HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-04-02-HSC-min.pdf Human Services Committee
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Minutes
4/2/97
Present: Jolly Anne Weinstock, Chair; Barbara Ciampa; Helen Cravis; Eva Glick;
Roz Gittleman; Rick Safford; Jodi Hill, Parenting Resource Associates;
Steve Baran (recorder).
Absent: Julie Fenn, Lauren MacNeil
Minutes of 1/8/97
Corrections:
Instead of " Helen Cravis said that she had witnessed the whole gamut of
exercise of responsibility including a class valedictorian who had an illegitimate
baby "
Substitute: Helen Cravis said that she had witnessed the whole gamut of
exercise of responsibility including a class valedictorian who was a single
parent"
Instead of " Lexington does not see any (illegitimate) births since the mothers
obtained abortions. "
Substitute: "Lexington does not see many(illegitimate) births since the mothers
obtained abortions."
Review of Policy Statement
Barbara Ciampa's revised draft of the Committee's policy statement was reviewed. It
was referred to subcommittee for further revisions.
Preschool
Jodi Hill, Director of Parenting Resource Associates, having been referred by Julie
Fenn, was earlier interviewed by Joyce Hollman, Director of the Children's Center of
Lexington. They were in favor of Ms. Hill seeking funding from the Children's Trust
Fund up to $2,500 for a parenting support group in Lexington.
Ms. Hill said that Parenting Resource Associates was begun five years ago. Ms. Hill
had a background as a clinical child abuse specialist, had worked in family
preservation and evaluation as well, then went into policy research. Her associate,
Human Services Committee Minutes
4/2/97
Page 2
Margie Bodanow, had a background in adoption, home studies and parenting
resources. The agency provided individual and group parenting services and training
for educators. It had earlier been office-based, later had moved into communities
serving businesses, schools, and agencies such as Work/Family Directions. More
recently it had achieved non-profit status after having been for profit.
Ms. Hill said that she was interested in applying a new model in Lexington and in the
meeting with Joyce Hollman and Steve Baran a large list of means for attracting a
broad array of parents, including low-income parents, had been assembled. She was
looking forward to submitting a proposal that would permit of collaboration with the
local community Her agency tailors programs to different communities and fosters
collaborative efforts to serve parents of preschool children ages 2-6.
She further commented that preschool education unduly emphasizes the birth process
and doesn't h elp parents with mastering next steps.The proposal would emphasize
helping parents who had already identified "difficult" children, parents who came
around crises and were experiencing issues with kids who were either not cooperative
or not outgoing. Therefore, the proposal would be different from pure primary
prevention.
The group would be run by Lisa Cohen or Ms. Hill. $2,500 would be sufficient to fund
the program which would have a child care component and meet in a central location.
One eight to ten-session group would be provided, but the potential remained for
seeking matching funding through the Pre/school PTA, Stride Rite, or the Fund for
Lexington. Sessions would be held in the early evening. In the past, a third of the
participants had been men. Parents would be charged between 0 - $25 per session
with the possibility of making funds from the Human Services Fund available.
The collaborators would include the preschool PTA, School Department Early
Education Committee, Preschool Association of Lexington, the Human Services
Committee and the Human Services Coordinator The Committee's function would be to
advise and recommend since the proposal was responding to an area of identified
need.
The Committee agreed that an early identification program would avoid a later need for
special needs resources; early education is cost-effective. There was a unanimous vote
to support the program.
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Youth Services
Helen Cravis had met with Phil Lanoue, Principal of the High School. He was in favor of
having social workers who were part of his staff. There are two part-time social workers
available for a population of 1,500 students. These social workers are available on an
as-needed basis with referrals from teachers and parents. They engender a high
degree of trust. He was in favor of increasing the complement of social workers.
Guidance counselors also deal with psychosocial problems.
Further discussion related to RePlace which had reported no utilization in the areas of
group work or crisis intervention during FY '97 to date. This was contrasted by Jolley
Anne Weinstock with utilization in earlier years. RePlace seemed to have been more at
the high school before there were social workers as part of the high school personnel.
Mr Lanoue also mentioned that the preschool program at the high school had 15 slots
filled even though there was space for 25 and even though no tuition was charged. He
viewed preschool in the community as part of the public school mandate.
Mr Lanoue's view of the Youth Task Force was that it should meet around specific
issues, e.g. criminal justice or health. There was no need for a task force which meets
only to meet with no single focus.
It was mentioned that RePlace had expressed concern about close monitoring by the
Social Service Department. The Committee felt that full accountability was quite
appropriate Steve Baran advised full sharing of concerns and announced a
forthcoming meeting between the Social Service Department and Wayside.
Council on Aging
Roz Gittleman reported that day care would be moving to its new location shortly
Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 7 at 7 p.m. Barbara Ciampa will be
on vacation.