HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-07-17-HSC-min.pdf HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
Minutes of the Meeting of July 17, 1984
Present Roberta Black, Marion Shepp, Ed Foley, Judy Zabin, Bea Phear
Minutes
The minutes of the meeting of June 25 were approved as mailed.
Terms of Office
Roberta reported that the Selectmen have decided to extend terms until September 30,
in order to avoid the time conflict of appointing during Town Meeting The
committee thought that might make budget submission work tighter, but looks
forward to new appointments in the fall. To clarify terms of current members,
staggered expiration dates are understood to be
Black 1985
Finkelstein 1985
Foley 1985
Zabin 1985
Shepp 1986
Vacancy 1986
Vacancy 1986
Vacancy 1986
Trustees
4 The Trustees of Public Trusts have invited members of the committee to their
meeting on July 23, at 7 30 pm. Roberta and Bea wall attend, Stan is out of
town They want clarification on the H.S Committee's request, and we want a
better understanding of the kinds of trusts applicable and what process they
want Roberta also thought it might be possible to modernize some of the wording
in some trusts, to make them more relevant.
Bea said there wwere other possible requests to address visiting nurses in the
villages had been suggested by Bill Sen, and sliding fees for Recreation Department
programs had been suggested by the Recreation Department. There are also occasional
individuals in emergency need, e g broken oil burner and no savings Judy
suggested maybe a small amount could be reserved for these emergencies, and work
applications through Bea. The difficulty is in verifying Bea said that the Saint
Brigid's St. Vincent DePaul Society also answers emergencies such as camperships
Meeting with Paul Marshall
Roberta and Bea had a meeting with the Selectmen' s liaison He was open and
cooperative and interested. One issue that was discussed was the boudries between
staff and committee in areas of activity It was suggested that Bea give a brief
report at each meeting and together we can decide if there are things the committee
wants to be involved with There was also discussion about the adequacy of
elderly services and trends in adolescent issues
L
RePlace
Ed Foley reported that RePlace is still advertising for a new outreach worker He
spoke with Bill Blout about the lowered caseload, and Bill expects it to rise again
in the fall it was pointed out that they are emphasizing prevention functions, which
don't get counted in case load figures The new outreach worker may also galvanize
the agency in new directions It was decided that Roberta, Ed, and Bea would meet
with Bill on July 26 at 3 00 pm. Roberta will arrange it.
Bea reported that Richard Weiss, of Mystic Valley, had said adolescent cases were
increasing for them, and Monique Doelling reports an increase in adolescent CHINS
cases for DSS Monique will give Bea figures next week. It might make sense to
talk with Ardyth Smith at the Concord Court, to see if they are referring less to
Replace, or have an explanation for the CHINS increase
Volunteers
Alan November had offered to work with the committee. It was decided to delay
inviting him to a meeting until there was a full committee and goals had been
established. Marion suggested using him for a resource directory, but it was felt
that the United Way CAIRN project already performed that function.
Coordinator's Report
The renewal contracts were sent to agencies last week
Bea is working with the Enablement Committee on handicapped access study in
compliance with federal General Revenue Sharing regulations She feels the Enablement
Committee needs more members, and asked for suggestions
Bea has invited respondents to the mental retardation questionnaire to a meeting
on August 1, at 7 30 pm to discuss their concerns and perhaps create task forces
She has also invited providers Both recreation and housing issues are being
addressed somewhat since the questionnaire was completed. She will report to them
on local developments
Beahas been .named co-chair of the donor team in the statewide DSS negotiation
project for children and family services There are four teams DSS, Donors,
Providers, & Citizens, of 25 members each The negotiation will focus on priorities
and procedures for the $15 million of DSS's Public Private Partnership Program.
A new day care center for age 15 months to 5 years will open in September in the
Church of Our Redeemer, across the hall from the senior center When the senior
center moves, they will expand and perhaps add infants
Bea feels that current issues she is hearing about are affordable housing, medical
transportation, and an adolescent "hang-out" place.
L
United Way
( Marion researched the United Ways application procedures Elizabeth Gaumer is the
coordinator for this area. An application goes to the volunteer review committee,
a site visit, and then recommendation The Allocations coordinating committee makes
the recommendation and the Board votes final approval Marion received some
material about the process, which Roberta is reviewing United Way might be a
funding avenue for RePlace and others, since there are no current recipients
directly in Lexington, although some serve Lexington.
Mystic Valley
Judy, Stan, and Bea met with Richard Weiss They settled contract language, with
the Town supporting general activities and receiving quarterly reports. Richard
also suggested monthly meetings, but quarterly meetings were thought more realistic
The general goal was to reestablish a shared purpose, and we made a strong point for
requesting interpretive analysis of data as well as statistics
MVMH is moving to in-house computerization Richard is active in the state DMH
reorganization. He is also interested in entertaining community ideas
Next Meeting --The meeting scheduled for July 31 is CANCELLED.
Next meeting August 21
Respectfully submitted,
Beatrice Phear