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Human Services Committee Minutes, 10/2/89
C) Present Renee Cochin and Bob Cushman, Co-Chairmen; Ann Irving;
Seymour Mandel ; Leonora Feeney; Sheila Martin; and
Steve Baran, Human Services Coordinator
1 Minutes of 10/1 /89
Change ( in section on planning for drug forum) "Dick
Dougherty, as moderator, will ask the audience to
represent the local community as it relates to the
panelists who are from outside the community and apply
what the panelists have to say to the Lexington
situation "
to
" In the absence of a panelist from within the local
community, the moderator will ensure representation of
Lexington views through a dialogue with the local
community "
2 Committee membership
Dennis Murakami was welcomed as a new member of the
Committee It was announced that Bob and Renee had
Cbeen reappointed by the Selectmen to three-year terms
l 3 Coordinator comments
Steve noted that a new school outreach social worker,
Martha Queenin, would begin at RePlace on 10/23
Committee members were invited to attend a forum on the
open meeting law scheduled for 12/7 sponsored by Scott
Harshbarger and to a meeting of the task force to
reduce juvenile lock-ups on 10/19
4 Substance Abuse Forum Planning
Ann Irving was thanked for doing a telephone interview
with the Minuteman and preparing a poster which Sheila
distributed Order of panelists and other details were
discussed
5 Agency Review Considerations
It was considered important in agency proposals for
funding this year to show numbers of clients served and
units of service At the same time, while serving a
large as opposed to a small number of clients was seen
as a consideration for funding, intensity of benefit
was also a factor
U
Human Services Committee Minutes, 10/ 16/89 Page 2
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Question was raised as to whether the Committee had a
responsibility to look at the entire COA or just the
Senior Health Monitor program alone Renee was
concerned about the Senior Health Monitor program Did
it contain all of the appropriate program elements?
Bob thought that at some point it should become
entirely a program of the COA At the same time, the
Human Services Committee had a responsibility to
understand need
6 Liaison and Subcommittees
Renee questioned how the Committee should deal with
using its members as liaisons Should liaisons be
assigned to every vendor and to every Town agency? Bob
thought it was important for Committee members to learn
about need Lee questioned the need to closely
scrutinize the COA budget as opposed to relating to
unmet need in the community and then bringing this to
the attention of the COA Seymour agreed that the
Committee should know about unmet needs, but should not
tell agencies what to do
Renee asked if two separate subcommittees were needed
(I ) in the future Lee was concerned about the narrow
focus and the small numbers of the Enablement
Committee Renee wondered if the Enablement Committee
had ever been officially recognized by the Selectmen,
felt that both the Enablement and Citizens with Special
Needs Committees were too narrowly focused They
should not just advocate for themselves Steve gave
some background on both groups, thought their
interests were quite separate but there had been
instances of coalition-building It was agreed that
both groups would be asked to send representatives to
discuss these matters and the possibility of a merger
between 8 30 and 9 10 on 11/6
7 Meeting with Selectmen
Renee thought that in the upcoming meeting with the
Selectmen we should advise them as to the results of
the review of the Charge, also suggest that while the
Committee could not tell agencies what to do, it could
tell them what services the Town was prepared to
purchase Following this line of reasoning, the needs
assessment should not exclude any group including the
elderly who have more needs than the general
population
Renee asked the Committee to advise her as to what the
Human Services Committee Minutes, 10/ 16/89 Page 3
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Committee' s stance should be toward the COA Should
the Committee' s role be minimal ? Seymour and Sheila
commented that the emphasis of the Committee should be
on need rather than advising on how programs should be
operated At the same time, Renee commented, the Board
of Selectmen continued to look toward the Committee to
advise on allocations of Town funds Steve suggested
that this should, nevertheless, always be in relation
to an understanding of unmet need
Renee said that COA was the sticking point, and there
was no consensus on the Committee about what to do If
we should not intrude into operations, then what should
the Committee role be in relation to Recreation where
there is a need, but the Recreation Department is seen
as operating in such a way so as not to meet that need
It was agreed that Renee would request time to meet
with the Selectmen before Thanksgiving She will
discuss this with Jacquie Smith
Steve asked the Committee to agree to his taking the
initiative for preparing an outline for a needs
( l assessment RFP so that this might be brought to the
attention of the Selectmen He was asked to proceed
Respectful ly submitted,
Stephen Bran
( I1