Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Services Board - Minutes - 1/22/2015BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING Bayfield County EOC January 22, 2015 Board Members Present: Rusty Williams, Pat Carver left @5:05 p.m., Bill Bussey arrived @ 4:03 p.m., Fred Strand, Jim Crandall, John Bennett, Kent Seldal, Lona Schmidt Board Members Excused: Deb Pyne Others Present: Elizabeth Skulan, Nikki Revak, Carrie Linder, Jeanine Spuhler, Anita Haukaas, Megan Collins, John Carlson Call to Order and Introductions Williams called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. Introductions were made. Review of the December 2, 2014 Meeting Minutes Motion by Crandall, seconded by Carver, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion passed unanimously. Public Comment – Limited to 3 minutes per person None Program Presentation –Children’s Long-term Services and Family Support Programs, Megan Collins, Social Worker, Aging and Disability Services Section Collins stated that she has been in her position for about 1 ½ years. Collins works with Children Long Term Services (CLTS), the Family Support Program (FSP) and the Birth to Three Program. Collins passed out a brochure on CLTS and FSP. There are currently 16 children enrolled in CLTS and 11 children enrolled in FSP, with 14 children on the waitlist. Some children are getting services from both programs. Families are eligible for services if they have a child with a severe disability, under the age of 21 who lives at home. CLTS covers a broad range of services, depending on a child’s disability and the family’s identified needs. FSP provides limited individual services and support to families. Respite is a non-medical covered service that families can be assisted with using FSP. The eligibility process includes a screening to determine if the child meets functional and financial eligibility criteria. Depending on income, a family may need to contribute to the cost of services. Each child has an Individual Service Plan based on their needs. The following items where moved forward on the Agenda: 7. Proposed changes to the 161 Agreement 11. Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources (GWAAR) Review and Corrective Action Plan Updates 5. d. Aging & Disability Services – Carrie Linder BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING Bayfield County EOC January 22, 2015 2 Proposed Changes to the 161 Agreement Skulan explained that a 161 Agreement is an annual contract that the State of Wisconsin requires of counties who have Tribes within their boundaries. Since Tribes do not tax their members and can otherwise lack a revenue source, counties are required to pay for out of home placements made by tribal courts. Corporation Counsel, Attorney John Carlson reviewed the proposed changes to the 161 Agreement that he would like to present to Red Cliff. Similar to any other out of home placement, tribal court-ordered placements under a 161 Agreement are subject to federal performance standards including a monthly face-to-face contact. The county is obligated to meet this requirement. The face to face requirement can be delegated to a third party (e.g. another social or human services agency) but must be performed by the placing county quarterly. This requirement can be extremely difficult to meet when children are placed out of state. Recently, another county requested that the Red Cliff tribe court-order the out of home placement for a tribal child that was not a Red Cliff or Bayfield County resident. Because the current 161 Agreement does not include language regarding change of venue, Bayfield DHS is now financially responsible for the placement. Attorney Carlson has worked with the Bayfield County Child Support Administrator to propose language specific to child support referrals, now that Red Cliff has their own Child Support agency. Motion by Bussey to accept the proposal with one modification to reflect that “Reimbursement is limited to Bayfield County residents and placed within the State of Wisconsin”. Second by Bennett. Motion passed unanimously. There was some discussion regarding the process for negotiating changes with Red Cliff and the suggestion was made to solicit tribal membership on the DHS committee in the future. Greater WI Linder explained that in May 2014, Pam VanKampen from the Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources (GWAAR) completed an on-site nutrition assessment. Based on the assessment and Pam’s recommendations for improvement, the Corrective Action Plan for the 2013-2015 Aging Unit Assessment for Elderly Nutrition Program was developed. It was presented, reviewed, and approved by the Aging and Disability Advisory Committee at their last meeting. Linder reviewed portions of the plan. Monthly Section Reports Aging & Disability Services – Carrie Linder - first Nutritional training for staff is complete. Annual applications have been finalized. The 2015 Contracts and Individual Services plans are complete. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING Bayfield County EOC January 22, 2015 3 Orientation with Michele Reiswig has gone well. The Aging and Disability Unit is fully staffed, although Karen Guski and Patti Carlson will continue to provide training and assistance on a limited-term basis through the end of February. New enrollment for Family Care individuals was streamlined. There were a few glitches in the system but staff was able to work through them. AARP will provide tax assistance to the public on Wednesdays from 9 – 3 beginning February 4, 2015 to April 8, 2015 in the computer training lab in the lower level of the Bayfield County Courthouse. Consumers must have income under $50,000 and their taxes must not be complex to complete in order to be eligible. AARP is targeting seniors for assistance, but will provide assistance to others if they have the capacity. Support Services – Nikki Revak Staff is currently working in two fiscal years, completing 2014 and starting of 2015. Reviews of grants and other expenditures and revenues for 2014 are underway. Agency staff and providers have been reminded that the cutoff date is February 10, 2015 for submitting 2014 invoices. A problem was encountered between the interface with the Visual WISSIS software and the State eWiSACWIS system with out of home placement payments. Staff has worked with the provider to secure an update to rectify the issue. The update is not yet available. Spuhler worked with Revak to conduct a test with Iron County using the Vidyo software that will be used for face to face client interviews now that child care has been regionalized. Interviews will take place in Bayfield County with a worker from the child care team from the Northern Income Maintenance Consortium (NIMC) located in another county since Bayfield County does not have a child care eligibility worker on the child care team. Revak participated in the Wellness Committee meeting held on Wednesday, January 21. Economic Support Services – Jeanine Spuhler The regional Child Care Team for the NIMC began determining eligibility and processing cases on January 5, 2015. Since Bayfield County did not having a large child care case load or a full- time child care worker, it made sense to assign local cases to the regional child care team. Child Care specialist will be to provide better service in a more efficient and effective manner. The Child Care Specialist team is off to a good start and is doing well. Reviews for BadgerCare childless adult population will begin in April. Due to the large number of reviews that were due at the same time, the State has staggered the reviews and will allow them to be completed over a longer period of time. Letters regarding this change will be issued by the State to affected individuals. (Pat Carver left @ 5:05 p.m.) BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING Bayfield County EOC January 22, 2015 4 The newly hired consortium staff is on board. Some staff members have already completed their training and begun working on the call center. Family Services – Anita Haukaas Some year-end data: Juvenile referrals for 2014 were 71; 13 youth were referred multiple times. The 71 referrals involved 38 children (unduplicated count); 29 males and 9 females; 10 Native Americans and 26 Caucasians. In 2013 there were over 50 referrals. Recently, staff members have been working with youth accused of serious crimes that have or will result in significant restitution. The Family Treatment Court held its first triage meeting/screening with Family Services and Criminal Justice staff. No referrals have been made to the program as no family has met the eligibility criteria to be enrolled in the program. There have been a number of positive comments regarding the new Family Resource Room. It is a more comfortable setting for families who are required to have supervised visits. Family Services staff members have also been experiencing issues with the state eWiSACWIS system. The state is aware of the issues and has been working with the Bayfield County IT staff. New Child Protective Social Worker Kelsey Byard has begun to complete required training on Child Protective Services and the Juvenile Justice system. Monthly Reports The monthly reports were reviewed and placed on file. All 2014 invoices have yet to be submitted. However, it is still anticipated that the 2014 expenses will be within budget. Staffing Update Michele Reiswig was hired as an Adult Protective Services Social Worker in the Aging and Disabilities Section; Kelsey Byard filled a vacant Child Protective Services (CSP) Social Worker position in the Family Services Section. They currently each hold a training certificate and will need to complete five classes to be eligible to test for social work certification. Training certificates expire in two years and are non-renewable. So, both individuals have two years to complete certification, which is required of social work positions. Three candidates were interviewed for another vacant CPS Social Worker position in Family Services. One individual was offered the position but declined the offer. A second round of interviews will be held. Unfortunately, many candidates who apply for social worker positions are not qualified. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING Bayfield County EOC January 22, 2015 5 There was a question by a board member if past employees have been hired to assist the Aging and Disability Section with the recent vacancy. The response was yes, two individuals were hired as part-time limited term employees to temporarily assist the Aging and Disability Services Section. Because of certification requirements, Social Worker positions are more difficult to fill. In addition, surrounding counties are also recruiting for social work positions and, in most cases, are offering a higher wage scale. Clare Hintz is doing well as the Home Delivered Meal driver. Gary was able to do hands on training with Hintz. The Ford Escape, which is powered solely by compressed natural gas, has been unreliable in extreme cold. For this reason, the van formerly used by the Women Infant and Children (WIC) program is being retained as a backup for the HDM program. A fleet car was being used temporarily to deliver the meals, but the temperature of the food was compromised. Since the van had been used in the past to deliver meals, the vehicle is already outfitted with extra interior outlet that can be used to keep the hot boxes and the cold boxes at the correct temperature. Comprehensive Community Service Program (CCS) – Status Report Skulan reviewed the letter issued to Mr. Kevin Moore, Deputy Secretary, Wisconsin Department of Health Services regarding concerns about the certification process. In 2014, the technical advisor provided by the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services, advised Ashland and Bayfield Counties to hire and train staff ready to implement the program once CCS was certified. So, early in 2014, the contracted vendor began to hire and train staff anticipating an August certification date. The program was awarded “provisional” certification on January 1, 2015. In the meantime, the vendor has incurred program costs that must be paid. The vendor will be invoice 2014 costs in fiscal 2015 and Ashland and Bayfield Counties will both attempt to recoup the costs during the first annual program reconciliation. Although the regional CCS program received provisional certification, there was a request to provide additional information. Technical assistance from the Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is required and has been requested. Bayfield County is required to respond within 45 days. Although the Administrative Code does not limit CCS to Medicaid eligible recipients, it does not appear to prohibit counties from limiting services to Medicaid eligible individuals. The CCS Plan will be modified to limit services to those who are Medicaid eligible. Birth to Three Data Review Skulan reported that there were no findings. Due to Linder leaving early, this agenda item was tabled for the March meeting. Other (Informational Items) (None) BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING Bayfield County EOC January 22, 2015 6 Future Meetings A. February 26, 2015 B. March 26, 2015 C. April 23, 2015 The meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m. Submitted by Nikki Revak, Financial Manager