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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-04-08-HSC-min.pdf 4-8-80 HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE 1 Present Carol Perez Ruth Butler, Barry Marshall, Nicky Osborne Howard Levingston, Ruth Nablo Also Elizabeth Pressman Absent. Stephen Baran The meeting was called to order by Mrs Perez at 7 35 P.M The minutes 1 of 3-25-80 were accepted as written Mrs Perez read a letter from Mary Miley, chairperson of the Board of Selectmen, regarding Ruth Nablo' s letter suggesting inclusion of REPLACE personnel in the School Department's summer workshops The Board asked that the H S committee handle the suggestion more informally, orally, rather than sending letters to the parties involved Mrs Nablo prefers a written communication She had spoken to Nancy Banks about whether or not the School Department had received copies of the committee's reports Mrs Banks thought they had not Some discussion followed Howard Levingston suggested a compromise Committee members could talk to Dr Monderer and work out details Then a letter could be sent with previously worked out information Such a letter would not be taken as a directive from the committee Discussion of what the committee's function is followed How much impact can the committee have? Ruth Butler stated that the committee needs to work out with the Selectmen clear lines of communication and to define the committee's role Mrs Nablo suggested that she walk the report to the School Department and chat with them Barry Marshall presented three motions to the committee, based on the Selectmen's charge MOTION # 1 I MOVE THAT AN AGENDA FOR EACH MEETING BE PREPARED AND BE MADE KNOWN TO ALL COMMITTEE MEMBERS IN ADVANCE MOTION # 2 I MOVE THAT A LIST OF OBJECTIVES BE ESTABLISHED, LISTED IN ORDER OF PRIORITY AND DUE DATES BE ASSIGNED MOTION # 3 I MOVE THAT WHENEVER POSSIBLE, SUB-COMMITTEES BE ESTABLISHED TO RESEARCH AND/OR OTHERWISE PERFORM THE TASKS REQUIRED TO ACCOMPLISH THE OBJECTIVES 4-8-80 - 2 - Mr Levingston is troubled that the Selectmen see the committee in such a nebulous way To become a strong committee, he went on, the group should follow Barry Marshall's motions and give the committee some direction Mrs Perez said that the committee is ready to leave the budget review phase and go on to goal setting Any loose ends of budget review should be wrapped up Mr Levingston moved that the committee direct the letter to the Select- men to send to the school committee, Dr Lawson, and Dr Monderer The motion passed unanimously 1 Mrs Perez told the committee that REPLACE has its board meeting on April 15 and can't meet with the committee that evening They can, however, come on April 29 Mrs Pressman will send a letter of confirmation to the director The chairperson related that she had spoken to Steve Baran and Howard Levingston about working out a single REPLACE report They agreed and will do so before the April 15 meeting Howard gave the committee the background as to how the two reports came to be Mrs Pressman informed the committee that she had spoken to Winchester about their switch to a fee for service basis of payment to Mystic Valley Mental Health Center She was told that this proved to be more expensive, therefore the town went back to the per capita assessment The Selectmen would like specific questions to ask MVMHC The agency would have to provide satisfactory answers before getting any money from Lexington for FY '81 A discussion of the meeting with MVMHC followed Ruth Butler stated that a mechanism is needed to let MVMHC know when questions are inadequately answered Barry Marshall said that the agency certainly had had time to prepare but didn't The financial questions were answered totally inadequately, Mr Levings- ton added This shows very poor management During the discussion that followed the committee concluded that the agency must give some indication that they really know what they are doing with their money Questions should be directed to the two areas of program and finance Perhaps there should be a quarterly meeting with MVMHC before making the next payment Poor preparation by MVMHC for the H S committee meeting was reiterated This shows an internal lack of a professional stance The three questions at the end of the committee's report on MVMHC have not yet been satisfactorily answered Ruth Nablo asked whether other committee members felt that the agency could benefit from the services of a professional management consultant Nicky Osborne stated that Dr Carbonneau should be doing what such a consultant would do In addition, she said that a consultant can make recommendations but then they must be implemented The agency lacks a central leader Another area of concern was that they were unable to give a clear cut statement on what benefits children and families receive The committee then outlined some questions that the Selectmen could ask These are not carved in cement, but rather are meant to show the Board the areas of concern and the kinds of questions which would address those concerns The questions are 4-8-80 - 3 - 1 Could MVMHC clarify in greater detail the criteria they utilize in evaluating benefits such as (but not limited to) those received by pre-school, teen-age, and elderly populations? 2 What resources within Lexington would you advise reenforcing for these outcomes? 3 Show a balance sheet and/or an operations statement 4 How much money does the agency spend for what? a What portion is spent to provide direct services? Define what direct services are :+ b What portion is spent to provide administrative services? Define what administrative services are 17 5 What has been done to remedy internal control weaknesses? 1 Each quarter different questions would be asked Answers would demon- strate whether or not the agency is performing in an effective manner and with good financial management The committee still has concerns and questions the above are only a beginning Information thus provided should be helpful to the Selectmen Mrs Pressman updated the committee on the panel presented by the Local Officials Human Services Council on March 27 She also informed the committee of the status of the deinstitutionalization bill in the current legislative session An invitation was extended to the committee by SAFEHOUSE of 75 Reed Street, Lexington They will be having a meeting at 8 P.M. on April 10, 1980, at the First Parish Church, Lexington No members of the committee will be able to attend The agenda for the next meeting was set as follows 1 An update by Steve Baran and Howard Levingston on REPLACE 2 An update on CMARC by Ruth Butler 3 Identify goals of the committee and set priorities 4 Discuss the notion of a workshop The meeting was adjourned at 9 55 P M. Respectfully submitted, 624,51C414Vik /7/ Elizabeth H Pressman