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Minutes Human Services Committee 11/28/88
Present Renee Cochin, Co-Chairperson Bob Cushman,
Co-Chairperson Harvey Lowell Sheila
Martin; Beth Klarman Dick Dougherty Phil
Geiger; Florence Koplow and Steve Baran
Human Services Coordinator
1 The Minutes of 11/7/88 were approved
2 Steve Baran reported that question had been raised at
the affordable housing meeting sponsored by Selectmen
and Planning Board by Dick Eaton of Emerson Gardens
about the final report on equity sharing There may be
another meeting of the Equity Sharing Committee
Richard Weiss has announced the intention of Community
Human Services to sponsor a congegate lodging for 14
chronically mentally ill people at 186 Bedford St The
Committee will invite him to discuss this further
3 Dick Dougherty felt that RePlace seemed genuinely
interested in becoming better organized They were
making progress with the new MassCapp program for the
prevention of sexual abuse , had developed a mission
statement and were investigating licensure for raising
additional revenue More progress needed to be made in
developing third party reimbursements and fee for
service for counseling Town funds should not be used
for this purpose The subcommittee was prepared to
consult futher with Replace on reporting requirements
and provide technical assistance for program budgeting
and accounting Recommendation was for approving
budget request of $73 000 RePlace to move in the
direction of Town purchasing specific services
Sheila Martin and Bob Cushman recommended $11 000 for
CMARC noting that they had used a formula to fairly
allocate costs by Town The program continued to move
as much as possible in the direction of placing clients
out of the sheltered workshop into on-site work
assignments Two Lexington clients received on-site
assignments last year Cost had gone up, particularly
for transportation, necessitating higher request
Harvey Lowell and Seymour Mandel recommended $3 500 for
Cooperative Elder Services social day care and adult
day health care for frail elderly The census has
remained steady at 22 per year Some concern was
registered at the static nature of this caseload over
the last five years
4 Phil Geiger explained that the drug memo of
understanding was noteworthy in that it gave the police
2
a clear role with the last column meant as a beginning
to point the way toward needed services and a more
global and preventive policy It allowed the schools
to start in September with a clear set of rules In
the earlier policy parents were ideally to be
notified In the new policy it was mandatory to notify
parents Moreover, guidance counselors were to be
given no discretion in informing the principal about
students ' problems with drugs since the principal could
be expected to behave in a professional way The
element of professionalism was important to understand
since the principal had authority to grant exceptions
to the procedures
All staff needed to become knowledgeable about drug use
and casual involvement with drugs was not to be treated
as a trivial matter
Police are involved only when a student is found to be
in possession of a drug Parents are to be notified
when students are observed to be under the influence
Steve Baran will be notified of a meeting that has been
called for December 7 so that work can be initiated to
investigate available drug treatment services To
date, those working on the drug policy have visited
Straight and have begun educational efforts with the
PTA
The Life Skills Program has been put into the FY 90
budget at a cost of $22 , 000 with an emphasis on self-
esteem and ego development and recognized as an issue
for the community churches government and other
mental health agencies
Committee members expresed concern at the lack of
options offered in that portion of the policy that
dealt with other than police matters where enforced
counseling was mandated an approach which RePlace was
not prepared to use
Phil explained the importance of giving a clear message
to students An enforced model was better than no
model and represented a diversion from juvenile court
Consideration has been given to requiring parents to
participate as well When a student has been suspended
from school readmission should be on terms set by the
school
K'
3
The outcomes of the new approach to drugs were
1 clear understanding of the consequences of
behavior
2 a non-threatening environment;
3 less sale of drugs on school property;
4 a clear message from the authorities
5 a consistent approach with respect to referrals to
outside agencies and avoidance of conflict of
interest;
6 total involvement of faculty and staff
Phil said further that the guidance counselors were not
prepared to do deep psychological counseling and had
not offered to work after school and at other hours
when it would be necessary for them to be available to
students He was in favor of school-based counseling,
funded from outside the schools to be carried on by an
outside social agency either at the high school or at
Hayden (office offered by Don Mahoney) and not in
conflict with career counseling The present outreach
model offered by RePlace involved no office and no
hours and was value-free in the sense that students
were only informed about the effects of drugs
Dick Dougherty advised considering use of present
RePlace full-time outreach position for a school-based.
counseling program which could be complemented by the
use of peer counselors
Phil was also in favor of a recreational place where
students could go on Friday and Saturday evenings with
separate offerings for older and younger students
In ending, Phil Geiger expressed his desire to proceed
on equal terms with the Human Services Committee and
have a symbiotic relationship
Respectfully Submitted,
C
fir IL))
Stephen Baran
Human Services Coordinator