HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-11-10-YAC-min.pdf Minutes from the meeting of November 10. l't�
Present at the meeting were Gower, Anderson, Fiynn, Stevens, Miley,
Politi , Cole, Abelmann, Boyle, Gallant, Miller, Spencer, Eddison, Abegg, and
Shine Three members of the Drug Advisory Committee were also present at the
meeting. They were Sumner Pearlman, Tony Clough, and Jack Sarmanian.
The meeting was spent questioning the members of the Drug Advisory
Comm. about their report Sumner Pearlman explained the official charge of the
Drug Advisory Comm They were charged to look at all available and
unavailable sources for youth and make appropriate recommendations He
further explained that all of the members of the Drug Advisory Comm. had
extensive background in dealing with youth and youth services ; Acid, Replace,
and th. original Ad-hoc committee on Lexington youth
Anderson asked about the difference between a youth director and a
human services director. The Drug Advisory Comm. explained that there was an
immediate need, for a youth director in the town. In the future there will be
a need for a human services director, but because the Drug Advisory Comm ' s
interest was in the field of youth they suggested a youth director in their
report. They also pointed-out that there was too much work not to have a
youth director.
Miller questioned if the Drug Advisory Comm. was taking on more than
it' s intended responsibility, especially in the area of human services. The
comm answered that they wanted to look at the entire problem, not just the
drug problem
Spencer pointed out that he felt the report was oriented towards teen-agers
using keplace. The comm. members replied that the report also suggests making
the Co-op a full time and professioally run service for youth.
Cole mentioned the confusion between troubled and problem kids and
the possibility of Replace branching out into preventative programs The comm
answered that for the time being they would have to take the problems as they
came The next step in the Replace organization would be to hire some out reach
workers , which would be preventitive and would cover all groups of kids
Stevens mentioned that_there was no interaction between the groups in
the high school More discussion followed her remark. It was suggested that
this grouping began earlier than high school Some one also mentioned that
adults also group together so reasons.
A member of the Drug Advisory Comm went on to explain that hopefully
Replace would go to the Jr High Schools and later to the elementary schools
where the Jr High counselors say to go The members went on to explain
that their recommendations were based partially on the Arlington youth
Services of which Authur Johnson is the head Arlington's program was
established in1963 and consists of 16 workers The program has a budget of
$150,000 The population of the town of Arlington is about 50-55,000.
Cole asked about the magnitude of the problem The members answered
that the number of arrests and the number of kids on probation were just some
statistics that showed that Lexington does have a problem
Abelmann asked what a typical day of an out-reach worker might be like.
She was told that an out-reach worker would set-up activities, do some initial
counseloring, and take the help to the youth They would take an advocacy
posistion It was pointed out that out-reach workers have been very successful
in other areas The out-reach worker would also show the youth that the town
cares They would work on both positive and negative actions
Flynn asked if the town really does care The members said that in areas
where these same type of programs have been successfol the yowns have cared about
their youth
Shine asked if the youth director would take over all recreational
programs He mentioned that there were already salaried people for the
recreational facilities in the town The members explained that the youth
director might possibly oversee the recreational facilities He would be sure
that the fields are available for the youth He would most likely leave the
structured programs alone
Clough mentioned that Authur Johnson told him that drop-in centers have
finite l_ es They are good for a couple of years than they become cliques
and t'-ian tzey end
The members of the comm explained that the town must become
responsible, not Ad-hoc committees because they don't have the authority They
also mentioned the on going need for continual evaluation of the needs of
youth The ides of youth dropOin centers would probably be evaluated by the
youth director
Anderson brought up the ides of the youth director's accountability
The members explained that the town won't see results immediately and that the
citizens will want quick results for their tax dollars Lexington doesn't take
advantage of the,available grants and work-study students The town should
look into these types of things.
The members of the Drug Advisory Comm. explained the role of the Youth
Council that is suggested in their report They want the council small
enough so it can meet often They also want the members to be volunteers who
represent different groups such as police, schools, recreation, youth, and
citizens. They also explained that they didn't know what the Youth Aduisory
Commission' s role would be under this new plan.
Flynn questioned what type of person the youth director would be The
members answered that this person would not be a case worker He would have to
some one who knows the youth and is good at working with people The youth
director must not just relate to adults, but more importantly he must relate to
youth He must also act as a co-ordinator
Cole asked how the Youth Council would be established She questioned
if the Youth Council would have a similar structure to the Community Relations
Committee She mentioned the failure of that organization because of their
first loyalties to other groups and their lack of communication
' ley said that all town officials are under the town manager's
authoric% The youth director would be under the authority of the town manager
The members of the comm explained that the report has been presented to
the Selectmen.
Spencer asked about the process for choosing a youth director The
members replied that a search committee would be established of professionals
and citizens They would advertise the posistion and interview the applicants.
Shine asked if anyone had been in contact with colleges about
work-study students etc The members explained that they had not but that there
was a lot of available man power and that the colleges were a possible area
to get out-reach workers from
Gower mentioned that it was hard to get a clear sense of purpose,
in the proposed plan and in the area of human needs in general He suggested
two possible areas of purpose, need for communication and the need for an
evaluation process
Flynn asked if there was a need to pinpoint goals in order to
get this plan passed by town meeting and the appropriations board. Pearlman
said that the appropriations board sympathizes withtthe problem. He can't see
any major problem with getting the support of the appropriations board.
Anderson asked if the Drug Advisory Comm be on a panel discussion,
which would be a way to have additional publicity It was suggested that the
best time for this would be right before town meeting and that maybe the
panel discussion could be done as a town meeting preparatory meeting which would
be opened to the public
December 30 is the deadline for warrant articles Y A C. should
have their recommendations of the Drug Advisory Committee' s report to the
Selectmen in two weeks
Boyle said that problem youth was only a small segment of the youth
who don' t feel as if they fit in anywhere The members suggestedLthat the youth
director would set up less structures recreation with supervision for the
youth that :.ouldn' t come under the head_ng of problem youth The point that
the la -aroolema;youth were the most visible was mentioned
The meeting ended after the question and answer period The
sub-co=ittee will present its report on the Drug Advisory Committee's report
at the next meeting
NEXT MEETING WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17 AT 7 30 IN ROOM #111