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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Services Board - Minutes - 4/27/2017BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC April 27, 2017 Board Members Present: Larry Fickbohm, Fred Strand, Kent Seldal, Jim Crandall, Rachel Coughtry arrived @ 4:05, Phil Milam, Lona Schmidt, Pat Carver, Rusty Williams Board Members Excused: Others Present: Elizabeth Skulan, Jeanine Spuhler, Nikki Revak, Midge Montano Call to Order and Introductions Williams called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Review of the February 23, 2017 Meeting Minutes Motion by Schmidt seconded by Strand, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion passed unanimously. Public Comment – Limited to 3 minutes per person None. Program Presentation –Economic Support Manager, Jeanine Spuhler, Drug Testing for Public Assistance For Food Share eligibility purposes, a drug felon is a person, adult or minor, who is convicted of a felony in a state or federal court involving the possession, use or distribution of a controlled substance in the last five year. An applicant makes a self-declaration regarding their drug use and/or criminal history. If drug use or past drug felonies are disclosed, the applicant must be drug tested. Once tested, the applicant will receive benefits unless they fail the test. A failed test result in a 12-month sanction. The participant will lose eligibility if they decline to test. The cost of the drug test panel is $16. Family Service staff collects urine samples. The sample is mailed to Options Lab for testing. If the participant is taking a prescription drug, they must disclose the information and submit supporting documentation from their physician. In 2016 four participants in Bayfield County were drug tested. Monthly Section Reports Support Services – Nikki Revak On Monday, the final 2016 Expenditure report was shared with the Aging and Disability Resource Center of the North (ADRC – N) Governing Board at their quarterly meeting in Cable. Wednesday was Office Administrative Professional’s Day. Support staff were treated with chocolate and a gift certificate for pizza with Revak. Staff have submitted the final claims to the state and grant agencies for the 2016 reporting year. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC April 27, 2017 2 Aging & Disability Services – Carrie Linder Skulan reporting for Linder. Linder asked Skulan to share that she is out this evening so that she can take her son to grief counseling. Linder regrets that she is unable to attend the board meeting. Krystal Ferrell has been hired as a Social Work Intern. She will be employed for 12 weeks this summer. Ferrell will be working with both the A&D and the Family Services Sections. The third and final Dementia Crisis training was held on April 27th. There was representation from a number of agencies who discussed strategies for responding to dementia related crises. Linder worked with Memorial Medical Center to resolve a billing matter for the Examining Physician’s or Psychologist’s Report. A document that is required by the court to establish guardianship. Staff are working with Northwest Community Services Agency on the feasibility of establishing a Commodity Supplemental Food Program for seniors in Iron River. If this program is established, commodities would be offered during the monthly senior congregate meal provided at the Iron River Community Center. The potential of offering commodities to the home delivered meal participants in the Iron River area is also being considered. An Aging Disability Resource Center (ADRC) staff person is expected to be on Family Medical Leave for three to six weeks this summer. Family Services – Anita Haukaas Skulan reporting for Haukaas. Haukaas is out on Family Medical Leave for three weeks. Family Services staff have been assisting Skulan to ensure the work load is adequately covered. Kudos to them! Economic Support Services – Jeanine Spuhler Spuhler stated how fortunate she is to work for Bayfield County. Spuhler thanked the board and management team for the overwhelming support she received while she was out on an unanticipated six-week medical leave. Spuhler was very grateful to the other supervisors in the Northern Income Maintenance Consortium (NIMC). Other NIMC supervisors assisted in performing regional duties assigned to Spuhler during her absence. The heating moratorium was April 15th. Workers are receiving calls and are working with consumers who are in danger of disconnection due to unpaid past due utility bills. To show appreciation for their work, breakfast was available to Bayfield County employees on March 29th. The management team participated in cooking, serving and cleaning up after the meal. Staff enjoyed the breakfast. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC April 27, 2017 3 The Northern Income Maintenance Consortium (NIMC) is struggling to meet bench marks as there are fewer regional Income Maintenance workers to respond to calls. More consumers are waiting for longer periods of time in the que. NIMC is providing cross training to more staff to allow for increased skills and flexibility on the call center and to alleviate the wait time and barriers to realizing bench marks. Monthly Reports Monthly reports reviewed and placed on file. DHS projects that the 2016 will be under budget by approximately $104,000. There are already concerns about balancing the 2017 budget due to the number of individuals who have already been placed in Winnebago and with several youths in high cost out of home placements. Discussion and Possible Action – Children’s Community Options Program (CCOP) Advisory Committee Member Appointment – Recommendation to approve Robyn Klobucher to the CCOP Committee. The CCOP Advisory Committee has approved the appointment of Klobucher and is seeking approval from the DHS Board. Motion by Seldal, second by Carver, to approve the appointment of Robyn Klobucher to the CCOP Committee. Motion passed unanimously. Discussion and Possible Action GIT – Government Information Technologies (GIT) LLC – Wisconsin Department of Justice Investigation Results Skulan reported that Visual WISSIS is the software that DHS has used since 2000. Skulan reviewed a letter from the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) indicating the results of their investigation. DOJ determined that no crime had been committed. They also indicated that although contract deliverables were not met, this was not due to intentional deceit or intent to commit fraud. No criminal charges will be filed. GIT charged counties for an upgrade that included an electronic health records (EHR) component. The firm was unable to deliver the product. The only other recourse available is to file a civil lawsuit. However, the amount of money that Bayfield County might recoup after legal costs, should the county be successful in piercing the company’s corporate veil, is not likely to result in a positive return on investment. DHS is not aware of any other counties that are pursuing this option. At this time there will be no further action on the matter. Discussion and Possible Action – DHS Resolution 2017 – 01 Resolution to Add Douglas County to Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) Region Skulan reported that Douglas County has expressed an interest in joining the current Ashland Bayfield County region to deliver Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) Services. Douglas County would issue a Request for Proposals for a primary provider of service and would not use BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC April 27, 2017 4 the same primary provider currently used in Ashland and Bayfield Counties. Ashland and Bayfield Counties are interested in expanding provider choice. All counties agree that the increase would benefit regional CCS participants in the three counties. The first step in the process is to add Douglas County to the Ashland and Bayfield County CCS Region. Both Ashland and Bayfield must pass a resolution to add Douglas County to the Ashland, Bayfield region. Motion by Schmidt, second by Carver to approve the DHS Resolution 2017-01 to add Douglas County to the CCS Region and recommend the resolution to the full County Board for approval. Motion carried unanimously. Human Services Day at the Capitol – Jim Crandall and Fred Strand Supervisors Crandall and Strand attended Human Services Day at the Capitol on April 5, 2017. Crandall and Strand gave an overview of the talking points they used to advocate for change. They met with Representatives Bewley, Meyers and Melroy. All three legislators were very supportive of the issues but they are not in the majority party so have little influence politically. Crandall and Strand also met with DHS Secretary Seemeyer and DCF Anderson. 2017 – 2019 WI state Biennial Budget – A PowerPoint issued by WCA which summarizes proposed Human Services Changes was in the packet. Skulan reviewed the WCA PowerPoint and the effects, both positive and negative, that those budget items may have locally. 2017 – 2019 Budget & Implications Related to the Children’s Long Term Support Program (CLTS) Included in the budget is a proposed increase in state funding to eliminate the waitlist for CLTS. Skulan reviewed the handouts and the implications of the proposal. Historically, no county levy has been used to support the CLTS program. However, in 2013 a high medical needs child was added to the CLTS program. In this instance, county levy was used to cover costs not allowable through CLTS and those funds were identified as “county match”. This match may require Bayfield County to have a future Maintenance of Effort (MOE) in the CLTS program. The Wisconsin Counties Association and the Wisconsin Counties Human Services have proposed changes to the CLTS budget language that would limit and/or decrease future county contributions to the CLTS program. 2017 161 Agreement – Negotiated increases Skulan reported that due to an increased number of placements and one high cost out of home placement (OHP), Red Cliff has requested and received an increase in the 2017 161 Agreement. The agreement is based on previous years’ expenditures and additional projected placements through year end. This is the third increase that the tribe has requested in the 2017 agreement. The increase request for foster care placements was approved by Bayfield County. However, the increase for Kinship Care placements was not approved. Red Cliff gets an allocation for Kinship directly from the state and the tribe must petition the state directly for additional money for Kinship Care. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC April 27, 2017 5 Out of Home, Out of State Placement Skulan reported that there is a very complex, high needs youth recommended to residential placement. Family Services staff have worked diligently to find a suitable placement for the youth in Wisconsin but have exhausted the list of appropriate in-state providers. No providers in Wisconsin will accept the youth. The placement will be made to a facility in Tennessee. This will be a costly and extended placement. The family of the youth will provide transportation to Memphis Tennessee next week. Bayfield County will reimburse the family for travel expenses. A social worker will fly to Memphis to perform the required safety check on the facility and to facilitate the transfer of placement. This placement was not the Department’s first choice. However, counties in Wisconsin that have used the facility have done so with positive results. This has been both a time consuming and frustrating case for staff. Both Wisconsin Departments of Health Services and Children and Families know that there are not adequate resources available in Wisconsin to treat Wisconsin’s youth with highly complex mental health and behavioral needs. Bayfield County Aging Unit Self-Assessment – Letter of Review, Greater Wisconsin Agency7 on Aging Resources, Inc. (GWAAR) Skulan reviewed a letter issued GWAAR regarding their review of the Bayfield County Aging Unit Self-Assessment. Kudos to staff for a very positive review. 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, Coughtry, second by Carver, at 5:15 p.m. to go into executive session. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by, Coughtry, second by Crandall, to excuse Management staff but allow Skulan to present. Motion carried unanimously. Motion by, Schmidt, second by Carver, at 5:20 p.m. to go out of out of executive session. Roll Call Vote. Motion carried unanimously. Discussion and Possible Action None Other (Informational Items) A. Client thank you note to Social Workers Rebecca Kruit and Cheryl Hanson B. Governor’s Proclamation Recognizing April 17 – April 21, 2017 Economic Support Specialist and Case Managers Week C. N4A Press Release of President Trump’s 2018 Discretionary Budget BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC April 27, 2017 6 D. NACO article on Counties: Health Plan Could Shift Costs, Undermine Medicaid E. In Health Bill’s Defeat, Medicaid Come of Age, The New York Times (Jim) Future Meetings A. May 25, 2017 at 4:30 B. June 22, 2017 at 4:30 C. July 27, 2017 at 4:30 Adjournment at 5:25 p.m. Submitted by the Nikki Revak