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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-04-02-HSC-min.pdf Human Services Committee I 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. l Human Services Committee Minutes 4/2/97 r Page 3 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.