Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(1)
Application and Evaluation for Full Approval.
(a) A parent institution may apply for full
approval using an application form specified by the Board for that purpose. The
form shall be completed and signed by the individual appointed as administrator
for the Community Health Worker Education and Training Program and shall be
accompanied by all documentation specified in the application form.
(b) The Board shall recognize the Community
Health Worker Education and Training Program that is the subject of a fully
complete and signed application for full approval by granting "pending
application" status. The Board's recognition, by itself, does not qualify the
program as a Board approved Community Health Worker Education and Training
Program that would satisfy the certification requirement at 272 CMR 4.02(1)(a).
The Board may refuse to recognize a program that is the subject of an
application that contains omissions or that is not signed.
(c) An application form that is submitted
without all items required is incomplete. The Board may refuse to evaluate an
incomplete application. Incomplete application forms shall expire one year from
the date of the Board's receipt of the form. The Board may refuse to act on an
expired application and may require that the parent institution submit a new
application.
(d) The Board shall
direct notices, correspondence and inquiries relating to the application and
items submitted with the application to the program administrator identified in
the application. The program administrator shall be responsible for responding
to Board inquiries and requests for information on behalf of the parent
institution and the program. The program administrator shall notify the Board
of any material changes in the information previously reported or
submitted.
(e) When the Board
determines that it has received a fully complete and signed application for
full approval that includes all required items, the Board shall evaluate the
Community Health Worker Education and Training Program to determine whether it
meets the minimum standards specified in 272 CMR 5.03. The Board may request
that representative(s) of the parent institution, the program administrator, or
both appear before the Board to answer Board member inquiries as part of the
Board's evaluation. The Board may also request that representative(s) of the
parent institution, the program administrator, or both provide additional
documentation relevant to the program's capacity to meet minimum
standards.
(2)
Approval Denied. The Board shall assign approval
denied status to a Community Health Worker Education and Training Program if
the Board determines, after evaluation in accordance with 272 CMR 5.04(1)(e),
that a program has not demonstrated the capacity to meet the minimum standards
for full approval. The Board's notice shall include, in addition to the status
and status effective date, the standard(s) which the Board determined that the
program did not meet.
(3)
Full Approval and Annual Reporting.
(a) If the Board determines, after evaluation
in accordance with 272 CMR 5.04(1)(e), that a Community Health Worker Education
and Training Program has demonstrated the capacity to meet the minimum
standards for full approval specified in 272 CMR 5.03, the Board shall assign
full approval status to that program. The Board's notice shall include, in
addition to the status and status effective date, the date that the program
administrator must submit the program's first annual report.
(b)
Annual Report Requirement and
Deferral. A Community Health Worker Education and Training Program
with full approval status shall submit a fully completed and signed Annual
Report, on a form specified by the Board for that purpose, on an annual basis.
The report must be filed between September 1st and
October 1st of each calendar year. The Board may
choose to defer the Annual Report for a calendar year for a program that has
been assigned full approval status during that calendar year. Upon written
request by the program administrator and for good cause shown, the Board may
defer a program's Annual Report deadline for up to one year, provided that the
Board has not granted a deferral to the program at any time during the
preceding 24 months.
(c) If the
Annual Report indicates that the program has undergone material changes since
the Board assigned full approval and those changes are of a nature that may
impair the program's capacity to meet the minimum standards for full approval
specified in 272 CMR 5.03, the Board may reevaluate the program's approval
status. As part of the reevaluation, the Board may request that
representative(s) of the parent institution, the program administrator, or both
appear before the board to answer Board member inquiries. The Board may also
request that representative(s) of the parent institution, the program
administrator, or both provide additional documentation relevant to the
program's capacity to meet minimum standards.
(4)
Board Reevaluation of
Programs Based on Information Received. In the event that the
Board receives information indicating that an approved program does not in fact
meet one or more minimum standards, or that grounds exist for the Board's
withdrawal of approval pursuant to 272 CMR 5.05, the Board may reevaluate the
program's approval status. As part of the reevaluation, the Board may request
that representative(s) of the parent institution, the program administrator, or
both appear before the board to answer Board member inquiries. The Board may
also request that representative(s) of the parent institution, the program
administrator, or both provide additional documentation relevant to the
program's capacity to meet minimum standards or the existence of grounds for
withdrawal of approval.
(5)
Approval with Warning Status and Reevaluation.
(a)
Failure to Submit Annual
Report. If the program administrator fails to submit a fully
complete and signed Annual Report by October 1st,
without cause and without the Board's deferral pursuant to 272 CMR 5.04(3)(b),
the Board may assign approval with warning status. The Board's notice shall
include, in addition to the status and status effective date, the date by which
the program administrator must submit a fully complete and signed Annual Report
in order to avoid the Board's withdrawal of approval. The Board's notice may
further specify whether or not the Board approves the program's continuing
education activities to satisfy the continuing education requirements at 272
CMR7.02(1).
(b)
Failure
to Meet Minimum Standards.
1. If
the Board determines, after reevaluation in accordance with 272 CMR 5.04(3)(c)
or 272 CMR 5.04(4), that a Community Health Worker Education and Training
Program can no longer demonstrate the capacity to meet the minimum standards
for full approval specified in 272 CMR 5.03, the Board shall assign approval
with warning status. The Board's notice shall include, in addition to the
status and status effective date, the standard(s) which the Board determined
that the program did not meet, the date by which the program administrator must
submit a plan of correction that addresses the unmet standard(s) and a deadline
by which the program must demonstrate the capacity to meet all minimum
standards. The Board may, at the Board's discretion, request that the program
administrator appear before it to answer inquiries about the plan of
correction.
2. After the deadline
specified, the Board shall reevaluate the Community Health Worker Education and
Training Program to determine whether it meets the minimum standards for full
approval specified in 272 CMR 5.03. The Board may request that
representative(s) of the parent institution, the program administrator, or both
appear before the board to answer Board member inquiries as part of the Board's
reevaluation. The Board may also request that representative(s) of the parent
institution, the program administrator, or both provide additional
documentation relevant to the program's capacity to meet minimum
standards.