RD30 - Annual Report of the Department of Rehabilitative Services Human Research Review Committee


Executive Summary:
Section 51.5-5.1 of the Code of Virginia requires the Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) Human Research Review Committee (HRRC) to submit to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the DRS Commissioner, at least annually, a report on the human research projects reviewed and approved by the Committee; including any significant deviations from the research applications as approved by the Committee. This report presents State Fiscal Year 2003 activities of the DRS HRRC.

The HRRC has internal oversight responsibilities for ensuring protection of the rights and welfare of DRS consumers who volunteer to participate in research conducted or authorized by the department or any of its partner organizations covered by the Code. The DRS Commissioner established the Committee in August 2000 to review and approve all research to be conducted or authorized by DRS or the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center (WWRC), as well as the Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and Virginia Employment Services Organizations (ESOs) that partner with DRS in the delivery of services to persons with disabilities. Elizabeth E. Smith, DRS Policy and Planning Director, is the Committee’s Chair and this is the Committee’s third annual report. The composition of the Committee is governed by 22 VAC 30-40-60 and a list of Committee members is provided at Appendix A. There were several resignations from the Committee during SFY 2003 and efforts are ongoing to find suitable replacements. As of June 30, 2003, the Committee had eight active members.

The regulation gives DRS partner organizations the options to: 1) establish their own research review committee; 2) work with other institutions to establish a single committee; or 3) use the DRS established committee. As of this report, there are 103 organizations under the DRS umbrella (WWRC, one university based rehabilitation research and training center, 16 CILs, and 85 ESOs [*1]).
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[*1] The actual number of ESOs that have Federal Identification Numbers (FINs) is greater than the number of ESOs reported here because several ESOs have administrative authority for a network of other ESOs and speaks for all members of the network. As an example, Frontier Health is composed of several branches (Developmental Services, Independence Unlimited, Opportunities Unlimited-Bristol, and Opportunities Unlimited-Kingsport) and the same administrative authority covers all branches of Frontier Health.