Meeting Minutes Details
Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative
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Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative
Advisory Board
- Doug Harris Virginia Department of Health
- Kathy Hayfield Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services
- Pat Tiernan
- John Ward, M.D. Medical College of Virginia
- Philip Brown Charlottesville Police Department
- Robert Boyd, IIdisAbility Resource Center
- Patricia Goodall Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services
- Eleanor WilliamsVirginia Department of Rehabilitative Services
- Sandra Prince Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services
The Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative (CNI) Advisory Board met to review the Option B: Community-Based Rehabilitative Services grant proposals and the recommendations of the grant review panel.John Ward, Chair, convened the meeting at 9:30 a.m. at the Department of Rehabilitative Services, 8004 Franklin Farms Drive, Richmond, Virginia. Members and guests introduced themselves.
A public comment period was held. No public comments were offered.
Kathy Hayfield made a motion to approve the minutes of the February 5, 2001 meeting; the motion passed unanimously.
Doug Harris informed the Board that DRS and VDH are submitting a proposed legislative change to transfer primary responsibility for administering the Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative Trust Fund to the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services from the Virginia Department of Health. Mr. Harris also noted that a provision was included to allow a percentage of the fund balance to cover the administrative costs of administering the CNI fund. Dr. Ward stated that he fully supported the change in legislation, but felt that the wording in the provision for administrative costs should be changed to “a percentage of the fund be used to pay for the fixed and documented costs of administering the fund”. Mr. Harris stated that he would recommend the change in wording to Dr. Petersen, State Health Director, prior to her meeting with Dr. Rossiter, Secretary of Health and Human Resources. Dr. Ward stated that he would contact Dr. Rossiter in support of the proposed legislative changes.
Patti Goodall informed the Board that DRS and VDH had developed an Interagency Agreement to define the responsibilities of each agency as it pertained to the CNI Trust Fund. The agreement between the two agencies was necessary in order for VDH to transfer funds to DRS to award and administer the grants selected for funding by the CNI Advisory Board.
Sandra Prince provided the Board members with a matrix of the grant review panel’s recommendations. Ms. Prince noted that the panel reviewed and scored each grant proposal based on the screening criteria from the RFP. She also noted that the panel provides recommendations to the Board for their consideration, but that the Board has the responsibility for making the final selection of grantees to be funded.
Prior to reviewing the individual grant proposals, Dr. Ward briefed the Board members on the screening criteria, the funding priorities, and the purpose of Option B: Community-Based Rehabilitative Services, per the Request for Proposals (RFP). This ensured that each Board member had a clear understanding of the selection criteria and the Board’s responsibility for selecting grantees to be awarded funding.
Per the Request For Proposals (RFP), the Board exercised its option to disqualify from consideration for funding any project that received an average panel score below 60. The Board’s decision to award funding took into consideration, but was not based solely on, the recommendations of a preliminary review panel. The Board also gave priority for funding to proposals that, in its opinion, responded most fully to the seven (7) funding priorities contained in the RFP. The final decisions regarding the amount and period of funding were made at the discretion of the CNI Advisory Board, per the Code of Virginia which established the CNI Advisory Board. The Advisory Board determined that the following proposals were considered the most advantageous and best suited for funding:
1)Brain Injury Services, Fairfax, Virginia
2)Community Futures – The Millhouse, Richmond, Virginia
3)Commonwealth Support Systems, Eastern Shore, Virginia
4)Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center, Fishersville, Virginia
5)Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia, Radford, Virginia
6)John Jane Brain Injury Center (Mary Bridle/Leigh Wion), Charlottesville,Virginia
7)Brain Injury Association of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia – One year provisional funding upon successful completion of timelines, objectives and milestones.
Two proposals that received a panel review score of 60 or above were not recommended for funding for the following reasons:
1)University of Virginia (submitted by Dr. Alfano) – Board members stated that this proposal was a worthy one, but because it was primarily educational in nature (and should be submitted as an educational grant opportunity through another funding resource) it did not meet the stated priorities of the RFP.
2)Community Solutions (submitted by Lisa Miller) – Board members stated that this proposal appeared to be a duplication of services in the Northern Virginia based upon the number of service providers in that area. The Board also stated that they felt a primarily recreational proposal was not deemed most advantageous given the pressing needs of people with brain injury across the state. Finally, there was no evidence of sustainability of the project following the termination of a grant award.
A motion was made by Kathy Hayfield that the seven Option B grant proposals that were selected for funding be approved. The motion was carried unanimously.
There were five (5) proposals that received a panel review score below 60. These proposals were eliminated from further discussion. The Board encourages the organizations to consider submitting grant proposals during the next Request for Proposal funding cycle:
1)University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
2)Community Solutions, Alexandria, Virginia
3)National Rehabilitation & Rediscovery Foundation, Inc., Arlington, Virginia
4)Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
5)Endependence Center, Inc., Norfolk, Virginia
6)John Jane Brain Injury Center (Dr. Hong), Charlottesville, Virginia
7)H.I.G.H. Hopes, Richmond, Virginia
Dr. Ward made a motion to adjourn; the motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m.
