| (a) Eligible Entities that are Private Nonprofit Organizations
shall administer the CSBG program through a tripartite board that
fully participates in the development, planning, implementation, and
evaluation of the program to serve low-income communities. Records
must be retained for all seated board members in relation to their
elections to the board for the longer of the board member's term on
the Board, or the federal record retention period. Some of the members
of the board shall be selected by the Private Nonprofit Organization,
and others through a democratic process; the board shall be composed
so as to assure that the requirements of the CSBG Act are followed
and are composed as:
(1) One-third of the members of the board shall be
elected public officials, holding office on the date of the selection,
or their representatives. In the event that there are not enough elected
public officials reasonably available and willing to serve on the
board, the entity may select appointive public officials to serve
on the board. The public officials selected to serve on the board
may each choose one permanent representative or designate an alternate
to serve on the board. Appointive public officials or their representatives
or alternates may be counted in meeting the 1/3 requirement.
(2) Not fewer than 1/3 of the members are persons chosen
in accordance with the Eligible Entity's Board-approved written democratic
selection procedures adequate to assure that these members are representative
of low-income individuals and families in the neighborhood served;
and each representative of low-income individuals and families selected
to represent a specific neighborhood within a community resides in
the neighborhood represented by the member.
(3) The remainder are members of business, industry,
labor, religious, law enforcement, education, or other major groups
and interests in the community served.
(b) For a Public Organization that is an Eligible Entity,
the entity shall administer the CSBG grant through an advisory board
that fully participates in the development, planning, implementation
and evaluation of programs that serve low-income communities or through
another mechanism specified by the state and that satisfies the requirements
of a tripartite board in subsection (a) of this section. The advisory
board is the only alternative mechanism for administration the Department
has specified.
(c) An Eligible Entity administering the Head Start
Program must comply with the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. §9837)
that requires the governing body membership to comply with the requirements
of §642(c)(1) of the Head Start Act.
(d) Residence Requirement. Board members must follow
any residency requirements outlined in 42 U.S. Code §9910, or
federal regulations made pursuant to that section. Low income representatives
must reside in the CSBG Service Area.
(e) Selection.
(1) Public Officials:
(A) Elected public officials or appointed public officials,
selected to serve on the board, shall have either general governmental
responsibilities or responsibilities which require them to deal with
poverty-related issues.
(B) Permanent Representatives and Alternates. The public
officials selected to serve on the board may each choose one permanent
representative or designate an alternate to serve on the board.
(i) Permanent Representatives. The representative need
not be a public official but shall have full authority to act for
the public official at meetings of the board. Permanent representatives
may hold an officer position on the board. If a permanent representative
is not chosen, then an alternate may be designated by the public official
selected to serve on the board. Alternates may not hold an officer
position on the board.
(ii) Alternate Representatives. If the Private Nonprofit
Entity or Public Organization advisory board chooses to allow alternates,
the alternates for low-income representatives shall be elected at
the same time and in the same manner as the board representative is
elected to serve on the board. Alternates for representatives of private
sector organizations may be designated to serve on the board and should
be selected at the same time the board representative is selected.
In the event that the board member or alternate ceases to be a member
of the organization represented, he/she shall no longer be eligible
to serve on the board. Alternates may not hold an officer position
on the board.
(2) Low-Income Representatives:
(A) The CSBG Act and its amendments require representation
of low-income individuals on boards. The CSBG statute requires that
not fewer than one-third of the members shall be representatives of
low-income individuals and families and that they shall be chosen
in accordance with democratic selection procedures adequate to assure
that these members are representative of low-income individuals and
families in the neighborhoods served; and that each representative
of low-income individuals and families selected to represent a specific
neighborhood within a community resides in the neighborhood represented
by the member.
(B) Board members representing low-income individuals
and families must be selected in accordance with a democratic procedure.
This procedure, as detailed in subparagraph (D) of this paragraph,
may be either directly through election, public forum, or, if not
possible, through a similar democratic process such as election to
a position of responsibility in another significant service or community
organization such as a school PTA, a faith-based organization leadership
group; or an advisory board/governing council to another low-income
service provider; For a Private Nonprofit Entity the democratic selection
process must be detailed in the agency's Certificate of Formation/Articles
of Incorporation or bylaws, but the method detailed in the bylaws
(if so described) must not be inconsistent with any method of selection
of Board members outlined in the Certificate of Formation/Articles
of Incorporation; failure to comply could result in a default procedure
that does not meet the CSBG requirements and potentially jeopardizes
the Eligible Entity status of the organization as detailed in §6.213
of this subchapter (relating to Board Responsibility). For a Public
Organization the democratic procedure must be written in the advisory
board's procedures, and approved at a board meeting.
(C) Every effort should be made by the Private Nonprofit
Entity or Public Organization to assure that low-income representatives
are truly representative of current residents of the CSBG Service
Area, including racial and ethnic composition, as determined by periodic
selection or reselection by the community. "Current" should be defined
by the recent or annual demographic changes as documented in the needs/Community
Assessment. This does not preclude extended service of low-income
community representatives on boards, but it does suggest that continued
board participation of longer term members be revalidated and kept
current through some form of democratic process.
(D) The procedure used to select the low-income representative
must be documented to demonstrate that a democratic selection process
was used. Among the selection processes that may be utilized, either
alone or in combination, are:
(i) selection and elections, either within neighborhoods
or within the community as a whole; at a meeting or conference, to
which all neighborhood residents, and especially those who are poor,
are openly invited;
(ii) selection of representatives to a community-wide
board by members of neighborhood or sub-area boards who are themselves
selected by neighborhood or area residents;
(iii) selection, on a small area basis (such as a city
block); or
(iv) selection of representatives by existing organizations
whose membership is predominately composed of poor persons.
(E) A Public Organization must not adopt a democratic
selection process that requires all of the low-income representatives
to reside in the political boundaries of the Public Organization,
or that excludes all residents not in the political boundaries of
the Public Organization from all participation in the democratic selection
of all of the low-income representatives.
(3) Representatives of Private Groups and Interests.
(A) The Private Nonprofit or Public Organization shall
select the remainder of persons to represent the private sector on
the board or it may select private sector organizations from which
representatives of the private sector organization would be chosen
to serve on the board.
(B) The individuals and/or organizations representing
the private sector should be selected in such a manner as to assure
that the board will benefit from broad community involvement. The
board composition for the private sector shall draw from officials
or members of business, industry, labor, religious, law enforcement,
education, school districts, representatives of education districts
and other major groups and interests in the community served.
(f) An Eligible Entity must have written procedures
under which a low-income individual, community organization, religious
organization, or representative of such may petition for adequate
representation on the board of the Eligible Entity. Such petitions
must be heard at a subsequent board meeting not more than 120 days
after receiving the petition.
(g) Improperly Constituted Board. If the Department
determines that a board of an Eligible Entity is improperly constituted,
the Department shall prescribe the necessary remedial action, a timeline
for implementation, and possible sanctions as described in §2.202
of this title (relating to Sanctions and Contract Closeout).
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