MN HIV Services Planning Council Meeting

January 9, 2007 9:00 am – 12:00 noon

Plymouth Congregational Church

1900 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis

Minutes

Council Members Present:
Michael Behl	Lee Lewis
Hazel Erickson	Rae Eden Frank
Karin Sabey	Joseph Smith
Ama Sabah	Gerry Tyrrell
Jim Lawser (Co-Chair)	Randall Guilford
Gary Novotny	Susanne Pfeil
Rob Pioli	Gilbert Achay
Francis Mark	Ephraim Olani
Bob Hansen
Council Members Absent:
Andy Ansell (Co-Chair) - excused	John Cyzon - unexcused
Ojuolape Olagbaju - unexcused	Rev. G. Allen Foster – unexcused
LeMonte Graham – excused	Dollina Odera – excused
Consultant:
Becky Kroll - CLEAR
Guests:
Jennifer Houston - Westside	Amy Rue - MAP
Kate Nelson - MAP
G-HAT:
Redwan Hamza – DHS	Eduardo Parra - Hennepin County
Julie Hansen Pérez – MDH
Jonathan Hanft - Hennepin County
Staff:
Wendi Kistner (minutes)	Tim Sullivan

Quorum Present? Yes

I. Welcome and Introductions; Lighting of the Candle

The meeting was called to order at 9:06 am. Lee lit the candle. He will be completing his second term on the Council next month. He wished all current members the best in future planning. Introductions were made.

II. Review the December 12^th Meeting Minutes and Proposed Agenda

The agenda was approved by unanimous consent. After reviewing the minutes several clarifications were made:

· Karin expressed her concern about the statement that utilization is 2% higher than those on MA. She does not think this is accurate and is uncomfortable having this in the minutes. Redwan said the data may not be completely accurate and new data will be available soon. The Council decided to strike this statement from the minutes.

· Julie clarified what the CDC and state money is used for. Some of the CDC funding is used for MDH funding but all state funding goes to community based programs.

· Gary clarified that the 3% cut is a CDC cut and not a state cut.

· Redwan clarified that the Robert Woods Johnson grant is for $100,000 not $275,000.

The minutes, with clarifications and corrections, were approved by unanimous consent.

III. Open Forum

No items

IV. Co-Chairs Update

A joint co-chairs meeting with CCCHAP and the Planning Council took place on Monday. They are putting the potential joint planning conversation on hold because the G-HAT representatives want to wait and see what happens with reauthorization. Since the CARE Act sunsets in three years, it may not be beneficial or feasible to merge prevention and planning efforts if things are going to change.

V. Staff Report

Staff have been working to get caught up on some ongoing projects with the recent lull in Council business.

VI. Title I Update, Jonathan Hanft, Hennepin County

A. Reauthorization – Council members were sent a link to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s side-by-side comparison of the CARE Act and how reauthorization has changed it. Jonathan walked members through several changes. They are:

o Hold Harmless – This controls the amount of funding decrease so that no tier one EMA will lose more than 5%. He is not sure if this will apply to MN. There will be two tiers of Title I EMAs under reauthorization. Jonathan does not know if we will be in the second tier of EMAs. If we are there is a chance that MN will get more than a 5% decrease in funds.

o Grant Award – Title I will most likely not get the award before the beginning of the Title I fiscal year. Adjustments will be made as necessary based on the award. The allocations that the Council approved in August were based on flat funding but since the award could be more or less the Council will need to approve a final budget allocation once the award is received.

B. ACTION ITEM: Reallocation Proposal – Jonathan discussed two documents entitled FY 2007 Carry Over Allocations, Fund Redistribution and Reallocation Proposal and Action Item: Reallocation of Funds. Questions/Comments:

o Ama asked if there are reserve funds available in case Primary Care uses all their resources. Jonathan said if Primary Care spends all of its RWCA allocated funds there are no reserves unless the Council reallocates money to that service activity.

o Jim asked what has already been spent on Primary Care. Jonathan said at the 2^nd quarter report about 70% had been spent.

o Karin asked about Cost Share Assistance spending. Jonathan said they are under utilized. There are some carryover funds for Title II that can be used for cost share assistance as well.

o Randall asked what carryover is. Carryover is any money that is left over from the last fiscal year. In the past HRSA has allowed states to use that money in the next fiscal year when a plan for using that money is clearly defined. With reauthorization there is little chance states will be able to use carryover money and will instead be sent back to HRSA to be redistributed to states that need it for things like ADAP waiting lists, for example. It is also possible that if money is left over that amount could be subtracted from the grant award the next fiscal year.

o Hazel asked how states like North Carolina have ADAP waiting lists. Jonathan said these kinds of states do not have enough money allocated to these services. Some states have better state and federally funded health care programs which can put different levels of burden on ADAP programs.

o Gerry asked if there are other service areas that will spend all their allocation. Jonathan said most areas are on track with their spending. Title I has two months before the end of the fiscal year so the money needs to be reallocated to an area the grantee knows will be spent.

o Randall asked if there is a carryover allocation designated for the service area or the service activity. Jonathan said it is for the service activity. Tim said shifting of funds among a service area does not need to be approved by the Council and can be done by the grantee at any time.

o Ama asked if money is not spent and is sent back to the government if it has to be spent on HIV services or if it can be sent to other areas of the government. Jonathan said it has to be spent on HIV services.

MOTION: Lee made a motion to accept the reallocation proposal. Ama seconded the motion. The motion passed by majority with Karin’s abstention based on her noted conflict of interest.

C. Interpretation Training Development Update – Hennepin County is currently in the process of developing a training plan for interpreters. There is a meeting on Wednesday and if anyone would like to attend let Eduardo know. They are targeting the Hennepin County interpreters, clinic interpreters in Hennepin County, and other county interpreters. There will be an informational meeting for clinic providers so they will know what the training is about. Questions/Comments:

o Bob asked if there is a set of standards for all interpreters. Jonathan said there are no official standards but Hennepin County addresses confidentiality and ethics so any interpreter that works for the county will go through this training. The U of M has an interpretation program.

D. Home Health Care Update – The agency currently providing Home Health Care services will no longer be doing so beginning March 1^st, 2007. The funding they receive is primarily for homemaker services. Hennepin County has been working with another provider to provide these services and is working on an interim plan so clients do not lose their level of service. Questions/Comments:

o Lee asked if an RFP will be done for this. Jonathan said there is not enough time before the end of the fiscal year to do an RFP so one will not be done until the fall with all other RFP’s.

VII. Title II and ADAP Update, Redwan Hamza, MN Dept. of Human Services

A. Hiring/Vacant Positions - The policy and planning position has been filled internally. Redwan was hired for this position. His old position will be posted before the end of this week. Duane Bandel is leaving his position at the end of January. Shirley York’s last day is today. Both positions will be posted shortly.

B. Grant Application – The Title II grant application was submitted but DHS does not know when they will receive their award. They do anticipate getting more funding for ADAP.

C. SAMSHA Grant – The SAMSHA grant that Title II has applied for in the past for chemical dependency is now open. DHS is currently working on the application. The target for this grant are the Latino and African American communities. They are going to fund 65 grants for up to 5 years. DHS and MDH have applied twice in the past and have not received it yet. The deadline is the end of February.

D. Robert Woods Johnson Grant – The RWJ grant that Dave discussed at the last meeting will be used to examine the impact of cost share and its impact on quality of care. This is a short research grant.

E. DHS is asking for a $1.1 million increase for Insurance Premiums. They do not know if it will be approved but the governor’s budget will be announced in two weeks.

F. The assistant commissioner has been reappointed. The acting commissioner was appointed as well. His name is Cal Ludeman. Questions/Comments:

· Jonathan asked about the budget. The department asked for $1.1 increase. The program managers did not agree with the proposal but the assistant commissioner reduced it to $700,000. This money will be used to pay for insurance premiums.

· Karin asked if this increase will eliminate the need for cost share. This will not.

· Joseph asked if Program HH pays for MediCare insurance premiums. Redwan said Program HH is for those enrolled in MediCare Part D and will help pay for copays. Depending on a clients enrollment criteria the program can pay premiums for BC/BS and HealthPartners in addition to the drug program.

VIII. Committee Report

A document entitled Committee Report Summaries was distributed.

· Community Voice – A recruitment luncheon will be held on Friday, January 19^th at HSB from 11:30a.m. – 1:00 p.m. If anyone would like to bring a recruit to lunch contact Council staff for more information and to RSVP. Tim walked Council members through recruitment needs.

o The committee will also be focusing on internal education or training. As a result this committee will begin looking at two SARs per month.

· Executive – no update

· Membership & Training (Ad Hoc) – no update

· Needs Assessment & Evaluation – no update

· Operations

o ACTION ITEM: Bylaws revisions – The Minnesota HIV Services Planning Council Bylaws were distributed again to Council members. The committee has spent almost a year revising the bylaws. The revisions were also distributed at the last meeting. All changes the committee made are in green and the one change made by the Hennepin County Attorney is in red. The committee is recommending approval of the bylaws. MOTION: Lee made a motion to approve all changes to the bylaws. Gary made a second. Questions/Comments:

§ Ama made a clarification that the first paragraph of the bylaws is confusing and asked that it be rephrased to make it more clear. After discussion the Council agreed on new language. Lee accepted the amendment to his motion.

§ Mike asked if the CARE Act name should be updated to reflect the reauthorization. The Council will wait until reauthorization is up in three years.

§ Mike also asked if “carryover” should be removed from the voting abstention portion of the bylaws. Tim said carryover may still be allowed and should be left in the bylaws.

§ Tim described the two suggestions made by the Hennepin County Attorney’s office. The term HRSA was not delineated in Article 4. because it is delineated in Article 2, no change was necessary. The second suggestion dealt with the clarification that the presiding Co-Chair of a meeting does not participate in discussion or vote on an item unless there is a need for a tiebreaking vote.

§ Bob expressed concern that Council members attending a committee that they are not assigned to cannot vote or count toward a quorum. Tim gave history on the decision. The Council agreed this should stay in the bylaws.

§ Randall asked about community membership criteria in committees. It is up to each committee to create their own standards for membership.

§ Karin asked if the new representative categories will be added to the bylaws. Tim encouraged the Council not to at this point since it has not been finalized by HRSA.

§ Bob asked about the appointment of co-chairs of committees. The information is not clearly spelled out in the bylaws.

§ Karin does not think co-chairs should be mandatory because it may cause the appointment of members who do not want to be co-chairs.

§ Susanne stated her concern that if there is only one committee chair they must preside over the meeting and they cannot bring things for action to the committee. Lee made a clarification that the committee chair/co-chair helps develop the agenda and they can always step out of their chair position if they feel strongly about an issue.

Lee restated his motion to accept the bylaws with the language amendment and exclusion of Article 6.2 until it has been reviewed and revised by the Operations committee. The bylaws were approved unanimously.

· Planning & Priorities – no update

IX. Announcements and Evaluation

· Kate, from MAP, made an announcement about AIDS Action Day which will be held on Tuesday, March 6^th from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. A rally at the Capitol rotunda will take place during the noon hour. Meetings with state reps will be scheduled. More information will be made available at the February Council meeting.

X. Am I? Are You?

This presentation will be given at the February Council meeting.

Meeting Adjourned at 10:51 am

Next Agenda:

Meeting Summary:

· The Co-Chairs of the Planning Council and CCCHAP have decided to postpone discussion on joint planning duties until reauthorization and CCCHAP planning becomes more clear.

· Both the Title I and Title II grant applications have been submitted. Neither expects to get their award before the beginning of the next fiscal year. Once the award is received the Council will need to finalize the allocation.

· ACTION ITEM: The Title I reallocation proposal was approved.

· ACTION ITEM: The bylaws were approved with the exception of Article 6.2 which will be reviewed by the Operations Committee and approved at a later date. A clarification was also made to make some language more clear.

Documents Distributed Before the Meeting:

· Agenda

· Minutes from December 14, 2006 meeting

· MN HIV Services Planning Council Proposed Bylaws Revisions

· Reallocation Proposal

Documents Distributed At the Meeting:

· Committee Reports

· Action Item: Reallocation of Funds

· Action Item: MN HIV Services Planning Council Bylaws

WK/tds