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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-10-17-HSC-min.pdf Minutes Human Services Committee 10/17/88 Present Renee Cochin, Co-Chairperson; Bob Cushman, Co-Chairman; Leonora Zola; Seymour Mandel; Sheila Martin; and Steve Baran, Human Services Coordinator Minutes The Minutes of 9/26/88 were approved Quorum Steve informed the Committee that a simple majority of those present constituted a quoum Five out of the six members were present, the remainder having resigned; thus a quorum was in effect Interviews of candidates for membership on the Committee 1 Richard Dillman Mr Dillman expressed his concern about the seriousness of the drug problem facing Lexington and his personal involvement with the problem He said that he would, if he became a member, address diligently other issues facing the Committee He believed, in general, that there should be greater involvement of parents in the problems of adolescents 2 Beth Klarman Ms Klarman was referred to the Committee by Joanna Fuller, Director of Cooperative Elder Services She has had experience in marketing at the Harvard Community Health Plan where she became involved in informing prospective subscribers of their rights , has a B S W from New York University and speaks Spanish She wondered whether it might be time to do a needs 1 assessment, whether there should be an information directory, whether there was a need for a soup kitchen in Lexington and what were the effects , if any, on State cutbacks to subsidized food programs Richard Dougherty Mr Doughterty learned about the Committee by reading the Town Report and through Harvey Lowell and Steve Baran He had a Masters ' degree in Social Work and has pursued a career in human services and particularly the financial management of human services Lately he has become involved in setting up a limited equity cooperative for special needs persons in Chicopee Mr Dougherty was interested in seeing mental health services become reinstated in Lexington, particularly after reading about RePlace in the report of the Human Services Committee to the Board of Selectmen Donna Hooper Ms Hooper came from a background of specializing in child nutrition at the Department of Education She has been a Town Meeting member for the past 7 years She was an area board member with the Mass Department of Social Services Her special interest was in responding to the neglect of children left alone by single parents , also the frail elderly and special needs recreation The Committee decided to recommend Beth Kiarman and Richard Dougherty to become candidates of the Human Services Committee They did not feel the other candidates had a sufficient depth of experience to prepare them to serve on the Committee Steve will inquire about Anne Irving' s schedule She had expressed an interest in joining the Committee but did not feel she could come on Monday evenings Selectmen' s breakfast Bob Cushman reported on the Selectmen' s breakfast He noted that the Chief of Police had commented on the importance of a policy of prevention regarding youth, and Bob had noted that the Human Services Committee had initiated a prevention policy for the Town Judy Marshall talked with Bob about a regional recreational initiative for the developmentally disabled Bob thought the Human Services Committee might look into the possibility of the Town making a contribution to regional recreation by registering in the regional undertaking Phil Geiger expressed to Bob his interest in meeting with the Committee and the Committee felt this should happen Drua policy Renee had been in touch about the drug policy with Jacquie Smith who extended an open invitation to meet with the Selectmen Judy Zabin of the RePlace board had expressed their concern about being mandated to do something about drug intervention without there having been prior consultation Renee noted that on 10/24 a meeting had been scheduled to discuss the policy with the Drug Coordinator, Joe O'Leary, of the Police Department, in order to ( understand what had been intended by those who drafted the policy, while on 11/1 Al Zabin of the School Committee was expected to ask them to put the drug policy "on hold" Renee felt a letter should be sent to the School Committee before their 11/1 meeting indicating that there should be a broad participatory process in policy planning Bob felt there should be some mention of the Committee ' s preventive and therapeutic orientation Leonora Feeney agreed to draft a letter to the School Committee with Steve ' s assistance RePlace Mr Dillman's interview sparked some discussion about RePlace The Committee saw the mandate of RePlace being one of serving young people in light of their perspective RePlace seemed to be responding to a vital need, but the Committee needed to know if RePlace was succeeding in some other way than might be seen through evidence of utilization Since the initial orientation of the Agency was to the teenager, this approach could be very limiting At what point should the parents be brought in? What were the implications of the Town no longer having a family oriented alternative to RePlace as Mystic Valley had been for some families? Moreover, does RePlace have resources for young people needing multiple services? Do they view themselves as a first step toward more highly skilled involvement outside of the Agency or do they feel that highly expert intervention is already being offered within the Agency itself? Respectfully Submitted Stephen Baran, Human Services Coordinator