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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Services Board - Minutes - 12/6/2011BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC, Bayfield County Annex December 6, 2011, Board Members Present: Clarence Henkel, Rusty Williams, Kenneth Jardine, Lona Schmidt, Pat Carver, Jim Crandall, Bill Bussey Board members absent: Ted Benson, Dee Kittleson Others Present: Elizabeth Skulan, Nikki Revak, Jeanine Spuhler, Carrie Linder Anita Haukaas Call to Order and Introductions K. Jardine called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. following the Holiday Potluck. Review of the October 27, 2011 Minutes Motion by P. Carver, seconded by C. Henkel to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried. Program Presentation – Income Maintenance Regionalization, Jeanine Spuhler, Economic Support Manager Starting January 3, 2012, Income Maintenance Programs including Foodshare, Medical Assistance, BadgerCare, and Caretaker Supplements will be regionalized. Bayfield County is one of twelve counties in the Northern IM Consortium. A letter will be sent to consumers of these programs informing them of the changes. Notices will include a toll free phone number for the call/change center, the hours of operations and a map showing the counties that are included in the consortium. We are still able to deliver services at the local level and our staff will participate in the call/change center. Consumers will no longer be assigned a designated worker but the call/change center agents will be able to, in most cases, assist them immediately. The cost savings is in the restructuring and the efficiencies that will be gained with the regional call center. Agents are trained to answer calls. If a face-to-face meeting is required, an appointment will be set up in the consumer’s county of residence. Bayfield County IM staff has been issued a second monitor. This will assist them in completing tasks more efficiently. The State has also implemented a Central Data Processing Unit (CDPU) and clients are being directed to mail paper documents to Madison where they will be scanned. Opportunity for Public Comment – None Monthly Section Reports Family Services –Anita Haukaas With the holidays coming, staff is scheduling time off; there will be one staff off on FMLA leave for several weeks. Several youth with special needs have been placed for 30 day assessments. From January through November 2011 there have been 104 juvenile intake referrals compared to 102 in 2010. Currently there are eight Bayfield County youth in out of home placement and one Red Cliff placement. The Youth Mentoring program is going well; 13 youth are currently in the program. Mentors from the Coast Guard have been paired with some of the youth and we are BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC, Bayfield County Annex December 6, 2011 2 beginning to see positive outcomes as a result. The 161 Agreement for 2011 with the Red Cliff Tribe has not yet been signed. Support Services – Nikki Revak Support staff are preparing the 2012 provider contracts and amending 2011 contracts. Visual WISSIS, the reporting software program, is undergoing an upgrade in mid- December to a “Client Data Management System” (CDMS) because the state is retiring Human Services Reporting System (HSRS). An upgrade to the MA billing software has been completed. The Children’s Long Term Care Services provider list is complete and has been issued to the Third Party Administrator (TPA). There is a training scheduled for December 7, 2011, at the Iron County Human Services Department for eWiSACWIS. Two support staff will attend. Aging & Disability Services – Carrie Linder The Third Party Administrator (TPA) for the Children’s Long Term Services program (CLTS) was implemented on December 1, 2011. CLTS authorizations for the 2012 individual service plans still need to be finalized with the TPA. The application for a new DOT project which provides transportation to mental health and AODA clients was approved. This will allow us to use state funding for transportation services that we are currently providing with county levy. The Elder Abuse and Alzheimer grants were expended for 2011. The Nutrition program contracts will be renewed for 2012 since we were not required to seek bids this year from meal providers. However, staff is working with providers to minimize rate increases. Family Services and Aging and Disabilities staff met last Tuesday for a cross training. The session was facilitated by Doug and Dennis Lipheart. The time was used to share information regarding the types of services provided by each section; how their education and base philosophies for providing services are different; and to improve collaboration and coordination to better to serve clients – particularly those that receive services from both sections. The A&D retreat was held December 5, 2011. It was a very productive day. Economic Support Services – Jeanine Spuhler Changes are anticipated in the W-2 program after 2012. Training is being provided to staff on the BadgerCare plus core plan. Staff will attend Webinar training for the new call/change system software. Staff has been encouraged to work through the small changes that we have implemented, but to focus on the bigger picture of regionalization. They are doing a fantastic job keeping track of all of the changes. Monthly Reports The monthly financial, training, and waiting list reports were reviewed and placed on file. Update Income Maintenance Regional Model – Update on information received regarding the development of regional services E. Skulan reported that the Income Maintenance staff is handling the changes well and commended them for all the work they have done to prepare for regionalization. The Northern Income Maintenance Consortium has become a pilot for the Computer Data Processing Center (CDPU) for scan first documents. Staff is learning the scheduling software provided in the State’s CARES software system and the Call Center Anywhere software. Implementing a number of smaller changes in the last quarter of 2011 is preparing staff for bigger changes that BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC, Bayfield County Annex December 6, 2011 3 will take place the first of the year. The goal of the Northern IM Consortium is to excel and be the best consortium in the state. Superior Days – Update on planning for 2012 Superior Days E. Skulan reviewed the Superior Days Human Services issues: IM Regionalization; Family Care Enrollment Cap; Random Moment Timestudies; and Increasing the use of Remote Access. Collections Repayment Process – Update on collections process for children services E. Skulan reported that we are working with Judge Anderson on changes to the collections process. The Judge has requested the financial paperwork for the collection/repayment agreements of families whenever we recommend repayment for services. Staff is reviewing the collections/repayments process to develop a procedure to accommodate this request. A legal opinion from Corporate Counsel is being sought to determine if there is language in the Statute that should be considered as the new procedure is developed. 2011 Budget Resolution – Budget resolution for unanticipated increases in expenses 2011 E. Skulan reviewed the resolution to access the Department of Human Services Risk Reserve Funds for a budget adjustment due to unanticipated expenses sustained in 2011. J. Crandall made a motion to approve and recommend to the full County Board the resolution for a budget adjustment that would allow access to the Department of Human Services’ Risk Reserve Fund for up to $10,000 to cover 2011 expenditures. Motion seconded by L. Schmidt. Motion carried. 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 reported that D. Kittleson is in Madison attending a meeting. A copy of the NorthernBridges Quarterly Member Report for the second and third quarters of 2011 was distributed in the board folders for review. Questions should be posed to D. Kittleson at the January board meeting. Other (Informational Items) E. Skulan shared a note from a consumer stating that it was a joy to work with Stephanie Scribbins and was very impressed with her. P. Carver inquired about homeless shelters in the Bayfield area. Future Meetings Future meeting dates were scheduled as follows: A. January 26, 2012 B. February 23, 2012 C. March 22, 2012 Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 5:14 p.m. Submitted by Nikki Revak, Financial Manager