Records Appraisal Report:
Texas Cancer Council

Contents of this report
Agency Contact | Agency History | Project Review | Record Series Reviews

Internal links to series reviews
Appointment Documentation to Texas Cancer Council (TCC) Board
Appropriations Requests and Supporting Documentation
Creation of the Texas Cancer Council
Letters/Memorandum of Understanding
Litigation File
Meeting Agendas
Meeting Minutes
Board Meetings–supporting documentation
Organizational Charts
Advisory Committees
Correspondence–Administrative
News Releases
Policies and Procedures
Program and Project Development and Review
Program Files and Related Materials
Proposals–Rejected
Publications Development Files
Speeches
Submissions for External Publication
Texas Cancer Council Assessment Study
Texas Cancer Council Resolutions
Strategic Plan
Reports–Biennial (Narrative)

Archival finding aid
An Inventory of Cancer Council Records at the Texas State Archives, 1984-2005

June 17, 1999, Tony Black, Appraisal Archivist

Agency Contact:

This agency contact information was current at the time of the report but may have changed in the interim. Please call (512-463-5455) for current contact information of the agency's records manager or records liaison for these records.

Ms. Meredith (Mickey) Jacobs, Executive Director
Ms. Yvette Jimenez, Administrative Technician
211 E. 7th Street, Suite 710
Austin, TX 78701
(P.O. Box 12097)
Austin, TX 78711-2097

Agency History and Structure:

The Texas Cancer Council was created in 1985 (Senate Bill 53, 69^th Legislature, Regular Session) to implement the Texas Cancer Plan, developed in conjunction with the Legislative Task Force on Cancer in Texas, which had been formed in 1984. The Texas Cancer Plan is a comprehensive, long-range strategy for supporting and coordinating public, private, and volunteer efforts to lessen the burdens of cancer in the state. Originally, the Cancer Council was mandated to cooperate and coordinate with the Legislative Task Force on Cancer in Texas, so long as that body existed (formed in 1984, it published its final report in 1986). The Cancer Council would then continue to revise and implement the Cancer Plan.

The Texas Cancer Plan has four objectives:

to increase awareness of prevention programs that may help lower the risk of developing cancer;
to promote the early detection and diagnosis of cancer;
to improve the accessibility, availability, and quality of treatment resources, services, and programs throughout the state; and
to advance development and application of new prevention, detection, diagnostic, and therapeutic methods and techniques.

The council has initiated various statewide programs and services that address the goals of the Texas Cancer Plan. For example:

The Physician Oncology Education Program conducts continuing medical education in five specialty areas for practicing primary care physicians.
The Nurse Oncology Education Program offers continuing education programs for practicing nurses and works with the state's 64 nursing schools to improve education in oncology nursing.
The Texas School Health Initiative provides training to a broad range of school personnel through 20 regional school health specialists, with emphasis on such cancer-related topics as proper nutrition and avoidance of tobacco use.
The Texas Cancer Data Center, at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, serves as a clearinghouse for information about cancer demographics, services, programs, and care providers in Texas. This Center maintains the web site that is shared by the Texas Cancer Council.

By law the Cancer Council may appoint advisory committees to aid in the implementation of the Cancer Plan. So far there have been nine such advisory committees, falling into two groups: (1) the original group of five committees -- Community Cancer Care, Oncology Guidelines, Professional Education, Public Education, and Private Sector Initiatives; and (2) the current group of four committees -- Community Cancer Control, Detection and Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment. The Cancer Council conducts studies and surveys deemed necessary for the implementation of the Cancer Plan. And finally, the council monitors contracts and agreements for cancer programs authorized by law, accepts transfers of monies, and spends grant funds made available by the state and by other public or private sources. To administer this grant program, the council adopts rules governing the submission and approval or cancellation of grants, which require interagency agreements or contracts with the council, including provisions for fiscal and program monitoring.

The Texas Cancer Council is composed of sixteen members:

one state representative, appointed by the speaker of the House;
one state senator, appointed by the lieutenant governor;
3 physicians active in cancer treatment, one each appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the House;
3 representatives of a voluntary health organization interested in cancer, one each appointed as above;
3 representatives of a hospital that treats a significant number of cancer patients, one each appointed as above;
3 members of the general public, one each appointed as above;
the chair of the Texas Board of Health, or a designee (ex-officio); and
the chair of the Texas Board of Human Services, or a designee (ex-officio).

(Between 1985 and 1991, the composition of the council was slightly different: the governor appointed no members; there were 4 physicians, and 4 members of the general public; and there were 2 representatives of voluntary health organizations, and 2 of hospitals. Changes were made by House Bill 7, 72^nd Legislature, 1^st Called Session, 1991.)

Except for the legislative members and the ex-officio members, council members serve overlapping six-year terms. These are non-salaried positions, and the governor (originally the speaker of the House) designates the chair. The council hires an executive director. The Texas Cancer Council currently has a staff of 8 FTE.

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Project Review:

I was assigned to appraise the records of this agency on January 7, 1999. This agency has passed its fourth recertification, and is due for a fifth recertification in November 1999.

I reviewed the following: Guide to Texas State Agencies (10^th edition, 1999); the article on the Texas Cancer Council in the New Handbook of Texas (online); the Texas Cancer Council Strategic Plan, FY 1999-FY 2003; the statutes (V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102); General and Special Laws (1985, 1989, and 1991); the rules (25 Texas Administrative Code, Chapters 701-703); and the Texas Cancer Data Center web site (http://www.txcancer.org) (which contains sections on the Texas Cancer Council and Texas Cancer Council publications).

I also consulted the numerous accessions from the Texas Cancer Council in the holdings of the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, many of which are described in an accession summary in the Archives search room (Texas Cancer Council records, 1984-1996, 1.18 cubic ft.: AC 1997/023, 1997/047, 1997/101, and 1998/007).

I reviewed the records retention schedule, a recertification approved November 7, 1997. This report will review and appraise the following 25 series from the records retention schedule.

Nine series are coded “A,” as archival: appointment documentation to Texas Cancer Council Board; appropriations requests and supporting documentation; board meetings-supporting documentation; creation of the Texas Cancer Council; letters/memorandum of understanding; litigation file; meeting agendas; meeting minutes; and organizational charts.

Thirteen series are coded “R,” for archival review: advisory committees; correspondence-administrative; intervention task forces; news releases (clippings and press conferences too); policies and procedures; program and project development and review; program files and related materials ; proposals-rejected; publications development files (includes invitation to bid and strategic plan materials); speeches ; submissions for external publication; Texas Cancer Council assessment study; and Texas Cancer Data Center user survey. Two of these series, intervention task forces and Texas Cancer Data Center user survey, cannot be located.

Three additional series have no archival code on their schedule, but needed to be reviewed: strategic plan (which has an “A” code in the new State Records Retention Schedule); Texas Cancer Council resolutions (which has a permanent retention period); and biennial (narrative) reports (which are not specifically on their schedule, but are included under publications).

On January 21, 1999, Chris LaPlante, Director, Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, mailed an introductory letter to Ms. Meredith Jacobs, Executive Director of the Texas Cancer Council, explaining the appraisal process. (Ms. Jacobs had just been named the new executive director, to replace Emily Untermeyer, who had been executive director since 1989.) Although Ms. Jacobs is the assigned Records Management Officer for her agency, she delegates all scheduling and records management to Yvette Jimenez, Administrative Technician.

I met with Ms. Jimenez on February 9, 1999, in the agency's offices, and after a brief orientation to appraisal I gave her worksheets for the 9 archival series, 13 archival review series, and 3 series with no archival code that also needed to be reviewed. I had already filled out several of the worksheets, based on records that had been transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division in the past; this was meant to serve as a model. We discussed biennial narrative reports, and I learned that these have not been produced since the 1993 report (the only one in the Texas Documents Collection); instead, the agency submits copies of the strategic plan, the Texas Cancer Plan, and the current TCC brochure in lieu of that narrative report. I confirmed that the Cancer Council had microfilmed no records yet; Yvette said that they are considering microfilming their largest series, program files and related material (coded “R” ), the only series that they store at the State Records Center. We discussed some of the pros and cons of microfilming, but I advised her to talk with Sam Burns (her agency's Records Consultant at the State and Local Records Management Division) about this issue. I asked about electronic records (including e-mail), and she told me that the Council considers the hard copy of any document they produce to be the record copy. She also says they do generate e-mail, and I alerted her to the fact that if it meets the legal definition of a record, it needs to be scheduled and managed as such. I referred her to Sam Burns and also to the “Electronic Records” chapter of the Texas State Records Management Manual and to RMD Technical Bulletin 15. I asked about confidentiality, and she said that all of their series were open (which I had noticed from the schedule). The one case that forms their series called litigation file (#20) may have had some material that was previously confidential; the case concerned an executive director who is now deceased. I asked her to note that on the worksheet for that series. I mentioned related records in the State Archives, which include the records of the Legislative Task Force on Cancer. Yvette was very interested (she says they have copies of some of those records there). I later e-mailed the web address of my finding aid on those records for her information. Another related series we have are the records of the Cancer Registry, which is administered by the Department of Health. Yvette mentioned that there was talk of transferring that function to the Cancer Council, but she doubted that it would occur, since they simply don't have the staff or resources to handle it.

Sometime before March 9, I telephoned Ms. Jimenez to check on her progress, and she indicated that she would need a one-month extension. Since there are only nine employees at the Cancer Council, other business had interfered with the task of filling out the worksheets, of which only three or four were complete. At her request, I spent two mornings, March 22 and 23, in the Council offices (about 5.5 hours) actually looking at records, and gathered almost all the information needed to complete the appraisal report. The files are extremely well-organized, and were very easy for me to consult. (It should be noted that this will not be usual practice in the appraisal process.) We could not locate two of the series with an archival review code at that time (intervention task forces and Texas Cancer Data Center user survey), so I asked Yvette to keep searching. On April 2, I e-mailed her a list of questions on 10 series (mostly on volume and date spans); all of the questions had been answered by May 18. On April 14, I e-mailed her a copy of the draft report (without appraisal decisions), and asked her to sign off on the accuracy of the information in the report; I received this confirmation back on May 25, 1999, along with copies of all minutes missing from our holdings. At this point I was able to finish the appraisal report.

Archives Holdings

Meetings files, 1985-1987 (in the records of the Legislative Task Force on Cancer in Texas, AC 1990/143)

Minutes and agenda, 1987-1998

Organizational charts, 1988-1995

News releases, 1984-1991

Planning records, 1990-1995

Policies and procedures (Administrative procedures, Texas Cancer Council rules), 1988-1995

Program and project development and review, 1991-1993

Advisory Committees, 1987-1992

Administrative correspondence (Governor's Office, Governor's Center for Management Development, Governor's Office of Budget and Planning, Attorney General, Executive Director, Ethics Commission), 1990-1996

Speeches, 1984-1990

Previous Destructions

Destruction requests on file in the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission were checked for the Texas Cancer Council, and none were found.

Project Outcome

The appraisal of the records of the Texas Cancer Council is complete. The following is a summary of appraisal decisions.

14 series have been appraised to be archival (including 2 new series).

8 series have been appraised to be non-archival.

4 series should be removed from the schedule.

In addition to the following specific instructions, two more points are to be assumed when applicable:

Any former retention period of PS (Purpose served) now needs to be changed to AV (As long as administratively valuable).

For any archival (“A”) series, transfer to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission all records that have fulfilled their retention period.

Continue to use the archival code of “A” for these series:

Appointment documentation to Texas Cancer Council (TCC) Board

Appropriations requests and supporting documentation (Add note to Remarks column: “The archival requirement will be met by sending required copies to the Texas State Publications Depository Program, Texas State Library and Archives Commission (13 Texas Administrative Code, Section 3.4(3)).” Send one copy of each budget request prior to the FY 1988-1989 request to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission, to fill in gaps.)

Meeting agenda and minutes (Formerly two series, now should be combined. Continue the existing statement in the Remarks column, which is correct and sufficient.)

Board meetings - supporting documentation

Organizational charts

Letters/Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Health (One of two new series created out of the old series Letters/Memorandum of Understanding.)

Replace the archival review code of “R” with the archival code of “A” for these series:

Advisory committees

Correspondence-administrative (Includes Board of Directors members' correspondence, and Attorney General correspondence. Files labeled Administrative correspondence and Governor's Office correspondence should be relabeled as General correspondence, without an archival code. Executive Director correspondence is mixed, and should be physically divided into two series, Administrative correspondence and General correspondence.)

News releases

Agency policies and procedures (Manuals on administrative procedures, and Manuals of policies and procedures for performing agencies. Personnel policies and procedures manuals are non-archival, and need to be renumbered 3.3.024. Texas Register submissions are non-archival, and need to be renumbered 1.1.026. Copies of the governing statute are non-archival, and may form its own series.)

Speeches

Add the archival code of “A” to the following series:

Strategic Plan (Add note to the Remarks column: “The archival requirement will be met by sending required copies to the Texas State Publications Depository Program, Texas State Library and Archives Commission (13 Texas Administrative Code, Section 3.4(1)(C)).”)

Add the following new series to the retention schedule, with an archival code of “A”:

Historical books (See the series review of Program files and related materials. Assign a retention period of “AV.”)

Publications in lieu of biennial report (The Remarks column should state the following: “Includes Cancer Plan and Cancer Council brochure. The archival requirement will be met by sending required copies to the Texas State Publications Depository Program, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.” The cover letters should be included in this series.)

Change the archival code of “A” to the archival exception code of “E” for the following series, and add note to Remarks column: “Archival code removed subsequent to appraisal by the Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, May 25, 1999.”

Creation of the Texas Cancer Council

Letters/Memorandum of Understanding with contracting organizations (One of two new series created out of the old series Letters/Memorandum of Understanding.)

Change the archival review code of “R” to the archival exception code of “E" for the following series, and add note to Remarks column: “Archival code removed subsequent to appraisal by the Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, May 25, 1999."

Program files and related materials (However, Historical books should be a separate series that is archival.)

Proposals-rejected

Publications development files

Submissions for external publication

Texas Cancer Council assessment study

Remove the following series from the retention schedule:

Litigation file (May now be discarded since the files have fulfilled their retention period. If any new litigation files are created in the future, this series must be added again, must be reassigned the “R” code, and must be reappraised.)

Program and project development and review (This series is obsolete; existing records should be transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission.)

Intervention task forces (This series contains no records.)

Texas Cancer Data Center user survey (This series contains no records.)

Texas Cancer Council resolutions (This series should be combined with Meeting minutes, and photocopies should be transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission.)

The following records need to be transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission, since (or if) they have fulfilled their retention period:

Appointment documentation to Texas Cancer Council (TCC) Board (those that have fulfilled their administrative value)

Board meetings - supporting documentation (those that have fulfilled their administrative value)

Organizational charts (those that have been superseded, i.e., all except the most current chart)

Letters/Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Health (5 years after it has been superseded)

Advisory committees (all remaining files, 1994-1997)

Correspondence - administrative (Board of Directors members' correspondence, through 1995; Attorney General correspondence, through 1995; and Executive Director administrative correspondence, through 1995)

News releases (1992-1996)

Agency policies and procedures (Manuals on administrative procedures, 1996-1997; and Manuals of policies and procedures for performing agencies, 1997.)

Speeches (1995-1996)

Historical books (those that have fulfilled their administrative value)

Texas Cancer Council resolutions (photocopies only)

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Record Series Reviews

Record Series Review
Series Title: Appointment Documentation to Texas Cancer Council (TCC) Board

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

0.2 cubic ft. in the central file room. Retained by the agency until purpose is served. Present holdings date 1985-1998.

Description:

These records consist of correspondence regarding appointment of individuals to the Texas Cancer Council, dating 1985-1998. Correspondents include the appointing officials (the Speaker of the House, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Governor), the nominees (accepting or declining), and the executive director (alerting officials to upcoming term expirations). Also included are charts of appointed individuals, showing the positions they filled, their dates of appointment, and their dates of expiration.

Purpose:

These files are created when individuals are appointed to positions on the Texas Cancer Council, and when those individuals accept or decline the appointment.

Agency Program:

The Texas Cancer Plan has four objectives: to increase awareness of prevention programs that may help lower the risk of developing cancer; to promote the early detection and diagnosis of cancer; to improve the accessibility, availability, and quality of treatment resources, services, and programs throughout the state; and to advance development and application of new prevention, detection, diagnostic, and therapeutic methods and techniques.

The council has initiated various statewide programs and services that address the goals of the Texas Cancer Plan. For example: the Physician Oncology Education Program; the Nurse Oncology Education Program; the Texas School Health Initiative; the Texas Cancer Data Center, at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston; etc. The Cancer Council conducts necessary studies and surveys. And finally, the council monitors contracts and agreements for cancer programs authorized by law, accepts transfers of monies, and spends funds made available by the federal and state governments and by other public or private sources. To administer this grant program, the council adopts rules governing the submission and approval or cancellation of grants, which require interagency agreements or contracts with the council, including provisions for fiscal and program monitoring.

The Texas Cancer Council is composed of sixteen members: one state representative, appointed by the speaker of the House; one state senator, appointed by the lieutenant governor; 3 physicians active in cancer treatment, one each appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the House; 3 representatives of a voluntary health organization interested in cancer, one each appointed as above; 3 representatives of a hospital that treats a significant number of cancer patients, one each appointed as above; 3 members of the general public, one each appointed as above; the chair of the Texas Board of Health, or a designee (ex-officio); and the chair of the Texas Board of Human Services, or a designee (ex-officio).

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Sections 102.004 and 102.005

Arrangement: Reverse chronological order

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps?

These files do not contain all of the letters from the original set of appointees in 1985. Also missing is documentation explaining why at least two individuals did not serve or served only briefly.

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies:

Appointment files in the records of the Secretary of State, and of the various Governors and Lieutenant Governors.

Previous destructions:

Destruction requests on file in the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission were checked for the Texas Cancer Council, and none were found for this series or for equivalent or related series.

Publications based on records:

None based on these records, although Governors' appointments are published in the Texas Register.

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Appointment Documentation to Texas Cancer Council (TCC) Board
Series item number: 1.1
Agency item number: 4
Archival code: A
Retention: PS

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Appraisal Decision:

Basic appointment documentation to many state agencies is published in the Texas Register, when those appointments are gubernatorial; this fact makes most series such as this redundant. Furthermore, the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission does hold some appointment files (in the records of the Secretary of State, of various Governors, and of various Lieutenant Governors). However, some of the members of the Texas Cancer Council are appointed by the Speaker of the House, whose records we do not have. For this reason, as well as for the convenience of having all documentation of this kind in one place, this series should be appraised as archival. The Texas Cancer Council should continue to use “A” as the archival code for this series on the agency's records retention schedule. It should also transfer to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission all files in this series that have fulfilled their retention period (i.e., are no longer of any administrative value).

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Appropriations Requests and Supporting Documentation

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

0.3 cubic ft. in the records storage room. Retained by the agency for 6 years after the passage of the Appropriations Act, according to the agency's records retention schedule. However, present holdings date 1985-1998.

Description:

These records consist of legislative appropriations requests (LARs) plus a minimal amount of correspondence (primarily cover letters) from the Texas Cancer Council, dating 1985-1998. The requests generally contain an administrator's statement of agency functions. The program objectives and/or strategies are listed, along with a description of each objective, a discussion of performance measures, statistics, efficiency measures, and expenses--expended, current, and projected, at different funding levels. LARs often contain an organizational chart as well.

Purpose:

These records are created to request specific appropriations from the legislature and to provide justification for the amounts requested.

Agency Program:

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102

Also 25 Texas Administrative Code, Section 701.7

Arrangement: Chronological

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? No gaps at the agency.

Texas Documents Collection holdings: no LARs for 1985-1987

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records:

Legislative Budget Board, Legislative Budget Estimates have been published since fiscal years 1954 and 1955. This publication, a compilation of data for all state agencies, summarizes the fiscal information found in agency-submitted budgets or appropriation requests, but omits most of the narrative.

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Appropriations Requests and Supporting Documentation
Series item number: 1.1.004
Agency item number: 5
Archival code: A
Retention: AC + 6

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Texas Documents Collection holdings:

Request for legislative appropriations submitted to the Governor's Budget Office and Legislative Budget Board by Texas Cancer Council: for FY 1988-1989, 1990-1991, 1992-1993, 1994-1995, 1996-1997, 1998-1999, and 2000-2001.

Appraisal Decision:

Legislative appropriation requests (LARs) provide evidence of the agency's fiscal performance and needs. They are summary and yet thorough enough, making them archival records. The Texas Cancer Council should continue to use “A" as the archival code for this series on the agency's records retention schedule.

The Cancer Council should add the following note to the Remarks column: “The archival requirement will be met by sending required copies to the Texas State Publications Depository Program, Texas State Library and Archives Commission (13 Texas Administrative Code, Section 3.4(3))."

The cover letters in this series are not archival, and may be discarded when they fulfill their retention period.

The Cancer Council should send copies (two if possible) of each of the budget requests dated 1985-1987 (i.e., all those prior to the FY 1988-1989 request) to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission for inclusion in the holdings of the Texas Documents Collection. The agency may then discard all other copies of LARs that have fulfilled their retention period.

Record Series Review
Series Title: Creation of the Texas Cancer Council

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? Yes

Ongoing record series? No

Agency holdings:

0.15 cubic ft. in the central file room. Retained by the agency until purpose is served. Present holdings date 1985-1990.

Description:

These records consist of a variety of documents related to the creation and early history of the Texas Cancer Council, dated 1985-1990. Included are the following: copies of the enabling legislation (Senate Bill 53, 69^th Legislature), copies of early rules, a state agency background questionnaire, correspondence with the Comptroller from March 1986 (with a staff note saying “Extremely important - keep always"), a copy of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Health, an inventory of records transferred to the State Archives in April 1990 (27 boxes), and a copy of the finding aid produced by the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for those records (AC 1990/143).

Purpose:

These records were created at key points during the first five years of the history of the Texas Cancer Council and are maintained as an introduction to the agency's creation and early years. Special note should be made of the 1986 correspondence with the Comptroller, which documents the Comptroller's opinion that the Cancer Council is a stand-alone state agency.

Agency Program:

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102

Arrangement: No apparent order.

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? No records found after 1990.

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Creation of the Texas Cancer Council
Series item number: 1.1
Agency item number: 11
Archival code: A
Retention: PS

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Appraisal Decision:

Although this series may be very convenient and useful to the agency itself, it contains materials that are duplicated elsewhere. Laws and rules are easily found in publications. The inventory and the finding aid of archival records are found in permanent records of the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. And the Memorandum of Understanding and correspondence with the Comptroller are found in another series (Letters/Memorandum of Understanding), reviewed in this report and determined to be archival.

Therefore the items in the series Creation of the Texas Cancer Council are not archival. The Cancer Council should remove the “A" designation for this series in the archival column in its records retention schedule, and replace it with the new code of “E" (for exempt). Then in the Remarks column, they should add this note: “Archival code removed subsequent to appraisal by the Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, May 25, 1999."

The records may then be discarded when they have fulfilled their retention period (i.e., after they cease to be administratively valuable).

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Letters/Memorandum of Understanding

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

0.1 cubic ft., in two locations: in the central file room (MOU with Department of Health), and in blue file cabinets (all others). Retained by the agency for 5 years after they are superseded. Present holdings date 1985-1988 and 1995-1998.

Description:

These records consist of two kinds of files: a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Health dated 1985, with related correspondence, 1985-1988; and MOUs with contracting organizations, dating 1995-1998. The first of these (the only one with a state agency) involved an MOU coordinating administrative responsibilities between the Texas Cancer Council and the Texas Department of Health in 1985; it includes a Comptroller's opinion that the Texas Cancer Council is a free-standing agency.

The second type of MOU is with various organizations, e.g. with the National Association of Social Workers (a project income agreement), with the Harrington Cancer Center (for a laser printer), etc. Almost all of these MOUs are for electronic equipment. In addition to the memorandum and related correspondence, there is an MOU and Project Income Agreements tracking chart for the beginning of each fiscal year, giving the name of the entity or project, the beginning and ending dates of the agreement, the dates of the receipt of beginning and ending reports, a description of the MOU, and its status or other comments.

Purpose:

These records are created either (1) to formalize an agreement coordinating administrative responsibilities between the Texas Cancer Council and the Texas Department of Health in 1985; or (2) to formalize agreements between the Cancer Council and entities receiving grant money, particularly concerning electronic equipment.

Agency Program:

The council has initiated various statewide programs and services that address the goals of the Texas Cancer Plan. For example: the Physician Oncology Education Program; the Nurse Oncology Education Program; the Texas School Health Initiative; the Texas Cancer Data Center, at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston; etc. The Cancer Council conducts necessary studies and surveys. And finally, the council monitors contracts and agreements for cancer programs authorized by law, accepts transfers of monies, and spends funds made available by the federal and state governments and by other public or private sources. To administer this grant program, the council adopts rules governing the submission and approval or cancellation of grants. To receive a grant, a recipient must execute an interagency agreement or a contract with the Texas Cancer Council, and these contracts must include program and fiscal monitoring.

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Sections 102.010(c)

Also 25 Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 703

Arrangement:

By entity or project, with expired MOUs at the end. The MOU with the Department of Health is filed in a separate location.

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? 1989-1994

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Letters/Memorandum of Understanding
Series item number: 1.1.011
Agency item number: 19
Archival code: A
Retention: US + 5

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Appraisal Decision:

This series represents two totally distinct kinds of memoranda of understanding, with different purposes and different appraisal considerations.

The MOU with the Department of Health documents the coordination of administrative responsibilities in earlier years, and includes a Comptroller's opinion that the Texas Cancer Council is a free-standing agency. This file is therefore archival.

MOUs with contracting organizations are of only transitory significance, involving mainly the use of electronic equipment. These files are therefore not archival.

These separate kinds of records should therefore be divided into two distinctive series, with different titles and different archival codes. One series should be called “Letters/Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Health" and should contain the archival code of “A." At the end of its retention period, it should be transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

The other series should be called “Letters/Memoranda of Understanding with contracting organizations," and should contain the new archival code of “E" (exempt), with this note in the Remarks column: “Archival code removed subsequent to appraisal by the Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, May 25, 1999." At the end of its retention period, it should be disposed of.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Litigation File

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? Yes

Ongoing record series? No

Agency holdings:

Fractional cubic ft., maintained in the office of the business manager (currently Lisa Nelson). Retained by the agency for 5 years after the settlement was reached, according to the records retention schedule. However, present holdings date 1987-1991. (The case was settled in 1991.)

Description:

These records consist of correspondence concerning a disputed claim for compensation submitted by D.L. Moore, MD, a former executive director of the Texas Cancer Council. The correspondence was between Dr. Moore and TCC staff and the Attorney General's Office. Since the claim was settled out of court, no court documents are included. Dr. Moore is now deceased.

Purpose:

The records were created during the course of a disputed claim for compensation submitted by Dr. D.L. Moore, a former executive director of the Texas Cancer Council, ending in an out-of-court settlement.

Agency Program:

The council hires an executive director. The Texas Cancer Council currently has a staff of 8 FTE.

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102; especially Section 102.009(b)(1)

Also 25 Texas Administrative Code, Section 701.5

Arrangement: Reverse chronological order.

Access Constraints:

None; nothing is marked Confidential, even correspondence from the Attorney General; it is possible that confidential records have been removed.

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? None; the case was begun in 1987 and settled in 1991, and the agency has been involved in no other litigation or possible litigation.

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None known, although possibly an equivalent file is maintained by the Attorney General's office.

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Litigation File
Series item number: 1.1.048
Agency item number: 20
Archival code: A
Retention: AC + 5

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Appraisal Decision:

Although any litigation is a serious matter for the agency involved, disputes over compensation hardly ever have enduring value. This particular case is briefly noted in the agency's minutes, and that is sufficient documentation. It is therefore not archival.

The records may now be discarded since they have fulfilled their retention period. The Cancer Council should then remove this series from its records retention schedule, since the series will now be empty.

In the future, should any new litigation file be created, it should be added once again to the schedule, with an archival code of “R." The Cancer Council staff can then notify the appraisal archivists of the Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, to schedule a re-appraisal of that series.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Meeting Agendas

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

There is an estimated fractional cubic ft., filed with “Supporting documentation" in the central file room and the records storage room, rather than in the files labeled “Minutes and agenda." Retained by the agency permanently, according to the records retention schedule, although “Supporting documentation" is retained only until purpose served (also according to the records retention schedule). However, present holdings date 1989-1999.

Description:

These records consist of copies of public agenda and annotated agenda, and (in the earlier years) of draft agenda, for board meetings of the Texas Cancer Council, dating 1989-1999. These agenda outline the items proposed for discussion and/or action at the board meetings. Annotated agenda include text not found on the public agenda, to prompt staff and board members as to what motions are recommended on each item.

Purpose:

These records were created for two purposes, depending on the kind of agenda. Public agenda inform the public as to what will be discussed and/or decided at each board meeting. Annotated agenda remind staff and board members as to what their recommended motions are on each agenda item.

Agency Program:

The council has initiated various statewide programs and services that address the goals of the Texas Cancer Plan. For example: The Physician Oncology Education Program conducts continuing medical education in five specialty areas for practicing primary care physicians. The Nurse Oncology Education Program offers continuing education programs for practicing nurses and works with the state's 64 nursing schools to improve education in oncology nursing. The Texas School Health Initiative provides training to a broad range of school personnel through 20 regional school health specialists, with emphasis on such cancer-related topics as proper nutrition and avoidance of tobacco use. The Texas Cancer Data Center, at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, serves as a clearinghouse for information about cancer demographics, services, programs, and care providers in Texas. This Center maintains the web site that is shared by the Texas Cancer Council.

By law the Cancer Council may appoint advisory committees to aid in the implementation of the Cancer Plan. The Cancer Council conducts necessary studies and surveys. And finally, the council monitors contracts and agreements for cancer programs authorized by law, accepts transfers of monies, and spends funds made available by the federal and state governments and by other public or private sources. To administer this grant program, the council adopts rules governing the submission and approval or cancellation of grants, which require interagency agreements or contracts with the council, including provisions for fiscal and program monitoring.

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102, especially Section 102.008

Also 25 Texas Administrative Code, Section 701.6

Arrangement: Chronological, but filed in the files containing Supporting documentation.

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None&

Gaps? There are no agenda prior to 1989.

Problems: Agenda are filed with Supporting documentation rather than with Minutes and agenda, thus making the latter label incorrect.

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Meeting Agendas
Series item number: 1.1.016
Agency item number: 21
Archival code: A
Retention: PM

Archival holdings:

Minutes and agenda, 1987-1999, 0.24 cubic ft. Agenda do not actually begin in these meeting files until May 1994.

In these holdings at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, agenda and minutes are filed together. The agenda included in the Archives holdings are public (rather than annotated) agenda.

Appraisal Decision:

Meeting agenda are very helpful as an aid to research in meeting minutes, serving somewhat as a table of contents. The Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission has determined that agenda and minutes together are inherently archival.

Agenda are less useful, however, when separated from the minutes to which they apply. Therefore the Texas Cancer Council should combine meeting agenda and meeting minutes into one series on their records retention schedule, renamed “Meeting agenda and minutes," and it should continue to use “A" as the archival code for these records. The existing statement in the Remarks column is correct and sufficient.

There is no need to continue faxing meeting agenda to the Archives and Information Services Division, as has been the practice in the past. Simply include them with the appropriate minutes when they are transferred.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Meeting Minutes

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

There is an estimated 0.24 cubic ft., located in the central file room (October 1994-February 1999) and in the records storage room (April 1987-August 1994), in files labeled “Minutes and agenda," although they do not contain agenda. Retained by the agency permanently, according to the records retention schedule. However, present holdings date 1987-1999.

Description:

These records consist of minutes of meetings of the Texas Cancer Council, dated April 1987-February 1999. These minutes contain summaries of the discussions and actions of the Council at their regularly scheduled meetings, usually quarterly. These discussions and actions include the following: project funding requests and decisions (by far the most voluminous item in each set of minutes); the Executive Director's report; proposal, amendment, and adoption of rules; review and adoption of legislative appropriation requests (LARs), as well as operating budgets; elections of board officers; adoption and revision of the Texas Cancer Plan, and the Texas Breast and Cervical Cancer Plan; strategic planning efforts; updates on legislative issues; and miscellaneous other reports (e.g. report on meeting with medical school deans, report on Cancer Incidence Reporting System, Oncology Guidelines revision, the Merkel Journalism Awards report, etc.).

Earlier Texas Cancer Council meetings files, November 14, 1985 thru May 7, 1987, are located in the holdings of the Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, within the records of the Legislative Task Force on Cancer in Texas (AC 1990/143).

Purpose:

Minutes are created to document in a thorough but usually summary fashion the official actions of the board in its meetings.

Agency Program:

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102, especially Section 102.008

Also 25 Texas Administrative Code, Section 701.6

Arrangement: Reverse chronological order.

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps?

No minutes are found prior to April 1987 at the agency. Minutes for July 1989 were handled by M.D. Anderson Hospital and are not found at the agency.

Problems: Agency files are labeled “Minutes and agenda,” but contain no agenda. Files in the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission contain both minutes and agenda.

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Meeting Minutes
Series item number: 1.1.017
Agency item number: 23
Archival code: A
Retention: PM

Archival holdings:

Meetings files, November 1985-May 1987, 0.75 cubic ft. (in an accession of records of the Legislative Task Force on Cancer in Texas)

Minutes and agenda, April 1987-February 1999, 0.34 cubic ft.

Appraisal Decision:

Meeting minutes provide what is probably the most important documentation of the agency's activities; they are thorough yet succinct. The Texas Cancer Council should combine meeting agenda and meeting minutes into one series on their records retention schedule, renamed “Meeting agenda and minutes,” and it should continue to use “A” as the archival code for these records. It should change the record series item number to 1.1.058. The existing statement in the Remarks column is correct and sufficient.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Board Meetings - supporting documentation

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: 0.4 cubic ft.

Agency holdings:

2.5 cubic ft., located in the central file room (October 1994-February 1999) and in the records storage room (November 1989-August 1994). Retained by the agency until purpose is served, according to the records retention schedule. However, present holdings date 1989-1999.

Description:

These records consist of meeting files containing agenda, briefing materials, and other records relating to board meetings of the Texas Cancer Council, dating 1989-1999. A typical file contents includes some or all of the following: public agenda, annotated agenda, minutes of the previous meeting, an attendance poll, a board travel poll, a check list, public handouts and documents to be considered at the meeting (e.g., a funding application review schedule, a comparison table on the Texas Cancer Plan, a plan of review and intent to review, documentation for the legislative appropriation request, proposed revisions to rules, a draft of the strategic plan, etc.). Minutes and agenda in earlier files (e.g. 1990) are usually marked as working drafts.

Also included (but filed separately) are meeting files of the following committees: the Executive Committee (1989-1998), the Administration Committee (1996-1998), the Contract Management Committee (1996-1998), and the Planning and Program Development Committee (1996-1998), primarily containing minutes and annotated agenda.

Purpose:

Supporting documentation is created for distribution to the board members of the Texas Cancer Council, to provide the basis for the discussions and decisions of the board at their meetings.

Agency Program:

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102, especially Section 102.008

Also 25 Texas Administrative Code, Section 701.6

Arrangement: Chronological

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? No files are found prior to November 1989.

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Board Meetings - supporting documentation
Series item number: 1.1.052
Agency item number: 8
Archival code: A
Retention: PS

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Appraisal Decision:

Supporting documentation for Texas Cancer Council board meetings (particularly the public handouts and documents to be considered at the meeting) provide fuller coverage of this basic activity than do the minutes. Their supplemental value is sufficient to warrant archival retention. The Texas Cancer Council should continue to use “A” as the archival code for these records. It should change the record series item number to 1.1.062. It should also begin to transfer to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission all of these files that have fulfilled their retention period by no longer being of administrative value.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Organizational Charts

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

Fractional cubic ft. in the central file room. Retained by the agency until superseded, according to the records retention schedule. However, present holdings date October 1996-June 1998.

Description:

These records consist of copies of organization charts, staff lists, and occasional personnel position descriptions/explanations of administrative responsibilities for the Texas Cancer Council, dated 1988-1998. Names of staff members holding each position are also included on many of the organizational charts.

Purpose:

The purpose of organizational charts is to indicate agency staff organization in a graphic format.

Agency Program:

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102, especially Section 102.009(b)(1) and (6)

Arrangement: Reverse chronological order

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? 1985-1987; no organization charts have been found prior to 1988.

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records:

Organizational charts are included in the 1993 report to the Governor and Legislature, and in each Strategic Plan, 1992-1998 (usually without names of staff).

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Organizational Charts
Series item number: 1.1.023
Agency item number: 27
Archival code: A
Retention: US

Archival holdings:

Organizational charts, 1988-1995, fractional

These records have been described in a very general way in an Accession Summary, located in the Archives' search room.

Appraisal Decision:

Organizational charts provide a convenient way of tracking the evolution of an agency's structure over time. These particular files are occasionally enhanced by explanations of administrative responsibilities and the names of staff members holding each position. Organizational charts are inherently archival. The Texas Cancer Council should continue to use “A” as the archival code for these records. It should also transfer to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission all organization charts that have fulfilled their retention period by being superseded.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Advisory Committees

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

0.15 cubic ft. in the records storage room. Retained by the agency for 2 years, according to the records retention schedule. However, present holdings date 1994-1997.

Description:

These records consist of correspondence, memoranda, membership lists, proposal reviews/assessment reports on proposals for funding, minutes, annual advisory committee reports, and other documents relating to the work of advisory committees of the Texas Cancer Council, dating 1987-1990, 1992, and 1994-1997. The nine advisory committees for which there are records fall into two groups, and include the following: (1) Community Cancer Care, Oncology Guidelines, Professional Education, Public Education, and Private Sector Initiatives (late 1980s); and (2) Community Cancer Control, Detection and Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment (1990s).

More detailed descriptions for the two groups of advisory committee files follow.

One set of files (which are now in the holdings of the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission) contains a variety of documents concerning five of the earlier advisory committees (Community Cancer Care, Oncology Guidelines, Professional Education, Public Education, and Private Sector Initiatives), dating 1987-1990. These documents include the following: correspondence (especially between the Executive Director of the Cancer Council and the members of the various advisory committees), some (but apparently not all) minutes of meetings of the advisory committees, individual assessment reports on proposals for funding, annual advisory committee reports, lists of names and addresses of advisory committee members, information sheets on each of the original six advisory committees (including role/objective, frequency of meetings, and a list of members), and other attachments (e.g., organization charts and the constitution and by-laws of the Texas Health Foundation).

A second set of files contains documents concerning the four later advisory committees (Community Cancer Control, Detection and Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment). Files dating 1990 and 1992 are now in the holdings of the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission, and those dating 1994-1997 are still at the Cancer Council. These documents include the following: correspondence to and from persons named to advisory committees (generally announcing nominations, and accepting or declining nominations), lists of members, and memoranda concerning proposals for Texas Cancer Council funding, addressed to members of advisory committees for their review and comment, from either the executive director or the program services manager of the Texas Cancer Council. These latter memos typically include a list of the proposals with their authors/originators, a list of enclosures, and a timeline or schedule of deadlines. The proposals themselves are not included, nor are enclosures concerning those proposals. Examples of proposals under review are “Rural Community Cancer Services" (from the Center for Rural Health Initiative); “Cancer Prevention in African American Males" (from Texas Southern University); “Smokeless Tobacco Use by Adolescent Males" (from the Allan Shivers Radiation Therapy Center). Also included are memoranda concerning review procedures.

Purpose:

These records are created during the course of business conducted by the various advisory committees of the Texas Cancer Council, particularly the review of proposals for funding.

Agency Program:

The Cancer Council conducts necessary studies and surveys. And finally, the council monitors contracts and agreements for cancer programs authorized by law, accepts transfers of monies, and spends funds made available by the federal and state governments and by other public or private sources. To administer this grant program, the council adopts rules governing the submission and approval or cancellation of grants, which require interagency agreements or contracts with the council, including provisions for fiscal and program monitoring.

The enabling legislation allows the Texas Cancer Council to appoint advisory committees to help implement the Texas Cancer Plan. Originally there were six Advisory Committees to the Texas Cancer Council: (1) Cancer Research, (2) Community Cancer Care, (3) Oncology Guidelines, (4) Professional Education, (5) Public Education, and (6) Private Sector Initiatives. These earlier committees had from five to eight members each. By the early 1990s, there were four Advisory Committees: (1) Community Cancer Control, (2) Detection and Diagnosis, (3) Prevention, and (4) Treatment. Each of the later advisory committees had from three to five members.

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Sections 102.009(b)(2)-(5), 102.010, and 102.012

Also 25 Texas Administrative Code, Section 703.6 (b) and (d)

Arrangement: In two chronological groups (before and after 1990), then alphabetical by advisory committee, and therein in reverse chronological order.

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? 1985-1986, 1991, 1993, and 1998-1999.

There are also apparently no records for the Cancer Research Advisory Committee (late 1980s).

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Advisory Committees
Series item number: 1.1
Agency item number: 2
Archival code: R
Retention: 2

Archival holdings:

Advisory Committees, 1987-1990, 0.3 cubic ft. (The files of the Private Sector Initiatives Advisory Committee, 1987-1988, were transferred in FY 1997; the files of four other advisory committees -- Community Cancer Care, Oncology Guidelines, Professional Education, Public Education), 1987-1990 -- were transferred in February 1999.)

These files contain a variety of documents concerning five of the earlier advisory committees (Community Cancer Care, Oncology Guidelines, Professional Education, Public Education, and Private Sector Initiatives), dating 1987-1990. These documents include the following: correspondence (especially between the Executive Director of the Cancer Council and the members of the various advisory committees), some (but apparently not all) minutes of meetings of the advisory committees, individual assessment reports on proposals for funding, annual advisory committee reports, lists of names and addresses of advisory committee members, information sheets on each of the original six advisory committees (including role/objective, frequency of meetings, and a list of members), and other attachments (e.g., organization charts and the constitution and by-laws of the Texas Health Foundation).

Advisory Committees, 1990, 1992, fractional (transferred in FY 1997)

These files contain documents concerning the four later advisory committees (Community Cancer Control, Detection and Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment), dating 1990 and 1992. These documents include the following: lists of members, and memoranda concerning proposals for Texas Cancer Council funding, addressed to members of advisory committees for their review and comment, from either the executive director or the program services manager of the Texas Cancer Council. These latter memos typically include a list of the proposals with their authors/originators, a list of enclosures, and a timeline or schedule of deadlines. The proposals themselves are not included, nor are enclosures concerning those proposals. Also included are memoranda concerning review procedures.

(Neither of the above accessions has been described in any finding aid, pending the results of appraisal.)

Appraisal Decision:

These records document the activities of the various advisory committees of the Texas Cancer Council, particularly the review of proposals for funding; this work is vital to the overall functioning of the agency. Project funding requests and decisions are covered in the series Meeting minutes, but not to this level of detail. Nor do the board minutes usually report on the activities of specific advisory committees. These records are therefore archival. The Cancer Council should change the archival code of this series from “R" to “A." It should also transfer to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission all advisory committee records that have fulfilled their retention period of 2 years.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Correspondence - Administrative

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: 0.1 cubic ft.

Agency holdings:

1.3 cubic ft., scattered among five file groupings in both the central file room and the records storage room. Retained by agency for 3 years, with annual review, according to the agency's records retention schedule. However, present holdings of the agency date 1989-1999.

Description:

These records consist of correspondence and memoranda, with some attachments, relating (mostly) to the substantive work of the Texas Cancer Council, dating, 1989-1999. There are five groupings of “administrative" correspondence, with different correspondents and different values, which are described as follows:

Administrative correspondence, 1989-1999, consists of correspondence between the agency staff and other state agencies and private citizens, of a generally administrative nature. However, the topics of this correspondence really place it in the category of General correspondence, e.g.: certificates of appreciation, the building lease, directory listings, parking, leadership institutes, publication subscriptions, holiday closings, pest control, etc.

Board of Directors correspondence, 1989-1999, consists of correspondence and memoranda between the executive director and board members of the Cancer Council, concerning such substantive topics as the following: legislative updates, Texas Cancer Plan revisions, appropriations updates, performance review audits, board meetings, agenda for review, briefing materials, appointments to the board, the Tobacco Task Force, the Strategic Plan, etc. All of this correspondence is at an administratively high level.

Executive Director correspondence, 1991-1999, consists of correspondence between the Executive Director of the Cancer Council and organizations, other state agencies, and private citizens. This correspondence concerns a mixture of both substantive issues (such as public education, outreach, the President's Cancer Panel, etc.), and general topics (such as changes of address, letters of appreciation and support, directory updates, holiday closings, etc.)

Governor's Office correspondence, 1994-1999, consists of correspondence between members of the Texas Cancer Council staff and the Governor's office, concerning a variety of generally less substantive issues (and divided into appropriate categories): e.g., the Governor's Executive Development Program, the Governor's Center for Management Development, the Governor's Commission for Women, the Office of Budget and Planning, etc.

Attorney General correspondence, 1990-1999, consists of correspondence and memoranda from the Attorney General and his staff to the Executive Director of the Texas Cancer Council. It concerns mainly substantive issues, such as the following: interagency contracts, employment of outside legal counsel, a plan for consolidation of legal services programs of certain state agencies (Senate Bill 3 Implementation Plan), the procedure for requesting representation from the Attorney General's office, and state employees workers compensation rule changes). Occasionally there is also a general item (e.g. change of address).

Purpose:

Administrative correspondence is created during the course of substantive business carried out by the Texas Cancer Council. It primarily represents communications between the board, the executive director, the governor, the attorney general, other state agencies, and the general public, concerning the creation and implementation of policy at the highest level. Some of the subseries represented here are mixed in nature, also containing communications of a more general, mundane nature.

Agency Program:

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102

Arrangement:

Located in five groupings: Administrative correspondence, Board of Directors members correspondence, Executive Director correspondence, Governor's Office correspondence, and Attorney General correspondence. Broken down still further in some cases, e.g. Governor's Executive Development Program, Governor's Center for Management Development, Governor's Commission for Women, Office of Budget and Planning. Within each file, arrangement is in reverse chronological order.

Access Constraints:

None; no confidentiality restrictions, even in Attorney General correspondence.

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access?

None, except for the file inventories.

Gaps? No administrative correspondence is found before 1989 at the agency, or before 1990 in the Archives.

Problems:

Board of Directors: Advisory Committees is marked 1.1.007 on the file listing for the central files, but belongs under the series “Advisory Committees."

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Correspondence - Administrative
Series item number: 1.1.007
Agency item number: 9
Archival code: R
Retention: 3 + AR

Archival holdings:

Administrative correspondence, Executive Director, 1991-1993, fractional

Administrative correspondence, Board of Directors, 1993, fractional

Administrative correspondence, Attorney General's Office, 1991, 1993, fractional

Administrative correspondence, 1990-1996, fractional (Governor's Office, Governor's Center for Management Development, Governor's Office of Budget and Planning, Attorney General, Executive Director, Ethics Commission)

All of these records have been described in a very general way in an Accession Summary, located in the Archives' search room.

Appraisal Decision:

Some of the files of the Texas Cancer Council that are designated as Administrative correspondence deal with policy and program issues at a fairly high level. These include Board of Directors members' correspondence, and Attorney General correspondence. To this group should be added correspondence with the Attorney General requesting assistance in reviewing rules (which is currently labeled as part of the series Policies and procedures). All of these are archival records. The Cancer Council should change the archival code of this series from “R" to “A." It should also transfer to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission all such administrative correspondence files that have fulfilled their retention period of 3 years.

Other groups of files that are designated as Administrative correspondence really contain routine, non-substantive materials, and should be reclassified as General correspondence. These include Administrative correspondence, and Governor's Office correspondence. These are not archival records. Since a series exists for general correspondence in the agency's records retention schedule, no change is required in the schedule. The file folders and inventories, however, should be amended to indicate the new classification (1.1.008).

Executive Director correspondence is generally mixed, containing both substantive and lightweight materials. Our recommendation here is that the materials contained in these files be physically divided into two series, Administrative correspondence and General correspondence, for purposes of records management. The first of these are considered archival, the second not.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: News Releases

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

Fractional cubic ft. in the central file room. Retained by the agency for 2 years, according to the records retention schedule. However, present holdings date 1992-1998.

Description:

These records consist of press releases and public service announcements issued by the Texas Cancer Council, plus occasional newspaper clippings, dating 1984-1998. Topics covered include appointments to the Cancer Council, skin cancer awareness, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Plan, the Basic Tumor Registrar Training Program, creation of the Legislative Task Force on Cancer, etc. There are sometimes multiple copies of items in the agency holdings.

Purpose:

These records are created to inform and educate the general public to the work of the Texas Cancer Council, with emphasis on early diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer.

Agency Program:

The enabling legislation allows the Texas Cancer Council to appoint advisory committees to help implement the Texas Cancer Plan. The Cancer Council conducts necessary studies and surveys. And finally, the council monitors contracts and agreements for cancer programs authorized by law, accepts transfers of monies, and spends funds made available by the federal and state governments and by other public or private sources. To administer this grant program, the council adopts rules governing the submission and approval or cancellation of grants, which require interagency agreements or contracts with the council, including provisions for fiscal and program monitoring.

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102

Arrangement: Reverse chronological order

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? None

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: News Releases (clippings & press conferences too)
Series item number: 1.1.019
Agency item number: 25
Archival code: R
Retention: 2

Archival holdings:

News releases, 1984-1991, 0.1 cubic ft.

These records have been described in a very general way in an Accession Summary, located in the Archives' search room.

Appraisal Decision:

News releases document a significant function of the Texas Cancer Council, to increase public awareness of prevention programs that may help lower the risk of developing cancer, as well as to promote early diagnosis and treatment. They have the added advantage that they are minimal in volume. For these reasons they are archival records. The Cancer Council should change the archival code of this series from “R" to “A," and should transfer to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission those records in the series that have fulfilled the retention period of 2 years.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Policies and Procedures

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

0.5 cubic ft. in the central file room. Retained by the agency until superseded, according to the records retention schedule. However, present holdings date 1991-1998 (bulk 1997-1998), and include many superseded manuals.

Description:

These records consist of a variety of documents relating to policies and procedures adopted by the Texas Cancer Council, dating 1988-1998. They include the following: manuals on administrative procedures; manuals of policies and procedures for performing agencies; personnel policies manuals; copies of submissions of proposed and adopted rules to the Texas Register; original signed orders from the Cancer Council regarding rule amendments, repeals, etc.; correspondence with the Attorney General requesting assistance in reviewing rules; copies of the governing statute, 1991-1995; a copy of Comptroller John Sharp's report on the Private Real Property Preservation Act (January 1997); documents used to copy for manuals; etc.

Manuals on administrative procedures (dating January 1994, September 1994, and February 1995 in the holdings of the State Archives, and October 1996, October 1997, and February 1998 at the agency) typically include the following sections: general, fiscal, publications, review of funding proposals, contracts process after board approval, contractors' quarterly reports, on-site monitoring of contractors, council records, private real property preservation, etc.

Manuals of policies and procedures for performing agencies (dating September 1994 in the holdings of the State Archives, and September 1997 and August 1998 at the agency) typically include the following sections: organizational structure, compensation and payment, records retention, budget transfers, funding adjustments and contract amendments, etc.

Personnel policies manuals (dating December 1993, September 1994, and September 1995 in the holdings of the State Archives, and September 1997, February 1998, and August 1998 at the agency) include information on policies relating strictly to personnel matters.

Purpose:

These records are created partly as a result of the rulemaking process. The rules and regulations are proposed and adopted by the Cancer Council according to the requirements of the Texas Administrative Procedures Act.

These records (especially the various manuals) are created primarily to explain policies and procedures established by the Texas Cancer Council to interested parties, including contracting entities, and staff members, and to guide those persons through the process.

Agency Program:

The council hires an executive director. The Texas Cancer Council currently has a staff of 8 FTE.

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102, especially Section 102.010(b)

Also 25 Texas Administrative Code, Chapters 701 and 703, especially Section 701.7

See also the Texas Administrative Procedure Act (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Chapter 2001)

Arrangement:

In subfiles according to the type of document, and therein generally in reverse chronological order.

Access Constraints: Although the series is marked “Open" in the agency's records retention schedule, some of the replies from the Attorney General concerning the rules are marked “Confidential," with the added note that they may also be subject to attorney-client/work product/proprietary information privileges.

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? None are found prior to 1988

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Policies and Procedures
Series item number: 1.1.025
Agency item number: 30
Archival code: R
Retention: US

Archival holdings:

Policies and procedures, 1988-1995, 0.2 cubic ft.

The Archives' appraisal of these records have concluded that the three Personnel Policies manuals (dated December 1993, September 1994, and September 1995) are not archival, and will therefore be destroyed.

Policies and procedures, 1995, fractional (Administrative procedures, Texas Cancer Council rules)

Planning records, 1990-1995, 0.1 cubic ft. = actually Correspondence, Department of Information Resources, (1.1.008 on the retention schedule = general correspondence)

All of these records have been described in a very general way in an Accession Summary, located in the Archives' search room.

Appraisal Decision:

This series actually consists of several separate series under the revised Texas State Records Retention Schedule, with different archival codes and different suggested retention periods.

Personnel policies and procedures manuals need to be renumbered 3.3.024. This is not an archival series, because it documents office policies that are common to most agencies. Nor are Texas Register submissions archival, since they are published and widely distributed by the Secretary of State; they need to be renumbered 1.1.026. Copies of the governing statute may form its own series; it too is published and therefore not archival.

Correspondence with the Attorney General requesting assistance in reviewing rules, and the copy of Comptroller John Sharp's report on the Private Real Property Preservation Act both need to be considered as part of the series of Administrative correspondence. Documents used to copy for manuals properly belong with Publications development files. All of these are appraised in the record series reviews for those records.

Manuals on administrative procedures, and Manuals of policies and procedures for performing agencies, as well as original signed orders from the Cancer Council regarding rule amendments, repeals, etc., all belong in the series here under review, which probably should be renamed “Agency policies and procedures" (1.1.025). They document procedures that are generally unique to the Texas Cancer Council and its programs, and are nowhere else so well explained or organized. Superseded manuals show changes in these policies over time. They are therefore archival. The Cancer Council should change the archival code of this series from “R" to “A." It should also transfer to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission all such manuals that are superseded and have therefore fulfilled their retention period.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Program and Project Development and Review

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? Yes

Ongoing record series? No

Agency holdings:

Fractional cubic ft. in the records storage room. Retained by the agency for two years, with an annual review, according to the records retention schedule. However, present holdings date 1991-1993.

Description:

These records consist of files of two committees of the Texas Cancer Council, dating 1991-1993. The two committees are the Program Development Committee, 1991-1992, and the Project Review Committee, 1992-1993. Types of records include agenda and items for discussion/background materials; highlights of discussion/summaries of meetings (in lieu of minutes?), and related correspondence and memoranda, particularly from the executive director to the members of the committee.

Related records are the files of the Contract Management Committee and the Planning and Program Development Committee, 1996-1998, which are filed with the series Board Meetings - supporting documentation.

Purpose:

These records were created during the course of business conducted by two former committees of the Texas Cancer Council, concerning the development of programs and the review of projects for funding.

Agency Program:

The Program Development Committee and the Project Review Committee have not been in existence since 1993, but the current Contract Management Committee and Planning and Program Development Committee may have assumed their functions. These are subcommittees of the board of the Cancer Council, and make recommendations to the full Council on specific issues.

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102

Also 25 Texas Administrative Code, Section 701.4

Arrangement: By committee, and therein in reverse chronological order

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? 1985-1990 and 1994-present

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Program & Project Development Review
Series item number: 1.1.034
Agency item number: 31
Archival code: R
Retention: 2 + AR

Archival holdings:

Program and project development and review, 1991-1993, fractional

These records have been described in a very general way in an Accession Summary, located in the Archives' search room.

(These files may duplicate and/or overlap the current agency holdings.)

The archival holdings of this series will be renamed Committee files (Program Development and Project Review).

Appraisal Decision:

This series documents the work of two obsolete committees of the Cancer Council, which involved substantive work in developing programs and reviewing projects; these committees are not well documented in the minutes series. Therefore these records are archival. Since the retention period of 2 years has long since passed, the Cancer Council should transfer these files to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission. The archival staff can then determine whether these files are duplicated in our holdings. Since this is an obsolete series, it should be removed from the retention schedule.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Program Files and Related Materials

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: 8 cubic ft.

Agency holdings:

80 cubic ft., housed in the following locations: 16 cubic ft. in blue file cabinets outside business manager's office (FY 1998-1999); 24 cubic ft. in file cabinets in records storage room (FY 1995-1997); and 40 cubic ft. stored off-site at the State Records Center (FY 1986-1994). Retained by the agency for 3 years after completion of each contract, plus 10 years off-site at the State Records Center. Present holdings date 1985-1999.

Description:

These records consist of the complete files regarding programs and projects that have been granted funding by the Texas Cancer Council, dating 1985-1999. For each project, the file contains the original proposal, all correspondence regarding the proposal, the contract, all publications produced by the project, progress reports, etc. In addition, at the beginning of each fiscal year's files there are files containing documentation of the application process, performance measures, funding opportunities, correspondence to all projects, expenditures, and in-kind contributions. Typical projects include the following, taken from FY 1999:

Cancer Intervention Project (Titus County Memorial Hospital), providing culturally relevant educational materials to minority Texans on prevention and early detection of colon, cervical, breast, lung and prostate cancer.

Case Management for Promesa Salud (Planned Parenthood Association of Cameron and Willacy Counties), providing culturally and linguistically sensitive case management which addresses the needs of low-income women receiving breast cancer screening and diagnostic services.

Community-Based Cancer Prevention and Control Program (Stephen F. Austin State University), providing a health promotion and disease prevention program aimed at reducing the risk of cancer by working through a network of employers. The worksite based model will be appropriate for use in rural Texas communities.

Texas Comprehensive School Health Network (Texas Department of Health), which through a network of Regional School Health Specialists in Education Service Centers, assists schools in promoting life-long cancer risk reduction behaviors among school children.

Purpose:

These records are created as a result of a major function of the Texas Cancer Council, the administration of grants. This involves the receipt of proposals, their analysis and evaluation, their approval, the negotiation of contracts, the authorization of funding from the various sources, the monitoring of those projects by way of progress reports, and the termination of projects.

Agency Program:

The Texas Cancer Council monitors contracts and agreements for cancer programs authorized by the enabling legislation, and accepts transfers and spends funds made available by the federal or state government, and by any other public or private source. The Council also adopts rules governing submission and approval or cancellation of the grants.

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Sections 102.009(3) and (5); and 102.010

Also 25 Texas Administrative Code, Section 701.7, and Chapter 703

Arrangement:

Chronological by fiscal year, then numerical by Program number (e.g. 96-05); therein, by type of file (e.g., proposal, correspondence, contract, publications, progress reports).

Access Constraints: Older files (FY 1986-1994) are stored off-site at the State Records Center, requiring time for transfer to the agency prior to use.

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access?

16 binders referred to as “Historical Books," 1985-1998, 2 cubic ft., are kept in the conference room for agency use. They are not published volumes. These records are based on the program files, and serve two purposes: they capture the history of all the projects that the Texas Cancer Council has ever funded, and they provide a quick reference of historical data. Each overview of each project contains the following information in table form: fiscal year, name of project, TCC number, agency/ organization, project director, funding dates, funding amount, funding history by year, whether the project was continued for the next fiscal year, initiative category, population served, geographic region served, cancer topics addressed, project description, accomplishments, and performance data.

Gaps? None

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records:

Earlier publications summarizing these records include Programs funded by the Texas Cancer Council, 1989; Texas Cancer Council Initiatives, 1991 and 1993; and Cancer Prevention and Control Initiatives : An Overview of Texas Cancer Plan Projects, 1996. At the time of this appraisal, the most recent, online publication, was Initiatives funded by the Texas Cancer Council for FY 1999 (the URL is no longer valid, and it is unknown whether this publication is still online in June 2006).

Both the publications and the database include the name of each project, the “contractor" (i.e., initiator of the project/recipient of the funding), the project director and contact information, the priority population, and a very brief summary of the project goals.

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Program Files and Related Materials
Series item number: 1.1
Agency item number: 32
Archival code: R
Retention: AC + 3 + 10

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Appraisal Decision:

This series is overwhelmingly the most voluminous of all the series currently given any kind of archival code, and thoroughly documents the major functions of approval and administration of programs and projects which have been granting funding by the Cancer Council. However, these programs and projects have been sufficiently summarized in agency publications (both print and on-line), as well as in other archival series (e.g. Meeting minutes, Meeting supporting documentation, Advisory committees, and Committee files (Program Development and Project Review). Furthermore, the 16 binders referred to as “historical books" serve as a systematic digest of all funded programs and projects. Currently, however, the Cancer Council does not list the “historical books" as a separate series, nor does it treat them as part of the series under review.

The series called Program files and related materials is for all these reasons not archival. The Cancer Council should remove the “R" designation for this series in the archival column in its records retention schedule, and replace it with the new code of “E" (for exempt). Then in the Remarks column, they should add this note: “Archival review code removed subsequent to appraisal by the Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, May 25, 1999."

However, Historical books should be a separate series that is archival. The Cancer Council should add this series to the retention schedule and give it an “A" in the archival column. Then when the new retention period (perhaps “AV") has been fulfilled, these records should begin to be transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Proposals - Rejected

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: 0.2 cubic ft.

Agency holdings:

2.2 cubic ft. in the records storage room. Retained by the agency for 2 years, according to the records retention schedule. However, present holdings date 1985-1998.

Description:

These records consist of files regarding proposals or applications for funding that were rejected by the Texas Cancer Council, dating 1985-1998. Contents of a rejected file include a copy of the proposal/application, accompanying correspondence including the letter of intent, an application analysis and staff recommendation, a proposal check list, and the letter explaining the rejection or denial.

A complete application would contain all of the following: project overview (including project profile and abstract), project description, and budget information. Project descriptions must contain the following: problem addressed, previous performance, project goals and objectives, methods and activities, monitoring and evaluation, performance measure projections, work plan, qualifications of the applicant/organization, qualifications of project director and key personnel, interagency cooperation and coordination, plan for continuity, confidentiality of records, assurances, recycled products, and historically underutilized businesses. Budget information must include a detailed budget, budget justification, in-kind contributions, and project income.

Purpose:

These records are created as a result of the Texas Cancer Council's rejection of proposals for funding. This involves the receipt of proposals, their analysis and evaluation, their rejection, and the notification of the parties rejected as to the reasons for the denial of funding.

Agency Program:

The Texas Cancer Council adopts rules governing submission and approval or cancellation of the grants for cancer programs authorized by the enabling legislation. To receive a grant, a recipient must execute a contract containing appropriate provisions of program and fiscal monitoring.

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Section 102.010

Also 25 Texas Administrative Code, Section 701.7 and Chapter 703

Arrangement: By fiscal year, and therein by proposal

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? None

Problems: None, except that the individual proposals are not in separate folders, but are lumped together in wallets by fiscal year.

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Proposals - Rejected
Series item number: 1.1
Agency item number: 33
Archival code: R
Retention: 2

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Appraisal Decision:

Sufficient documentation of the rejection of proposals may presumably be found in other archival series (e.g. Meeting minutes, Meeting supporting documentation, Advisory committees, and Committee files (Program Development and Project Review). Even if such documentation did not exist, it is doubtful that rejected proposals ever have enduring value. Therefore this series is not archival. The Cancer Council should remove the “R" designation for this series in the archival column in its records retention schedule, and replace it with the new code of “E" (for exempt). Then in the Remarks column, they should add this note: “Archival review code removed subsequent to appraisal by the Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, May 25, 1999."

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Publications Development Files

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

0.3 cubic ft. in the central file room. Retained by the agency until purpose is served. Present holdings date 1992-1999.

Description:

These records consist of camera-ready copies of publications; 3.5-inch diskettes; correspondence and memoranda concerning printing, binding, etc.; mailing invoices; notes; etc. Dates covered are 1992-1999. Publications correlating to these materials, all published by the Texas Cancer Council, include such items as Pain Treatment Guidelines, TCC Initiatives, brief biographies of Council members, Cancer Plan brochures, invitations to bid, and the agency Strategic Plan.

Related series: Publications (agency item number 34).

Purpose:

These records are created as a byproduct of publications issued by the Texas Cancer Council, including not only the machine-readable and camera-ready copies of those publications, but also documentation of the process of printing and binding the publications.

Agency Program:

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102

Arrangement: By publication, and therein in reverse chronological order.

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? None are found prior to 1992.

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records:

Strategic Plan, Invitations to Bid, Pain Treatment Guidelines, TCC Initiatives, brief biographies of Council members, Cancer Plan brochures, etc.

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Publications Development Files
Series item number: 1.1.028
Agency item number: 35
Archival code: R
Retention: PS

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Appraisal Decision:

The Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission has recommended an archival review code of “R" for series consisting of publications development files, primarily to prevent the loss of significant and original artwork and/or photo prints or negatives sometimes found in such files. The equivalent series in the records of the Texas Cancer Council contains no such material, and is therefore not archival. The publications themselves (a separate series) are permanent, and in some cases archival (e.g., Strategic Plans).

The Cancer Council should remove the “R" designation for this series (publications development files) in the archival column in its records retention schedule, and replace it with the new code of “E" (for exempt). Then in the Remarks column, they should add this note: “Archival review code removed subsequent to appraisal by the Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, May 25, 1999." The Cancer Council should also change the record series item number to 1.3.002.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Speeches

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

Fractional cubic ft. in the central file room. Retained by the agency for 2 years, according to the records retention schedule. However, present holdings date 1995-1998.

Description:

These records consist of the texts of speeches and testimony, plus notes and photocopies of slide presentations, given mainly by the executive director of the Texas Cancer Council, dating 1984-1990 and 1995-1998. The audiences for these speeches and presentations include organizations such as the following: the President's Cancer Council, the Texas Tumor Registrars Association's annual Educational Conference, lay health workers of the National Migrant Referral Program, the Rio Grande Cancer Foundation, the Texas Medical Association's ad hoc committee on Sunset, the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors Clinical Trials Review Group.

Purpose:

Speeches are created to inform and educate interested organizations as to the work of the Texas Cancer Council.

Agency Program:

The council hires an executive director. The Texas Cancer Council currently has a staff of 8 FTE.

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102

Arrangement: Reverse chronological order

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? 1991-1994

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Speeches
Series item number: 1.1.040
Agency item number: 40
Archival code: R
Retention: 2

Archival holdings:

Speeches, 1984-1990, fractional

These records have been described in a very general way in an Accession Summary, located in the Archives' search room.

Appraisal Decision:

Like news releases, speeches document the outreach function of the Texas Cancer Council, but for a different, more focused, target population, namely organizations involved in cancer research and education. They also are not very voluminous. These records are therefore archival. The Cancer Council should change the archival code of this series from “R" to “A," and should transfer to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Library and Archives Commission any speeches that have fulfilled the retention requirement of 2 years.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Submissions for External Publication

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

Fractional cubic ft. in the central file room. Retained by the agency for 2 years, with annual review, according to the records retention schedule. However, present holdings date 1992 and n.d.

Description:

These records consist of two items written by Texas Cancer Council staff, which were published externally: an editorial reprinted from Texas Medicine, “Texas Cancer Plan designed to control cancer," dated 1992; and two pages on the Texas Cancer Council from a 12-page State Cancer Update-Legislative Database, n.d.

Purpose:

These records are the final results of the external publication of articles by Texas Cancer Council staff. The articles are intended to educate and inform interested parties concerning the work of Cancer Council, especially the creation, updating, and implementation of the Texas Cancer Plan.

Agency Program:

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102

Arrangement: Chronological

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? 1985-1991 and 1993-1999

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records:

Texas Medicine (1992), and State Cancer Update-Legislative Database (n.d.)

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Submissions for External Publication
Series item number: 1.1
Agency item number: 43
Archival code: R
Retention: 2 + AR

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Appraisal Decision:

This series is extremely small, composed of two items that have appeared in publications outside the agency. In addition, the information that they convey is duplicated in other archival series and/or publications. It is therefore not archival. The Cancer Council should remove the “R" designation for this series in the archival column in its records retention schedule, and replace it with the new code of “E" (for exempt). Then in the Remarks column, they should add this note: “Archival review code removed subsequent to appraisal by the Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, May 25, 1999."

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Texas Cancer Council Assessment Study

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

0.1 cubic ft. in the central file room. Retained by the agency until superseded, according to the records retention schedule. Present holdings date 1994.

Description:

These records consist of raw surveys, plus statistical analyses and a summary of the results, of a Texas Cancer Council Assessment Study conducted in 1994. The surveys, which were anonymous, were of entities awarded contracts for funding by the Texas Cancer Council (“contractors" and “customers"), to determine the quality of Texas Cancer Council services. Items on the survey include such things as staff professionalism, competence, friendliness, clarity of policies, accuracy of information, timeliness, quality of service, comparison with other state agencies, etc. In addition, those filling out the survey were asked to comment on major strengths and weaknesses of the Texas Cancer Council, and to give examples of when expectations were not met, of changes to improve the level of service, etc. The comments were duplicated in the summary.

Purpose:

These records were created as an internal diagnostic tool to determine the quality of Texas Cancer Council services, based upon the experiences and opinions of contracting parties. The ultimate aim of such studies is to help improve services to contractors.

Agency Program:

The council hires an executive director. The Texas Cancer Council currently has a staff of 8 FTE.

The Texas Cancer Council may conduct necessary studies and surveys to achieve its goals. It has conducted customer satisfaction assessments three times, by surveying contractors during the annual Project Directors meetings in FY 1995, FY 1996, and FY 1998.

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Section 102.009(4)

Arrangement:

Since surveys were anonymous, there is no apparent arrangement.

Access Constraints:

Since surveys were anonymous, there are no privacy concerns.

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? The only survey represented was dated 1994.

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None, although the study was mentioned in the FY 1999-2003 Strategic Plan, page 59.

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Texas Cancer Council Assessment Study
Series item number: 1.1.038
Agency item number: 44
Archival code: R
Retention: US

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Appraisal Decision:

Conducting surveys of user satisfaction is a frequent practice of state agencies, and hopefully leads to better performance. However, the raw data is definitely not archival, and even the survey summary is not of enduring value. Presumably any policy or procedural changes resulting from such surveys should be reflected in other, archival records series. The Cancer Council should remove the “R" designation for this series in the archival column in its records retention schedule, and replace it with the new code of “E" (for exempt). Then in the Remarks column, they should add this note: “Archival review code removed subsequent to appraisal by the Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, May 25, 1999."

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Texas Cancer Council Resolutions

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? Yes

Ongoing record series? No

Agency holdings:

Fractional cubic ft. in the central file room. Retained by the agency permanently. Present holdings date 1992-1993 and 1997.

Description:

These records consist of the original signed and sealed copies of resolutions made by the Texas Cancer Council, plus accompanying or related correspondence, dated 1992-1993, plus an official memorandum from the Governor dated 1997. Topics of these resolutions include mammograms, pain medication, and tobacco use.

Purpose:

These records were created to serve as formal announcements of decisions made by the Texas Cancer Council in regard to the promotion of early detection, treatment, and prevention of cancer.

Agency Program:

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102

Arrangement: Chronological

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? 1985-1991; this series has been obsolete since 1993. (The 1997 item is not a resolution from the Texas Cancer Council.

Problems: None. The 1997 official memorandum from the Governor is actually misfiled.

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Texas Cancer Council Resolutions
Series item number: 1.1.
Agency item number: 45
Archival code: None
Retention: PM

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Appraisal Decision:

These original signed and sealed copies of resolutions made by the Texas Cancer Council are designated as permanent at the agency. Their formal nature makes them archival, since it indicates that the Council had strong opinions regarding the topics of those resolutions. However, these resolutions properly belong with the minutes of the meetings in which they were passed, with photocopies sent to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. We suggest, therefore, that this series be removed as a separate entry on the records retention schedule. The archival code of “A" for the series meeting minutes is sufficient. The Cancer Council should send photocopies to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for inclusion with the appropriate minutes.

If the misfiled 1997 Governor's memorandum is mentioned in the Meeting minutes, it should be moved there; otherwise, perhaps it belongs with Administrative correspondence.

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Strategic Plan

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No

Ongoing record series? Yes

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

0.2 cubic ft. in the central file room. Retained by the agency permanently. Present holdings date 1992-1998.

Description:

These records consist of copies of the four Strategic Plans produced so far by the Texas Cancer Council, published 1992-1998, for the following periods: FY 1993-1998, FY 1995-1999, FY 1997-2001, and FY 1999-2003. Strategic plans are long-range planning tools prepared biennially by the agency in which the goals and objectives of the agency are presented along with performance measures for each. Plans contain a mission statement, a statement of philosophy, an external/internal assessment of the agency, and the goals of the agency. Each goal contains objectives, outcome measures, strategies, output measures, efficiency measures, and explanatory measures for measuring and achieving that goal. Also present in the strategic plans is an organizational chart of the agency.

Purpose:

Strategic plans are created as long-range planning tools prepared by the agency, setting forth goals and objectives of the agency over a multi-year period.

Agency Program:

Strategic plans are prepared in accordance with V.T.C.A., Government Code, Sections 2054.095 and 2056.002.

The council hires an executive director. The Texas Cancer Council currently has a staff of 8 FTE.

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102

Arrangement: Chronological

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? None; no Strategic Plans were required prior to 1990.

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Strategic Plan-Texas Cancer Council (mandated)
Series item number: 1.1.055
Agency item number: 42
Archival code: None
Retention: PM

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Texas Documents Collection holdings:

Copies of all four Strategic Plans produced so far by the Texas Cancer Council, published 1992-1998, for the following periods: FY 1993-1998, FY 1995-1999, FY 1997-2001, and FY 1999-2003.

Appraisal Decision:

Strategic plans document the long-range planning activities of the agency and are considered archival. The Cancer Council should add an “A" to the Archival Code column of their records retention schedule, and should add the following note to the Remarks column: “The archival requirement will be met by sending required copies to the Texas State Publications Depository Program, Texas State Library and Archives Commission (13 Texas Administrative Code, Section 3.4(1)(C))."

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Record Series Review
Series Title: Reports - Biennial (Narrative)

Agency: Texas Cancer Council

Obsolete record series? No; but other publications are submitted in lieu of the narrative report.

Ongoing record series? Yes (but no longer produced in the same format)

Annual accumulation: fractional

Agency holdings:

Fractional cubic ft. in the central file room. Retained by the agency permanently. Present holdings date 1993-1999. This series is not a separate series in the agency's current records retention schedule, but is included in the series “Publications."

Description:

These records consist of one biennial report submitted by the Texas Cancer Council to the Governor and the 73^rd Legislature, dated 1993; plus letters from the executive director to the governor in lieu of a report, dated 1995-1999. As each of the letters states, “in the interest of efficiency and cost control," the Cancer Council was submitting copies of the Strategic Plan, the Cancer Plan, and the current Texas Cancer Council brochure in lieu of the biennial report. Each letter briefly summarizes the high points of the biennium. Copies of the documents transmitted are not included in these files, but are found elsewhere (in other subfiles in the Publications series, and in the Strategic Plan series).

Purpose:

These records are created to comply with the law requiring biennial reports to the state Legislature concerning the activities of the Texas Cancer Council. Since 1993, these files detail what records (not included in the series) serve to fulfill that reporting requirement.

Agency Program:

The enabling legislation requires the Texas Cancer Council to report to the legislature in January of each odd-numbered year.

V.T.C.A., Health and Safety Code, Section 102.009(a)(5)

Arrangement: Chronological

Access Constraints: None

Use Constraints: None

Indexes or finding aids required for, or an aid to access? None

Gaps? 1985-1992

Problems: None

Known related records in other agencies: None

Previous destructions:

Publications based on records: None

Series data from agency schedule:

Title: Publications [Biennial Reports are one of several subseries]
Series item number: 1.1.29
Agency item number: 34
Archival code: None
Retention: PM

Archival holdings:

None at the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Texas Documents Collection holdings:

Texas Cancer Council, Report to the 73^rd Legislature, 1993

Appraisal Decision:

Annual/biennial reports provide an excellent source of summary information about an agency's activities over time, and are considered archival. However, except for the 1993 report, the Cancer Council has (since 1995) substituted the Strategic Plan, the Cancer Plan, and the current Cancer Council brochure for this legislatively mandated report. Therefore these three publications, plus the letters explaining the substitution, become archival.

Currently the Strategic Plan is a separate record series (and will be designated as archival on its own merits). But there are no separate series for the Cancer Plan or the Cancer Council brochure, outside of Publications. The Cancer Council should therefore add a new series to the retention schedule (consisting of these two publications plus the cover letters), perhaps naming it Publications in lieu of Biennial Report, number it 1.1.066, and give it an archival designation of “A." The Remarks column should state the following: “Includes Cancer Plan and Cancer Council brochure. The archival requirement will be met by sending required copies to the Texas State Publications Depository Program, Texas State Library and Archives Commission."

Records Appraisal Report: Texas Cancer Council

Contents of this report Agency Contact | Agency History | Project Review | Record Series Reviews

Archival finding aid An Inventory of Cancer Council Records at the Texas State Archives, 1984-2005

Agency Contact:

Agency History and Structure:

Project Review:

Archives Holdings

Previous Destructions

Project Outcome

Record Series Reviews

Records Appraisal Report:
Texas Cancer Council

Contents of this report
Agency Contact | Agency History | Project Review | Record Series Reviews

Archival finding aid
An Inventory of Cancer Council Records at the Texas State Archives, 1984-2005