Board & Membership

By-Laws

Core Values

ED's Report

Public Policy

Adopted July 12, 1996
Amendment Adopted October 22, 2001
Amendment Adopted November 4, 2001
Amendment Adopted February 22, 2002

Article I
Name

Section l. The name of the organization is: CHILDREN'S ALLIANCE OF KANSAS.

Section 2. The effective date of these by-laws will be upon their adoption by the membership.

Article II
Objectives

Section I. The objectives for which the ALLIANCE is formed are: a; to provide a means for the exchanges of ideas, information and the discussion of subjects related to the care and treatment of children and strengthening of families, b; to support and encourage the raising of professional standards of services provided to children and families, c; to provide expert assistance in the drafting and promotion of legislation, regulations and standards for the provision of services to children and families, d; to educate and elicit public interest in issues affecting children and their families, e; to take positive action to safeguard and advocate for the welfare of all Kansas children, f; to enhance cooperation among agencies through communication and mutual understanding, g; to encourage professional development in the field through education, research and training, h; to ensure the success of privatization in human service delivery.

Article III
Membership

Section l. The Members of the ALLIANCE shall be child welfare agencies which are not-for-profit licensed private child placing agencies, or not-for-profit private agencies providing treatment to children and families, if approved in application by the Board of Directors. Member agencies need not be exclusively of the state of Kansas, but member agencies must provide care or services to Kansas children.

Section 2. The Board of Directors may grant the status of Associate membership to entities which support the objectives stated and do not meet the membership criteria listed in Article III, Section 1. Categories of Associate membership are as follows: 1; Individual Not-for-Profit Agencies, 2; Governmental and Quasi-Governmental Agencies, 3; Foundations and Not-for-Profit Corporations, 4; Friends of the Alliance (individuals), and 5; Students. Associate members may attend meetings, serve upon committees, act in advisory capacities, and promote the purposes of the ALLIANCE. Associate members may not serve on the Board of Directors. The status of Friend of the Alliance or student are available to persons who are not employed by any agency that qualifies for membership or associate membership. Voting privileges will not be extended to Associate members.

Article IV
Directors

Section l. The Board of Directors shall be responsible to a) select and remove all agents and employees of the ALLIANCE, b) fix the compensation of all agents and employees of the ALLIANCE, c) conduct, manage, and control the affairs and business of the ALLIANCE in accordance with the provision of these By-Laws, and d) establish categories and requirements of membership and an equitable dues structure.

Section 2. The Board of Directors may appoint an executive committee and other committees, and may delegate to such committees any of the powers and authority of the board in the management of the business and affairs of the ALLIANCE. Any such committee shall be composed of members of the ALLIANCE.

Section 3. Each member agency of the Alliance shall have representation on the Board of Directors. A majority of the Directors shall be Administrators of the Member agencies with full membership.

Section 4. The majority of the Directors present shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business at any meeting of the Board. An act of a majority of Directors or their designated representative present at a meeting, which a quorum is present, shall be the act of the Board. Each Member agency of the Board of Directors present shall have one vote.

Section 5. Meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee meetings may be held by means of conference telephone or other similar communications equipment, provided that all persons participating in the meeting can hear one another.

Article V
Officers

Section 1. The officers of the Board of Directors of the ALLIANCE shall be the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Immediate Past President. All Executive Committee Offices are elected positions. Members are encouraged to run for office, but are limited to seeking only one office per election cycle. Officers shall be from full Member agencies, which are current in their dues payment schedule, elected by the Members at the Annual Meeting, and shall hold office for one (1) year. With the exception of the first election cycle beginning in April of 2002, in which officers elected will serve until elections are held at the 2003 Annual Meeting) and can be re-elected for one additional consecutive term for an office.

Section 2. Qualifications for Officers and Candidates for Office. The designated representative from a full member agency, (current in dues schedule) for at least one year, is eligible to run for Executive Committee office. All members nominated for an Executive Committee post must agree to work for the benefit of all member agencies and to serve in the position if they are elected.

Section 3. Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee shall be composed of the President and two representatives of the Board at-large. The committee shall be charged with identifying candidates for positions of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. The Nominating Committee will develop a slate of candidates by actively soliciting candidates for all positions from the membership with the goal of having multiple candidates for each position. Nominations will be submitted to the President. All nominees who fit the criteria and qualification will be included on the slate. Agency representatives nominated for multiple offices will be asked to select the office for which they would like to be considered. The Nominating Committee will identify candidates for any unfilled positions. The slate of candidates prepared by the nominating committee will then be circulated among members of the Board, and the Board will be given an additional five days to submit nominees.

Section 4. Balloting Process. Ballots containing the final slate of nominees for Executive Committee Office will be submitted electronically (by e-mail) to the designated representative for each full member agency that is current in their dues schedule. Members will then have five working days to vote. Members will return the ballots electronically (by e-mail) to the Children's Alliance office. For purposes of confidentiality, the Executive Director will submit them to the President without identifying information. The membership will be notified of the outcome of the election at the Annual Meeting.

Section 5. General Responsibilities of the Executive Committee.
The responsibilities of the Executive Committee are as follows:

• To serve as a sounding board/advisor to the Executive Director.
• Act as a small study group to look at issues and develop recommendations/questions to be presented to the Board as a whole.
• Represent the Board/Children's Alliance in activities requiring signatures of the Executive Committee members that have received prior authorization by Board action.
• Represent the Board and membership at activities and ceremonies.
  

Section 6. The President shall a) preside at all meetings of the ALLIANCE, b) call special meetings as deemed desirable, and c) serve as an ex-officio member of all committees.

Section 7. The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President in the event of the President's absence, the President's resignation, or the President's inability to perform the duties of the office. The Vice President may undertake any other reasonable duties assigned.

Section 8. The immediate Past President shall serve as a member of the Executive Committee and may undertake any special duties assigned.

Section 9. The Secretary shall provide oversight for the minutes of the official meetings of the ALLIANCE.

Section 10. The Treasurer shall provide oversight for all funds of the ALLIANCE.

Article VI
Meetings

Section 1. The Annual Meeting of the ALLIANCE shall be held at a date determined by the Board of Directors. At least three (3) other meetings of the ALLIANCE shall be held during the year.

Section 2. Adequate notice will be given for all meetings.

Article VII

Section l. Dues. To provide a general operating fund to meet ordinary costs incurred in regular transactions of the ALLIANCE, an appropriate dues structure shall be determined by the Board of Directors for the Members and the various categories of Associate Membership. Notification of any proposed changes in the fee schedule must be sent to the member agencies not less than ten (10) working days before the meeting at which the proposed changes are to be presented to the members. Member's and Associate Member's dues payment schedule will be established by the Board of Directors.

Section 2. Conflict of Interest. No contract or other transaction between the ALLIANCE and one or more of the Alliance Directors or any other corporation, firm, association or entity in which one or more Director (s) are associated shall be entered into unless the fact of such relationship or interest is fully disclosed or known to the Board of Directors which authorizes and approves the contract or transaction by vote without counting the votes of such interested Directors.

Section 3. Fiscal Year. The Board of Directors shall have the powers to fix and from time to time change the fiscal year of the ALLIANCE.

ARTICLE VIII
Anti-Discrimination Clause

The ALLIANCE agrees to comply with the Kansas Act Against Discrimination (K.S.A. 44-101 et seq.), and the Kansas Age Discrimination in Employment Act (K.S.A. 44-111 et seq.), and the applicable provisions of the American With Disabilities Act (42-U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) (ADA) and to not discriminate against any person because of race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin or ancestry, or age in the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs or activities.

Article IX
Amendments

Section 1. Members shall have the authority and the power to amend the By-Laws of the ALLIANCE by a vote of the majority of the Members.

Section 2. Notification of proposed amendments must be sent to Members not less than ten (10) working days before the meeting at which the proposed amendments are to be presented to the Members