January 16, 2016
Committee Charter
St. Dominic Parish Refugee Care Committee
General
Purpose:
The
St. Dominic Parish Refugee Care Committee (PRCC) is the executive branch of the parish tasked
with the responsibility of providing for the needs of refugees that the parish
is sponsoring, and will act in co-operation with the guidelines and protocols
established by the Hamilton Diocese as well as the appropriate branches of the Canadian Federal, Ontario Provincial, Halton
Regional, and all local forms of governments.
Responsibilities
and Goals:
With concern both for the good of our parish
and that of the people we are caring for at the heart of the committee, the
PRCC is to ensure that refugees sponsored by the parish are accommodated well
during their period of settlement and adjustment. To ensure this the PRCC and its members will:
·
Be
directly responsible to the Pastor of St. Dominic Parish. The PRCC is to
consult the pastor on a regular and frequent basis, and immediately if there is
any breach of protocol, conflict of interest, and/or sensitive circumstances
that have come to light.
·
Be
responsible to become familiar with and operate according to all Diocesan
guidelines and protocols, especially those pertaining to The Office for Refugees and Volunteer Screening.
·
Form a
Governance or Oversight Committee comprised of a Chairperson, Co-Chairperson,
Secretary, and Treasurer.
·
Be
responsible for fundraising projects to support the sponsored Refugees.
·
Be
responsible for the declaration of any conflicts of interest.
·
Be
responsible for the allocation of funds to/for the Refugees.
·
Be
responsible for the organization of the Time,
Talent and Treasure of all the volunteers of the PRCC.
·
Be responsible
for providing all reasonable levels of care to the Refugees during their period
of settlement and adjustment.
Resources and Budget:
The Parish’s
Administrative assistant will take calls and emails for the PRCC and forward
them on to its appropriate member.
The Budget of the
PRCC will be equal to the amount of money raised during fundraising. The Parish bookkeeper will keep account of
these funds and be responsible for writing cheques, paying bills, and making
all necessary payments. Requests for
extra funds can be made if the need should arise.
Communication Plan:
Meetings of the
PRCC should take place regularly and minutes should be taken. The minutes should be available for review by
each member and the Pastor.
·
If the PRCC should deem the formation of various
sub-committees beneficial, then regular meetings of the subcommittees are to be
encouraged and minutes taken. These
minutes should also be available for review by all PRCC members.
There must be a
majority of members present at PRCC meetings.
PRCC is to report
to the Pastor on a monthly basis. This
can be done by the Chairperson or deputed member of the PRCC Governance
Committee.
·
The Pastor is to be informed of all decisions
made by the PRCC that involve any member of the Vulnerable Sector (i.e. the
elderly, minors, and those with disabilities), the spending of money, or if
there is any conflict in the group.
Committee Membership:
Any person, who is
a parishioner of St. Dominic and has been registered for at least a year, is
eligible to be a full member of this committee.
People who do not fit this requirement can be members in a limited
capacity.
The Chair, Vice
Chairperson and Secretary will be nominated by PRCC and approved by the
committee members by a motion and show of hands. The Finance Lead will be nominated by the Pastor.
Meetings:
The Committee meetings will be set at the end of each meeting or as required.
Regular
attendance of committee members is expected in order for the Committee to
function effectively. If a committee has difficulty achieving a quorum due to
the continued absence of a committee member, the committee chairperson will
discuss with the member the reasons for his or her absence. If the problem
persists, the committee chair
can request that the Executive
Committee remove the member from the committee.
The Steering
Committee will hold meetings
as needed to plan for the full Committee meetings.
General Principles of Collaboration:
The following general operating principles are proposed to guide the Committee’s deliberations:
·
The Committee’s mission
will be best achieved by relationships among the members
characterized by mutual trust, responsiveness, flexibility, and open communication.
·
It is the responsibility of all members
to work toward the Committee’s common goals.
o Commit
to expending the time, energy and organizational resources necessary to carry
out the Committee’s mission
o
Be prepared
to listen intently
to the concerns of others and identify
the interests represented
o Ask
questions and seek clarification to ensure they fully understand other’s
interests, concerns and comments
o
Regard disagreements as problems to be solved
rather than battles
to be won
o Be
prepared to “think outside the box” and develop creative solutions to address
the many interests that will be raised
throughout the Committee’s deliberations
Decision Making
Committee members will work to find common ground on issues and strive to
seek consensus on all key issues. Every effort will be made to reach consensus,
and opposing views will be explained. In situations where there are strongly
divergent views, members may choose to present multiple recommendations on the
same topic. If the Committee is unable to reach consensus on key issues,
decisions will be made by majority vote. Minority views will be included in the meeting
minutes.
In the event of a requirement to render a decision that does not allow
the time required to call a full committee meeting, the Chair will call a
meeting of the Governance Committee, the Pastor
and as many Committee Members who are available to attend. The other Committee Members, unable to attend
will be asked to submit their comments by email. The decision will be made by majority vote of
the members attending the meeting with due regard of the email comments received.
Organization:
The Governance Committee is comprised of the following members of the
committee.
·
Chair
o
Duties:
o
set the agenda for the meeting
o
chair the regular
meetings
o
manage the committee's goals and responsibilities
·
Vice Chair
o
Duties:
o
to take over the duties
of the Chair whenever the Chair is unavailable. If the Chair
resigns, the Vice Chair
becomes Chair and a new Vice Chair
is to be elected. If the current
Vice Chair declines
to serve as Chair, the Vice Chair will serve as Acting Chair until a new Chair can be elected.
o
to assist the Chair as needed and requested
·
Secretary
o
Duties:
o
to take minutes
of the meeting
o
to submit those minutes to the Chair for
approval
o
to distribute
approved minutes to the committee
members
·
Finance
o
Duties
Keep account of
the money raised and be responsible for writing cheques, paying bills, and
making all necessary payments.
·
Administrator/Spiritual
Advisor
Other Committees:
A.
AIRPORT WELCOME
B.
FINDING HOUSING
& SCOUTING THE
HOUSE
C.
SHOPPING, CLOTHING, SERVICES AND TRANSPORTATION
D.
FINANCES
E.
INTERPRETATIONS AND CULTURAL SENSITIVITY
F.
SETTLEMENT AND COMMUNITY SERVICES
G.
LANGUAGE TRAINING; EDUCATION; JOB SEARCH
H.
SPIRITUALITY, FAMILY
LIFE, CHILD CARE, RECREATION
I.
HEALTH, CRISIS, TRAUMA
AND EMERGENCIES
Settlement Plan for New Applicants:
Revised HMC Settlement Plan 1.13.2016
Also See: “Handbook for Sponsoring Groups”, Refugee Sponsorship Training Program, Catholic Cross-cultural
Services, Toronto
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