Co-Chair (1-year term):

The Co-chairs shall be authorized to act in place of the Chairperson when so directed by the Chairperson and/or when the Chairperson is absent or disabled. The Co-chairs shall have such other and further duties as the Chairperson and the NCAB shall require.

Secretary (1-year term):

The Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings of the NCAB, and shall assure that all members are informed as to time and place of each membership meeting. The Secretary shall have such other duties as are customary for a secretary of a board and as the Chairperson and the NCAB shall require.

Members at Large (2 available - one is a 1-year term, the other a 2-year term)

Members at Large shall be responsible for:

a. Collecting and reporting consumer involvement on committees to the Executive Committee; 

b. Ensuring that agenda, minutes, and background materials arrive in advance of Committee meetings that they chair;

c. Keeping the Executive Committee informed of issues related to committee work;

d. Keeping the Executive Committee informed of feedback from consumer involvement on committees;

e. Keeping the consensus process on-track;

f. Identifying the needs of NCAB and reporting those to the Executive Committee and/or staff as appropriate;

g. Facilitating meetings as needed; and

h. Contacting NCAB membership to update information, maintain membership, etc.

*Other duties as assigned. The current NCAB executive committee is considering suggesting changes to the By-Laws at the National Conference and this may change some of the job duties listed above. 

In an effort to grow the consumer movement, NCAB and the National HCH Council are establishing five new Regional Representatives to work in concert with the NCAB Executive Officers. The exact nature of these positions will grow over time, but the intent is to assist NCAB in reaching out to consumers and Consumer Advisory Boards locally. Professional development and the opportunity to work on national issues is also intended. These positions will be elected by majority vote at the 2011 Conference. If you are interested in growing with the position then please fill out the nomination form.

To nominate yourself or someone else who fits the descriptionS above and can fill one of these roles, please submit a nomination form and résumé to ncab@nhchc.org.  

Good afternoon everyone,

The 2011 HCH Conference and Policy Symposium is fast approaching and plans should be made if you or a representative from your project intend to join us for the Conference.

This year's Conference is to be held at the Hyatt-Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C. from June 22^nd-25^th.  The announcement for Consumer Scholarships went out recently and consumers from around the country are encouraged to apply.  If you missed the announcement do not worry.  Further information and the application can be found here but do not wait too long as applications are due by April 15, 2011.  

In addition to encouraging attendance, I also wanted to pass along some lessons learned from past Conferences.  As stated in the Council announcement, consumers at prior Conferences have had difficulty checking into the hotel due to the requirement to provide a credit card at check in.  We suggest that the hotel rooms for consumers be secured with an agency credit card to avoid this difficulty.

Another consideration for consumers attending the Conference is that of spending money.  We strongly recommend that consumers bring money for the meals and incidentals not covered under the Conference Scholarship.  Breakfast and lunch are included as part of the Conference but dinner and meals during travel days are not included.  A further consideration on travel days is baggage fees.  Some airlines do not charge such fees but if they do, it is not covered by the Scholarship. We encourage you to determine if baggage fees are charged by the airline booked for consumer flights and plan accordingly.  Considering the fixed and limited income of most consumers, we would suggest providing some monetary allowance for these potential needs.

It is our intention to make the experience of each consumer attending the Conference a pleasant and rewarding experience.  By taking these concerns into account we feel we will be able to accomplish just that.  Thank-you for your attention to this matter and I hope you will encourage consumers from your project to apply for the Scholarship to attend this year's Conference.

I look forward to seeing you in June..........

Sincerely,

Amy Grassette

Chair-National Consumer Advisory Board

The Safe Link Program offers a free phone to low income individuals who meet certain criteria under federal or state programs, for example: Food Stamps, Social Security, and other programs that are listed by the Federal Communications Commission. For people in need with few means the program can be great.  Having a phone allows people to connect with providers and have emergency access to whatever services that they need.  The problem is that if you don't have a legal mailing address, you cannot obtain a phone, and if someone else at your address has a Safe Link phone, you can not acquire one because the state regulations only allow one Safe Link phone per address.

So if you live in a group home, residential program, or homeless shelter, you can not get the help from Safe Link, which I feel is the population this program was designed for. No one seems to be monitoring this program and we fear that it is making more of a profit for the Safe Link Company than helping the people that need the services.

Barney Frank's office has been helpful in inquiring into this matter, but it is still boggled down in red tape with the FCC. Our suggestion is to simply allow case managers or designated human services professionals the ability to apply for Safe Link phones for consumers that do not have legal mailing addresses due to homelessness.

Let's make the program work for the people that it was intended for. We have too many men, women, and children out in the street without the ability to communicate with their health care network or even to call 9-11.

Well here's something that really tics me off!  It's bad enough that I don't qualify for Medicaid and I can't afford medical insurance that my job offers.  I try to keep myself as healthy as I can so I don't have to end up in the ER, but sometimes it is unavoidable. A recent 2 hour visit cost me $2,000 so trust me, I try to avoid it.

My health insurance struggles are one thing, but now my daughter writes me that she fears something is medically wrong with her. I suggest she go to the Doctor and she tells me she has no insurance and she can't afford to pay the bill.  It worries me. 

She lives in Texas and up until recently she and my Granddaughter Emy had been staying in a Salvation Army shelter since they moved there approximately 9 months ago. Recently though, my daughter was able to get a job at a family owned grocery store and fit in real good with them. With the help of case management at the Salvation Army, and saving what little she could spare, Beca finally got to move into a two bedroom trailer. My Granddaughter is 13 and still at home. The state of Texas has provided Health insurance for my granddaughter but my daughter says that she personally can't get health insurance in the state of Texas. She says she doesn't qualify...WHY?

I just want to know, who really does qualify for Medicaid? I thought mothers with children, disabled persons, and Senior Citizens did!? 

My daughter likes working, and feels better about herself than she has in a very long time. She wants to continue to provide for herself and her daughter, but if she can't get the medical attention that she needs then she may end up having to quit, or even worse, lose the job. It would be like she's being punished for doing all the right stuff.

Now we all know that wages in Texas are nothing to write home about, so it's not like she makes too much money...everything she makes goes into her rent, utilities, telephone, car insurance and gasoline. The phone really is a necessity with a 13 yr old daughter at home. 
 
Now she has something medically wrong with her and if she can't get help with that, then that whole vicious cycle will start all over again. She'll lose her house, become homeless, have to go back into a shelter and be without all over again, not to mention what it will do to my granddaughter!...Something's got to give!!!   HELP! If anybody has any answers,  knows who to contact, or what the process is to help my daughter get the help she needs, then I'm all ears and am willing to do the work. Just please let me know what to do. I need your help!