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Home My WebLink About1982-10-12-HSC-min.pdf HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE Minutes of the Meeting of October 12, 1982 Present Steve Baran, Roberta Balck, Foward Reynolds, Nancy Zarle , Tom Zarle, Stan Finkelstein, Ron Wells, Bea Phear, Joan Danziger Minutes The minutes of September 13, 1982 were approved as mailed Providers Council Approximately 37 people attended the second providers council meeting on October 7 The agenda was followed as planned, with Judy Zabin doing an excellent job of introducing and coordinating the meeting Bea made a brief presentation of the providers ' responses to their questionnaire and of recent census data Then the group discussed the purpose of holding such meetings, breaking up into four smaller groups There was a strong feeling that the providers very much wanted to be able to get together, with the major goal being the informal contacts they made with providers they might not usually interact with There was also a sense that they felt information and referral was a high priority, both for citizen information and for themselves Jack Monderer had suggested a series of meetings that spotlighted several agencies, using that as a forum for continued exchange and also to build a resource inventory Roberta hoped to see the use of computer technology explored, which had also been mentioned by the library staff She felt that a micro computer was not excessively expensive , high school students might be able to write a program, and town and provider staff people could supply the data Terminals could be in Town Hall, the Library, and the Police Station Nancy felt it might be too large a task, but we shouldn' t lose sight of computerization as a longer range goal Now we should concentrate on providing something for them, with needs at the grass roots level Roberta also brought up the use of volunteers as a possible agenda item, both for those that need them and provide them Also intergenerational use of volunteers Nancy suggested that it was important to develop a pattern to the meetings Bea mentioned that there a case management meetings already in place for both adolescents and elderly providers She thought it would be good to have two segments presentation of agency with some of their current issues spotlighted and then discussion, with the other agencies acting as consultants This would make the idea of having the presentations covered by Cable tv less viable, however Tom thought that our goal was to meet their needs more than getting the word out to the public, which would then be a more distant step after they had met for a while It was decided to have Renee Fatten, Bea' s intern, put together a draft agenda for October 25 , planning for a next providers council meeting in early December CMARC Joan Danziger reported that she had read through the material Bea had given her, and was now about to start calling people who had information about CMARC and retardation in general She will meet with Bea soon Funding Requests Bea reported that a letter had gone to the town-funded agencies asking for their budget requests by October 20 (Copy enclosed ) Stan asked if this RFP information would be sent to a larger audience or advertized in the paper This was not discussed with the Town Manager There was concern that it would be burdensom to evaluate a large number of requests, and that the committee would have to be prepared to say "no" on the other hand, there might be innovativeideas out there, and we should know about them and have an opportunity to open up the process Roberta mentioned that we hadn' t made committee recommendations prioritized in the past, and this would mean that was imperative The committee agreed it should prioritize its recommendations in any case The question of budget maximum came up, and it was felt by the committee that there was a defacto understanding that the total human services budget was not to increase significantly, and that the recommendations were to be within former funding ceilings Tom suggested trying it with a carefully worded RFP, knowing that the Selectmen want the committee to tell them of unmet needs Steve suggested using the review criteria, reworded Stan suggested using language like "Each year the town reviews proposals to agencies providing services to town residents according to the following criteria There was concern that there should be a mechanism for creativity, for example some group that comes in for only $500 to do innovative work with asian refugees Similarly we didn' t want to preclude agencies cooperating with oneanother for a shared grant Howard pointed out that politically, we must be very careful about how it is worded, and should look at the track record of applicants, no matter how meretorious the concept It was decided that Steve would telephone Jim Crain to get his views on how and whether to procede with an expanded RFP concept Subcommittees Roberta feels the need to make a decision regarding the focus of sub- committees - by age , need issues, funded agency She thinks that each way has advantages, but it is necessary to choose Stye thought that had been decided at the previous meeting, with concentration on agency review, although he would like an expanded role Fe and Bea had wanted to meet with each subcommittee to operationalize the review criteria for their ongoing agency evaluation If we get many proposals, the structure would have to be adjusted For now it was decided to keep the subcommittees focused on agency evaluation Enablement Bea distributed a draft charge that had been approved by the Enablement group The committee felt it was excellent, but wanted to have the section on education expanded to include attitudinal awareness of the general public Steve will work on language to suggest Steve said what he liked was that it was an action oriented charge Stan asked about the liaison function It was felt that a member of the Human cervices committee should be designated liaison, as well as inviting Dave Enman to attend Human Services Committee meeting Steve will be that liaison There was discussion about the exact format The consensus was that Dave had been functioning as a consultant/advisor to the Human SErvice committee and that should be formalized Steve will talk to Jim Crain about possibly recommending that Dave be appointed as a member of the committee, either now or in June,, depending on whether the Selectmen are willing to increase the numbers Additionally, the Enablement group will be designated as an advisory connittee, with Steve as their liaison Bea said the Planning Board had its new Housing Advisory Committee , so there was town precedent for such a relationship Cable TV Dave Enman, through Steve and Bea, had reported that there is a discount for Cable hook-up for elderly but not for disabled He thought that was something the committee should address The committee felt that was a commercial venture, and not the problem of the Human SErvices Committee Additionally, there is the issue of mainstreaming for the disabled, and such "special" treatment would be in conflict with that long term goal Steve will talk to Dave and tell him this is an issue the committee feels it won' t pursue Respectfully Submitted, Bea Phear 0 cr rte___ _`, September 30, 1982 To Human Service Agencies receiving funding from Lexington From Beatrice Phear, Haman Services Coordinator The Town Manager will be submitting his budget to the Selectmen on December 1 In order to have sufficient time for the Manager's review and for the Haman Services Committee to make its recommendations, the Town is asking that you note the following time-table if you are interested in reapplying for funds 1 Preliminary request for funding due in my office October 20 This should include a description of the program for which funding is requested Program description & target population Goals and objectives Methods of evaluation Budget Documentation of licensure When preparing your request, you will find the enclosed report to the Selectmen of value It outlines the Town' s human services policy, the role of the committee, and the criteria by which proposals are reviewed After receiving your request, the Human Services Committee will be discussing with you how your agency relates to these criteria 2 Committee makes preliminary recommendations November 3 Town Manager submits budget December 1 4 Selectmen deliberate, hear requests,and discuss with Human Services Committee December 5 Selectmen post Warrant end of December 6 Town Meeting March 7 Contract negotiations May 8 Fiscal year begins July 1 cos MOdNhI,,y.O 00 pp t £ l: 1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02173 TELEPHONE (617) 662-0500 t�TISOTOI`