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Home My WebLink About1984-01-09-HSC-min.pdf 1 HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE Minutes of the Meeting of January 9, 1984 Present Steve Baran, Marion Shepp, Ed Foley Stan Finkelstein, Howard Reynolds, Thea Sheveloff, Bea Phear Minutes The minutes of the meeting of December 13 were approved as mailed Report to Selectmen Committee members thought the report looked good. Steve wanted to check over some sections to prepare himself better for a possible meeting with the Selectmen Veterans Why a reduction in dollars? Does this mean the Town is not doing its job? Bea said it is based on the fact that the eligibility requirements have not changed since 1979 therefore as the requirements become more stringent (given inflation) fewer and fewer veterans are eligible Special Needs Chorus Should we be in touch with the Recreation Committee? ,It was decided that Steve will call the Recreation Chairman to discuss a joint presentation on this line item • Council on Aging Steve will present from the point that this is a watershed time to examine and expand the whole program consistent with the growing number of elderly He will also discuss CoA's other sources of funding Bea will send Steve a copy of the total CoA budget Mystic Valley Skip will try to get more updated figures, as the recommendation shows only one month There was discussion about how 90° of their services go to counseling, but 20% diagnosed as schizophrenic Stan suggested it may relate to insurance language for billing purposes Steve asked if this demonstrated an imbalance away from serving the most seriously ill or if it meant that Lexington has fewer schizophrenics? Steve aslo asked for data on performance indicators Mystic Valley has a net., system, how is it used? What about use of volunteers? How are they used does MVMH want to use them? Replace Has Office for Children done a site visit? What use is Replace now making of volunteers, eg psychiatric consultation, drop-in fundraising? On the line item relating to Social Security, it was explained that non-profit agencies had not in the past been required to participate but now they must, which is why it appears as a totally new line Budget Bea reported that the Manager had submitted his budget to the Board of Selectmen His recommendations are the Same as Bea's Veterans $10,000; CoA - $34,900; Mystic Valley - $10,000; Replace 52,064 Steye pointed out that the personal services are different Bea does not know why Providers Council Bea said that she had checked with a number of no-shows and discovered that they had not received the invitation. She has sent a new notice last week Steve asked for a summary or minutes of the December meeting Bea will see if her notes are good enough to turn into a summary Steve also suggested making the census data available again Goals for Spring Steve asked if any members had goals for the rest of the year Marion spoke about her interest in the higher functioning mentally retarded citizens ' needs She is interested in starting a residence and in working to expand the opportunity for recreation and socialization. She described some of Arlington's programs with swimming and trips organized through The Gang' with a paid director and volunteer buddies Mental Retardatation Bea has held two meetings with several MR specialists The initial purpose was to learn something about the population and their services and needs After the first meeting getting a handle on some preliminary data, the group discussed four problem areas job procurement, transportation for employment, housing and recreation They want to continue meeting and move into a planning mode Bea has scheduled the next meeting for January 30 and hopes that the group will choose to focus on one of those four areas Steve suggested getting parents involved Marion discussed the need that Lexington Friends residence has for funding, and perhaps the group building on them Stan questioned the issue of balancing advocacy with our role of advising the Selectmen Steve thought a possible model existed in the Enablement Committee Stan suggest being a catalyst agent to seek other funding Marion pointed out that to be involved with MR issues was consistent with the philosophy of prevention Collaboration Bea told the Committee that last week DSS had needed a home for an 18 year old with an infant, and had been put in touch with the CoA, Cooperative Elder Services, the Woburn Council, and Arlington CoA - an example of differentagencies trying to work together Respectfully Suu}bmitted, Beatrice Phear