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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-03-03-HSC-min.pdf Human Services Committee - March 3 , 1980 Present Carol Perez, Howard Levingston, Ruth Nablo, Barry Marshall, Ruth Butler, Stephen Baran, Nicky Osborne Also Elizabeth Pressman The meeting was called to order at 7 35 p m by Carol Perez The minutes of February 19 , 1980 were accepted as corrected Mrs Perez passed out the EY81 budget of REPLACE, as well as a draft of the prologue to the committee ' s report This draft was accepted as corrected Howard Levingston then went over his minority report on REPLACE He feels that the Mystic Valley appropriation should be cut further than the committee had previously determined The Lexington appropriation to Mystic Valley represents less than 1% of the agency ' s total budget For that reason, a greater cut by Lexington would have little or no impact on the staff and programming of the agency It would, however, show that there is some support for the agency by Lexington, but there are questions about their function Nicky Osborne indicated that agencies should be judged by consistent criteria, not different criteria for each agency Howard suggested the possibility of taking a cut of equal percent from each agency Discussion followed The committee felt that though there is a recognized need for the services provided by Mystic Valley as well as the capability of that agency to provide such services , the agency is not as responsive as it should be to Lexington, and they were not forthcoming with all the information asked for by the Town (through the committee) It was mentioned that the appropriation request from Mystic Valley is based on a 95 /person assessment Also stated was the fact that REPLACE is conducting some programs, such as drug counseling, for which Mystic Valley was funded Dis- cussion followed The Town should take a hard look at Mystic Valley, Howard suggested, since the agency has changed so greatly in the last few years A discussion took place of some of the strengths and weaknesses of the answers given by the agency to the subcommittee questions Deficits were seen especially in three areas; 1 The failure to indicate how Lexington ' s $30 , 000 appropriation is used, 2 Lack of outcome measurements, and 3 Inadequate responses given to some questions regarding finances Mrs Perez asked the subcommittee what they are recommending for funding to Mystic Valley Nicky Osborne stood by the previous week ' s decision to cut Mystic Valley by the same amount added to REPLACE Barry Marshall said that he was still unsure, but was tending toward no recommendation He feels that he can ' t say what an appropriate amount is Mrs Perez said that the committee needs to give the Selectmen background information as to why this was done The discussion continued about Mystic Valley and REPLACE Human Services Committee - March 3 , 1980 2 Nicky Osborne moved that there be no recommendation on the Mystic Valley appropriation After a second by Steve Baran, the committee voted unanimously to accept the motion The reasons for this decision will accompany the recommendation Ruth Butler suggested that a representative of Mystic Valley be invited to meet with the committee The committee could then specify to the agency what it would like from Mystic Valley HowardLevingston felt the need to increase the salaries of the REPLACE staff The committee should encourage the REPLACE admin- istration to point out the worthwhile aspects of the agency (If they were to fold, who would take over their functions? This is unlike CMARC where similar types of programs could absorb the CMARC clients if CMARC ceased to exist ) Ruth Butler emphasized that REPLACE needs to get on a sound fiscal management basis The agency must be able to demonstrate outcomes and to define just what they are presenting • Howard Levingston moved that REPLACE be funded at $30 , 488 00 (a 10% increase over the FY80 budget) to be accompanied by appropriate reflections of the committee ' s feelings Steve Baran seconded the motion Discussion followed Mrs Perez stated that the REPLACE salaries were on a par with those of similar civil service positions It was agreed to include in the report the recommendations of Steve Baran ' s draft of January 1, 1980 The question arose of what will not be funded if the total REPLACE request is not granted It was suggested that perhaps the part-time counselor position would be cut Have they justified the need for this position, the committee asked Ruth Butler offered that perhaps they could work with the Schools in a contractual arrangement Ruth Butler indicated her disappointment in the REPLACE response to her question of "Where do you see yourself in ten years?" She said that she would like to see REPLACE address physical health as well as mental health After further discussion the motion was unanimously accepted Mrs Perez told the committee that Mrs Angela Frick told her that she had concurred with the MAPC drug proposal Ruth Nablo read to the committee the CMARC description which she had written for the Town Meeting Member ' s Association warrant information booklet She also read the revised update to the CMARC report The committee accepted the revised report Mrs Pressman announced that Nancy Banks will be on a panel on March 27 to discuss what Lexington is doing in the Human Service area The committee agreed to meet with Mrs Banks at their Human Services Committee - March 3, 1980 3 March 18 meeting to discuss her remarks for the panel The meeting was adjourned at 10 20 p m Respectfully submitted, Eliabeth H Pressman