Obtaining and Maintaining Board Approval

(1) Application and Evaluation for Full Approval. (a) A parent institution may apply for full approval using an application form specified by the Board for that purpose. The form shall be completed and signed by the individual appointed as administrator for the Community Health Worker Education and Training Program and shall be accompanied by all documentation specified in the application form. (b) The Board shall recognize the Community Health Worker Education and Training Program that is the subject of a fully complete and signed application for full approval by granting "pending application" status. The Board's recognition, by itself, does not qualify the program as a Board approved Community Health Worker Education and Training Program that would satisfy the certification requirement at 272 CMR 4.02(1)(a). The Board may refuse to recognize a program that is the subject of an application that contains omissions or that is not signed. (c) An application form that is submitted without all items required is incomplete. The Board may refuse to evaluate an incomplete application. Incomplete application forms shall expire one year from the date of the Board's receipt of the form. The Board may refuse to act on an expired application and may require that the parent institution submit a new application. (d) The Board shall direct notices, correspondence and inquiries relating to the application and items submitted with the application to the program administrator identified in the application. The program administrator shall be responsible for responding to Board inquiries and requests for information on behalf of the parent institution and the program. The program administrator shall notify the Board of any material changes in the information previously reported or submitted. (e) When the Board determines that it has received a fully complete and signed application for full approval that includes all required items, the Board shall evaluate the Community Health Worker Education and Training Program to determine whether it meets the minimum standards specified in 272 CMR 5.03. The Board may request that representative(s) of the parent institution, the program administrator, or both appear before the Board to answer Board member inquiries as part of the Board's evaluation. The Board may also request that representative(s) of the parent institution, the program administrator, or both provide additional documentation relevant to the program's capacity to meet minimum standards. (2) Approval Denied. The Board shall assign approval denied status to a Community Health Worker Education and Training Program if the Board determines, after evaluation in accordance with 272 CMR 5.04(1)(e), that a program has not demonstrated the capacity to meet the minimum standards for full approval. The Board's notice shall include, in addition to the status and status effective date, the standard(s) which the Board determined that the program did not meet. (3) Full Approval and Annual Reporting. (a) If the Board determines, after evaluation in accordance with 272 CMR 5.04(1)(e), that a Community Health Worker Education and Training Program has demonstrated the capacity to meet the minimum standards for full approval specified in 272 CMR 5.03, the Board shall assign full approval status to that program. The Board's notice shall include, in addition to the status and status effective date, the date that the program administrator must submit the program's first annual report. (b) Annual Report Requirement and Deferral. A Community Health Worker Education and Training Program with full approval status shall submit a fully completed and signed Annual Report, on a form specified by the Board for that purpose, on an annual basis. The report st st must be filed between September 1 and October 1 of each calendar year. The Board may choose to defer the Annual Report for a calendar year for a program that has been assigned full approval status during that calendar year. Upon written request by the program administrator and for good cause shown, the Board may defer a program's Annual Report deadline for up to one year, provided that the Board has not granted a deferral to the program at any time during the preceding 24 months. (c) If the Annual Report indicates that the program has undergone material changes since the Board assigned full approval and those changes are of a nature that may impair the program's capacity to meet the minimum standards for full approval specified in 272 CMR 5.03, the Board may reevaluate the program's approval status. As part of the reevaluation, the Board may request that representative(s) of the parent institution, the program administrator, or both appear before the board to answer Board member inquiries. The Board may also request that representative(s) of the parent institution, the program administrator, or both provide additional documentation relevant to the program's capacity to meet minimum standards. (4) Board Reevaluation of Programs Based on Information Received. In the event that the Board receives information indicating that an approved program does not in fact meet one or more minimum standards, or that grounds exist for the Board's withdrawal of approval pursuant to 272 CMR 5.05, the Board may reevaluate the program's approval status. As part of the reevaluation, the Board may request that representative(s) of the parent institution, the program administrator, or both appear before the board to answer Board member inquiries. The Board may also request that representative(s) of the parent institution, the program administrator, or both provide additional documentation relevant to the program's capacity to meet minimum standards or the existence of grounds for withdrawal of approval. (5) Approval with Warning Status and Reevaluation. (a) Failure to Submit Annual Report. If the program administrator fails to submit a fully complete and signed Annual Report by October 1st, without cause and without the Board's deferral pursuant to 272 CMR 5.04(3)(b), the Board may assign approval with warning status. The Board's notice shall include, in addition to the status and status effective date, the date bywhich the program administrator must submit a fully complete and signed Annual Report in order to avoid the Board's withdrawal of approval. The Board's notice may further specify whether or not the Board approves the program's continuing education activities to satisfy the continuing education requirements at 272 CMR7.02(1). (b) Failure to Meet Minimum Standards. 1. If the Board determines, after reevaluation in accordance with 272 CMR 5.04(3)(c) or 272 CMR 5.04(4), that a Community Health Worker Education and Training Program can no longer demonstrate the capacity to meet the minimum standards for full approval specified in 272 CMR 5.03, the Board shall assign approval with warning status. The Board's notice shall include, in addition to the status and status effective date, the standard(s) which the Board determined that the program did not meet, the date by which the program administrator must submit a plan of correction that addresses the unmet standard(s) and a deadline by which the program must demonstrate the capacity to meet all minimum standards. The Board may, at the Board's discretion, request that the program administrator appear before it to answer inquiries about the plan of correction. 2. After the deadline specified, the Board shall reevaluate the Community Health Worker Education and Training Program to determine whether it meets the minimum standards for full approval specified in 272 CMR 5.03. The Board may request that representative(s) of the parent institution, the program administrator, or both appear before the board to answer Board member inquiries as part of the Board’s reevaluation. The Board may also request that representative(s) of the parent institution, the program administrator, or both provide additional documentation relevant to the program's capacity to meet minimum standards.