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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-10-29 Joint BOS and SC-min Joint Meeting Board of Selectmen and School Committee October 29, 2019 A Joint Meeting of the Lexington Board of Selectmen and the School Committee was called to order at 7:05p.m. on Tuesday, October 29, 2019 in the Cafeteria of the Samuel Hadley Public Services Building, 201 Bedford Street, Lexington, MA. Present for the Board of Selectmen (BOS): Mr. Lucente, Chair; Mr. Pato; Ms. Barry, Ms. Hai and Mr. Sandeen as well as Mr. Malloy, Town Manager; Ms. Axtell, Deputy Town Manager; and Ms. Katzenback, Executive Clerk. Present from the School Committee (SC): Ms.Jay, Chair; Mr. Bokun; Ms. Lenihan; Ms. Sawhney; Ms. Colburn; and Dr. Hackett, Superintendent. Also present: Ms. Wendy Rundle, Facilitator; Ms. Interess, Director of Human Services; and Ms. Val Viscosi, Director of Counseling Lexington Public Schools. ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION 1. Recap of Previous Joint Meeting Regarding Mental Health Initiatives Facilitator Ms. Wendy Rundell gave a brief recap of collaborative Town and School mental health initiatives which include the formation of the Mental Health Task Force in 2018. She introduced Heather Burns, Director of Operations, William James Mental Health Referral Service. 2. Update from Williams James Interface Referral Service: Heather Burns The William James Interface Referral Service, with a mission to connect individuals and families across the lifespan to mental health services, has been serving the Lexington community for close to one year. At the 6-month milestone, a review document was generated; another review report will be distributed on the 1-year anniversary. Takeaways, based on data gathered during the last year:  By the 6-month mark, William James had made 76 mental health service referrals, a number that Ms. Burns called “significantly higher” than expected, compared to other communities it serves. Since that milestone was reached, another 44 referrals have been made, equaling 110 to date.  The predominance of referrals has been for school age children; 20 referrals have been for people in the “adult” category; 10 more have been for “older adults”. Parents usually make the calls to request referral for children but sometimes older children initiate the calls. William James requires that a parent, guardian, or other responsible adult be a participant in the in-take process to provide basic information and permission to work with a minor child. 1  Consistent with other communities, anxiety and depression are the biggest reasons for the calls but in the last six months, anxiety has exceeded depression.  Six individuals have reported current or recent suicide ideation.  Once the intake survey is complete, William James generally provides potential matches within two days. However, a major variable to establishing connection with a provider is the length of time it may take for callers to act on their referrals. William James follows up at least twice and especially checks in with those who report suicidal thoughts. It was noted that callers can resist follow-up contact and they can delay acting on referrals for as long as four months, depending on how “ready” they are to take the next step. This lag time has not been seen in Lexington as much as it has been in other communities.  Getting the word out to adults about the referral service—particularly to older adults— is more challenging than it is to the school and parent populations. Targeting older adults through improved communication would improve the ability to serve them.  William James is a helpline, not a hot line. As such, it is available during standard work hours and not on nights and weekends. Ways to contact William James are posted on the Town and Schools’ websites; cards have been circulating and flyers are posted around town. 3. Municipal and School Staff update Regarding Mental Health Services: Melissa Interess; Val Viscosi Ms. Interess said that according to William James, the service should refer at least 200 Lexington clients a year to maximize the investment. One of the Task Force advisory sub groups is working with the Human Rights Committee to develop an outreach plan to increase resident awareness and use of the service. Funding for the next year’s contract with William James is recommended to remain a shared split between Town and School budgets. Ms. Viscosi identified the four Task Force advisory groups, composed of Town/School staff plus community representatives: Identification and Research; Prevention; Intervention; and Critical Response.  The Identification and Research group has worked to define what the mental health needs across the lifespan are in Lexington, recognizing that needs are fluid and subject to change over time. It is also identifying ways to measure the impact of the Task Force’s work. A list has been compiled of mental health resources available, with the result that it is now more apparent that the Town lacks adult data. Extrapolation based on youth data is not accurate. A community mental health needs assessment tool would be useful to fill this knowledge gap. However, the Task Force recognizes it does not have either expertise or bandwidth to gather and analyze such data. Ms. Viscosi emphasized that understanding the need is essential to being able to address it. The Task Force therefore recommends contracting a consultant epidemiologist to conduct and interpret this research. The exact scope of work is still under advisement. Some funding for this, although not the estimated $40,000, is available from the CHNA grant. 2  The Prevention group has delivered QPR training (Question, Persuade, Refer) to over 190 people in Lexington. This training will continue with the hope of expanding the number and type of groups it has been offered to. A one-night “Secret Life of Teens” program was attended by over 300 people. A definition of “prevention” was drafted. A start was made on compiling a comprehensive list of prevention resources available in town. The need for an additional technology consultant— to build a central repository/calendar of prevention programs— has been identified. Some technology funding may be available from the CHNA grant for this consultant, although those monies were originally earmarked for software rather than technical assistance.  The Intervention group has begun work on an outreach program to promote the William James Referral Service, with an effort to identify the needs of the different demographic populations and the modes of outreach that would best reach each cohort. A list of local intervention services is being compiled, focusing on differing needs throughout the life span. The Prevention and Intervention groups have recognized that a lot of their work overlaps and have started to work more collaboratively.  The Critical Incident Response advisory group, formerly known as the Postvention group, has unified the various Town and the School critical response protocols. The group has examined the various sources of information used by the multiple mental health stakeholders; it has started to identify a better way to house data so it can be easily accessed. The Riverside Trauma Center acted as a consultant to help the group create the first draft of a unified critical response plan. Once the draft has been reviewed by the Task Force, it will be vetted by legal counsel. After implementation, it will be periodically evaluated. Communication is an area identified as needing improvement by all groups. To that end, a communication outreach plan will be developed in the coming year. Translation services for diverse populations is one of the communication needs. The Town’s Public Information Officer, Sean Dugan, has been instrumental to date; adding a communication coordinator on the School side—perhaps part-time— was suggested. Additional discretionary funding ($9,000) to address unforeseen needs and gaps was another recommendation/request. This is in addition to costs for the William James service (contractual $13,000); the consultant epidemiologist (estimated $40,000); the technology advisor (estimated $10,000) and translation services (estimated $1,000). The total request is a projected $73,000 for the FY2021 budget year. To avoid confusion, Ms. Hai (BOS) asked that the prevention events calendar be shared within the School and Town calendars. Ms. Jay (SC) said that a comprehensive calendar, housing all community events, would be a long sought-after solution to a larger communications need. Ms. Barry (BOS) asked how the Schools deal with translation needs. Dr. Hackett said they use software tools to translate documents into multiple languages. Dr. Hackett also suggested that the legal and technology services needed might be available in-house as well. Mr. Malloy reported that the Town uses similar translation tools and language expertise among staff members. 3 Ms. Sawhney (SC) said she preferred that the aims of the Task Force be bolder and more comprehensive. Ms. Barry (BOS) countered that she sees the work that has been done to date as remarkable, given that is has only been two years since the Task Force was formed. Dr. Hackett said, as Superintendent of Schools, she would like to have input into the Critical Incident Response recommendations. Mr. Sandeen (BOS) noted that the latest CDC report shows a startling increase in suicide ideation in children under the age of 10. He asked whether the Town should take a deeper look into that data and try to learn what the root causes might be in order to get ahead of the trend, and perhaps prevent it in Lexington. He added that there seems to be a connection between child mental health and environmental stresses, like air pollution. Mr. Pato (BOS) agreed that mental health is a widespread problem but he is uncertain what role municipalities have in addressing it long term. He believes improvements in the larger mental health system itself are needed, including policies and ease of access. Ms. Rundle summarized the three big questions coming out of the meeting: a desire for a more integrated design approach from the Task Force; the need to understand the root causes of deteriorating mental health in this country, particularly in children; what the responsibilities and limitations are for municipal responsibility to address a widespread issue. Next steps: Mr. Lucente said the budget process is upcoming and the Selectmen will discuss what has been presented staff tonight. Ms. Jay agreed and said she is glad bigger questions have been introduced for future consideration. The Boards will each discuss the presentation and the FY21 budget recommendations. They will work collaboratively on next steps. 4. Joint meeting of the Lexington Board of Selectmen and the School Committee and Human Rights Committee The Human Rights Committee joined the meeting. At 9:05 p.m. a Joint meeting of the Lexington Board of Selectmen and the School Committee and Human Rights Committee was called to order. Present for the Human Rights Committee (HRC) were: Ms. Roy, Chair; Ms.Swann; Ms. Gisolfi- McCready,Ms. Huang, Mr. Toronto; Ms.Interess, Director of Human Services, and Detective Barry, Lexington Police liaison. Dr. Hackett stated the Diversity Task Force was formed, following a report of the 2020 Committee, to examine and address the needs of the Asian populations in Lexington. Initially, the Task Force was to study how demographic changes in Lexington impact civic involvement, Town and School programs, and community life. Identified concerns at the time included reducing barriers and overcoming unconscious bias. After several years of work and an expansion of mission to include ethnicities other than Asian, the Task Force lost a sense of clarity regarding its goals. In June 2019, the group decided to revisit its purpose and approach. To renew a sense of direction, two strategies were identified: holding community conversations and integrating initiatives at the neighborhood level. 4 A well-attended conversation about race was held at the Cary Library in the summer of 2019. Two more two conversations are scheduled for November 9 and December 7, 2019. They will both be facilitated by an Asian Studies professor who teaches at UMASS Boston and they will be geared specifically to the challenges of Lexington’s Asian populations, the original focus of the Task Force. Dr. Hackett said the Task Force believes it is time to sunset the current Diversity Task Force and convene a new task force with renewed focus on the Asian populations. Mr. Malloy reported on another topic: whether the Lexington’s employee base reflects the diversity of the resident population. A survey of Town and School staff was conducted to gather data regarding gender, age, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ identification, and disability. Statistics of note: Residents of Lexington are 48% male and 51% female. On the Town staff side, these ratios are closely reflected but on the School side, 84% are female and only 16% are male. Town Meeting members are 55% male and 45% female. With regard to age, the Town has a larger number of older employees and the Schools has a larger number of younger employees. Taken together, the percentages closely mirror resident age ratios. Regarding race/ethnicity, staff ratios do not come close to the 27% of residents who are of Asian descent. This is the biggest mismatch in the comparisons. Seventeen percent of Town Meeting Members are Asian. Mr. Malloy said removing the constraints of Civil Service for the Lexington Police Department, a recent change, should improve the diversity of that hiring pool. With regard to disabilities, employee numbers exactly reflect the resident population. Based on informal, independent research using national rather than Town demographics, employee and resident LGBTQ percentage estimates match up very closely. Mr. Malloy reported that 71 Town/ School employees fluently speaking languages other than English. In all, staff speak 123 different languages, a previously unknown and valuable resource. Mr. Malloy said he will continue to track these demographic percentages every year from now on. Multiple meeting participants said they were grateful to learn these statistics because they will help them when speaking to public concerns. Ms. Roy (HRC) said perhaps hiring practices could change to further improve staff diversity, specifically noting the imbalance of Asian ratios. Ms. Huang (HRC) said she knows personally and anecdotally of Asian people who have applied to the Town and Schools for employment but they were never contacted. Dr. Hackett said tracking applicant demographics would be valuable information. She welcomed being contacted directly by applicants from under-represented groups. Ms. Sawhney (SC) noted that members of groups who break the ice and become active in Town government often encourage others to get involved. Ms. Swann (HRC) and Ms. Interess expressed interest in studying how block parties might 5 introduce and bond diverse members of the community. Ms. Jay (SC) said it should not be done in a typical block party format but should instead offer more activities to draw more people in. They should not be thought of as a “one and done” situation. Mr. Lucente agreed that the key is to make sure “everyone is invited to the table”. Upon a motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Selectmen voted 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 10:05 p.m. The School Committee and Human Rights Committee voted to adjourn as well. A true record; Attest: Kim Siebert Recording Secretary 6