2019-01-14 Joint BOS and SC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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January 14, 2019 Page 2 of 5 Ms. Fenn added that the hours of availability for this municipal clinician would be different than for School staff and the range of Municipal constituents is wider. The new clinician's role would be to: provide outreach to the community and serve as a resource for mental health and wellness programs and services;provide crisis intervention, limited case management, short-term counseling, and information and referral services to residents across the lifespan; coordinate and administer assessments for social and financial needs, including connecting residents with subsidy programs; work a mix of day and evening hours to ensure extended access to services and supports. Ms. Fenn said that due to key staff transitions for the Municipal and School sides, delivery of this recommendation was somewhat delayed. Additionally, as a result of the Town/School collaboration and the newly-formed Task Force advisory groups, there have been shifts in priorities as well as changes in how the initiative is expected to unfold. A final report of the Task Force advisory groups is anticipated in the fall of 2019. Questions and Comments Ms. Hai (BOS) questioned the use of a one-time allocation to fund a staff position. Ms. Interess said she anticipates renewing this request for the next fiscal year. Mr. Allesandrini (SC) asked how "clinician" is defined. Ms. Fenn and Ms. Interess said the clinician could be a licensed mental health practitioner, a licensed social worker, a psychologist, a nurse, or a guidance counselor. Ms. Colburn (SC) asked what the goals of the Task Force are and how it is structured. Ms. Interess said there is Steering Committee on the Task Force with two leaders who will report to the Superintendent's and Town Manager's offices. These offices are responsible for keeping the School Committee and Board of Selectmen updated. Because the Task Force has just started to gain momentum, reports to date have been few in number. Ms. Interess reported that there are four advisory groups that deal with four different areas: prevention; identification and research; intervention;postvention. Community stakeholders have been invited to participate in the advisory groups and an initial kick-off meeting was held in December 2018 at which the groups discussed initial goals. The groups determined plans of action and how to report back to the Task Force. Groups not represented in the initial meeting were identified and members from these groups may join the advisory groups, although the individual groups are at about 15 members. Six students are participating. The groups will meet together four times before the final report date in October 2019. Ms. Fenn said that intervention and postvention are areas that need to be strengthened within and across the departments. Identifying good data, and how it will be collected, are areas of focus. Ms. Interess added that how success is measured is another important focus. Mr. Lucente (BOS) commended the group on its ability to continue the work in the midst of many leadership changes and he supported the recommendation to hire a clinician, noting