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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-01-17-HSC-rpt.pdf Report of the Human Services Committee to the Board of Selectmen IIS' Lexington, Mass , January 17 1982 $186,097 was requested by human service agencies located in Lexington from the Town of Lexington for fiscal year 1983 beginning July 1 The newly constituted Human Services Committee after evaluating these requests, is recommending an expenditure of $143,321 More specifically, our recommendations are as follows Council on Aging Whereas the Council on Aging requested $48,102 we are recommending $47,284 We are recommending as well that the Council pianist become a volunteer position rather than being salaried Also, Senior Citizens' recreation should be realized in the future from private funding Our sense of the program is that many elderly are served and served well but we would like to see more vigorous reaching out The Telecare program, for example, which checks up on the chronically ill and shut-ins, according to a late report in the Minute-man, is reaching only seven citizens at the present time Hence we recommend $2300 be earmarked for consultation on how outreach can be best implemented. RePlace Most of the Replace request for $68,428 seemed well reasoned This is a highly i utilized agency, strongly emphasizing prevention in a variety of ways drop-in ( center, telephone response, street work, education emergency housing We applaud them for their strong grass roots support and their excellent volunteer training program As we considered the possibilities and probabilities for funding being realized from a variety of sources we felt it made sense to recommend $51,628 rather than the full $68,428 requested Mystic Valley Mental Health Center Mystic Valley requested $10,000 for the Safehouse program Total expenditures for this emergency shelter from all funding sources will amount to over $200,000. A contribution from Lexington is likely to be matched by the Department of Social Services and, therfore represents a good investment While very few Lexington youth have used the facility up to now, it is important to recognize that a number of youth were in touch with Safehouse and appropriately referred elsewhere We were well impressed by the Safehouse program and its manager Moreover, many Lexington residents use other Mystic Valley services. We do not recommend funding a proposal on friendly visiting to the elderly or clinical services to F the elderly We have recommended making it possible for the Council on Aging to purchase consultation on friendly visiting from an agency which would best meet their needs The remainder of the request was not well documented or well formulated As in the past the Committee encountered problems in getting answers to all of its questions and will continue to work with Mystic Valley, particularly in looking at its administrative and accounting practices CMARC The Central Middlesex Association for Retarded Citizens continues as last year to clearly represent its pre-vocational and vocational programs through quarterly reporting and fully responds in relation to the criteria for good services outlined by last year's Human Services Committee The money previously r appropriated for the support of a Contract Procurement officer has been well spent since ample contracts have been obtained. It had been the understanding of the Selectmen that CMARC was well launched and would not be in need of funding this year Although $5 000 was requested for new admissions in FY ' 83, we have learned that none are actually expected Therefore we are recommending that there be no appropriation Visiting Nurses As to the Community Health Visiting Nurse appropriation we had some question about spending $3,750 for home visits by public health nurses Might this be paid by third party insurance and must services be provided at home? We are, nevertheless, recommending responding to this request and to the request of $3, 330 for various preventive clinics hoping that the Community Health Committee can look into this more closely in the future Veterans Benefits Veterans Services, to be funded in the amount of $26,829, are coordinated by Bea Phear, the Human Services Coordinator This funding is reimbursed 50% by the state government and represents financial aid The Committee is happy with the appointment by the Town Manager of Bea Phear as Human Services Coordinator Natonly is Bea very well trained and capable, but the appointment serves to highlight the Town's commitment to supporting the social welfare of all of its citizens We are also glad that Jim Crain can continue to provide us with sound guidance as our liaison on the Board of Selectmen Our Committee plans to work further with town-funded programs, particularly in the search for new financial resources and in realizing economies through cooperation between programs The moving together of youth organizations under the leader- ship of Scott Bok of Mystic Valley is a case in point We will continue to seek greater clarity not only about Town-funded programs but about the larger systems of which they are a part Do they comprehensively meet the needs of the groups they were intended to serve either by themselves or in concert with others? Stephen Baran, Chairman