Current through Register No. 40, October 3, 2024
(a) The bureau
shall initiate the area agency designation process by publishing a notice in a
newspaper or newspapers of area-wide distribution to convey information about:
(1) The role and responsibilities of the area
agency;
(2) Membership on the area
board; and
(3) The area agency
application and designation process, including the closing date for submission
of application materials required by (c) below.
(b) Existing boards of private, non-profit
agencies, including community mental health programs approved pursuant to
RSA
135-C:10, may apply for designation as an
area agency provided that the requirements under
RSA
171-A:18,
He-M
505.04(g), and (d) below have been
met.
(c) An applicant group shall
submit the following area agency application materials to the bureau:
(1) The name of the applicant group's contact
person;
(2) Written assurances of
adherence to these rules and applicable federal and state laws and
rules;
(3) A personal data summary
for each member of the applicant group, which shall:
a. Contain information documenting the
person's experience and knowledge as required by (d) below; and
b. Demonstrate that the person is not
excluded from board membership pursuant to
He-M
505.04(g)(5);
(4) A description of the unmet service needs
of individuals and how the applicant group proposes to meet those service
needs; and
(5) A written proposal
which shall include a line item budget and a description of all services to be
provided.
(d) The members
of the applicant group shall collectively demonstrate, through the submission
of personal data summaries as required in (c)(3) above, experience in
development and provision of services as well as knowledge of the fiscal,
legal, and management issues of services and of the needs and abilities of
individuals. The members of the applicant group shall have a demonstrated
commitment to community-based, individual -directed services and have the
capacity to meet the needs of individuals and families.
(e) The designation process shall be as
follows:
(1) The commissioner shall solicit
and consider comments from individuals, their families, and other stakeholders,
such as local human services, educational, or advocacy organizations, in the
area as to the ability of the applicant group(s) to carry out its
responsibilities as stated in
He-M
505.03 and
He-M
505.04;
(2) The commissioner shall review the
materials submitted by each applicant group as specified in (c) above and such
information as is obtained from comments as provided in (e)(1) above;
(3) The commissioner shall select for site
review the applicant group(s) that appear to be able to comply with all
applicable state and federal laws and rules;
(4) The applicant group that is determined to
be able to best comply with applicable deferral and state laws and rules shall
receive designation as the area agency within 75 days following the date of the
application deadline by the commissioner;
(5) Designation shall be for a 5-year term,
unless revoked or suspended pursuant to
He-M
505.07 or
He-M
505.08 or unless an agency applies for redesignation
in accordance with He-M 505.09;
(6) The commissioner shall notify each
applicant group that does not receive designation of the reason why the
applicant group was not designated;
(7) If there is no applicant group selected
for designation in the area, the commissioner shall notify each applicant group
and request that a second submission of application materials occur within 30
days following notification by the commissioner;
(8) If no applicant group in the area
receives designation following the second submission of area agency application
materials, the commissioner shall reinitiate the application procedure for
designation of an area agency and either appoint an interim area agency to
operate in the area or designate department staff to temporarily operate area
agency services until a new area agency can be designated; and
(9) An applicant group denied designation by
the commissioner shall have the right to appeal pursuant to
He-M
505.12.
(f) An agency that has had its status as an
area agency revoked in accordance with
He-M
505.07, shall not be eligible to apply for designation
as a successor area agency for 5 years following the date of the
revocation.
(g) In cases where 2 or
more areas are consolidated as a result of amendment of
He-M
505.05, the commissioner shall select one area agency
as the designated area agency for the new consolidated area using the criteria
identified in He-M
505.09(f)-(g). The area agency
selected shall be one of the area agencies previously designated to serve the
areas being consolidated.
#1647, eff 10-14-80; ss by #2020, eff 5-11-82; ss by
#2678, eff 4-18-84; ss by #4667, eff 8-25-89; ss by #4729, eff 1-15-90,
EXPIRED: 1-15-96
New. #6871, eff 10-21-98; ss by
#8728, INTERIM, eff 10-21-06, EXPIRED: 4-19-07
New. #8928, eff
6-30-07
