The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Personal Care Attendant Quality Home Care Workforce Council One Ashburton Place, Room 1109 Boston, MA 02108 Personal Care Attendant Quality Home Care Workforce Council Minutes Date: November 21, 2006 Time: 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Place: One Ashburton Place, 21st floor Boston, MA 02108 Attendees: Tim Murphy (Chair), Joe Bellil, Larry Braman, Eileen Brewster, Liz Casey, Jane Edmonds, Patricia Johnston, Joseph Tringali, Paul Spooner The following materials were distributed to council members: the agenda, contact information and biographies of all members, copy of chapter 268, information on Massachusetts general laws, state ethics hand-out, and entire PowerPoint presentation. I. Welcome by the Chair Chair, Timothy Murphy introduced himself and welcomed the members and public to the PCA Quality Home Care Workforce Council inaugural meeting. II. Introductions of Council Members The other 8 members introduced themselves and shared perspectives of the Council’s role. III. Review of Chapter 268 of the Acts of 2006 – Secretary Timothy Murphy a.) Mr. Murphy walked through Chapter 268 to give members a baseline from which to view the Council’s authority and responsibilities, explained how each member was appointed as part of the council, the duties that are to be carried out, and the importance of the council’s relationship with the federal government, state, and local agencies. 1.) 150E—allows employees to bargain on wages, benefits, and terms of employment. Basically, it is to set up a structure for PCA attendants to be able to negotiate with the council. 2.) 180—allows union dues and allowances in regards to payroll deductions. b.) The PCA council is independent even though it is part of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. For this reason, funding is necessary and anticipated, and the council will be responsible for proposing a budget request to the Governor. Secretary Murphy then clarified the relationship of the Council budget and payment for services to the Mass Health budget. IV. Review of applicable state statutes Judi Goldberg, Deputy Counsel for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, reviewed 3 Massachusetts General Laws with the council 1) The Open Meeting Law a. Notice (at least 48 hours) b. Minutes (which are open to the public) c. Conduct of Meeting d. Executive Session e. Convening an Executive Session f. Enforcement of the Open Meeting Law ~ Voting: One must be physically present in order to vote, one can not vote if they are teleconferencing. ~ Collective bargaining: One must bring all their questions to the council. 2) Conflict of Interest Law V. Overview of the current MassHealth PCA program – Rachel Richards, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elder Affairs Office of Long Term Care IV. Next Steps Council members should bring ideas of useful ways to structure the council through subcommittees (which follow “The Open Meeting Law”) with appropriate expectations of each subcommittee to be voted on next meeting. 1. Mr. Murphy suggested the following subcommittees: i. Governance/Administration—to make up the By-Laws; to develop budgets ii. Training Quality—responsible for how PCAs are trained iii. Develop Database—to list the individuals in the progam iv. Communication—to reach out and voice the consumers. b.) Next meeting will be in December, an email will be sent out to council members shortly. ~The meeting was motioned to adjourn by Tim Murphy, seconded by Jane Edmonds, and all voted unanimously at 3:00pm Respectfully Submitted By, Timothy Murphy