Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Services Board - Minutes - 9/24/2020BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC September 24, 2020 1 Board Members Present: Jim Crandall, Larry Fickbohm (arrived at 4:04), Susan Rosa, Jeremy Oswald, Lona Schmidt, Marty Milanowski, Stephanie Defoe Haskins, David Zepczyk Others Present: Elizabeth Skulan, Jeanine Spuhler, Cheryl Hanson, Carrie Linder, Nikki Revak, Sarah Traaholt, Thomas Croteau, Julie Szafranski, Mary Dougherty Call to Order and Introductions Crandall called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Long-term Human Services Board Member, Kent Seldal, passed away on September 17th. A note was shared from Kent’s wife. Kent and his dedication to Bayfield County will be greatly missed. Discussion and Possible Action - Review of the August 27, 2020, Meeting Minutes Motion by Milanowski, seconded by Schmidt to approve the August 27, 2020 minutes as presented. Motion passed. Opportunity for Public Comment (Limited to 3 minutes per person) none Program Presentation – Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program, Julie Szafranski, Northern Income Maintenance Consortium (NIMC) Child Care Team Supervisor – Wisconsin Shares is a childcare subsidy program which provides funding for childcare to parents, foster parents or caregivers so they may go to work or participate in approved training programs. Szafranski reviewed data for Bayfield County. Due to the pandemic, new policies and waivers have been implemented to help parents with school closings and other unique daycare needs related to the pandemic. Additional payments were also made to help sustain providers. Northwest Connection Family Resources in Hayward serves several counties, including Bayfield. The organization provides: referral services; recruitment of providers; parent education; support; and help with retention of providers. Northwest Connection Family Resources was key in providing additional outreach and help to parents and providers during the pandemic. Preschool Development Grant – Birth to Five (PDG B-5) is moving forward. PDG B-5 is a one year federal grant which allows Wisconsin to complete a needs assessment and a strategic plan to improve Wisconsin’s early childhood system. The grant will focus on; attracting and retaining professionals; empowering families to make the best choices for their children; building regional networks of support; and increasing the overall quality of early childhood programs. Szafranski reported she is a participant on the state workgroup to provide input regarding the needs of rural counties, such as Bayfield. FINAL: Approved at the 10/22/20 BCDHS Board meeting BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC September 24, 2020 2 Monthly Section Reports and COVID19 Updates Aging & Disability Services – Carrie Linder Kristin Opperman transferred one the Children’s Long Term Services Program (CLTS) case to Social Worker Mary Anich in Family Services. DHS contracts with Hayley Weyers from Forward Horizons to provide case management to four other children. Linder reported that four to six additional children will be transitioned from the wait list and served by the end of the year. Several teens will age out of the current program and transition to adult services. Contracting case management affords Opperman time to remove and serve children from the waitlist. Linder reported the State will control the statewide waiting list in 2021. At that time, the State will notify counties when there are children who must be removed from the waitlist and served. The CLTS budget may be underspent in 2020, as several services have not heavily utilized during the pandemic. The Aging Newsletter was mailed in early September. Linder reported she received good feedback and some inquiries as a result of the mailing. Linder has been working with Land Records staff on options to modify home delivered meals routes. She will be partnering with UW Extension who will assign staff two work with the routes as a project. Those staff will review the data to identify options that will improve program efficiency, safety, and meal quality. Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) data entry will transition from Nightingale Notes to the State’s Wellsky/SAMS IR database. The current software is expensive to support and maintain. However, access to the State’s system is currently funded and maintained by the State. Staff will attend training for the new database next week. Family Services – Cheryl Hanson Hanson reported she was on vacation camping in the U.P. during the week of Labor Day. She reported she had a great time! Hanson attended a three day virtual training on child welfare. She indicated that it was nice not to need to travel, but missed networking and making personal connections. Most sessions focused on engaging employees and providing quality virtual services to families. Hanson reported she is currently working on implementing some of the practices in Family Services. Hanson indicated the conference was worthwhile. Hanson reported the Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) Social Worker scheduled to begin work on Monday, September 28, called to decline the position. There was a strong second candidate for the position, so DHS is working with Human Resources to contact the individual to determine if they are still interested in the position. If they are not, the position will be reposted. Hanson reported Social Worker Melissa Huempfner will be on maternity leave beginning sometime in October. Hanson is working on delegating her duties to remaining staff. Hanson reported Family Services partnered with the Sheriff’s Office, Information Technology, and Human Resources to apply for a Children's Justice Act Grant through the Department of Justice. Money awarded would be used to update the technology in forensic interviewing room located in the Sheriff’s BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC September 24, 2020 3 Office. New equipment should provide better quality audio and increase the capacity to observe interviews in the office used for observation. As mentioned by Linder, Family Services will be sharing Mary Anich who will provide case management for one child on the CLTS program. Hanson complimented deputies in the Sheriff’s Office on their de-escalation skills and interaction recently with an individual having a mental health crisis. Hanson reported Deputies Miller and Kern did an awesome job yesterday working with an individual who was emergency detained. Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) – Tom Croteau Croteau reported CCS is a new and young team learning the program. Program enrollment is currently at 20 participants, which is down slightly. Two intakes were conducted in August but both individuals were discharged. There are several more referrals currently in the process, some for school-aged children. CCS is a Medicaid funded program that provides community based mental health and substance use disorder services to all ages. Croteau reports that some parents are struggling with schools providing sufficient IEP support during the pandemic. Unfortunately, this need does not fit the parameters of the CCS program unless mental health services are required. When applicants are not eligible, staff recommend other appropriate services to the applicant. COVID-19 contingency plans are in place. Some CCS staff members are telecommuting and rotating every two weeks. The team is working well together. Workers have stepped up to help fill any gaps when staffing is an issue, to ensure participant needs are met and the program complies with State standards. Croteau reported he has been working with Human Resources Director Kris Kavajecz to develop a performance improvement plan for one employee. The plan was focused on assisting the employee to improve attendance. Croteau is preparing for an internal quality review that will take place to recertify the CCS program. Support Services – Nikki Revak Per the requirement from the County Board, the support staff unit has one staff member working remotely each month. Sarah Traaholt is telecommuting in September. Kathy Wolfram will be telecommuting in October. So far, everything has gone smoothly. Two support staff are assisting Economic Support with the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program (WHEAP). Revak reported a request from Public Health for assistance for three days in October while all of their staff will be working at flu clinics. DHS will partner with Public Health and one support staff will report to Public Health to provide reception on those three days. Staff are very busy with day to day operations. Revak provided note of intent to retire to Elizabeth Skulan. Her last day of employment will be January 15, 2021. Revak indicated It has been a pleasure and honor to serve Human Services. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC September 24, 2020 4 Economic Support Services, Jeanine Sphuler Spuhler reported there have been changes to the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program (WHEAP) due to the pandemic. Normally the assistance season is October 1 to May 15. In 2020, because of the pandemic, the program continued after May 15 and will through October 1, 2020. In September, people were able to apply for WHEAP benefits for both Federal Fiscal Year 2020 (FFY20) and FFY21. As of October 1, 2020, the program will be available for FFY21 only. Economic Support has recently received a large number of calls for furnace repairs and replacements. Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding, referrals for repair will not be processed until the new federal fiscal year beginning October 1, 2020. Spuhler requested and received additional funding for energy assistance for FFY20. Spuhler reported she is working with Revak and Support Staff to ensure that all monies are expended. Funds not used for administering the program can be transferred and used to assist customers having trouble paying their utility bills. FoodShare applications are increasing as clients are now required to complete renewals. In addition, the $600 per week supplement for unemployment ended in July, which is also increasing applications. Health care is holding steady. Clients can continue to participate in the program through the pandemic as the waiver of renewals for health care was extended through the end of the year. Work requirements for single Able-Bodied Adults Without Disabilities (ABAWD) have also been waived during the pandemic. Monthly Reports Monthly reports reviewed and placed on file. A. Financial B. Training (travel is restricted, no training report) Discussion and Possible Action, 2019 DHS Annual Report – Review, potential modifications and approval The 2019 DHS DRAFT Annual Report was included in the board packet for review, modification, and approval. The report was published very late this year as a result of many competing priorities due to the pandemic. There was some discussion regarding the report. 2021 Budget Update – Summary DHS presented its request for an additional $78,000 in county levy to the Executive Committee on September 14, 2020. The additional monies may need to come from DHS risk reserve. The administrator requested DHS hold an earlier August meeting to discuss the budget in the future. Motion by Milanowski, second by Rosa, to approve the 2019 DHS Annual Report as presented. Motion carried. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC September 24, 2020 5 2021 Meeting Calendar Review The draft calendar was reviewed. The only notable change in the annual calendar is a modification to the date of the August 2021 meeting. The meeting will be held a week earlier to accommodate the county calendar for completing the 2022 Annual Budget. Moving the August meeting forward a week is likely to be an ongoing annual change. Other (Informational Items) A. DHS citizen member board vacancy due to the death of Kent Seldal – an e-mail was issued to Mark Ludeking to determine if he is still interested in becoming a citizen member to the DHS Board. Future Meetings A. October 22, 2020 B. December 1, 2020 – November/December 2020 Meeting C. January 28, 2021 Adjournment at 5:37 p.m. Respectfully Submitted by Sarah Traaholt, Clerk III