Cultural Diversity Advisory Committee Summary Minutes – September 20, 2007

In the absence of the NCD Member Liaison, after the meeting was called to order, the Designated Federal Official (DFO) welcomed all participants, including the staff working on transition of the committee responsibilities. It was noted for the record that the decision about staff support for committee work rests with the NCD Chairperson. In that regard, Dr. Hawkins referred the CDAC members to an earlier note of thanks for each person’s contributions to the work of the committee and indicated that she would remain available for consultation, when needed.  (See a summary of CDAC’s 2002-2007 work and impact http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/advisory/cultural/cdac_staff_transition.htm)

Procedural Summary:

The procedural updates included an overview of the committee report that was provided to NCD during the most recent quarterly meeting (in this case the meeting at Chicago, IL). A copy of the written version of that report can be accessed on NCD's Website at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/advisory/cultural/cultural.htm#reports.  Clarification also was made that since the NCD Co-Acting Directors and the NCD Chairperson signed the internal decision memorandum; this meant that the committee could count on moving forward to implement its work plan with regard to member involvement in NCD priority teams as soon as any legal and ethical questions were resolved through NCD consultation with the appropriate federal authorities.

Policy Summary:

To assist in the role of the CDAC Chair person at today's meeting, Vice Chair John
Armendariz led the next portion of the meeting. Dr. Glenn Fujiura had been requested to give a recap on the UIC-based Center for Capacity Building program. With research-based evidence has shown a critical role of cultural and linguistic competence for staff serving consumers with disabilities that needs remediation. An overall purpose of the program is the promotion of positive rehabilitation outcomes for people from diverse cultures through training and technical assistance. He indicated that during the national conference held in Chicago at the time of the July 2007 NCD quarterly meeting, newer researchers had opportunity for interaction with the more seasoned peers and could begin dialogues about their work. For example, a group of collaborators is working on ways to create a more welcoming consumer service environment. To access more information about the research and dissemination activities, interested readers please see
Center For Capacity and Assistance.doc

Another CDAC member will be contacted to lead the first discussion on the new fiscal year regarding a topic identified among NCD priorities.

Announcements/Comments:

• Transition of NCD lead committee staff was announced earlier in the meeting; however, comments from the proposed new staff DFO team, Mr. Stacey Brown and Mr. Mark Seifarth, were given here. They indicated that (1) transition meetings with the out-going DFO would occur to discuss content and procedural matters at the staff level, as needed; and (2) a call with the CDAC Chair would be arranged soon to set public meeting dates for FY2008 and plans for transition and continuation of CDAC’s efforts to support the agency’s mission, according to the approved work plan.
• This meeting was the final meeting with the advisory committee contractor, Betsy Valnes (New Voice, New Vision). The committee expressed appreciation for her assistance during the past 2007 fiscal year.

The meeting was adjourned by the DFO.