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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