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Human Services Committee Minutes, 7/23/90
Present Bob Cushman, Co-Chair ; Leonora Feeney; Ann Irving;
Seymour Mandel ; Dennis Murakami ; Steve Baran, Human
Services Coordinator
The Minutes of 7/9/90 were approved
Steve reported
In RePlace Board meeting it was noted that $25, 560 had
been budgeted for fundraising from foundations and
$ 13, 060 obtained during FY ' 90 $27, 080 had been
budgeted for cash contributions and $33, 899 obtained
Inquiry is going forward into obtaining a Blue Cross
provider number Steve was impressed by the high level
of discussion among Board members, particularly
concerning clinical matters regarding sex abuse
Steve met with the Executive Directors of the
Children' s Center of Lexington and the Lexington
Playcare Center at the suggestion of the Trustees of
the Public Trust who had been approached for
scholarship aid There is a growing problem of
families, particularly single parent families, in
affording tuition expenses
( Steve will meet with the Trustees of the Public Trust
on August 9th regarding establishing an emergency fund
with money from the Trustees and other sources T J
Maxx has recently contributed $400 to the Town for this
purpose Steve is investigating the mechanics of a
revolving loan fund in relation to emergencies
Ann will inquire through the Preschool PTA re further information
on day care costs Bob suggested calling the Methodist Weekday
School for further information on scholarships
Seymour felt the full Heller needs assessment report should be
transmitted to the Selectmen The remainder of the Committee
continued to feel that a Committee summary should be transmitted
emphasizing those aspects of the Report which would permit the
Town to take action The Selectmen would be advised that the
full report was available
Further recommendations from the Heller needs assessment report
were adopted
There should be increased publicity, outreach and
accessibility of the Human Services Committee and the
Human Services Coordinator
Task forces should be constituted as the need might
arise such as the Committee had done in the past in the
Human Services Committee Minutes, 5/7/90 Page 2
area of housing and might do in the future around data
collection
There was some discussion of the section on "additional human
service needs (p 65) , but no conclusion was reached about
including this data in a report to the Selectmen This led to a
discussion about the extent to which there might be in Lexington
a vulnerable population of poor people, particularly in light of
the statistic that there had been a 25% increase in single parent
families in the last decade
Steve will prepare a draft summary of the report
The Committee took up the draft action plan which had been
prepared by Steve It was agreed that
The Work Plan should be a plan of the Committee, not of
human services in general
The Plan is to be organized on an annual basis with
goals and accomplishments made specific for a fiscal
year
Recommendations of the Heller School team adopted by
the Committee should be included in the first part of
the plan
Bob asked that goal setting be placed on the agenda for the next
meeting
Leonora suggested that there be a needs assessment forum as the
Committee had done in the past Steve suggested that this be
structured to assure participation by more than just providers
and that an analysis of 1990 U S Census data specific for
Lexington could be conducted as background preparation for the
forum
Seymour conjectured, based on personal observation as a poll
watcher during the 2 1 /2 referendum, that many young people had
learned about voting for the first time as they cast their votes
in favor of RePlace
Seymour advanced the possibility of the Friends of the Council
adopting a "wills and bequests" fundraising strategy
Leonora and Sheila who are resigning from the Committee will not
be able to attend meetings in September
Steve Baran
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