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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-02-22-HSC-min.pdf Human Services Committee Minutes of the Meeting of February 22 1982 ry Present Steve Baran, Roberta Black, Howard Reynolds, Stan Finkelstein, Ilene White, Nancy Zarle, Tom Zarle, Judy Zabin7 also Bea Phear The Meeting was called to order at 7 30 pm The minutes were approved as ammended Add. Under COA section. Steve introduced a letter from Silvio Conte regarding senior aides Mr Conte gives the impression that they will be refunded Under Handicap Van Stan had suggested the committee contain ex-officio members as the Chairman of the Huamn Services Committee and the Chairman of Transportation Review Process Bea read a note from Ruth Nablo There was discussion regarding the purpose of this process statement. does it describe all funding procedures, or only those that the Human services Committee has direct control over? The review process was tabled, as the Committee wanted to have Ruth present Decided. to add to step one alerting the general public as well as Town funded agencies General Revenue Sharina There will be a public hearing by the Selectmen on General Revenue Sharing on March 15 Steve will represent the Committee Bea will get more information for the next meeting Handicapped Van Bea reported on the meeting of the ad hoc committee The Human Services Committee raised several points Who defines mental impairment in terms of mobility impaired? Does the ad hoc committee have a representative for them? Will companions be allowed on the vans as well? e g to push wheel chair friends in the Mall? What is the expected life of the ad hoc committee? Perhaps it should continue as a needs assessment arm, representing the handicapped, in addition to assessing this particular program. Bea will talk to them about this Mystic Valley Hours Bea read a letter from Francis Donnelly requesting support from the committee for Mystic Valley's renewal and expansion of its special permit They want to stay open until 10 30 on Tuesdays for Board meetings and 9 00-5 00 Saturddys for community workshops and Board committees There was discussion of the appropriateness of the Committee addressing this at all, as well as questions about the request itself Stan wanted an opportuanity to talk 2/22/82 p2 to neighbors Howard suggested addressing the clinical issues but not the zoning issues as a possible route Tom mentioned asking the Selectmen's Liaison for direction on whether the committee should address the special permit request at all He doesn't know how a human service agency can provide services if they are not allowed to be open on Saturdays Stan said that if we agree a board plays an important role in an agency, it would be reasonable for us to address that as well Decided Bea will write to say the subcommittee is considering the request Safehouse r, Stan and Tom reported on their research to date They met with Don Lund and two Board members last week and have another meeting scheduled for March 3, room 111 at 7 30 pm Mystic Valley felt that the newspaper article was accurate Stan and Tom believe this could blow up in Town Meeting, and they want to spend more time before giving a report to the Manager and Board Don said the staff had made a mistake to try to sheild the children from the police, but that in a open setting, you can't monitor all the time The operational issue is whether they are accepting kids using the right criteria for admission The staff will be told to be more conservative with the police in the future, and be more cooperative Mystic Valley also told them Safehouse will move out of Lexington as soon as they locate an alternate site The reasons revolve around problems with the landlord and the strong neighborhood sentiment against concentration of mental health facilities Judy expressed concern that Lexington couldn't handle an adolescent residence, wondered !' if their move represented a loss to the Town There was discussion about how this would affect Town Meeting It is the sense of the committee that the request should not be revised, but that it is the Selectmen's job to convey to Town Meeting that the service is still available to Lexington and they believe it should be funded This is an appropriate issue on which to make an interim report to the Selectmen In addition to Safehouse, they discussed a long-term agenda for looking at Mystic '- Valleys operation This includes 1 Finances 2 Organizational structure 3 Scope of services 4 External relations and networks 5 The State system 6 Preventive nature of programs 7 Site visits The goal is to understand the needs and how Mystic Valley fits in to the total system Mystic Valley would welcome an opportunity to get more information about their environment and meet with other providers Decided Send an interim report to the Selectmen prior to the beginning of Town Meeting,. Consider planning for regular meetings among providers in the future Council on Aging Ilene and Nancy had lunch at the CoA and met with Joan Melcher and Lee Morehouse The CoA is very pleased with their relationship with Mystic Valley and has had good luck 2/22/82 p3 with the crisis intervention team Howeve/, it tura out they had no contact for about a year The Elder Chorus issue was clarified Marion Fitzpatrick is the 'Director' , a volunteer position that functions as coordinator There is a Musical Director who is the one that is paid, who plays the piano and decides' on music, purchases scores, and functions as more than just a pianist They had some discussion about the relationship with the Senior Citizens Club The subcommittee will meet with the Club as well There seems to be a sense of persecution and non-communication on both sides, which will be explored Funding of the club trips is an issue that needs to be considered on a general prioritizing of recommendations for next year In general the meeting with CoA was very positive 1 RePlace Roberta introduced a letter to the School Committee that she had drafted regarding RePlace's request for funding from the schools It was slightly revised by the Committee and will be sent over Steve's signature (enclosed) RePlace is meeting with the School Committee next week Judy and Roberta will also attend Replace is planning to handle the budget shortage in part by using money that was contributed for construction to handle payroll They are having a very hard time with their cash flow This effort with the schools in one step towards looking for more They reported that the new addition of space looks very good, and has a different atmosphere being more conservative and suitable for parents Next Meeting Brainstorming Tom will lead To be included, are discussion of interim report to Selectmen or planning for a meeting with the Selectmen's liaison and a discussion of convening providers meetings in the spring Respectfully Submitted, Beatrice Phear