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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-12-18-HSC-min.pdf Human Services Committee December 18, 1979 Present Ruth Butler, Ruth Nablo, Stephen Baran, Carol Perez, Howard Levingston, Nicky Osborne, Elizabeth Pressman Absents Barry Marshala The meeting was called to order by the chairman, Mrs Perez at 7.40 p m. The minutes of the November 26, 1979 meeting were accepted as corrected. The December 3, 1979 minutes were also accepted. Ruth Nablo read the committee4a letter from Dr Monderer clarifying the training of counselors in the Lexington Schools Elizabeth Pressman informed the committee of a bill submitted to the 1980 legislature regarding residential homes At some timet>in the future the sponsors of the bill, LOHSC (Local Officials Human Services Council) may appreciate the committee alerting the Board of Selectmen to ask local legislators to support the bill. A discussion of the Boston College Human Needs Assessmenttstudy followed. The function of the Human Services Council was discussed, It was thought that perhaps, as the study suggested, the council should be continued. The orientation of the study was seen by the committee to be geared toward problem situations, rather than problem prevention Howard Levingston suggested that that the committee define its policy, then look at other issues and goals Stephen Baran pointdd out that the B.C. study was deficient in having collected no, racial or ethnic. data. The listing of newcomers as a "vulnerable" population was questioned by Ruth Nablo Again, Ruth Butler emphasized spending money on prevention rather than spending such a large amount on treating existing problems Discussion followed, including the question of how much leverage the Town has in asking agencies funded by Lexington to provide preventative programs Formation of task-force subcommittees including some people who had applied to be on the committee but were not chosen, was suggested by Carol Perez. She felt that a lot more could be accomplished that way Minutes of the Human Services Council were requested by Ruth Nablo Mrs. Perez thought that the mailing list might be more helpful Elizabeth Pressman will get copies of that. A list of each committee member's idea of what are human services was suggested by Howard Levingaton. Ruth Butler gave some history of the definition First human services were defined narrowly in particular areas In the 1960's such services became comprehensive in scope. Today people want accountability from providers of such services Areas of human needs cited oh page 20 of the B.C. study were then discussed. Human Services Committee 12/18/79 Page two The under utilization of Hayden was brought up The committee may recommend better communication between the Town and Hayden Applications by agencies for federal funds include the possibility of Torn review and comment on the agency, if the Town were aware that the application had been made At this point in the meeting two citizens Robert French and Harry Mackay asked to speak They presented the feelings of the Reed Street neighborhood about the proliferation of institutionalized housing there They asked the committee to bring up the neighborhood proposals at a meeting in the near future Discussion ensued. Mrs Perez asked for more information on which the committee could base its decision of how to handle the problem. Mr French agreed. The two men then left The committee then decided to write to the Selectmen with the committee's time frame for setting priorities They will ask that the Board not send any more citizen problems to the committee at this time Some discussion of the January 2, 1980 Selectmen's budget meeting took place The committee agreed tbgt it is not yet ready to make recommendations An update on the subcommittees was next. All have met with agency represen- tatives byt still have many more unanswered questions Steve Baran suggested that -it may be helpful to the Selectmen to have those questions The agenda for the next meeting was set as a continuation of an analysis of the B.C. study and further definition of the committee The meeting was adjourned at 10 30 P.M. by the Chairman, Carol Perez Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth Pressman EP/bc 12/24/79