2006-03-01-HSC-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

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6. we make the following recommendations to the Lexington Board of Selectmen: a. The Board should adopt a policy of directing the Town Department of Social Services to develop a booklet of guidance to services which can be used by all town agencies and private service providers and by all prospective individuals and families in need. It should include full information about out-of town programs and agencies as well as the steps to be followed in seeking help. This booklet should entail collaboration with all of the town agencies described in this report, including public school system personnel. Ample copies of the booklet should be produced at town expense and be distributed to all of the agency points cited in this report. b. A phone line that will connect callers to the Department of Social Services in a direct way rather than through the line of the Senior Center should be installed and setup so that the Social Service Coordinator maybe contacted directly or receive voice mail messages. (This is currently being implemented). c. The Board should establish a planning group to work on the question of where homeless persons and households can be placed when the Battle Green Innis demolished. The ~Ualtham Bristol Lodges are short of beds right now. d. Having found that Lexington and the surrounding towns of Waltham, Arlington, Bedford and Woburn offer a considerable range of services, we also noted that these are generally uncoordinated and fragmented organizationally. We recommend that the Lexington Board of Selectmen should direct the Department of Social Services to begin to initiate a regionally coordinated and collaborative approach with these key surrounding towns, protecting the provision of client privacy, of course. e. The School Department should make a further evaluation of the transportation needs of students in the elementary and middle schools. A plan should be implemented that can include ~~