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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Services Board - Minutes - 7/21/2011BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC, Bayfield County Annex July 21, 2011 Board Members Present: Clarence Henkel, Pat Carver, Rusty Williams Bill Bussey, Lona Schmidt, Ted Benson, Jim Crandall Board members absent: Dee Kittleson, Kenneth Jardine Others Present: Elizabeth Skulan, Nikki Revak, Carrie Linder, Jeanine Spuhler, Anita Haukaas, Rachel Coughtry Call to Order and Introductions E. Skulan called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. Review of the June 23, 2011 Minutes Motion by C. Henkel, seconded by P. Carver, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried. Opportunity for Public Comment None Program Presentation –Economic Support, Rachel Coughtry, The Lakes Community Health Care Center Rachel Coughtry, Benefit Counselor, The Lakes Community Health Care Center (TLCHC), gave an overview of services offered through the community health center. The goal of TLCHC is to improve the health of its’ community. It is not a free clinic; everyone pays according to their income. TLCHC provides medical, dental and mental health services on a sliding fee scale. They accept and bill third party insurance and Medical Assistance. Uninsured patients are billed based on their ability to pay. In 2010, TLCC served 500 patients who made 3,000 visits. Monthly Section Reports Family Services –Anita Haukaas Calls to the Crisis Line were: 2008, 21 calls; 2009, 23 calls; and year to date January - June, 43 calls. Juvenile referrals have decreased: 2009 January – May, 52; 2010 January – May 63; and 2011 January – May 47. There are currently ten participants in the CAUSEWAY (mentoring) Program. Travis Larson, the new Program Coordinator for the CAUSEWAY Program, started on July 18, 2011. Joseph Scribbins, the new Social Worker, has been assigned Child Protective Services and Juvenile Justice cases. Joseph previously worked in a hospital setting, which has proven to be a good resource to other staff. A. Haukaas has been reviewing files to comply with a request for the release of information. This can be a time consuming task, since without a court order, we are only allowed to release information that we have created and case files usually include many documents that we do not create. Support Services – Nikki Revak Staff evaluations are complete. Work on the 2010 Annual Report continues. Phase I of the audit has been completed and went very well. The auditors will return the first week in September to BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC, Bayfield County Annex July 21, 2011 2 complete the compliance part of the audit. Bayfield County will host the eWiSACWIS Northern Financial Super-User Group meeting on August 2. The main focus for the next few weeks will be the first draft of the 2012 Human Services Budget, which is due to the County Administrator on August 19, 2011. Aging & Disability Services – Carrie Linder The Birth to Three file review is complete. All the files that were reviewed, documenting services provided to children, were found to be 100% compliant. A file review of Children’s Long Term Services (CLTS) cases was performed. No deficiencies were found. Social Worker Michele Ochsner, who works with CLTS clients and their families, is at full capacity. Staff evaluations are complete. The section recently celebrated their successes for the past year. New Aging Services Specialist Emily Bainbridge is doing a fantastic job. Jan Bergst has tendered her resignation and will retire on October 17, 2011. Interviews for Jan’s position are scheduled for August 8, 2011. We anticipate the start date will be after Labor Day, September 6, 2011. There was some discussion regarding the Helen EF case and how it negatively affects our ability to serve individuals in need of protective placement. Economic Support Services – Jeanine Spuhler Deb Morris, Red Cliff Human Services Administrator, has informed Bayfield County that the Red Cliff Tribe has run out of Tribal TANF funding. New allocations will not be available until the beginning of the new federal fiscal year on October 1, 2011. The Tribe is implementing a waiting list for new TANF applicants and is informing existing and new TANF clients that as Bayfield County residents, they are eligible for the W-2 Program. Bayfield County will be collaborating with Red Cliff to provide information, outreach, and an on-site application processing for tribal members who are interested in applying for W-2. Red Cliff also informed us that as of October 1, 2011, they will no longer provide TANF benefits to tribal members who do not live on tribal lands. J. Spuhler reported that as of October 1, monthly W-2 participant payments will decrease by $20. As of January 1, 2012, job ready W-2 participants who are unable to find employment will no longer be eligible to receive a cash payment. However, they can receive case management services. As of January 1, 2012, consumers caring for a newborn will receive eight weeks of assistance instead of the twelve weeks currently offered. A FoodShare management review will be conducted on site on August 2nd and 3rd by State staff. A meeting was held with Lois Gunderson of Second Harvest Heartland to develop an outreach strategy to increase participation in the FoodShare Program to reach out to senior citizens on fixed incomes. J. Spuhler participated in a telephone conference focused on transitioning cases from the Enrollment Services Center back to counties. This transition may start as early as October, 2011. We anticipate that this heating season Bayfield County will see a 5% increase in consumers applying for energy assistance. Monthly Reports The monthly financial, training, and waiting list reports were reviewed and placed on file. 2011 – 2013 State Biennial Budget Summary – Summary of those items that will affect DHS E. Skulan reviewed the budget summary. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC, Bayfield County Annex July 21, 2011 3 Update Income Maintenance Regional – Update on information received E. Skulan reviewed information presented at a training hosted by the Wisconsin Counties Association on the Regionalization of Income Maintenance. The State budget allows for ten consortia, excluding Milwaukee County. Of the eleven Family Care counties in our region that were planning regional services, five counties opted out and have annexed to the Western Region. The remaining six counties, including Ashland, Bayfield, Iron, Price, Rusk and Sawyer are now recruiting additional counties to form a consortium. There will be no regional start-up funds to help with the process. Authorization to Plan for Regionalized Income Maintenance Model Service Delivery System Resolution – Review and consideration for approval of resolution Motion by J. Crandall, seconded by L. Schmidt, to approve a resolution to allow for the Authorization to Plan for Regionalized Income Maintenance Model Service Delivery System and to forward on to the full County Board. Motion passed Medical Assistance Transportation Broker Update – Update on the transition to the statewide broker J. Spuhler reported that the transition is progressing. Logisticare initially planned to arrange for 4,500 rides per day but are actually scheduling approximately 6,000 rides per day. Logisticare is in the process of hiring additional staff to address the volume of calls. They are also recruiting additional drivers. The wait time to make appointments to schedule rides has been reduced from eleven minutes to five. Aging and Disability Services Advisory Committee Appointments – Tabled item from previous meeting to appoint North Country Independent Living representative Martha Oie to the Aging and Disability Services Advisory Committee Motion by C. Henkel, seconded by J. Crandall, to approve the appointment of Martha Oie to the Aging and Disability Services Advisory Committee. Motion passed. Long-term Care District Board – Standing agenda item, update from Dee Kittleson regarding activities and information from the long-term care district board. E. Skulan read an article from the NorthernBridges newsletter. The article stated that although the solvency of the organization appears to be in question, their risk reserve will be fully funded by the end of 2011. Other (Informational Items) None Future Meetings Future meeting dates were scheduled as follows: A. August 25 (Meeting will begin at 5:00 p.m.) B. September 22, 2011 C. October 27, 2011 Adjournment The meeting adjourned 5:57 p.m. Submitted by Nikki Revak, Financial Manager