HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Services Board - Minutes - 6/25/2015BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING
Bayfield County Board Room
June 25, 2015
Board Members Present: Lona Schmidt, John Bennett, Pat Carver arrived @ 4:13 p.m.,
Rusty Williams, Deb Pyne arrived @ 4:12, Kathy Wendling
Fred Strand, Jim Crandall
Board Members Excused: Kent Seldal
Others Present: Elizabeth Skulan, Nikki Revak, Jeanine Spuhler, Anita Haukaas,
Mark Abeles-Allison, Barbara Burke Sorensen, David Ricard
Call to Order and Introductions
Williams called the meeting to order at 4:07 p.m. Introductions were made.
Review of the May 28, 2015 Meeting Minutes
Motion by Crandall, seconded by Schmidt, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion passed
unanimously.
Public Comment – Limited to 3 minutes per person
None
Open the Floor for Public Hearing
Motion by Crandall at 4:09, second by Schmidt, to open the floor for Public Hearing. Motion
passed unanimously.
Opportunity for Public Comment on 2016 Budget and/or Bayfield County’s Policies and
procedures for Equal Opportunity in Employment, Service Delivery and Language Access.
Barbara Burke Sorensen, court appointed guardian for son with disabilities, spoke on his behalf.
Sorenson praised Adult Protective Services employees who have advocated for her son with the
IRIS program.
Mark Abeles-Allison, County Administrator, spoke in regards to the future in respect to the
increase of the aging population in Bayfield County.
Review Written Comments
Skulan reported that 37 requests were mailed out to providers on May 23rd. However, no
written responses were received back.
Program Presentation – Family Services – Anita Haukaas, Family Services Manager
Haukaas handed out three sheets of information: Underage Drinking in WI; Adult Binge
Drinking in WI, and Operating While Intoxicated in WI. This information shows WI has above
average national statistics in all three of these areas. The sheets also show the personal and
state costs associated with alcohol abuse, along with some “fast facts” to highlight interesting
information and summaries. Haukaas explained that WI residents have a long history of
drinking in excess and that Bayfield County ranks near the top in the State with regard to
overuse. She said that local/state government is working to decrease the amount residents are
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drinking and promote sober events for all ages. With prevention funding, Bayfield County has:
helped fund projects such as an annual recovery celebration arranged by the local hospital;
advocated for safe and sober graduations at area high schools; stimulated the creation of
alcohol educational kits available to borrow from libraries; and participated in the state
prevention campaign’s such as “Parents who Host Lose the Most”. No citations have been
written in Bayfield County for underage drinking in the past two years. However, no one
believes that abuse by youth has declined or discontinued. It is more likely that the behavior is
continuing undetected and unreported.
Monthly Section Reports
Support Services – Nikki Revak
Sarah Copp has completed her Call Center Clerical training and is actively taking electronic
signatures. Staff are working on 2014 Annual Report and getting ready for the financial audit.
Today the management team hosted a DHS Staff Appreciation Breakfast at the quarterly all
staff meeting.
Family Services – Anita Haukaas
On May 29th Family Services held their Annual Meeting with Bayfield County Law Enforcement;
Courts; and Schools. The meeting was well attended and good input was received from the
schools and law enforcement. One concern that was highlighted at the meeting is the concern
that truancy is increasing with much younger children. This is a trend that other counties are
also experiencing.
Family Treatment Court currently has two families enrolled. A third family was not able to
succeed in the program.
Comprehensive Community Services program currently has approximately 25 Bayfield County
residents enrolled, including a number of youth.
As of this week, there have been 37 emergency detentions. This number is similar to last year.
Mental Health Coordinator, Cheryl Hanson with assistance from Anita Haukaas is managing the
AODA (Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse) cases until a new worker is hired.
The JAIS (Juvenile Assessment and Intervention System) contract will end in November. Staff
will be transitioning to COMPAS, a statewide automated risk and needs assessment and unified
case planning system similar to JAIS. Four Family Services staff members are currently trained in
COMPAS.
Economic Support Services – Jeanine Spuhler
With the 2015 Summer Fill Program, 302 eligible households in Bayfield County that heat with
propane or fuel oil will receive a letter indicating that they are eligible and encouraging them to
take advantage of the program. The program will be administered by the State and will be
assisted by Energy Services Inc.
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Spuhler participated in administrative planning for a potential surge in Fair Hearing requests
from FoodShare members that have exhausted their three month time limited benefits for
FoodShare. Fair Hearings may be filed by people who disagree with the actions taken by either
the Income Maintenance (IM) agency or the FoodShare Employment and Training (FSET)
agency.
Child Care Administration, with the except for Child Care Certification which continues to be
done locally, has transitioned in to the NIMC (Northern Income Maintenance Consortium).
The NIMC supervisors are reviewing income maintenance operations within the consortium.
They are working on “what we do, how we do it, and what can we do better”. With the
demographics in the northern region showing an increase in the aging population, new NIMC
workers will all be trained in EBD (Elderly, blind and disabled) to be in a better position to serve
that increasing population.
Aging & Disability Services – Carrie Linder
Not present – from last week’s Weekly Report
Hosted the Aging and Disability Advisory Committee meeting on May 18.
In the event of a natural or manmade disaster in Bayfield County, each unit within DHS
has staff who volunteers to provide assistance throughout the event. Jack Holevatz and
Jamie Mackin have volunteered to represent the Aging and Disability Services Unit and
they attended a regional conference to build a framework and learn about emergency
preparedness and response.
Received a sizeable donation of Girl Scout cookies from an anonymous donor. I worked
with Home Delivered Meals driver Clare Hintze to package them up for over 100 home
delivered meals participants.
Adult Protective Services staff Michele Reiswig and JoAnn Paraventi have had several
unique cases over the past several months that have been time intensive and ongoing.
I prepared for and conducted 3 employee evaluations over the past month.
I prepared information for the department annual report.
Ann Marie and I hosted the Caregiver Support Network meeting on June 9. Work on the
15th annual caregiver conference has begun.
Elder Benefit Specialist Sheila Mack began distributing Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition
Program vouchers throughout the county this week. We have enough vouchers to serve
roughly 150 seniors.
We have received an AmeriCorps position with the intent to focus on working with
volunteers within the Volunteer Driver Program.
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15. Please consider wearing something
PURPLE on Monday to recognize victims of elder abuse and neglect. Bayfield County
Adult Protective Services staff investigated 42 cases of elder abuse in 2014.
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From a national perspective, here are a few statistics regarding elder abuse:
The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study estimated that only 1 in 14 cases of elder
abuse ever come to the attention of authorities.
Nearly 1 in 2 people with dementia experience some form of abuse by others.
The annual financial loss by victims of financial exploitation was estimated to be $2.9
billion in 2009, a 12% increase from 2008.
Elders who experience mistreatment and self-neglect face a greater risk of dying sooner.
Monthly Reports
The monthly reports were reviewed and placed on file.
2016 Budget Preparation Memo – May 27, 2015
Skulan reviewed the 2016 Budget Preparation Memo. Due to timelines, DHS must submit the
2016 draft budget to the County Administrator by August 21, 2015 prior to the DHS committee
meeting on August 27, 2015 when the budget will be presented for final DHS board approval.
Home Delivered Meal Program Vehicle Replacement
Skulan reviewed the memo addressed to the County Administrator requesting a replacement
for the compressed natural gas vehicle used for one of the senior home delivered meal routes.
Abeles-Allison is currently working on a proposal for a new vehicle to replace the current Ford
Escape. Memo signed by Chair Williams.
Aging and Disability Resource Center of the North – ADRC-N 2014 Financial Update
Action taken by the ADRC-N Advisory committee was to:
pay the two counties in full that went over budget; and pay the three counties with
regional staff for the AMSO and indirect costs
invoice those counties for 50% of those funds to be set aside for a contingency fund.
Not all five counties were in favor of putting those funds in a contingency fund.
Close the Floor to Public Comment on the 2016 Department of Human Services Budget and
Regarding Bayfield County’s Policies and Procedures for Equal Opportunity in Employment,
Service Delivery and Language Access
Motion by Strand at 5:06 p.m., second by Bennett, to close the floor for Public Hearing.
Motion passed unanimously.
The Department of Human Services Board may entertain a motion to move in and out of
Executive Session pursuant to S19.85(1)(c); considering employment, promotion,
compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the
governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility.
Motion by Crandall, second by Carver at 5:07 p.m. to move into Executive Session. Roll Call
vote. Motion passed unanimously.
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Motion by Schmidt, second by Pyne at 5:10 p.m., to move out of Executive Session. Roll call
vote. Motion passed unanimously.
Discussion and possible action(s) regarding Executive Session.
No action needed to be taken.
Other (Informational Items)
A. June 5, 2015 Memo Regarding Staff Performance
B. Breaking news – U.S. Supreme Court ruling to uphold Obamacare Subsidies
Future Meetings
A. July 23, 2015
B. August 27, 2015
C. September 24, 2015
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 5:12 p.m.
Submitted by Nikki Revak, Financial Manager