Northwest Association of Domestic Violence Treatment Professionals
Articles of Incorporation / By-Laws
Article I – Name of Organization
The name of this Association shall be the Northwest Association of Domestic Violence Treatment Professionals (NWADVTP) hereinafter called the Association.
Article II – Purpose
The purpose of this Association is to provide resources for education, research, training and certification of perpetrator treatment providers to promote greater victim safety and quality treatment.
Article III – Membership
Section 1. Application – Voting membership applications shall be accepted from certified individuals and program providers involved in the treatment of domestic violence perpetrators.
Section 2. Acceptance and General Qualifications – Applications shall be approved when the Membership Committee has determined the following:
1.) The applicant has paid the appropriate membership fee
2.) The applicant agrees to adhere to the general purpose and mission of the Association, and;
3.) The applicant agrees to adhere to the general purpose and mission of the Association, and;
4.) applicant will benefit the Association and further the cause of victim safety through effective perpetrator treatment.
Section 3. Professional Membership (Voting and Office Holding)
Professional Membership consists of professionals from certified DV perpetrator treatment programs. All members have equal voting rights and ability to hold office in the Association.
Section 4. Associate Membership (Non-Voting or Office Holding) – Associate Membership consists of all other affiliated disciplines connected to domestic violence treatment.
Section 5. Membership Cycle and Dues Rates – The membership cycle is from July 1 through June 30. Dues rates shall be fixed yearly by the Association Board of Directors.
Article IV – Board of Directors
Section 1. General Powers – All Association powers shall be exercised by or under the authority of the Board of Directors except as otherwise provided by these By-Laws or Articles of Incorporation. The elected President of the Association shall serve as the chair of the Board of Directors. All actions of the Board of Directors shall be reported to the membership at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Association.
Section 2. Number and Designated Officials – the Board of directors shall be comprised of the elected offices of President, President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Immediate Past President, as well as the elected chairs of all Standing Committees as specified in Article VII.
Section 3. Tenure and Selection – Directors shall two-year terms and may serve successive terms if so elected. The Board of Directors shall be elected at the Association’s first general meeting. The Nominating Committee shall propose candidates for office and Board positions who are professional members in good standing and shall ensure fair representation exists from all disciplines comprising the Association, genders, ethnicities, and geographic regions of the State.
Section 4. Quorum and Voting – A majority of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum. Each Board member shall have one vote and the President of the Association shall only vote in case of a tie. Any corporate action required or permitted under law to be voted upon or approved at a duly called meeting of the Board may be accomplished without a meeting if unanimous consent of the Board setting forth the actions so taken is signed by all Board members.
Section 5. Vacancies, Resignation and Removal – In the case of any vacancy on the Board, the remaining Board members, whether constituting a quorum or not, may appoint a successor to hold office for the un-expired portion of the term of the Board member whose place shall be vacant, and until his or her successor shall have been duly qualified and elected.
Any board member may resign at any time by delivering written notice to the Secretary of the Association. Such resignation shall be effective upon acceptance by the Board of Directors. Any Board member may be removed for cause by a majority vote of the Association membership.
Article V-Elected Officers
Section 1. Officers Designated – The officers of the Association shall be President, President-elect, Secretary and Treasurer.
Section 2. President, Duties Defined – The President shall preside at all meetings of members and of the Board of Directors. He or she shall have and exercise general duties and supervision of the affairs of the Corporation / Association and shall do and perform such other duties as maybe assigned to him or her by the Board of Directors. The President shall appoint the chairperson of all ad hoc or special committees and shall also serve as voting member of all standing, ad hoc and special committees. The President shall serve as the official spokesperson for the Association.
Section 3. President-elect, Duties Defined – In the absence of the President, or in the event of inability or refusal of the President to act the President-elect shall perform the duties of the President. When so acting, he/she shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the President. The President-elect shall perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him or her by the President or the Board of Directors.
Section 4. Secretary, Duties Defined – The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the Board and Association meetings, as well as a record of all correspondence sent or received by or on behalf of the Association. The Secretary will ensure the mailing of meeting notices, agendas, and previous meeting minutes to all Association and/or Board members. The Secretary will also perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him or her by the President of the Board of Directors.
Section 5.Treasurer, Duties Defined – The Treasurer shall have the custody of all funds, property and securities of the Association, subject to such regulations as maybe imposed on the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall endorse, on behalf of the Association for collection, checks, notes and other financial obligations, and shall deposit the same to the credit of the Corporation at such bank or banks as the Board of Directors may designate. He or she shall sign all receipts and vouchers, and shall make such payments as may be necessary or proper to be made on behalf of the Association. The Treasurer shall enter regularly on the books of the Association, to be kept by him or her, for the purpose of full and accurate account of all monies and obligations received and paid for or on account of the Corporation. The Treasurer shall, in general, perform all the duties incident to the office of Treasurer, and perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him or her by the Board of Directors.
Article VI – Meetings
Section 1. Regular Meetings – Regular meetings of the Association shall be held at least four times per year at a time a place to be determined by the Board of Directors. Notice of regular meetings shall be deemed adequate if given at least fourteen days prior to the meeting date.
Section 2. Annual Meeting – The Annual Meeting of the Association shall be held in conjunction with The Annual Conference. Notice of the Annual Meeting shall be deemed adequate if given at least thirty days prior to the meeting.
Section 3. Special Meetings – special Meetings may be called at any time by the Board of Directors or when requested by a majority of the membership present. Notice of such meetings shall be deemed adequate if given at least fourteen days prior to the meeting date. A report of business conducted shall be provided at the next general meeting.
Section 4. Quorum – A quorum shall be a majority of the professional membership of the Association who are present. A quorum shall be required in order to conduct business at any and all meetings of the Association.
Article VII – Committees
Section 1. Committees, General – The Association shall have the following standing committees: Certification, Membership, Legislative, Education and Training, Nominations, and Ethics and Standards. Each standing committee shall be directed by a chairperson who shall be elected by the professional members for a two-year term, and shall be a member of the Board of directors. The President, through the Board of Directors shall have the authority to create a standing committee with approval of the general membership. The members (other than the elected chairperson) of each standing committee shall be appointed by the chairperson with the advice and consent of the Board of Directors.
- Membership Committee, Duties Defined – The Membership Committee shall be directly accountable to the Board of Directors. The Committee shall:
a.) Solicit professional and associate membership statewide for members meeting membership qualifications.
b.) Maintain a database of active membership, denoting professional an associate membership status and provide recruitment.
c.) Act upon all membership applications and questions of eligibility.
d.) Publish, as requested, a listing of members and member agencies including addresses and phone numbers
e.) Will coordinate or provide hospitality services to Association meetings.
Section 2.Legislative Committee, Duties Defined: The function of the Legislative Committee shall be to review all relevant legislation regarding domestic violence, certification, racism, sexism and homophobia and submit a brief summary of such legislation to the Board of Directors suggesting possible response by the Association as to impact or implementation of said legislation.
Section 3. Nominations Committee, Duties Defined: The Nominating committee shall submit a proposed slate of officers at the last general meeting of the year, at which time additional nominations from the floor shall be accepted. Voting will be by mail written ballot from the currently active professional membership of the Association with the results announced at the first general membership meeting of the following year.
Section 4. Education and Training Committee, Duties Defined – This committee shall:
a.) Collect, maintain and disseminate educational, training, and research information of interest to Association members
b.) Develop training programs for general and special meetings
c.) Plan and organize an annual training conference, as directed and budgeted by the Board of Directors
Section 5. Ethics and Standards Committee, Duties Defined: The Ethics and Standards Committee will be charged with proposing a set of ethical standards acceptable to the membership and create a complaint procedure available to serve those members who feel harmed by the conduct of an Association member. The Ethics and Standards Committee will create a system to monitor these complaints and will report the status of these complaints to the Board of Directors. The Ethics and Standards Committee will make recommendations to the Board of Directors in those cases where members have demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to support those standards adopted by the Association. The Ethics and Standards Committee will create a manual for Domestic Violence Counselor Supervision Standards that will be made available to all members. The Ethics and Standards Committee will establish a system of peer review and consultation so that a high level of professional competence can be developed and maintained with services offered by the members of the Association.
Section 6. Certification Committee, Duties Defined: The Certification committee is responsible for developing and maintaining a Certification Board and all review courses and testing for individual domestic violence perpetrator treatment provider certification. The board will be made up of a minimum of four members who are supervisory level providers. This board shall have input from an advisory committee made up of individuals from perpetrator treatment, victim services, criminal justice and department of corrections. Through various finding sources, a person will be hired to maintain the certification records, process applications and provide administrative services to the association. This person may be the secretary of the association board.
Section 7. Ad Hoc Committees – The President, through the Board of Directors, shall have the authority to appoint ad hoc committees to perform a specific task or tasks within a specific time period. Unlike the chairpersons of standing committees, the chair of ad hoc committees shall not serve as a member of the Board of Directors.
Article VIII – Elections
Section 1. Term of Office, Qualifications – The term of office for all elected officials shall be two-years. Any professional member in good standing at the time of elections is eligible to be nominated for office.
Section 2. Voting – A simple majority vote of the currently active professional membership is necessary to validate any election. The Nominations committee shall confer with the Membership committee chairperson to verify voters’ professional membership status before validating the election results.
Article IX – Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of the Association shall commence January 1 of each year and end December 31.
Article X – Order of Business
At all meetings of members, the Board of directors, or committees established pursuant to these By-Laws, Roberts Rules of Order Revised shall control and govern the order of business.
Article XI – Amendments
The By-Laws may be altered, amended, or repealed at any meeting of members of the Association by a majority vote of all the currently active professional members present and voting either in person or by proxy, provided that the proposed action, in specific language, is inserted in the notice of such a meeting. The President may instead direct that the proposed by-laws amendment(s) be brought to a vote by written mail-ballot of the full professional membership.
Article XII – Indemnification
To the full extent permitted by the Washington Non-Profit Corporation Act, the Association may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding by reason of the fact that he or she was a Director of the corporation, again expenses, including attorney’s fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with such action, suit or proceeding; and the Board of Directors may, at any time, approve indemnification of any other person which the corporation has power to indemnify under the Washington Non-Profit Corporation Act. The indemnification provided by this section shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which a person may be entitled as a matter of law or contract.
Article XIII – Prohibition Against Sharing in Corporate Earnings
No member, director, officer, member of a committee, or any other person connected with the Association, or any other private individual shall receive, at any time, any of the net earnings or pecuniary profit from the operations of the Corporation; provided that this shall not prevent the payment to any such person such reasonable compensation for services rendered to or for the Association in effecting any of its purposes as shall be fixed by the Board of Directors; and no such person or persons shall be entitled to share in the distribution of any of the corporate assets upon the dissolution of the Corporation. All members of the Corporation shall be deemed to have expressly consented and agreed that, upon such dissolution of the Corporation, whether voluntary or involuntary, the assets of the Corporation, after al debts have been satisfied, then remaining in the hands of the Board of Directors, shall be distributed, transferred, conveyed, delivered and paid over in such amounts as the Board of Directors determine or as may be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction upon application of the Board of Directors exclusively to organizations which would then qualify under provisions of Section 501 C (3) of the Internal Revenue code and its regulations as they now exist or as they may hereafter be amended.
NWADVTP 