Committees

All members are asked to actively participate in the processes of the consortium by joining at least one of several standing committees. These committees meet independently and report their findings and recommendations to the consortium at the six bi-monthly meetings.

If you are a member who has not yet joined a committee, we encourage you to do so. You may contact the Chair of the consortium (who will forward your request to the committee chair) by sending an email to: chair@noflacweb.org

You may also sign up for committee membership at any consortium meeting.

Here is the section of our by-laws on committees:


ARTICLE SIX – Committees

Section 1: Primary Standing Committees – Members must select a Primary Standing Committee on which to participate. It is recommended that at least 25% of all Committees be people living with HIV/AIDS or affected by HIV/AIDS. Committees will meet as determined by the needs of the Consortium.

The decisions of each committee will be based primarily on consensus building that takes place during duly called committee meetings at which a quorum (33%) of all current voting members is present. Should the voting members fail to reach a consensus within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the Committee Chair, the Chair may invoke Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised and call for a vote on any specific issue by putting forth a motion. A simple majority of votes cast on any such issue shall be sufficient to decide the issue. The Committee Chair shall abstain from voting in such instances, unless the Chair’s vote would either cause or break a tie, in which case the Chair may use their discretion in voting.

Section 1a: Needs and Resources Committee – The purpose of the Needs and Resources Committee is to conduct an annual Resource Inventory of all HIV/AIDS services and determine the needs of the clients and communities served by HIV/AIDS services (through focus groups, surveys, interviews, and other acceptable methods) and guide the Needs Assessment processes utilized by the Lead Agency. The Area 1 Prevention Planning Group is synonymous with this committee by virtue of its function and activities and is hereby incorporated by reference.

Section 1b: Standards and Quality Committee – The Standards and Quality Committee will set Standards of Service for the entire continuum of HIV/AIDS services, participate in the development and implementation of a quality management plan on those services funded by allocations from the Consortium, and other HIV/AIDS services that choose to voluntarily participate in quality management plan development. The committee will work to enhance linkages and create a seamless system of all HIV services in Area 1. The goals of the committee will be to develop an annual action plan and evaluate the HIV services to all populations in Area 1 identified in the Comprehensive Needs Assessment and the Comprehensive Statewide Plan.

Section 2: Steering Committee - The Chair of the Consortium will serve as the Chair of the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee will consist of the Officers of the Consortium and the Chairpersons of each committee. The Steering Committee will oversee the overall community planning process, maintain the bylaws, recruit new members, review conflict of interest claims and provide input to the Lead Agency as needed.

The Committee will review and update bylaws annually or as needed. The Committee will accept written requests for proposed bylaw changes from any active Consortium member, review each request, draft changes, if any, and present the draft recommendations to the Consortium for a final vote.

The Committee will also review and update annually, or as needed, the conflict of interest policy and distribute to all Consortium members. The Committee will review potential conflicts of interest according to established policies and procedures at the request of any active Consortium member.

Vacant Committee Chair positions will be selected and appointed by the Steering Committee in accordance with the by-laws. In the event a Vice-Chair resigns or is no longer able to fulfill their duties, the Steering Committee will convene within 30 days or prior to the next Consortium meeting (whichever comes first) and a replacement will be selected from within its ranks.

Section 3: Secondary Committees – The secondary committees are: Priorities and Allocations, Nominating and Ad-Hoc. The Consortium recommends that at least 25% of all Committees be people living with HIV/AIDS or affected by HIV/AIDS.

Section 3a: Priorities and Allocations – The Priorities and Allocations Committee will conduct priority setting and allocation tasks as required by the Florida Comprehensive Planning Network for the Bureau of HIV/AIDS for the Ryan White Part B funding, as well as by other funding sources. At least 25% of the Priorities and Allocations Committee members must be people living with HIV/AIDS. In determining priorities and allocations, the Committee will rely on the work produced by the needs assessment process which will have direct input from consumers, local AIDS services organizations and the Health Department. Consortium Bylaws will guide Conflict of Interest. All committee members will review their Conflict of Interest statements to insure that they are current and all committee members will complete Conflict of Interest forms. All committee members should place the needs of the entire HIV population above any specific concerns. No more than one member from any agency may vote on the committee. Agency representatives will determine and notify the chair which member will vote. Committee members who are also Ryan White Part B service providers may not vote on their own service categories and are expected to treat all categories fairly. The chair will enforce the conflict of interest policy with the assistance of other committee members. Any committee member who believes a conflict of interest exists is expected to raise his/her concern immediately so that it may be resolved. Clients/consumers do not incur a conflict of interest merely by receiving services from an agency, but DO have a conflict if they are employed by, or are a member of the Board of Directors of an agency. Committee members must be present to vote. Active Committee members are those who have attended two of the last four most recent meetings, including the current meeting. Recommendations to the full Consortium from the Priorities and Allocations Committee will be subject to a strict “up or down” vote (approval or rejection) and may not be amended or modified by the consortium and if rejected will be sent back to the Committee.

Section 3b: Nominating Committee - The Nominating Committee is comprised of no more than five members to identify and present a slate of officer nominees to the Consortium. The Nominating Committee will prepare a slate of officers to nominate for each duly held election by seeking qualified applicants from among current active voting members in good standing. Chair of the Nominating Committee shall be an active voting member selected by voting members during the Consortium meeting and will serve as ex-officio on the Steering Committee. The Nominating Committee convenes in May and prepares a slate of officers to present to the Consortium in July for elections in September.

Section 3c: Ad-Hoc Committees – The Chair may appoint Ad-Hoc committees as he or she deems necessary to address issues that do not logically fall under another committee, or issues that require immediate attention and cannot be addressed by another committee. In appointing such Ad-Hoc committees, the Chair will set a specific task to be completed with an initial timeline for the committee to report back to the Consortium. Ad-Hoc Committees tend to be short in their duration. During the time an Ad-Hoc Committee is constituted, the Chair of that committee shall serve on the Steering Committee.