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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-06-16-HSC-min.pdf HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE 6-16-80 Present. Ruth Butler, Ruth Nablo, Carol Perez, Nicky Osborne, Stephen Baron, Howard Levingston The Meeting was called to order at 7 30 P.M. by Ruth Butler Ruth Butler informed the committee that Angelia Frick had requested time on tonight's agenda to discuss transportation grants Carol Perez volunteered to take minutes of this meeting in Elizabeth Pressman's absence Ruth Butler stated that the committee had completed its assigned tasks, including the draft of the CMARC contract CMARC has requested more time in order to advertise the position funded in the contract Ruth Nablo reported that she had delivered the contract to the town office, Dept of Public Health Discussion ensued on the future focus of the Human Service Committee and the relationship we have with the Board of Selectmen Ruth Butler summed up prior discussions and said that the committee is convinced of the need for an objective base to evaluate programs She asked if it is possible to develop a model of prevention which could be perceived as early intervention with a focus on the elderly and child population The need for a systematic reporting system for all agencies and service providers was discussed Nicky Osborne and Carol Perez responded that there would be little incentive for service providers to provide data if they were independent of town funding Steve Bargn suggested that in- volving agencies in a workshop with a focus on information sharing would create more interest and service providers would have an incentive to provide data Nicky Osborne said that a workshop would be a project for the committee that would be defined and very specific Ruth Nablo stated her concerns that this committee is perceived as a place to take problems She asked if the Human Service Committee should be doing this as part of outreach and education Ruth Butler suggested it is time to logy down real 1 or potential functions within the framework of a voluntary Human Service Committee Howard Levingston reviewed the history of the Committee on Suburban Responsibility and charge He expressed hope that the H S C would be able to maintain its function and thrust. Ruth Butler introduced Mrs Angela Frick and Mr Frick Mrs Frick addressed the H S C and stated she is town representative on the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) which reviews all regional projects involving federal and state funds Her role is to react to regional planning and advise the Selectmen Selectman Battin has informed Mrs Frick that whenever human service issues arise, The Human Service Committee should handle all these needs Mrs Frick stated she was reviewing a request from Mystic Valley Mental Health of funding for two passenger vans She reported she had reviewed a similar request on 4/15/80 from Minute Man Home Care for two vans Mrs Frick has been in contact withElaine Dratch of Minute Man Home Care who suggested that it would be helpful to have someone coordinate these transportation needs Mrs Frick stated she had tried to contact Esther Gruber of Mystic Valley Mental Health to ask her what share was expected from the town and to inform her that the town will not fund anything that they don't know about beforehand Minute Man Home Care serves fourteen towns, excluding Winchester Mystic Valley Mental Health serves six towns Mrs Frick added that the Council on Aging also has requested vans Nicky Osborne asked if the vans requested are to serve different populations The committee suggested Mrs Frick contact the Transportation Committee for help in this area firs Frick added that the Metropolitan Area Planning Council might provide technical assistance to the HSC She stated that the town is taxed about fourteen cents per capita by the MAPC The committee then began to identify what has been accomplished Howard Levingston stated that organizations be able to go forward and address the problems of the 80's Ruth Butler stated that the committee's efforts with CMARC had benefited CMARC - 2 - Ruth Nablo stated that writing a contract helps agencies to know what is expected Steve Baron pointed out that a mechanism is needed to carry on the function of monitoring agencies and asked if a paid coordinator would be appropriate Nicky Osborne said that the HSC cannot perform the monitoring function and suggested exploring funding a service coordinator Ruth Butler stated she would like to be able to get simple demographic information systematically from all human service providers to establish a data base, establish a common reporting system with the HSC acting in advisory capacity to data processing specialist in classifying information Nicky Osborne felt it would be difficult to i get this information from agencies Steve Barcdn volunteered to call the Human Service Alliance to determine if they have a system Nicky Osborne asked where the committee sees itself by 1981 Howard Levingston stated that the Selectmen see us as acting like the Supreme Court ontheReed Street issue and evaluating the entire Human Service System in terms of budgets which may be an area for the Appropriation Committee Howard Levingston added that he thought the Board of Selectmen wanted the HSC to tell them what the HSC ought to do Referring to Monday, June 23, 1980 Board of Selectmen's meeting, Ruth Butler stated we should provide the Board with a statement of philosophy and plan to focus on prevention If the Board is agreeable, then the committee will pursue the workshop as a project and request a meeting with the Selectmen Nicky Osborne asked if this should be a Human Service Commission Also, Howard Levingston suggested that the School Committee be invited to the HSC to address the human services provided to students and families The meeting was adjourned at 10 15 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Carol A Perez - 3 -