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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-06-23-HSC-min.pdf ir HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE Meeting June 23, 1980 Present Nicky Osborne, Ruth Nablo, Carol Perez, Howard Levingston, Stephen Baran Ruth Butler. (late) Also Elizabeth Pressman The meeting was called to order at 7 40 p.m by vice-chairperson, Steve Baran. The minutes of June 16 were accepted as corrected, as were those of June 9 Mrs Nablo asked whether or not Mrs Angela Frick knew of the LEXPRESS chairc.' r Mrs Pressman told the committee that Nancy Banks and Bea Phear, an intern, want about an hour on the agenda of the next Human Services meeting Mrs Phear is in charge of the ', elderly Needs Assessment and would like to discuss her plans with the committee for their +I input. Nicky Osborne asked the status of Mystic Valley Mental Health Center vise vis the questions the committee suggested be asked of the Center It was decided that the Selectmen would be asked the current status Ruth Nablo stated that the CMARC contract was now in the hands of the Selectmen for their approval Ms Butler, now presiding, asked if there were any questions the Selectmen might ask about prevention about which all committee members should be on the same wave length She went on to summarize what she would say to the Board, This included the notion that there were many different directions the committee could have chosen to pursue Each of these might have advantages, but the committee has elected one pervasive theme which it feels would strengthen all programs A focus on prevention is a way of offering a resource for everyone, rather than just helping one segment of the population Ruth Nablo asked to which group the prevention mode would be most difficult to apply For clarity, Ms Butler defined prevention in the sense of promoting what is working well Included would be anticipation of certain needs, for example, among the elderly, it is risky for some people to be without work, therefore they need an option to Work Another point Ms Butler feels needs to be made about the senior population is that this is a period in which there is a natural disengagement process Elderly sometimes want and need to be alone They also may have a need to feel productive Anticipating and providing resources before the fact is a type of preventive service This model is more prevalent in countries with fewer resources than the United States REPLACE feels that it does provide primary prevention with its outreach program for adolescents Mystic Valley Mental Health Center carries out secondary prevention in dealing with problems after they have appeared CMARC Attempts to give its clients tertiary prevention in helping them reach a greater potential within the bounds of their handicaps Ms Osborne added that promotion can occur at any prevention level Going further, Ms Butler stated that promotional prevention makes linkages from all the resources in a community whenever a person enters the human service system. Promoting the linkages of service is a component of care Presently the first task at entry is to establish eligibility for that particular service Discussion followed HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE - continued -2- June 23, 1980 A Discussion of information systems included the idea of bringing together information of a preventive nature Ruth Nablo emphasized that there is now little communication between the public and private sectors in health services A good information system would give people the chance to make a choice from alternatives Steve Baran suggested the possibility of asking agencies to ask clients to profile their strengths The agencies should be able to explain what they are promoting If the commit- tee sponsors a workshop, Carol Perez suggested that each agency define its role before coming to the workshops Mrs Nablo thought that the committee was looking at the status quo and not at gaps in services Ms Osborne stated that the committee is looking at what is in place and how it could be better organized and more effective There still may be a need for other service groups in the future Ruth Butler said that every agency should be able to incorporate preventive services Steve Baran added that the committee merely wants to influence the agency, not control the setting of their priorities Howard Levingston emphasized the importance of agencies not feelings defensive vis aT vis the Human Service Committee Does the committee want to run the workshop, asked Ruth Nablo, or should the Town as a whole sponsor it? Each agency has strong preventive elements, Steve Baran offered, and these should be emphasized The REPLACE board, feels Ms Butler, was stimulated by the Human Services Committee to focus on and define prevention A discussion took place on whether or not prevention is cost effective Mrs Nablo felt that the committee should relook at its mandate since it has not addressed the problem of duplication of services The chairperson suggested that the problem would begin to be corrected by the development of an overall awareness of prevention How do you get agencies to plan together, asked Mrs Nablo? Ms Butler replied that under some federal mandates an agency must show administrative linkages in order to qualify for funding Nicky Osborne stated that she feels there can be a better coordination of services, but she is not sure how much real duplication there actually is Mrs Perez sugges4ed addressing what the committee has accomplished at the meeting with the Selectmen Ruth Nablo asked about the United Way model mentioned in the charge to the committee Steve Baran suggested comparing models from different towns at one meeting Ruth Butler thought it would be a good idea first to clarify what goes into a model, then present various models She herself has a "repertoire" of models The meeting adjourned at 9 15 p.m. to attend the Selectmen's meeting At 10 30 p m. the meeting reconvened, Ruth Butler asked committee members to jot down their thoughts about a workshop and a work schedule for future meetings, for the next meeting Howard Levingston suggested that agencies be evaluated on program rather than on finances The July meetings were set for July 7 and 20 at 7 30 p.m The meeting was adjourned at 10 40 p.m Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth H Pressman