training around the country. Tim wondered how much of a focus there is on this certification in other states, but since not every state offers CPS certification, it would still be difficult to get federal buy-in.Cyndi will send a matrix showing all state CPS requirements around the country.
There’s now a form on our website new CPS can use to order a separate certificate from IC&RC.
Motion to accept the BDAS funding request, Donna moved, Mary seconded, all in favor. Valerie raised questions about the proposal. She felt we would need to also submit ongoing costs beyond the first year. Tim suggested a tiered proposal for ongoing costs in a separate document to help Valerie answer questions.Cyndi will try to find out costs of the SC mentoring program.Tim will work on that additional document to get to Valerie in early November.
Donna will reach out to the survey respondents who indicated interest in joining the Peer Review Committee.
4. Peer Review Committee –Donna. Requesting that whenever Mary or Diane picks up the mail, please document date of arrival on the application/renewal packet. As a reminder around a complicated renewal case, Donna asks that if any of us are approached with questions about the way Peer Review makes decisions on recertification, please refer them directly to Donna. PRC will also be reviewing recertification packet for clarity.
PRC is a separate entity and it’s important to keep members of the committee as anonymous as possible. The challenges of being a small state with many people knowing each other heightens the need for multiple people reviewing more complicated applications/recertifications. There is an appeals process in the manual, and PRC will be reviewing that process description for clarity.
Bob is concerned about Cyndi’s time being drained, so is it possible to turn point of contact about applications & reviews to someone else? Donna or maybe another Board member who isn’t as connected with the PRC?Bob would be OK with managing a separate email account for applicant communications. Cyndi would like the Board to prioritize what we want from Cyndi’s time. The past month has involved mostly non-applicant-related hours: working with CHI around manual & upcoming webinar, marketing consultants, website; therefore, the past 2 months would generally not be a great snapshot of the way admin hours are typically allocated.
New potential process: Cyndi will scan packet, email that to Bob, Bob will be the communication contact with PRC, and candidate if necessary, and then Bob will let Cyndi know if the applicant has been approved or denied. At approval, Cyndi will then send out certificates.
Motion to adapt communication responsibilities, Donna moved, Marissa seconded, all were in favor.
Donna will invite PRC members to attend November meeting with CHI presentation around changes to the manual.
5. NH Prevention Specialist Champion – Tabled until November meeting.
6. 501(c)3 update – Mary will contact MIH lawyers and will report back in November.
7. New IC&RC Standards & Training Requirements – Biggest changes: 20-hour increase in all training hours (up to our current 120-hour requirement), reduction of 26 hours of ATOD-specific training, and ATOD requirement of work experience has been removed.
8. Citizen’s Comments – Valerie wondered about availability of other trainings to meet violence & suicide prevention requirements. NAMI has gotten a grant to provide trainings that would meet those requirements up to twice/year at a reduced fee. There are other regional opportunities as well. There were questions about whether there’s a face-to-face vs. online training hours cut-off – doesn’t seem to be currently, though Ethics is specifically required in person for the initial application.
Valerie has requested another TOT for Ethics from Northeast CAPT, and will report back.
10. Next meeting: November 25, 2013, CHI, Bow, NH (2nd Floor) at 8:30am.
11. Donna moved to adjourn, Mary seconded, all were in favor. Adjourned at 10:20am.
Marissa Carlson,
Secretary