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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