HomeMy WebLinkAboutFamily Services Advisory Committee - Minutes - 6/21/2016
BAYFIELD COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
FAMILY SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
Courthouse Conference Room A
Tuesday, June 21st, 2016 at 4:30 pm
Committee Members Present: John Blahnik, Ann Green, Lona Schmidt, Dale and Nancy Johnson,
Jeremy Oswald, Susan Davis and Bev Lindell.
Others Present: Val Levno from New Horizons North; Leah Thaldorf from Red Cliff; Anita Haukaas,
and Nina Bucher from BCDHS.
Call to order and introductions: Lona called the meeting to order at 4:03 and introductions were
made.
Minute Approval: John made a motion to approve minutes from the 3/15/16 FSAC meeting as
written. Ann seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Public Comment Opportunity: Bev asked for an update on Lincoln Hills that Anita supplied saying
that no further abuse had been reported, and that no one placed there from Bayfield County had been
abused, that we are or have been made aware of.
Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) Presentation: Val Levno handed out a CCS
brochure and explained that New Horizons North administers the regional CCS program for Ashland
and Bayfield Counties. CCS is available to all ages of people on medical assistance who are assessed to
have a mental health/substance abuse functional impairment that is impacting their lives negatively.
The focus of CCS is to facilitate connecting these individuals with appropriate services to empower,
teach life skills, give hope, make independent again, and repair/mend relationships. CCS is a voluntary
program and there is no limit on the number of people who may be enrolled after qualifying. Referrals
come from many places including doctors, probation and parole, and county social workers.
Val said the program is going well and is currently serving 41 people. Anita added that a State audit
found case documentation inadequate, (which was the same in most audited counties), so steps to
bring the documentation into compliance have been taken.
Family Services Section staffing update: Samantha, the Family Treatment Court Family Specialist
& FTC Case Worker, is leaving and hiring a replacement is dependent on 2017 grant funding.
Red Cliff Indian Child Welfare (RCICW) update: Leah Thaldorf, the new RCICW Director,
introduced herself and shared her background. She stated that RCICW is hopeful the joint staffing
meetings with Bayfield County regarding cases held in common will resume soon. She also shared that
a new social services administrator, Jeremy McClain had been hired at Red Cliff.
Anita explained that Bayfield County is responsible for payment for out of home placement of all
children placed out of home by Red Cliff Tribal and Bayfield County courts. Leah added the Indian Child
Welfare Act was put into effect to protect children by law and to mandate placement of Indian Children
into culturally sensitive homes, to preserve the culture.
Mental Health/AODA Services update: Anita said emergency detentions (EDs) have pushed FS
over budget which could lead to limiting voluntary MH/AODA services. Discussion on MH/AODA
services followed with the following highlights: Part of the issue is that families are not accepting
help/services and cannot be forced, because services are voluntary; a grant to hire a therapist and
Minutes are subject to
change before approval
at next FSAC meeting
K:agenda&minutes/FS/mintes/2015/2016-06-21_FSAC_minutes 2
resource coordinator to work with those in jail has been secured; the County is required to seek the
least restrictive setting for services and more adult family homes are needed.
Child Protective Services update: Anita relayed that the State came to complete an egregious
incident or Child Death Incident review. To this agency’s surprise, the State did not review the case,
but randomly reviewed another case and statistics regarding Bayfield County’s CPS screening decisions.
They felt impending danger threats may not have been addressed. Staff was already registered for
training that will address this.
Anita is registered to attend the Supervising Safety Training which is an intensive structured training
for Child Protective Services, which begins in September and ends in December.
Anita requested access and safety trainings for experienced workers. This is offered to new workers,
but it is also important for experienced workers to update their skills.
Due to several changes in how CPS standards are applied, Anita anticipates a rise in the number of
screened in CPS cases. There is no additional funding to cover the potential increase in workload.
Juvenile Justice: As of June 6th, 2016, there have been 40 referrals, compared to 22 this time last
year.
FSCA Membership/terms: Anita stated that three people’s terms were up for renewal and inquired if
they were interested in continuing on the Committee. Ann said she needs to step down for the time
being and the other two agreed to continue. Anita explained that a motion asking the Human Services
Board to extend their terms another six months would need to be made at the next FSAC meeting,
before asking the Human Services Board to approve the recommendation.
Future Meetings: Future FSAC meeting dates are scheduled for 9/20/16 & 12/6/16 (December
meeting is tentatively set for December 6th.).
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 6 pm.
Minutes respectfully submitted by,
Nina Bucher
Nina Bucher