HomeMy WebLinkAboutFamily Services Advisory Committee - Minutes - 9/21/2010
BAYFIELD COUNTY FAMILY SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
Courthouse Conference Room A
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Committee Members Present:, Beth Meyers, Jim Crandall, Mary Skerik, John Blahnik, Ann Green, Lona
Schmidt, Nancy and Dale Johnson.
Committee Members Absent: Susan Davis.
Staff Present: Anita Haukaas and Nina Bucher
Call to order and introductions: Lona called the meeting to order at 4:30pm.
Adoption of the agenda: A motion was made by Ann to adopt the agenda, seconded by Dale, motion
passed. A suggestion was made to eliminate this item as a time savings. Anita will research this.
Review of 6/22/2010 minutes: Mary made a motion to adopt the minutes, Ann seconded, motion
passed.
The Lakes Community Health Center presentation: Ann Green, a Benefit Counselor for The Lakes
Community Health Center (CHC), distributed folders with brochures and information about The Lakes
CHC’s services. She explained that everyone is welcome, insured or not. Payment is on a sliding fee scale
based on income. The Iron River location, which opened in January 2008, offers medical and mental
health services, physical therapy, x-ray and lab services. The Ashland location, which opened in March
2009, offers dental care for children and emergency dental care. Both locations offer benefit counseling,
education and community resource referral and advocacy. Both locations have already outgrown their
buildings and will need to expand as new/increased services are added.
Dr. David Beeksma is the Director of the recently added Mental Health Services for The Lakes CHC. He is
in the process of completing assessments and developing an integrated model that can provide brief
mental health consulting during a medical visit. They also hope to provide psychological evaluations,
therapy and education.
When discussing Center funding, Ann said that reimbursement rates from Medical Assistance and Medicare
are higher for them because their designation as a “Community Health Center” located in a rural
community serving under-served populations. Federal and State funding comes in the form of grants,
whose funds are based on target populations, the scope of services offered, and year end statistical client
data.
Ann stressed that transportation is a major issue for clients of The Lakes CHC. Currently, home visits are
made or transportation provided in extreme situations but Ann said they hope to add transportation to
their services offered. She encouraged people to get involved at the Centers. They are growing fast and
are successfully addressing many needs in our communities.
BAYFIELD COUNTY
Department of Human Services
117 East Fifth Street
P.O. Box 100
Washburn, Wisconsin 54891-0100
(715) 373-6144 Voice/TDD
(715) 373-6130 Fax
baycodhs@bayfieldcounty.org
/www.bayfieldcounty.org
nkb/u:\Word\FS Adv Com\FS ADV COM MTG MIN 9-21-2010.doc 2
Staffing update: Anita reported that interviews for a Social Worker position in Family Services were held
on Tuesday, 9/14/10. She is hopeful the references will be positive and the position will be offered to the
candidate in the near future. Anita also said that another family medical leave will start soon.
2011 Budget: Anita explained that the 2011 budget will be a zero increase budget. In the past, the
Sheriff’s Department covered the cost of secured detentions ($21,000 annually) and the transportation for
juveniles to and from secured detention. In 2011, the costs of secure detention will be the responsibility of
Family Services. The closest juvenile facilities are in Eau Claire and Wausau. Ashland County has two
beds designated for the secured detention of juveniles in their jail. Discussion ensued. It was agreed that
the Committee would request an explanation as to 1) why two secure detention rooms were removed from
the Bayfield County jail expansion 2) why two of the existing rooms cannot be used for the secure
detention of juveniles and 3) why Bayfield County cannot use the Ashland County beds if they are
available. The Committee felt that these solutions would reduce transportation costs and be better for the
clients. Anita will submit a formal request on behalf of the Committee and seek response by the next
meeting.
Child Protective Services: Anita said that referrals have declined but that Suzie Crazy-Thunder is
stretched very thin as the only Indian Child Welfare worker in the field on the Red Cliff Reservation.
Juvenile Justice referrals: There were nine re-offenders out of 19 total referrals for June-August 2010.
Mental Health & AODA: Anita explained that Bayfield County is the fiscal agent for a regional mental
health grant. The grant has funded a regional mental health crisis line. Anita said it has been
advantageous to work with other counties to compare mental health services. She said that she found out
that emergency detentions at the Behavioral Health Unit of Memorial Medical Center are quite a bit more
expensive than other facilities. She said Bayfield County is still using the crisis beds at Northland
Counseling but they are not a “secure” environment for E.D.s.
Out of Home Placement: August 2010 out of home placement costs are down to $37,000 compared to
August 2009 at $82,000.
Red Cliff Indian Child Welfare update: Anita said she and Suzie Crazy-Thunder will meet with Esther
Hoffman, a permanency specialist with the State of Wisconsin to review the placements of Red Cliff
children.
New committee member update: Anita stated that she had not heard from Katie Hancock, or any
other potential committee members. Jim Crandall said he will follow up with Katie. The term for Nancy
and Dale Johnson expires 10/28/2010. They would like to continue to serve on the committee. Anita will
request an extension at the October Human Services Board Meeting.
Informational items: The difficulty with perceived attachments accompanying e-mailed meeting notices
and minutes was discussed. It was decided that all e-mails will include PDF attachments from now on
instead of embedding them in the body of the e-mail. In response to an inquiry on the mentoring
program, Anita reported that Heidi Howes was hired as the Project Coordinator.
Future Meeting: Future meeting dates are December 14, 2010, March 15th, June 21st, and September
20th, 2011 at 4:30pm.
Adjournment: Lona made a motion to adjourn at 5:55pm, John seconded, meeting adjourned.
Minutes submitted by,
Nina Bucher, Clerk III