HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-11-01-HSC-min.pdf HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
Minutes of the meeting of November 1, 1983
Present Steve Baran, Judy Zabin Howard Reynolds Ed Foley Thea Sheveloff
Bea Phear
Minutes
The minutes of the meeting of October 18 were approved as mailed
Providers Council
Bea distributed the revised flyer that she had sent to NASW for accreditation She
requested ideas for compiling a list of self-help groups She had invited Marge
Battin to introduce the first session and make comments on trends in local government
involvement in the human services, but Mrs Battin said she could not do it Bea
will do the introduction herself focusing on census trends
Retardation
Bea announced that a meeting with retardation specialists is scheduled for
November 17 at 3 00 pm in room G-15 All members of the committee are invited
Appropriation Committee ,
John Campbell has been designated as the Appropriation Committee member to examine
the Human Services and Library budgets Although our role is to advise the
Selectmen we will be available to talk with the Appropriation Committee if they
want, to help them get an overall picture
Town Report
Bea distributed a draft for the Town Report Please make any comments in the
next week before she submits it to the Town Report Committee
Committee Expansion
Steve reported that Marion Shepp has been invited to join the committee and will
focus on retardation issues looking at CMARC She and Bea are scheduled to
CMARC next week Marion will be able to meet on Mondays, and we will discuss
a specific meeting schedule at the November 15 meeting
Mental Health
Mystic Valley's request was submitted for $15 000 Howard and Judy have an appointment
with Dr Weiss on November 10 at 4 00 pm They requested input from committee
members as to the focus for that meeting Their goals are to enhance communication
and have a related discussion on the budget request, but initially have the meeting
focus on goals and strategies The MVMH quarterly report did not address the
interpretationof their presented data nor 6x90,5 the statement of goals and strategies
operationalize1, It was recommended that these deficiencies be addressed but not
initially, rather their strengths in reporting and data be emphasized, as they
show great improvement The meeting will also focus on looking at their request
in relation to what they would like to do in relationship to the town It is a
step forward +"0 defineq, goals and strategies, now try to translate that into what it
means for Lexington
1
It was suggested that a second meeting be scheduled with Dr Weiss to address
the budget request, and the first meeting be more open.
Steve pointed out that the MVMH mission statement emphasized reducing mental
disability, whereas DMH is now emphasizing the chronically mentally ill It
would be interesting to get Dr Weiss' reaction
Youth
Replace request was submitted for $52,064 The subcommittee has not had a chance
to review it, and Ed had nothing to add to their report of last meeting Bea
mentioned that the increased request represented inflation increases and the new
Social Security requirement but that RePlace had decided not to seek town money
for the prevention position. RePlace is guardedly optimistic about DSS funding
being unfrozen and going to them
Elderly
° Thea reported that she and Stan had met with Bea and Steve on Sunday morning Their
subcommittee focus will be to look at the providers of elderly services in general,
visiting and talking with many They are also considering narrowing their concerns
to the intermediate frail elderly and/or hospital after-care issues Judy was
concerned that people are not using the senior center and are isolated both from
health reasons and that programs may not address their needs
Stan and Thea will make some comment on the CoA budget but it will not be their
major thrust.
Enablement
Steve reported that the Enablement subcommittee is pursuing access curb cuts
and Cary Hall renovations They are also working with the Chamber of Commerce
to make th; er needs felt )ome of the Enablement Committee has agreed to be in
a cable TV show on family inter action.
Cable TV
Steve reported that the first program on divorce mediation will air November 16
at 7 30 pm. They are hoping for one program per month on Wednesday evenings
Adolescence is being developed around a skit on mothers concerns about their
children followed by a discussion with people in a local church Day care is almost
ready Steve would like a live program, in part because it requires least preparation
The Intergenerational Friendly Visitor program, taped by CoA people, will air
November 17 and Nov 20
Selectmen's Breakfast
Steve attended the breakfast He reported that one item came up about part time
workers, now that the town is required to pay health benefits for those over 20
hours (in the past it was 25 hours) The Manager was proposing to reduce the hours
of some of the workers Various committee heads argued against this Bea is not
affected, since she is already 25 hours, but the other human services staff are
Budget Process
The Town Manager has requested budgets from departments by November 16 He
will present his budget to the Selectmen in early December for their review
The Committee ought to make their recommendations by mid-December
Steve asked each subcommittee to write a report for November 29, so they can
be merged into a committee recommendation during that meeting, and the rewrite
voted on December 13
In discussing the format these subcommittee reports should have, it was suggested
to follow the submission requirement's 7 points and/or to use the review criteria'.
(copies enclosed) There was concern that either of these might be too long
as politically one paragraph is useful Our report to the Selectmen should also
include a request that the committee be included in those meetings when the Selectmen
discuss the human services budget It was felt that in the past the committee has
not been part of the Selectmen's process
There was also the possibility that this report will be the foundation for a report
to Town Meeting A report to Town Meeting might also include the Selectmen's reasoning
Steve asked each subcommittee to review the agency requests in relation to the
review criteria and think about how this could be fotnied into a report The format
issue will be discussed at the next meeting
CMARC
The CMARC request is for $5,000 Marion Shepp will review it Steve suggested
that she might raise the issue of CMARC's having said its needs were for one
more year, but they keep coming back Steve also mentioned that at Town Meeting
last spring he got the impression that the Manager was on the verge of recognizing
CMARC as a regular beneficiary of funding and they might be moved into the budget I�
from being a Warrant article
Next Meeting
November 15 7 30 pm, room 111
Respectfully Submitted,
Beatrice Phear