HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-05-23 JM BOS-SC-min
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Joint Selectmen and School Committee Meeting
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
A Joint Meeting of the Board of Selectmen and School Committee was called to order at 7:03
p.m. on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 in Estabrook Hall of the Cary Memorial Building for the
purpose of holding the fifth in a series of presentations and discussions related to Mental Health
Services provided by the Town of Lexington and the Lexington School Department. Present for
the Selectmen (BOS) were Ms. Barry, Chair; Ms. Ciccolo; Mr. Lucente; Ms. Hai; Mr. Valente,
Town Manager; and Ms. Siebert, Recording Secretary. Mr. Pato was absent.
Present for the School Committee (SC) were Ms. Jay, Chair; Ms. Colburn; Mr. Alessandrini; Ms.
Lenihan (8:30 departure); Ms. Sawhney; and Dr. Czajkowski, Superintendent of Schools; Jill
Gasparini, Nurse Coordinator of School Health; Val Viscosi, K-12 Director of Guidance; Julie
Fenn, K-12 Physical Education and Wellness Coordinator.
Also present were Wendy Rundle, Facilitator; Charlotte Rodgers, Director of Human Services;
Melissa Interess, Assistant Director of Senior Services; and Tony Serio, Assistant Director of
Lexington Youth and Family Services.
Ms. Rundle opened the meeting by restating the framing question that has formed the foundation
of these discussions: “What should be the role of the Municipal and School departments and the
community in providing mental health services to the Lexington community?”
Town and School Staff Presentation Regarding Mental Health Services
To begin, Mr. Valente highlighted four important points:
Input from the public will continue to be beneficial to the process of studying
Lexington’s mental health services and how they are delivered.
Mr. Valente and Superintendent Czajkowski believe that the current services and staff
that provide them are strong and appropriate, and that they should continue.
Mr. Valente and Dr. Czajkowski believe there are three distinct areas in the mental health
services provided by the Town that could be strengthened. These will be presented
tonight. If the Board of Selectmen and School Committee agree with staff assessments,
changes will be subject to available resources but they would occur incrementally.
The recommendations are intentionally being called “considerations” because they have
not yet had the benefit of public comment or board discussion. Final recommendations
and an implementation plan will be presented once this input has been integrated.
Dr. Czajkowski said the study has led to the resounding conclusion that the Town does indeed
play a role in mental health service delivery. To illustrate, Mr. Valente described four ways in
which the Town/Schools currently support community mental health:
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By providing a 24/7 safety net of emergency responders (School, Police, Fire, Health
Department, Library, Recreation and Community Programs, and Human Resources) who
work to stabilize crisis situations. Staff also provides community-based programming that
is designed to identify, prevent, intervene, and follow up with post-vention support;
By providing solution-focused, short-term counseling to address situational problems
such as parenting, stress, relationships, substance abuse, communication, interpersonal
conflicts but also to address crisis intervention, assessment and case management;
By identifying barriers to access and care, provide financial assistance to eligible
residents; and provide resource referral;
By providing education and training for staff and community members. It was noted that
turn-out for mental health programs has increased significantly.
Dr. Czajkowski listed the lessons learned in the last year, during the process of delving into
mental health programming/delivery:
Lexington’s mental health program and delivery model are strong but there are
opportunities to strengthen and grow;
Lexington is one community—not an assortment of separate departments working
independently;
The Schools/Municipal departments have excellent, well-trained staff to provide services;
Lexington has significant resources to support the services;
Sustainable communication, collaboration, and coordination are crucial to making the
most of available resources in order to serve residents in the best way possible;
Evaluation and monitoring are areas that need improvement. Programs may need to be
restructured due to changing needs and demographics.
There are many models for community mental health program delivery that Lexington
can learn from;
Outreach and promotion of available services should be improved; better methods should
be found to inform residents of what the Municipal and School departments already offer;
The stigma surrounding mental health needs to be understood, acknowledged, and
addressed.
Mr. Valente and Dr. Czajkowski said the way forward will require a multi-year commitment,
open communication, on-going presentations/benchmark check-ins to School Committee and
Board of Selectmen, policy decisions, and funding support. Mr. Valente said making progress on
this front will require a commitment from the Town to making operational changes.
Charlotte Rodgers, Human Services Director; Val Viscosi, K-12 Director of Counseling; and
Julie Fenn, K-12 Lexington Schools Physical Education and Wellness Coordinator, reviewed the
three considerations being put forward:
1) Create Sustainable Municipal-School Leadership Team for Mental Health
Programs and Services in order to:
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Strengthen communication and collaboration between all mental health
community stakeholders;
Develop and align policies, protocols and procedures;
Collaborate to collect, share, and analyze appropriate information to inform future
direction;
Develop and implement best practices (supported by the CHNA grant funding);
Clarify roles and expectations and address confidentiality concerns;
Evaluate the efficacy of collaboration and communication.
2) Expand Mental Health Services
Increase prevention programs for all ages;
Increase access to short-term counseling and referrals;
Increase outreach;
Improve access and supports;
Evaluate the efficacy of programs and services.
3) Expand Education and Training
Develop a coordinated training schedule to improve early identification and
prevention of mental health issues including substance abuse and suicide ideation;
Provide resource centers that maximize access for all community members;
Develop a sustainable mental health task force;
Evaluate the efficacy of training and education efforts.
Mr. Lucente (BOS) asked how the Town can improve outreach to the community to let people
know what services are offered. He said the Town should prepare itself for the impacts that
greater demands will pose upon staff and resources.
Ms. Barry (BOS) said the work at hand is just beginning and needs to be a community-wide
effort, although it can be difficult to know if the community is being reached. She fully supports
the three considerations that were presented but added that a wider variety of staff, such as IT
and the new Public Information Officer, should be included on the mental health task force.
Ms. Ciccolo (BOS) said it would be helpful to know what the stakeholder/task force group will
look like and what the charge of the group will be. She also asked for a description of the data
that would be collected in order to evaluate the progress of the three considerations.
Ms. Hai (BOS) said, before the mental health discussion began, she had also been unaware of the
resources available. She would like to know how someone would access services, now and in the
future.
Ms. Jay (SC) said the presentation provided a good structure but she noted several recurring
themes (such as accessibility, communication, identification, understanding unmet needs, how to
fill the gaps) about which she would like more specific detail. Also, under consideration #2, Ms.
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Jay would like to add a bullet point referencing how to address the needs of diverse populations
(i.e. cultural, gender orientation, ethnic, etc.). On consideration #3, regarding resource centers,
Ms. Jay would add “community partners” because entry into the mental health programs can
come through unexpected sources. Ms. Jay would also like to add “wellness” to the areas for
which training is made available; she believes the concept of wellness should be an integral part
of the dialog which, until now, has largely been focused on mental health.
Ms. Colburn (SC) agreed that more specificity is needed about unmet needs. For example, what
would someone do who needed immediate support late at night or on a weekend? She
appreciates that emergency services are always available but she does not believe a teenager
would call the police in this kind of situation.
Ms. Lenihan (SC) added that parents struggle to find help for their children, no matter the day or
the time. She hopes that these gaps will be addressed at the next meeting. Contracting with a
group like William James Interface referral service would, at least for the time being, fill the
void. Mental health best practices will be implemented via funding by the CHNA grant but that
will possibly take three years and she hopes this gap is bridged sooner.
Ms. Alessandrini (SC) noted that the mental health study began because of two suicides; he
wants to have supports in place to prevent more from occurring. Mr. Alessandrini hopes the
Town will address the clinical issues, not just the operational ones.
Ms. Sawhney (SC) asked what obstacles, other than budget and staff, would prevent mental
health programs from being sustainable. She would like any mental health hubs/resources to
become fully integrated, understood parts of the community.
Ms. Viscosi said the meetings have brought the Town and School staff together but there are
challenges of time, space, and department structures. Facilitation, prioritization, agenda setting,
agreed-upon outcomes, and input from experts are all important components of how the effort
will be functional and sustained over time.
Ms. Jay asked if the collaboration will have a community arm as well as School and Municipal
arms. Ms. Rodgers said the study that the groups have undergone together has proven that there
are overlaps between the services they provide and that these natural junctures of collaboration
and communication. The CHNA grant will support efforts to strengthen communication and
team development; this includes the community arm of the initiative, which other towns have
demonstrated in their individual mental health models.
Public Comment Period Regarding School and Mental Health Services
Jamie Katz, 18 Barberry Road/President of Lexington Youth and Family Services (LYFS)
(focusing on teen mental health and suicide prevention), said his organization has trained teens to
call or text the Samaritans any time of the day or night. Texting, and other more up-to-date
methods of communication, need to be added as strategies in order to meet students where they
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are. LYFS provides clinical counseling two days a week after school plus call-in services but he
believes there can and should be more. Fear of exposure or loss of anonymity can scare people
away who should get help. The town, school, and community entities need to work together to
reach people and to overcome the stigmas and obstacles that create barriers. When adults do not
meet these challenges effectively, kids die before getting help.
Lana Bastianutti, 51 Harding Road, spoke as a representative of the Lexington Community
Coalition (LCC) that was formed three years ago to address concerns about Youth Risk Behavior
Survey responses. The Coalition created three subcommittees that focus on three areas: alcohol
and drug abuse; academic competition/school climate; and anxiety/depression/suicide ideation.
Over 20 community and cultural groups work with the Coalition; Ms. Bastianutti noted that LCC
provided written support for the CHNA grant recently awarded to the Town. LCC hosts events
and monthly coffees to provide information to residents about available programs; it created a
resource map to help residents understand how to access services. The group is currently
developing a website with listings for topical events, interviews, and other relevant information.
Ms. Bastianutti said the Coalition looks forward to being an active participant in the upcoming
Town efforts. She believes it is crucial to address the stigma surrounding mental health issues.
Cynthia Piltch, 18 Barberry Road/Wellness teacher at the Boston University Center for
Psychological Rehab/founder and chair of the Temple Isaiah Mental Health Initiative, said that
over the 8 years of Temple Isaiah’s program, the mental health needs of participants have
changed. People have become more willing to talk about mental health challenges but a stigma
still exists. She hopes that a major result of the Town’s efforts will be the elimination of stigma.
She asked that Lexington’s faith communities be considered part of the community component
of the collaboration.
Valerie Overton, 25 Emerson Gardens/member of the Lexington Community Coalition (LCC)
mental health subgroup and a member of the Diversity Advisory Task Force applauded the
Town’s mental health initiative. Ms. Overton believes that diversity considerations affect all
aspects of the effort, such as communication, resources, policies, procedures, practices, and
stigma. An LGBT person, for example, will have different concerns about confidentiality than a
cis gender/heterosexual person. Likewise, an elder will have different concerns than a teenager.
Staffing should also become more diverse. Even things like forms should be more
inclusive/sensitive/respectful to diverse populations.
Mona Roy, SEPAC liaison to the School Community, said that special needs children’s
circumstances impacts the whole family. Currently, there seems to be no place to turn if the
delicate family balance falls apart. She hopes the mental health task force will address the need
for parent support as soon as possible, with a hotline perhaps. Ms. Roy added that some
populations may not feel comfortable reaching out beyond their own cultural community and this
should also be addressed.
Debbra Zucker, 119 Laconia Street/co-chair of LexPride/member of Community Coalition,
agreed that parents need help for both themselves and their children. Parents of LGBTQ children
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attend LexPride-hosted events to share their challenges. She noted that diversity concerns,
stigma, and fear of judgement and rejection are big barriers to overcome in order to get services.
Ms. Zucker asked that a commitment to diversity be included in the statement of objectives for
the mental health task force. She believes a leadership commitment to make the initiative
successful will make all the difference.
Tim Dugan, 14 White Pine Lane/co-founder of Lexington Youth and Family Services (LYFS),
believes it is already evident that more staffing should be hired. Night and weekend time periods
concern him as well but he believes LYFS could partner in a Community Center-based system
that could be quickly put in place. He believes suicides and mass shooters are almost always
about aloneness and being ostracized. He gave good marks to the William James referral service,
saying the organization follows through on what they do. However, he noted one systemic
problem is that mental health professionals get lower health insurance reimbursements than other
kinds of doctors, leading to many not accepting insurance at all. Also, referral services do not
keep their referral lists updated, creating the sense that more practitioners are available then there
are in actuality. Additionally, with higher deductibles and co-pays, families are out of pocket in
ways that can deter getting help. He asked the Town to consider building a teen center adjacent
to the Community Center or including it in the Lexington High School building plans as a way to
counteract aloneness and alienation.
Connie Counts, 45 Winthrop Road/former president of Lexington Youth and Family Services
(LYFS), said when LYFS was formed free, accessible counseling after school was the first
priority. For the past three years, Sources of Strength (SOS) has been a program at Lexington
High to train teens and adult mentors using programs that focuses on mental health and
resilience. Community Endowment of Lexington has provided SOS with three grants, the last
was used for a program called “Balancing on the Hyphen” which focused on ethnic diversity.
SOS is also creating a Safe Space for Trans kids at First Parish Church; Ms. Counts believes
LHS is developing something similar and that the two programs could be complementary. Ms.
Counts reported it is hard to feel as though mental health groups are working together, or even
talking to one another enough. She believes a more coordinated and inclusive approach is
necessary.
Howard Clough, 19 Sherman Street, Chair of Community Outreach Committee for Lexington at
Home, described Lexington at Home as a ten-year old social group for seniors to support each
other through friendship and connection as members age in place. The group provides what Mr.
Clough called “help in a pinch” but he noted that many are reluctant to ask for help. He would
like to see some kind of training made available to help members of his group identify the signs
of someone who needs assistance.
Archana Singhal, 70 Blake Road, member of Indian Americans of Lexington (IAL), asked to
include IAL as part of community arm for these mental health discussions. Student stress is an
area being addressed at IAL-sponsored workshops that have been provided for members of
various cultural groups but is something that could be shared with the wider community. She
asked if the Town is looking for resources beyond its borders, such as at the State and Federal
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levels, perhaps including hotlines or other areas where collaboration could take place. If program
and service information is shared via social media and online, it will have a bigger and more
sustained community reach.
Cynthia Piltch, 18 Barberry Road, said there are many initiatives already underway that the
Town can capitalize on. Likewise, there are outside resources such as NAMI training that can be
used as is or adapted to suit Lexington’s needs. Lexington’s Mental Health First Aid training has
received glowing accolades; this success could be leveraged and exported to other communities.
The communication gap between the various groups in town is both unfortunate and
counterproductive.
Next steps: Staff asks for feedback from the two Boards and the public to inform what Mr.
Valente termed a “the fairly complex roadmap” of recommendations/considerations. After this
evening, the public is asked to direct input to the two boards via town email addresses or by
standard mail. The Boards will next meet jointly on June 18, 2018 to integrate public input and
provide their own feedback to forge a sustainable plan.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to adjourn at 9:30 p.m.
The School Committee followed suit with a 5-0 vote.
A true record; Attest:
Kim Siebert
Recording Secretary