Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-04-25-HSC-min.pdf Minutes , Human Services Committee, 4/25/88 Present Harvey Lowell , Co-Chairman; Bob Cushman, Co-Chairman; Sylvia Perlman; Marion Shepp; Seymour Mandel ; and Steve Baran, Human Services Coordinator Special Needs Committee Marion Shepp reported that the Special Needs Committee has a continuing interest in the Wood Street property They were prepared to seek funding from the State to obtain financial assistance in obtaining the property, but LexHab was not prepared to be a signatory to the mortgage The parents are not at the point where they are really prepared to see their children move into a staffed home The Committee will be holding a strategy meeting shortly and continues to give consideration to becoming incorporated and hiring a consultant Council on Aaina/Senior Health Monitor program planning There is an impasse in the planning process for the expanded Senior Health Monitor program due to begin July 1 since one of the COA members of the planning subcommittee is leaving for maternity leave and the other is questioning whether she should have been assigned to the subcommittee in the first place Terry Gent, COA Board Chairman, has been out of town and not in touch with his Executive Director Bob Cushman agreed to call Terry Gent to discuss the problem This may lead to a reconvening of the group which originally launched the planning process Equity Sharing Forum planning Although the Human Services Committee had been planning to carry out a forum on the equity sharing feasibility study, the discovery of a computer error after the "final" report had been issued resulted in an investment scenario which was considerably less attractive than what had been first presented Bob Cushman has been in touch with Paul Marshall, Committee Chairman, who is agreeable to reconvening the Equity Sharing Committee, hopefully with renewed input from Abt Steve Baran will set up a meeting time with Paul Information and Referral The Town Manager had suggested that an information and referral directory be compiled for the convenience of the public and Town officials needing information about human services (and related) 1 Minutes , Human Services Committee 4/25/88 , p 2 ( resources Steve Baran alluded to an apparent outreach problem There may be many people who don' t know that there is a Human Services Coordinator He intends to draft a box with information about resources new developments in eligbility for entitled recipients , etc , to appear in the Minute-man The Coordinator ' s telephone number and office hours would be noted After accumulating a series of weekly notes , he would approach the Town Manager and then the Minute-man about running the series on a regular basis Mystic Valley legislators ' meeting Bob Cushman reported on his attendance at a meeting of Mystic Valley legislators , commented on the extent to which the separate State human service agencies lobby for themselves Bob questioned the appropriateness of proposed legislation which would pay for foster parents ' getting a college education Harvey Lowell defended the proposal on the basis that foster parents are not reimbursed appropriately for their services Such a benefit would serve as an inducement to recruit foster parents "Slump" Seymour Mandel asked the group for an explanation of "Why are things not happening? Why are we in a slump?" Committee members advanced various reasons Town Meeting, "freeze" at State level, depending on other bodies to bring to closure the Committee ' s initiatives and having to overcome the natural resistance that might be attendant on innovative projects at a beginning stage Next Meeting The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled for May 16 Respectfully Submitted, Stephen Baran Human Services Coordinator