HomeMy WebLinkAboutFamily Services Advisory Committee - Minutes - 9/15/2015
BAYFIELD COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
FAMILY SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
Courthouse Conference Room A
Tuesday, September 15th, 2015 at 4:30 pm
Committee Members Present: John Blahnik, Jim Crandall, Susan Davis, Lona Schmidt, Ann Green
and Dale Johnson.
Committee Member Excused: Bev Lindell.
Others Present: Elizabeth Skulan (Peppy), Anita Haukaas and Nina Bucher from BCDHS.
Call to order and introductions: Lona called the meeting to order at 4:28 pm.
Minute Approval: John made a motion to approve minutes from the 6/23/15 FSAC meeting as
written. Ann seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Public Comment Opportunity: No one offered public comments.
Youth Aids Presentation: Anita explained that the Youth Aids program consists of State and Federal
funds, is allocated base on a County’s youth population and crime statistics and was created in 1979.
The majority of the funds are used for out of home placements, and usually equal less than half of
what the County spends in a year for these placements. Placements in the State’s two remaining
juvenile corrections centers (Lincoln Hills and Copper Hill) cost $8-$9,000/month. A couple years ago,
the 17 year olds were shifted to adult facilities, but now face legislation to return them to youth
services without additional funding. Discussion followed the presentation.
Family Services Section staffing update: Rachel Obiden started 7/13/15 as the AODA Coordinator
and Samantha Hedican has been hired as the Family Specialist for the Family Treatment Court
program. The annual Family Services staff retreat will be held at the Blue Wave in Ashland on 9/21/15.
Red Cliff Indian Child Welfare update: Stacy and Anita travelled to Red Cliff ICW on 9/3/15 to
meet with Chally and Chris to discuss cases we have in common. Nine youth are currently in out of
home Tribal Court placements. The Red Cliff AODA 2015 service contract is at a standstill and
payments being withheld until rates are received.
Mental Health/AODA Services update: Family Treatment Court is currently working with two
families and may add a third soon. 22 people are enrolled in the CCS program and 24 in CSP. There
have been 44 emergency detentions year to date.
The status of Northland Counseling’s licensure is still an issue. Their license has not been renewed and
the State has determined that they were not appropriately licensed to serve children placed in the crisis
bed since October 2010. The Department of Family Services has determined that they will not license
the facility retroactively. It is a possibility that the Counties who placed children there may be required
to pay back the Medicaid funds received. It is estimated that Bayfield County may need to reimburse
between $70,000- $100,000. The State may yet waive the Medicaid reimbursement or find alternative
funding to fill the gap. However, to be on the safe side, Peppy will be presenting a resolution to the
full County Board for a one-time increase to the Risk Reserve from unspent 2014 funds in the event
that monies need to be returned. Money not used to reimburse Medicaid would be returned to the
General Fund once the issue is resolved.
Child Protective Services update: Rebecca Kruit has been conducting Mandatory Reporter Training
at area schools. $5,800 in 2015 Community Intervention Program (CIP) funds is being used to provide
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incentives to delinquent children trying to succeed at home and in the community. A request for
additional funds from the WI Dept of Justice has been requested to partially cover the cost of two
employees attending the First Witness Forensic Interview training in Duluth. There currently are nine
children in voluntary kinship placement with two moving out of state soon. There are no children on
the kinship waiting list so the unused funds will be de-obligated to go back to the State to distribute to
counties that need more. Three children were discharged from out of home placements in August.
Juvenile Justice Update: Five staff members participated in training for state funded COMPAS
juvenile assessment system that begins at the end of November, 2015. So far in 2015, Bayfield County
has received 33 juvenile justice referrals.
Family Services Planning/Goals for 2016: Anita asked the Committee for suggestions on
planning and goals for the Family Services section in 2016. Discussion followed leading to ideas that
focus on prevention, applying for grants, teen court and targeting early intervention. A question
regarding Human Services employee turnover was raised by Ann. There have been a number of
factors that have adversely affected both recruitment and retention. With regard to social workers, the
issue is a statewide trend and not specific to Bayfield County. In addition, Bayfield County’s wage and
fringe package does not currently compare favorably to competitors in the area, particularly in the
social work field. As a result, Bayfield County is attracting people just out of school that cannot find
employment elsewhere. Recently some individuals hired have used the positions to gain experience
and then secure better long term options for employment elsewhere.
Informational Items: Anita said she was working on monitoring the Family Services Programs for
the first half of 2015.
Future Meetings: Future 2015 FSAC meeting dates are 12/15/15 and 3/15/16.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 5:52 pm.
Minutes respectfully submitted by,
Nina Bucher
Nina Bucher