Title 42

SECTION 56.304

56.304 Governing board.

§ 56.304 Governing board.

The governing board of the center must meet the following requirements:

(a) Size. The board must consist of at least 9 but not more than 25 members except that this provision may be waived by the Secretary for good cause shown.

(b) Composition. (1) A majority of the board members must be migratory and seasonal agricultural workers and members of their families who are or will be served by the center and who, as a group, represent the individuals being or to be served in terms of demographic factors, such as race, ethnicity, and sex.

(2) No more than two-thirds of the remaining members of the board may be individuals who derive more than 10 percent of their annual income from the health care industry.

(3) The remaining members of the board must be representatives of the community in which the center's catchment area is located and shall be selected for their expertise in relevant subject areas, such as community affairs, local government, finance and banking, legal affairs, trade unions, and other commercial and industrial concerns, or social services within the community.

(4) No member of the board shall be an employee of the center, or spouse or child, parent, brother or sister by blood of marriage of such an employee. The project director may be a nonvoting, ex-officio member of the board.

(c) Selection of members. The method of selection must be prescribed in the by-laws or other internal governing rules of the center. Such by-laws or other rules must specify a process of selection of individuals on the governing board who represent the population served or to be served by the center so that such individuals, as a group, are representative of such population. Such process of selection in the by-laws or other rules is subject to approval by the Secretary.

(d) Functions and responsibilities. (1) The governing board shall have authority for the establishment of policy in the conduct of the center.

(2) The governing board shall hold regularly scheduled meetings, at least once each month, except for periods of the year, as specified in the bylaws, during which monthly meetings are not practical due to migration out of the catchment area.

(3) Minutes must be kept for all regularly scheduled meetings of the board.

(4) The governing board shall have specific responsibility for:

(i) Approval of the selection and dismissal of the project director or chief executive officer of the center;

(ii) Establishing personnel policies and procedures, including selection and dismissal procedures, salary and benefit scales;

(iii) The development of bylaws which specify the responsibility of the board and principal operating officials of the centers;

(iv) Adopting policy for financial management practices, including a system to assure accountability for center resources, approval of the annual project budget, center priorities, eligibility for services, including criteria for partial payment schedules, and long-range financial planning;

(v) Evaluating center activities, including services utilization patterns, productivity of the center, patient satisfaction, achievement of project objectives, and development of a process for hearing and resolving patient grievances;

(vi) Assuring that the center is operated in compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local laws and regulations; and

(vii) Adopting health care policies including scope and availability of services, location and hours of services, and quality assurance procedures.

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