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The Advisory Council is composed of 1) individuals with disabilities 2) parents, spouses or guardians of persons with disabilities and 3) representatives of state, local or private agencies or groups that provide assistance to persons with disabilities. The current membership is shown in the table that follows.
The Advisory Council has the overall purpose of acting as a conduit for information between Project START and relevant agencies, service providers and individuals with disabilities. More information about the purpose of the Advisory Council is available in the By-Laws and Procedures, which can be found at the end of this document.
Current Advisory Council Members
Click the link to view the list of Advisory Council Members
BY-LAWS AND PROCEDURES
- NAME AND PURPOSE
- The name of the organization shall be the Project START (Success Through Assistive/Rehabilitative Technology) Advisory Council
- The Advisory Council is established pursuant to the terms of the Mississippi Grant provided under the Technology-Related Assistance Act of 1988 (Tech Act)
- It shall be the purpose of the Advisory Council to:
- Provide guidance in the development and implementation of strategies to overcome barriers regarding access to, provision of, and funding for assistive technology services and devices.
- Provide guidance to State agencies and local planning and administrative entities providing assistive technology devices and services.
- Ensure consumer-responsiveness through input from relevant agencies, organizations and groups.
- ORGANIZATION
- The voting membership of the Advisory Council shall be composed of those agencies, organizations and groups as specified in Mississippi's Tech Act Grant, unless otherwise replaced by the Council. The Committee will be:
- Individuals with disabilities;
- Parents, spouses, or guardians of individuals with disabilities;
- Representatives of the principle state, local, and non-governmental agencies and groups concerned with assistive technology services;
- The membership of the Advisory Council shall consist of no less than fifteen (15) nor more than twenty five (25) members.
- The Advisory Council will have at least a simple majority of members who are themselves disabled or who are the direct representation of people with disabilities (e.g. advocacy groups, parents, spouses).
- Members shall be appointed for the term of the grant.
- In the event of a resignation or other vacancy on the Advisory Council, the Advisory Council shall appoint a new member to complete the term of office for the vacant position.
- A member of the Advisory Council may be removed by the Advisory Council if:
- He or she no longer qualifies, for some reason, to be a member of the Advisory Council or;
- The Council member misses two (2) consecutive meetings without good cause. In the event that a Council member is not able to attend a meeting, the member is required to notify the Project START staff, giving the reason. Council members may appoint representatives to attend meetings in their place. This person must agree to be a permanent representative in order to insure consistency.
In the event that a Council member misses two (2) consecutive meetings without good cause and is not represented at the meeting, the Project START Director will send said member a letter citing the by-laws and asking for a response. If there is no response or satisfactory explanation, the Council member will be asked to resign.
- Resignation by any member must be in writing and submitted to the Project Director.
- OFFICERS
- The chairperson of the Advisory Council shall be a representative of a consumer elected by the members of the Advisory Council. The term of the chairperson shall be one year. Election shall be held during the first meeting of the year (July) with the exception of the year in which the Projects begins. That election will be held at the October Advisory Council meeting. The duties of the Chairperson shall be to:
- Chair all meetings of the Advisory Committee
- Act as liaison between the Advisory Council and the Project and the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.
- The vice-chairperson shall likewise be a representative of a consumer elected by the members of the Advisory Council. The term of office of the vice-chairperson shall be one year. The duties of the vice-chairperson shall be to assume the role and duties of the chairperson in the event that the chairperson is unable to function in that role.
- COMMITTEES
- The Project shall be aided in its operation by study committees. There will be three (3) standing committees with Ad Hoc committees created as needed. Members of these committees shall consist of between three and five Advisory Council members. Ad Hoc committee members will be determined by need. Election of committee members shall be held at the July meeting each year.
- Committees shall perform all tasks as assigned by the Advisory Council and shall report all results to the Project Director.
- The following standing committees will be established to guide the Projects:
- RFP review Committee
- Project Evaluation Committee
- Training/Information Clearinghouse Committee
- FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Advisory Council shall make its recommendations to Project START through the Project Director .
- MEETINGS
- MEETING RULES:
- A quorum shall be constituted by a simple majority of the Advisory Council membership.
- In absence of the Chairperson, the Council shall designate a temporary chairperson to preside at the meeting.
- The Advisory Council Chairperson and the Project Director will be responsible for handling emergency matters requiring immediate Advisory Council attention prior to the next scheduled meeting. The Project Director shall coordinate all committee assignments and preview proposed agenda items.
- Written notice stating the place, date, and hour of any meeting shall be delivered personally or by mail to the last known address of each member not less than ten (10) days before the data of such meeting.
- MEETING SCHEDULE
- The Advisory Council shall meet at least quarterly. Additional meetings may be necessary to transact business and will be called by the Project Director.
- At each quarterly meeting, the Advisory Council will schedule the date, time and place of the next regular meeting.
- Special meetings shall be called as needed.
- Advisory Council members shall indicate their ability to attend each scheduled meeting. In the event a quorum would not be present, the Chairperson shall notify the Council for purposes of canceling or rescheduling the meeting.
- MEETING PROCEDURES
- All meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the Mississippi Public Meeting Act and business transacted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order, Revised Edition.
- Proposed agenda items shall be transmitted to Advisory Council members ten (10) days prior to a scheduled meeting. Additional items may be placed on the agenda, if approved by a majority vote, at the beginning of each meeting.
- Supported materials for agenda items shall be in written form and mailed to Advisory Council members along with the agenda prior to the meeting whenever possible.
- The agenda shall contain a public comment period, during which any person or organization desiring to address the Advisory Council may be heard. The Advisory Council may establish a specific length of time for such public comments.
- All votes shall be by roll call and the vote of each Advisory Council member shall be recorded and made part of the minutes of the meeting. Election of officers shall be by secret ballots, with results tallied announced in the minutes of the meeting.
- The minutes of each meeting shall be mailed to the Advisory Council member within ten (10) working days after the meeting. Copies of the minutes shall be made available to the public upon request. This will be done on an alternative medium upon request.
- CHANGES TO OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
Changes to these operational procedures may be made upon approval by a two-thirds vote of the members present at the Advisory Council meeting following the meeting at which the changes were introduced.
Revised: March, 1996
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