HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Services Board - Minutes - 4/23/2015BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING
Bayfield County EOC
April 23, 2015
Board Members Present: Fred Strand arrived @ 4:11, Jim Crandall, Kent Seldal,
Lona Schmidt John Bennett, Pat Carver, Rusty Williams,
Bill Bussey arrived @ 4:15, Deb Pyne, remote
Board Members Excused:
Others Present: Elizabeth Skulan, Nikki Revak, Carrie Linder, Jeanine Spuhler, Anita
Haukaas
Call to Order and Introductions
Williams called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. Introductions were made.
Review of the March 25, 2015 Meeting Minutes
Motion by Bennett, seconded by Crandall, to approve the minutes as presented. Motioned
passed unanimously.
Public Comment – Limited to 3 minutes per person
None
Program Presentation –Aging and Disabilities – Children’s Community Options Program
Carrie Linder, Aging & Disabilities Manager, gave an overview of the Children’s Community
Options Program (CCOP) proposal in the Governor’s Budget. With the creation of CCOP, the
Family Support program would be eliminated. That funding would be consolidated with the
funding that currently supports long-term care services for children under The Community
Options Program (COP). The Family Support Program (FSP) currently provides individual
services and supports to families with a child with severe disabilities living in the home.
The Wisconsin Counties Association (WCA) is lobbying for the removal of the CCOP provisions
from the state budget. No analysis has been done with regard to how CCOP will integrate with
other programs serving children with disabilities. Program requirements differ between COP
and FSP. This is another area of the budget where changes and future programs are largely
undefined.
Monthly Section Reports
(Aging & Disability Services Monthly Section Report along with Gemini Leasing Update items
was moved forward on the Agenda)
Aging & Disability Services – Carrie Linder
Linder attended the spring Birth to Three regional meeting in Ashland via phone conference to
participate in State updates and Birth to Three Waiver program changes. The Bayfield and
Ashland County Birth to Three contract provider, Northern Lights, has not been successful in
recruiting and hiring a speech and language therapist for the program. Staff is doing their best
to make sure that the children are receiving the services they need.
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The AARP Tax Aide site for 2015 was a success. The site was open Wednesdays and served
approximately 65 people in its inaugural year of preparing taxes for qualifying individuals. Jim
Bammert and the AARP volunteers were very grateful for the space and accommodations, and
look for to another year of partnering with Bayfield County.
Gemini Leasing Update
Linder and Skulan reported that Gemini Leasing, Inc. will be closing its door on May 31, 2015.
Gemini sold their existing business to two different companies. The community based home
care portion of the business was sold to International Quality Home Care, la Crescent, MN and
Premier Solutions of Brookfield, WI is fulfilling some of Gemini’s previous contracts for leased
employees. As Gemini had not disclosed that their business had been sold, DHS has been
soliciting proposals from other providers. Four providers have submitted proposals. Skulan and
Linder are scheduled to meet with Mark Abeles-Allison to review the proposals.
Monthly Section Reports - continued
Support Services – Nikki Revak
The preliminary 2014 yearend figures are complete and will be presented later in the meeting.
The preliminary year end 2014 Aging and Disabilities of the North (ADRC-N) financials have
been completed and presented to the ADRC-N Advisory Committee.
DHS has been asked to complete a thorough asset inventory. Each staff person will be
responsible for confirming the county owned inventory in their workspace.
The Bayfield County Wellness Fair is today from 2:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Board Members were
encouraged to participate.
One staff person came back from Family Medical Leave. Two staff are on vacation.
One staff person gave notice and will be taking a new position in Ashland County. Her duties
have been assigned to other support staff so there will be no gap in service. DHS is currently
advertising for a Limited Term Employee as a Clerical Call Center staff for 24 hours per week.
Economic Support Services – Jeanine Spuhler
There is still a workload associated with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)
for Northern Income Maintenance Consortium (NIMC) staff. Due to changes in ongoing
Economic Support Program requirements, NIMC was afforded additional ongoing funding in
April. The additional funding will allow NIM to hire three full-time permanent positions. PPACA
workers were encouraged to apply for the positions and a number of them will be interviewing
in May. We are hopeful that Bayfield County PPACA workers will be successful in landing
permanent positions.
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NIMC provided additional hours of services and purchased some equipment for workers with
funding that was due to lapse. Bayfield County NIMC staff received standup desks and updated
cordless headsets.
April is the month when utility providers can begin to disconnect consumers for non-payment
of utilities bills. Staff has been busy assisting consumers who have received cut off notices. The
crisis funds have been depleted. May 15th is the official end of the Wisconsin Home Energy
Assistance Program season.
Workforce Resources, Inc. (WRI) provides employment and training services to those Bayfield
County FoodShare recipients required to participate in the FoodShare Employment and Training
(FSET) program. WRI has a local office in Ashland. They work with people to help them find
and retain employment.
Governor Walker has proclaimed the week of April 27th as Economic Support Specialists week in
recognition of the work performed by public assistance workers throughout the state.
Family Services – Anita Haukaas
There have recently been concerns from area schools regarding Child Protective Services
reports, responses to reporters, and communication between school personnel and Family
Services. The Annual DHS Family Services Meeting with Bayfield County Schools and Law
Enforcement will be held on May 29th from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. These issues will be
addressed at the meeting. Family Services staff will also provide outreach to the schools and
provide information on an ongoing basis. Some mandated reporters do not necessarily
understand the difference between a screened in child protective services report and a child
welfare report or how the process differs between them. More education will help.
Terri Jackson has been hired as the Family Specialist with the RRTC grant and is in training this
week.
Mental Health Coordinator Jessica Leinon-Novascone gave notice. She has taken a new
position with Gogebic College which is closer to her home. Social Worker Cheryl Hanson has
been assigned the duties of Mental Health Coordinator and the Family Services section is
advertising for a Social Worker who will be assigned the duties of the Alcohol and Other Drug
Abuse Coordinator.
On May 7th Haukaas and Skulan will go before the Personnel Committee to advocate for
additional compensation for on call time worked for Family Services staff. There has been a
noticeable decrease in morale since the new wage study/rate and Personnel Policy was
implemented by Bayfield County. Family Services staff is not afforded time and one-half for on
call work and staff has indicated that they feel that their time and efforts are not valued. Skulan
did a comparison of on call time for 2013 and will present that information to the committee.
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Monthly Reports
The monthly reports were reviewed and placed on file.
With the preliminary, unaudited figures, DHS will be under budget by approximately $250,000.
Status of 2015 161 Agreement
Skulan reported that the 161 Agreement was signed and returned to DHS.
Comprehensive Community Support (CCS) Program Update
There are currently 15 individuals; eleven adults and four youth; enrolled in the CCS program.
Implementation is going well and the provider still has capacity to serve more individuals.
DHS staff has been meeting monthly with CCS staff. The CCS team from New Horizons North
have been doing outreach and offering to meet with local physicians and clinics to provide
them with more information about the program and the referral process.
Ashland County DHHS and Bayfield County DHS both received an invoice from New Horizons
North for approximately $54,000 for 2014 costs for the CCS program. Skulan and Revak met
with the administrative from New Horizons North and the Director and Financial Manger from
Ashland DHHS to review the invoice. It was determined that some charges were not allowable
due to the cost allocation methodology or the lack of appropriate documentation. We are
waiting for an updated invoice.
2016 Budget Process
Skulan reviewed the two documents for the DHS 2016 Budget process. The first document is a
public participation report which outlines how DHS will solicit input for the budget. The other
document is a request for provider input. The 2016 Budget Hearing will be held at the regular
monthly meeting of the DHS Board on June 25th in the County Board Room.
Resolution 2015-02 To Request Adequate Funding for Income Maintenance
As the State Joint Committee on Finance has already considered this issue, this item will be
tabled.
Resolution 2015-03 To Request Funding for the Income Maintenance Fraud Prevention and
Investigation Program (FPIP)
As the State Joint Committee on Finance has already considered this issue, this item will be
tabled.
Motion by Bussey, second my Carver, to table Resolutions 2015-02 and 2015-03 as the Joint
Committee already voted on these issues. Motion passed.
Human Service Day at the Capitol Issues and Update
Skulan reported that she and Revak attended Human Services Day at the Capitol and met with
Senator Bewley and Representative Meyers. The Director and Financial Manager from Iron
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County joined us. Both Bewley and Meyers were in support of recommendations made by the
Wisconsin County and the Wisconsin County Human Services Associations, but don’t believe
that they will have any impact on the Governor’s Budget Proposal.
Other (Informational Items)
A. Proclamation May 2015 as Aging and Disability Resource Center Month
B. Budget Listening Session with Senator Bewley and Representative Meyers,
Saturday April 25, 2015 at Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center
Future Meetings
A. May 28, 2015
B. June 25, 2015 (EOC, Begin with Public Hearing on 2016 DHS Budget)
C. July 23, 2015
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 5:25 p.m.
Submitted by Nikki Revak, Financial Manager