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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01-14 Joint BOS and SC-min January 14, 2019 Page 1 of 5 Joint Selectmen and School Committee Meeting Monday, January 14, 2019 A Joint Meeting of the Board of Selectmen and School Committee was called to order at 7:23 p.m. on Monday, January 14, 2019 in Estabrook Hall of the Cary Memorial Building for the purpose of holding the seventh 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; Mr. Pato; Mr. Lucente; Ms. Hai; Mr. Malloy, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Assistant Town Manager; and Ms. Siebert, Recording Secretary. Present for the School Committee (SC) were Ms. Jay, Chair; Ms. Colburn; Mr. Alessandrini; Ms. Linehan; Ms. Sawhney; and Dr. Hackett, Superintendent of Schools. Also present were Wendy Rundle, Facilitator;Melissa Interess, Acting Director of Human Services; Julie Fenn, K-12 Physical Education and Wellness Coordinator; Tony Serio, Assistant Director of Youth and Family Services. Recap of Previous Joint Meetings Regarding Mental Health Initiatives Ms. Rundle, Facilitator, provided a summary of the mental health initiative to date. These meetings have examined a central question: "What should be the role of the Municipal and School departments, and the community, in providing mental health services for the Lexington community?" The last Mental Health Joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen and School Committee took place on June 18, 2018. Tonight's meeting will focus on progress made since the last meeting and recommendations for moving forward. Municipal and School Staff Update Regarding Mental Health Services Ms. Interess reported that the Mental Health Task Force was formed in the spring of 2018 to combine the work of the Mental Health Joint meetings and the collateral work being done with funding from a planning year CHNA 15 grant which Lexington was awarded in 2018. Ms. Interess said the current effort is to establish a sustainable framework that will develop protocol alignment; strengthen collaboration and communication; enhance programs and services; and partner with community stakeholders. There are three more years of CHNA grant funding available. The Town of Lexington also allocated $99,000 in the Human Services Department budget for FY 2019 to fund mental health initiatives, of which $12,500 was disbursed in November 2018 for the first year of William James Interface Mental Health Referral Service. The recommendation of staff is that the remaining $86,500 be used to fund a new clinician in the Human Services Department; Ms. Interess said that the basis for the recommendation is that current staff are stretched too far to provide the level of services and outreach deemed necessary to meet the needs of residents. January 14, 2019 Page 2 of 5 Ms. Fenn added that the hours of availability for this municipal clinician would be different than for School staff and the range of Municipal constituents is wider. The new clinician's role would be to: provide outreach to the community and serve as a resource for mental health and wellness programs and services;provide crisis intervention, limited case management, short-term counseling, and information and referral services to residents across the lifespan; coordinate and administer assessments for social and financial needs, including connecting residents with subsidy programs; work a mix of day and evening hours to ensure extended access to services and supports. Ms. Fenn said that due to key staff transitions for the Municipal and School sides, delivery of this recommendation was somewhat delayed. Additionally, as a result of the Town/School collaboration and the newly-formed Task Force advisory groups, there have been shifts in priorities as well as changes in how the initiative is expected to unfold. A final report of the Task Force advisory groups is anticipated in the fall of 2019. Questions and Comments Ms. Hai (BOS) questioned the use of a one-time allocation to fund a staff position. Ms. Interess said she anticipates renewing this request for the next fiscal year. Mr. Allesandrini (SC) asked how "clinician" is defined. Ms. Fenn and Ms. Interess said the clinician could be a licensed mental health practitioner, a licensed social worker, a psychologist, a nurse, or a guidance counselor. Ms. Colburn (SC) asked what the goals of the Task Force are and how it is structured. Ms. Interess said there is Steering Committee on the Task Force with two leaders who will report to the Superintendent's and Town Manager's offices. These offices are responsible for keeping the School Committee and Board of Selectmen updated. Because the Task Force has just started to gain momentum, reports to date have been few in number. Ms. Interess reported that there are four advisory groups that deal with four different areas: prevention; identification and research; intervention;postvention. Community stakeholders have been invited to participate in the advisory groups and an initial kick-off meeting was held in December 2018 at which the groups discussed initial goals. The groups determined plans of action and how to report back to the Task Force. Groups not represented in the initial meeting were identified and members from these groups may join the advisory groups, although the individual groups are at about 15 members. Six students are participating. The groups will meet together four times before the final report date in October 2019. Ms. Fenn said that intervention and postvention are areas that need to be strengthened within and across the departments. Identifying good data, and how it will be collected, are areas of focus. Ms. Interess added that how success is measured is another important focus. Mr. Lucente (BOS) commended the group on its ability to continue the work in the midst of many leadership changes and he supported the recommendation to hire a clinician, noting January 14, 2019 Page 3 of 5 community need. Mr. Lucente asked for a status update on the William James Interface referral service. Ms. Interess said the service has been available to Lexington for only a brief time, so there is very little data on which to base a meaningful evaluation. However, within the first month and with no promotion of the service, William James received four calls from Lexington. Ms. Interess and Ms. Fenn said a concerted effort to get the word out about the referral service is a priority. Ms. Colburn (SC) asked how the new clinician would be helpful to the school-age population. Ms. Fenn said that the Schools partnership with the Human Services Department has worked well. Also, an expansion of Schools and Town collaboration around SBERT,the substance abuse screening response program, is anticipated particularly after school hours and during vacations. Ms. Interess said the clinician will also be available to meet with students during afternoon/evening hours. Ms. Barry (BOS) also voiced support for the recommendation. She noted that a clinician would both be capable of having a direct impact on the student but also indirectly through support of the family. Ms. Jay (SC) asked what the hours of the clinician would be, whether s/he would work full time, and how the public would learn of the availability of the services. Ms. Interess said the hours would be full time and the hours would be staggered so the clinician would be available during a broad range of hours over the course of a week. There will be public information meetings, email blasts, and other Town events to help broadcast the clinician's availability. Jamie Katz, President of Lexington Youth and Family Services (LYFS), spoke about his sense of urgency to address the level of teenage stress, depression, and anxiety. He applauded what the Town and Schools have done so far, and stated that the best approach is to make help easy to access. In his experience, the at-risk students are less willing to seek out School staff or go to the Community Center. He believes more must be done after school and during vacations. Valerie Overton, co-Chair of LexPride, said she believes adding a clinician makes sense but she asked that the clinician have diversity expertise and for a services matrix be made so people know whom to contact, based on different areas of knowledge. Methods of communication are also important when trying to reach diverse communities. She asked that the Boards consider granting small slices of funding to existing town organizations that already serve members of the community but struggle with funding. Claire Sheth, 22 Vine Brook Road, asked if the Lexington Community Coalition has been involved in the Task Force process. Ms. Fenn said that members of the Coalition serve on the advisory groups and staff try to attend Coalition meetings. Connie Counts, 45 Winthrop Road/former President of LYFS, said LYFS struggles to have enough funds to do the work it does. She sees a huge need to have services available in an easily accessed location, rather than at the Community Center which is not centrally located. January 14, 2019 Page 4 of 5 Ms. Jay (SC) asked how to get a handle on the unmet needs in the community. She hopes to see a more coordinated, less fragmented effort but believes it is still unclear how the range of groups involved in community mental health can be brought together. Ms. Lenihan (SC) said she would have preferred that more options be presented for recommendation. Ms. Sawhney (SC) emphasized that help for all should be in an accessible place and suggested that Hosmer House in the Center be considered as a location for service providers. Mr. Lucente (BOS) said the process is now being established and the work is not yet finished. He asked that the Boards reach consensus tonight on three items: that the Schools will pay for the next year of William James services from the FY20 School budget; that the Town move forward to hire a clinician as recommended by staff, that a date be chosen to met again to hear additional recommendations from the Task Force. Ms. Colburn (SC) added that contracting for referral services from William James was also a positive achievement. She asked for more information on the kinds of recommendations the Boards could expect next fall from the final report and if the Task Force would consider some funding for community groups such as Lexington Youth and Family Services. Ms. Colburn also asked if funding is available in the FY20 budget to continue the work. Mr. Malloy said that the ongoing funding for the clinician is included in the FY20 budget. Dr. Hackett confirmed that there is $12,500 in the School budget for the second year of William James referral services and $15,000 for LYFS. Ms. Interess said the advisory groups are now working on recommendations about crisis response protocols, communication plans, outcomes/goals, and what data is needed to measure outcomes. The groups are also looking at how to provide a comprehensive calendar of community programs. Ms. Fenn said the groups are defining what prevention and postvention are and how to provide mental health education and training. Ms. Fenn said the group would provide more frequent updates to the Boards. Ms. Jay asked that the groups' ideas be brought to the Boards and that the possibilities not be limited. Ms. Barry (BOS) recommended that two Joint meetings take place per year, one in May and one in November, and that the members of both Boards take the mental health training being offered in Lexington. The two Boards reached consensus to recruit and hire a municipal clinician, as recommended, and to meet jointly twice a year. Adjourn Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 4-0 to adjourn at 9:03 p.m. The School Committee followed suit with a 5-0 vote. A true record; Attest: January 14, 2019 Page 5 of 5 Kim Siebert Recording Secretary