San Antonio Hyatt on the Riverwalk

San Antonio, Texas

Wednesday January 9, 2002

Those present were:

Chair: Anthony Diggs, Texas Board of Nurse Examiners

Members: Jayne Bunn, North Carolina DHHS, DFS, Health Care Personnel Registry

Clare Delaney, CIEMS, Oklahoma

David Denchant, Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies

Vicki Fischer, Texas Department of Health

Lisa Hahn, Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation

Judy Knox, North Carolina Board of Nursing

Faye Lemon, Virginia Department of Health Professions

William Marcus, Consultant, California

Patricia Reynolds, Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners

Mack Smith, Kansas Board of Mortuary Arts

Guests: James Carr, Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies

Andre Gariepy, Conseil Interprofessionnel du Quebec

Rosemary McCool, Colorado Division of Registrations

Donna Mooney, North Carolina Board of Nursing, CLEAR President

Staff: Pam Brinegar, CLEAR Executive Director

Adam Parfitt, CLEAR staff

Call to Order
Chair Anthony Diggs called the meeting to order at 1:15 p.m. Central Time and asked those present to introduce themselves. He recognized CLEAR President Donna Mooney and asked her for her comments. President Mooney stated that the meeting of the NCIT subcommittee was crucial to her ‘Recruit, Reclaim and Retain’ campaign. She said that she wants each of the four subcommittees of the Education and Training Committee to produce products and initiatives that would feed into these three themes. Two ad-hoc committees have been formed: a Membership Initiative committee to produce a strategic plan for the Board of Directors by May; and a Special Projects committee to produce two web-based programs for investigators by June (the first concerning fraud investigations and the second sexual misconduct investigations). She also asked the committee to review the Associated Regulatory Investigators (ARI) web site at www.clearhq.org/ari.htm and make suggestions about new content. President Mooney concluded by saying that she hopes the committee will continue its work between January and September to ensure tasks are completed, and that committee members not present at the meeting will be encouraged to be involved in the committee’s work.

Minutes of the January 5, 2001 meeting of the NCIT Subcommittee
On a motion from Clare Delaney and a second by Mack Smith, the minutes were approved as written.

Review of the Investigative Resources/Internet Use module
Members of the subcommittee heard that attendee evaluations and comments from some speakers had suggested that the Investigative Resources/Internet Use module is sometimes perceived as covering information with which most attendees are familiar. Clare Delaney stated that in her experience staffing NCIT programs she had heard comments to this effect and that she would support the removal of the module from the Basic program. She said she thought it would be useful for the accompanying pamphlet to appear in the student manual. She noted that it was important to keep the links updated and wondered whether additional links could be added. Adam Parfitt said that a comprehensive set of links and other resources is available on the ARI web site and the subcommittee agreed that this was the most appropriate home for an in-depth listing. Faye Lemon suggested that the instructor providing the welcome and introduction section of the program should inform students that the Internet material is in their notebooks.

On a motion from Faye Lemon, with a second from Clare Delaney, the subcommittee unanimously agreed to exclude the Investigative Resources/Internet Use module from the NCIT Basic program.

Review of NCIT Programs
Adam Parfitt noted that the current and recent fiscal environment has made it very difficult for states and provinces to sign contracts to host an NCIT. While the ability to host potential programs is currently low, Parfitt stated that there is still significant interest in and respect for the program. He feels that the market will shortly pick-up and indeed noted that a number of inquiries about hosting a program have recently been received. He said that he hoped that at least two NCIT programs would be held before the end of the current fiscal year.

Examination Item Bank
Rose McCool stated that the examination item bank has been field-tested and that Paul Naylor has concerns about a couple of the questions. Consequently the examination item writer workgroup should be reconvened to look at these questions and also to provide additional questions for the item bank. Ms. McCool said that she would no longer be able to be involved with the group and that she was asking President Mooney to appoint a new chairperson. Lisa Hahn commended the group on all of its hard work and said that the examination was much improved as a result of their efforts.

President Mooney appointed Jayne Bunn to chair the working group and Patricia Reynolds to serve on it along with Faye Lemon and Paul Naylor. Chair Diggs said that he would like to be an ad-hoc member and to be involved when possible. It was agreed that the next steps for the item writer work group are to provide additional questions for CLEAR's item bank.

Patricia Reynolds asked whether the downturn in NCIT programs is due to the limited number of NCIT Specialized modules. Clare Delaney noted that she is involved with the development of a module dealing with fraud investigations and that another module on sexual misconduct is also in development, both of which will be available online. President Mooney stated that she would like to see ARI in-person meetings in the future as a means of offering professional development opportunities to the investigative community.

Vicki Fischer suggested that the professional discipline track of the annual conference program could be better marketed to investigators. She feels this will draw a greater attendance and would help to fill the perceived gap in ongoing education offerings targeted at investigators and inspectors. It was agreed that the professional discipline track would be advertised on the ARI web site. The subcommittee also requested that the Investigator Roundtable is held the morning after the end of the NCIT programs in order to maximize attendance at the session by those taking the training.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m. Central Time.

Respectfully Submitted,

Adam Parfitt