HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-12-06-HSC-min.pdf HUMAN SERVICES CQMMITTEE
Minutes of the Meeting of December 6, 1982
Present Steve Baran, Howard Reynolds, Ilene White, Judy Zabin Roberta Black
Availability of additional funding for human services
The possibility of funding which might be made available in the near future from either
the Department of Social Services Donated Funds program or public trusts was discussed
It was decided, at Judy's suggestion, that the human services budget should be constructed
without considering these funding possibilities, due to the uncertainties of time line
and outcome
RePlace
Steve and Roberta indicated that RePlace was in touch with the Department of Social
Services and that a participatory proposal writing process was underway, involving
Roberta, a representative of the DSS Area Board, Bill Blout, and DSS staff Steve has
been suggesting to RePlace representative that they should consider their accumulated
wisdom in the areas of hotline, information and referral, and emergency shelter as a
valuable commodity This can benefit other agencies without RePlace necessarily needing
to give up any of its autonomy
Budget Considerations
It was agreed to schedule a full meeting to discuss subcommittee recommendations on
.ndividual budgets and how these would relate to the totality of a human service budget
Jim Crain will be invited to attend this meeting to take place Thursday, December 16
at 7 30 pm. Steve will ask him to clarify the general context in which the human
service budget would be discussed
Trusts
Bea will be asked to prepare a tally sheet showing the new proposals for human services
funding to be presented at the next meeting
Human Services Providers Meetings
Steve will ask Bea to place on the agenda of the meeting subsequent to the next one the
subject of planning for another providers' meeting The committee desires to fully
participate in further planning for providers meeting and believes that it would be
fruitful to pursue the subject of emergency services including response on the part
of human service agency staff, identifying the "at risk' population, and clarifying the
outcome of referrals made in the past of human service agencies when emergency situations
are being resolved.
Respectfully Submitted,
Steve Baran, Chairman
ext Meeting December 16, 7 30 pm
HUMAN SERVICE PROVIDERS COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting .of_December 6, 1982
Presenting agencies on the Crisis Intervention Focus Mystic Valley Mental
Health Team, Replace and Lexington Police Department
Bea Phear gave welcome and introduction, stating background and purpose of the
meeting She asked if there was any additional input for the format of future
meetings There was no response
Mystic Valley Mental Health
Paul Cote began with an overview of Mystic Valley Mental Health They are a
non-profit agericyin existence since 1968 They operate under a 4 1 million
dollar budget, focusing on mental health and mental retardation He attributes
their initial growth to deinstitutionalization
Service Statistics
Presently, Mystic Valley Mental Health has 1300 open cases, serving 900 monthly
Crisis Intervention Team
Three years .ago, the Crisis Intervention Team was just a concept Their funding
is largely from the state, DMH Due to current state reduction, the Crisis
Intervention Team has gone from 7 full time staff members to the present 3
staff members Paul Cote related that the reduction from the past 24 hour on-
( site capability to the present working hours on-site capability meant a
necessary definition of the program
The CIT responds to night and weekend crisis through on call clinician and
physician availiability
In summary, Paul Cote described the Crisis Intervention Program as a bare bones
service that maintains response capability
Lexington Police Department
Lieutenant Mike Forten addressed the police department's means of responding to
a crisis call as well as their relationship with Mystic Valley Mental Health
and Replace He described their calls as dire emergencies where the police
can' t wait for assistance He stated that it would be nice for the CIT to be
there but it does not happen, largely due to financial constaints
The police force does use MVMH in a referral sense, specifically, when the police
feel that there is potential for on-going sexual abuse or psychotic episodes
They than require a call that verifies that the individaul is actually being
treated Lieut Forten stated that they use MVMH for referrels 2-3 times a week
As far as. the,police and Replace relationship Lieut Forten described the
importance of maintaining a seperate image He spoke about the potential danger
to Replacesi s hekpijblic, especially the adolescent population, believed that
there was su stati-il information sharing between the two
Replace
Bill Blout presented Replace with an emphasis on their crisis intervention
work Replace serves only Lexington residents, ages 1'2-22 They offer three
major forms of services; counseling (individual and group), drop-in center, and
community education or outreach Their thrust is on preventative programs,
being involved before the crisis
Servicing Statistics
Presently, Replace nas a counseling caseload of 200 per year Their on-going
caseload averages 40 a month They see 300 different kids a year A lot of
their work involves parents and family, as well as the adolescent In fact,
30% of their work is with adults
Bill Blout spoke of their outreach component, where they are involved with a
wide variety of community agencies, ie courts, schools
Crisis Intervention
Replace's emergency services are divided into seven categories The following
is the breakdown of the number of cases for each per year
1 Suicidal ideations I5
2 Other psychotic emergencies I9
3 Emergency housing request 29
4 Pregnancy issues 23
5 Drug crisis 6
6 Abuse cases (child and spouse) 8
7 Other emergencies (ie medical , police related) 15
Total 115
Unduplicated Families 93
Question/Answer Period
Q Does the police dept make referrals to MVMH or Replace?
A It depends on the nature of the emergency It is an unique situation
when the police would refer an adolescent to Replace due to the necessity
of preserving confidentiality and image of Replace
Q What has been the police department's experience with nonvoluntary
commitment?
A Police can directly address the need for nonvoluntary commitment Any
police officer has the authority to sign the "pink paper" , but in practice
such a procedure goes through the proper police channels
0 What about night time crises?
A Paul Cote stated that 75% of their callers can be defered to the following
morning Most crises occur during the regular working hours
Peggy Scoble, the MVMH Crisis Team Coordinator, pointed out that people
can be served at Symmes after 5 00 P M
Q What is the impact of safehouse closing?
A, The impact is not large because Replace has sufficient programs Most
situations are resolved without the placement For example, out of 29
requests, 6 are placed This situation is typical for Lexington, not true
of other community needs
L
Q What is the scope of the Crisis Intervention Team's dealings with crisis
( situations?
A Mystic Valley Mental Health's quarterly report July 1- October 1 , 1982,
states 19 face-to-face contacts and 70 phone calls during this period
Q Is MVMH available at night and on weekends for emergency transportation
requests?
A No, CIT calls Lexington Police Department
Q What is the percentage of elderly served?
A MVMH stated that 20% of their case load is elderly
Q How is the contact made?
A Mostly through Andrea Carson, a psychiatric nurse who does a lot of work
with the elderly
Q; Are elderly calling?
A Most indirectly
Q What proportion of work is follow-up as opposed to new individuals?
A Peg Scoble One half of our work is with new people It is difficult to
identify "at risk" population
Bea Phear thanked people for coming and told them that the next meeting will
be in 6-8 weeks, addressing either the respite care issue or focusing in on
a particular population The Providers will receive notices from Renee Hatten
Repectfull_y, sybmitted,
Renee flatten
Intern, Human Services
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