Policy: 132
Marion and Dillon Counties Human Rights Committee, (HRC)
P R O C E D U R E & B Y - L A W S
Philosophy: The Marion and Dillon Counties Human Rights Committee, (HRC), shall operate in accordance with the SCDDSN Policy Directive 532-02-DD. The HRC shall operate for the benefit and advocacy of the consumers that are served by the Marion-Dillon County Board of Disabilities and Special Needs, (MDDSN). The members of the HRC should be impartial in their decisions and shall always consider the rights of the consumers. The HRC may advise the MDDSN Executive Director from a community perspective that ensures consumers are treated with respect and dignity. The HRC may also serve as a point of grievance for consumers that wish to appeal decisions made for or on behalf of the consumer. The MDDSN will also provide clerical support for the HRC and will provide an agency liaison to assist the committee chairperson.
Membership: The HRC shall be appointed by the MDDSN Board of Directors and will consist of nine (9) members from the local area which shall also include a consumer(s). Members will be appointed for a three (3) year term and may be reappointed for one additional consecutive term. A chairperson will be nominated annually by the membership rotating each year from one county to the other. Terms will be staggered for the purpose of continuity. Former employees of MDDSN shall not be eligible to serve on the HRC until they have been separated from the agency for at least two (2) years.
Meetings: The HRC will conduct regular scheduled meetings at least once every quarter. Additional meetings may be called as necessary by the committee chair to take care of additional business. In addition, telephone polls to committee members may be taken when emergency situations arise that need immediate HRC approval. Examples could include implementation or change of behavior support plans including restraint use or changes in medication. The HRC's regular scheduled meeting shall take place on the fourth (4th) Tuesday of the month beginning the quarter unless otherwise scheduled. The agenda and prior meeting minutes for the regular scheduled meeting shall be sent to each committee member at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting. The executive director of the MDDSN or his/her designee shall attend each committee meeting. Other agency staff of MDDSN as appropriate shall also attend at the direction of the executive director or the committee chair. Professional staff and consultants such as behavioral analysts, doctors, nurses, therapists, etc. may also attend at the request of the committee chair, executive director or the consumer and/or family/guardian. Costs of attending for professional staff shall be paid from the MDDSN budgets.
Quorum: A quorum of the committee will be considered five (5) or more committee members. A quorum will be needed to be present in order to conduct business. The majority vote will rule on matters and decisions made. "Robert's Rules of Order" will be followed and implemented by the committee chair. Note: on telephone polls an attempt will be made to contact all committee members for a vote on the emergency item. At least five (5) committee members will be needed to vote in the affirmative to approve an issue requiring an emergency telephone poll.
Attendance: Members are urged to attend all meetings due to the importance of advocating on behalf of the consumers. Attendance of committee members and sign-in sheets for all others in attendance will be kept for all meetings. Attendance logs will be submitted annually to SCDDSN Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement Director. Members who fail to attend three (3) meetings without proper excuse from the committee chair or half of the meetings in one particular fiscal year will be removed from the committee.
Resignation/Termination: Members will hopefully serve out their terms but may resign at anytime by sending a resignation in writing to the committee chairperson. Members, who are not in harmony with the mission of the agency and the philosophies outlined above to the extent that it negatively impacts the quality of services being delivered to consumers, may be terminated by the committee by a majority vote.
Subcommittees: Subcommittees of the HRC may be organized for specific purposes in order to meet its responsibilities. Examples of subcommittees could be medication review, behavior support plan review, grievance appeal, etc. A subcommittee will consist of at least three (3) members.
Confidentiality: All information concerning people receiving services and their families and staff shall be held in strict confidence. HRC members shall sign a statement of confidentiality upon appointment along with a statement adhering to HIPAA regulations. Any staff attending the HRC will also keep information confidential per agency policy and HIPAA requirements.
Case Presentations: A summary will be prepared by appropriate agency staff for the committee to review in order to make an informed decision. Information concerning the consumer will be coded by using the consumer's first name initial and last name initial. Summaries may contain background information and history, summaries of critical incident reports, doctor's orders, signed informed consent, plan meetings, consumer or family concerns, current situation, recommended action, etc. Consumers and/or their representative wishing to attend the HRC may do so by informing their Service Coordinator or Residential Administrator or CRCF Administrator. Their attendance shall overrule the coding requirement.
Training: A training folder will be kept on each committee member. Training shall include a basic orientation for new members that will be the responsibility of the MDDSN Executive Director and appropriate staff. A training manual developed by SCDDSN for the HRC will be used in this orientation. In addition on-going training will be given by appropriate agency staff and other committee members on a one-to-one basis or prior to regular scheduled committee meetings. All training will be documented and placed in the committee member's training folder.
Quality Assurance: The Quality Assurance/Risk Management Team of the MDDSN will review the minutes of each HRC meeting and will provide proper feedback and follow-up to the committee and/or appropriate staff to make sure these procedures are being implemented and is in accordance with rule and regulation. In addition copies of HRC meeting minutes will be forwarded to the appropriate SCDDSN District Office representative for their review and feedback.