HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Services Board - Minutes - 1/26/2017BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING
EOC Room
January 26, 2017
Board Members Present: Pat Carver, Larry Fickbohm, Fred Strand, Kent Seldal,
Jim Crandall, Rusty Williams, Rachel Coughtry arrived @ 4:07,
Phil Milam
Board Members Excused: Lona Schmidt
Others Present: Elizabeth Skulan, Nikki Revak, Anita Haukaas,
Call to Order and Introductions
Williams called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m.
Review of the December 6, 2016 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
Staffing Update (Moved up on the Agenda):
Williamson asked for a moment of silence in honor of the unexpected passing of former Social
Worker Tom Moran’s wife Shirley Moran and Carrie Linder’s husband Jay Cablk.
Jeanine Spuhler is on leave and will be out for approximately six weeks.
The work that DHS staff perform is difficult in the best of times. When tragic events occur that
affect staff or people that they care about, it also negatively affects staff. A debriefing was held
to assist staff to cope with recent incidents. Handouts regarding available resources and good
coping mechanisms were distributed. In addition, former DHS staff and therapist Dianne Heapy
graciously offered to speak with any staff seeking assistance at no charge.
End of life counselor, Marieke van Donkersgoed, met with Aging and Disabilities staff, Skulan
and Revak. Van Donkersgoed spoke about grief and offered advice on how to interact with a
grieving colleague. A handout she provided was shared with all DHS staff.
With both Spuhler and Linder out of the office, Skulan made arrangements to attend three out
of town meetings remotely. While not ideal, this does afford the remaining members of the
DHS Management Team more flexibility while providing coverage.
A termination notice was issued to Michele Reiswig. Reiswig’s Social Work Training Certificate
expires at the end of March. At that time, Reiswig will no longer be legally qualified to be a
Social Worker. Reiswig understands the reason for the termination. Social Worker Courtney
Rauschenbach submitted her notice. Rauschenbach’s last day will be February 8th.
Rauschenbach accepted a position with Ashland County DHHS. She was offered more money
and substantially more paid leave. As was the case with Crystal Clark-Gregoire who accepted a
BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING
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January 26, 2017
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position with the Bad River Tribe. Clark-Gregoire reported that she struggled in Bayfield County
due to the lack of sufficient paid leave time. She will be receiving 24 days of Paid Time
Off(PTO)/Vacation and 17 paid holidays annually upon hire. Interviews for the Adult Protective
Services and Child Protective Services will be held this Friday. Another CPS interview is
scheduled for the following Monday.
Skulan will present to the Personnel Committee next week to recommend a change to the
classification of the Youth Transition position in the Aging and Disability Services Section. The
recommendation will be to change the position classification from a Social Work position to a
four-year degreed professional position. This will lower the wage and grade of the position, but
it also eliminates the social work certification requirement.
Heather Wagner’s first day as a Family Services Parent Mentor was December 17th. Wagner is
working with families involved in child welfare, child protective services, and/or treatment
court, which allows certified staff to focus their efforts on providing social work to the families.
Program Presentation – Regional Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) ADRC
Specialist, Lindi Olson, Aging and Disability Services Section.
Canceled
Monthly Section Reports
Support Services – Nikki Revak
Staff are currently working in two different years. The majority of the 2017 Contracts are
completed. With the contract support staff person on vacation, Revak has answered many
contract questions.
Work is almost completed for the Aging and Disability Center of the North 2017 State Budget
Form.
Revak facilitated the Wellness Packer Tailgate luncheon last Friday. Melissa Kraft received a
pan of Chocaholic Brownies from NikUpNorth Unlimited for the best Packer outfit.
Next Monday, the County’s Office 365 software will be moved to a government site and emails
will be migrated. Two support staff and Revak received training to help facilitate the migration
and to assist DHS staff to get their emails up and running in a timely manner. Hopefully there
will be less glitches during this second migration than the previous one.
The Support Staff celebrated Sarah Copp’s birthday today with a Chocolate Flourless Torte and
Caramel Sauce.
Assisted the DHS Management Team as needed in Spuhler and Linder’s absence.
Economic Support Services – Jeanine Spuhler
On leave. No report.
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Family Services – Anita Haukaas
Northland Counseling’s rates for 2017 did not increase from 2016. Their Alcohol and Other Drug
Abuse counselor in only part-time. Northland Counseling is currently undergoing a staff
shortage.
Haukaas is assisting Family Services staff with the Interstate Compact cases. Red Cliff Child
Indian Welfare (ICW) worker Gretchen Morris will try to assist with monthly face to face
contacts with tribal children in out of home placement. There is some concern regarding the
timely submittal of notes in eWiSCACWIS when Family Services staff do not perform all of the
face to face contacts.
New Horizon’s North (NHN) submitted 2017 rates for the Comprehensive Community Services
program. The past two years NHN billed at the interim state rate which, on average, exceeded
actual cost. The 2017 proposed rates from NHN reflect 98.5% of the interim state rate, but
2016 annual costs projected to the end of the year indicate that NHN costs do not exceed 70%
of the state interim rate. The proposed rates stimulated additional questions and requests for
financial data to determine how the rates were structured. Then the information received was
not sufficient to warrant the proposed increase. Because of this, both Bayfield and Ashland
County found the proposed rates unacceptable. An agreement was made with NHN to bill at
78% of the Interim rate. Financial records will be requested monthly to reconcile costs and
compare them to the billing rates, to validate the information. With the potential changes to
Medicaid due to a new federal administration, DHS wants to ensure the any increase in rates
are both needed and well justified. There is a significant change that the program will no longer
be eligible for 100% reimbursement in the future.
Family Services staff will be meeting with District Attorney Lawton and Judge Anderson.
Arrowhead Detention Center board approved the DHS contract. However, there are some
differences in the Civil Rights and Audit requirements for providers in that State of Minnesota
compared the same requirements in Wisconsin. Bayfield County Corporation Counsel and the
attorney retained by Arrowhead Detention Center are working together to address these
issues.
Aging & Disability Services - Carrie Linder
No report. On leave.
Monthly Reports
Monthly reports reviewed and placed on file.
Haukaas made an addition to the training list. Social Worker Rebecca Kruit had an unplanned
overnight stay in Oshkosh for a face to face contact.
Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Appointments to Bayfield County Comprehensive
Community Support and Ashland/Bayfield Regional Comprehensive Community Support
Coordination Committees, Jeffry Ottman and Carol Salminen
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Skulan stated that 30% of the Comprehensive Community Support Coordination Committee
Oversite must be participants of the program. Both Ottman and Salminen fulfill that
requirement. The nominees were recommended by the CCS Coordination Committee
members.
Motion by Carver, second by Seldal, to approve Jeffry Ottman and Carol Salminen to the
Bayfield County CCS and Ashland/Bayfield Regional CCS Coordination Committees. Motion
passed unanimously.
Advocacy Efforts for DCF Children and Families Allocation Increases
Skulan reviewed the resolution passed by the County Board in 2016 in support of increased
funding for the Children and Family Aids Allocation. There has not been an increase in the
allocation since 2009. Statewide the complexity of cases and the caseloads have increased due
to the use of heroin, opiates and methamphetamines. The Wisconsin County Association
(WCA) and the Wisconsin Human Services County Association (WCHSA) have advocated for
additional funding. The resolution and a white paper developed by WCA regarding the opioid
epidemic was forwarded to Representative Beth Meyers and Senator Janet Bewley with an
appeal for their support for the additional funding. Fred Strand as a county Ambassador with
WCA met with Bewley, Meyers and their staff. The information was well received and are both
very supportive and staunch advocates for the additional funding.
Human Services Day at the Capital will be held on April 5th. However, Skulan will be out of the
area on vacation that week.
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, Carver, second by Coughtry at 4:31 p.m. to go into executive session. Motion
carried unanimously.
Motion by, Crandall, second by Carver at 4:36 p.m. to exit out of Executive Session. Roll Call
Vote. Passed unanimously.
Discussion and possible actions(s) regarding Executive Session.
No actions.
Other (Informational Items)
A. Bayfield County Birth to 3 Program Fact Sheet
B. Child Welfare Worker Turnover in Wisconsin, A Statewide Survey Handout
C. Reliability and Consistency of Aging and Disability Resource Center Functional
Screening and Options Counseling
D. Wisconsin Works for Everyone – Governor Walker
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E. Entitlement Reform and Medicaid – Walker
F. Top 5 threats of Child Welfare
G. Shows Bayfield County emergency detentions worksheet
H. Advocacy – information training at UCC church in February.
Future Meetings
A. February 23, 2017
B. March 23, 2017
C. April 27, 2017
Adjournment
Submitted 4:50 p.m. by Nikki Revak, Financial Manager