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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Services Board - Minutes - 3/25/2021BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC March 25, 2021 1 Board Members Present: Jim Crandall, Susan Rosa joined at 4:12, Jeremy Oswald, Lona Schmidt by phone, Marty Milanowski, Mark Ludeking, Stephanie Defoe Haskins, David Zepczyk Board Members Not Present: Larry Fickbohm Others Present: Elizabeth Skulan, Jeanine Spuhler, Cheryl Hanson, Carrie Linder, Stephanie Eder, Thomas Croteau, Mary Anich, Heather Gilbertson, Val Levno, Crystal Nordby -New Day Advocacy Center Call to Order and Introductions Crandall called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. Discussion and Possible Action – Review of the January 28, Meeting Minutes Motion by Milanowski, seconded by Schmidt to approve the January 28, 2021 meeting minutes as presented. Motion passed. Opportunity for Public Comment (Limited to 3 minutes per person) none Program Presentation – Val Levno, Ashland Bayfield Regional Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) Administrator, CCS Satisfaction Surveys Wisconsin requires programs to conduct a satisfaction survey each year. This year the state used the Mental Health Statistical Improvement Program (MHSIP) rather than the ROSI (Recovery Oriented Systems Indicators) used in previous years. The MHSIP is nationally recognized. It measures concerns important to consumers of publicly funded mental health systems. CCS satisfaction surveys are distributed annually in the spring and are used to identify areas for improvements. A client must be in the program for at least six months to be eligible to complete the survey. Monthly Section Reports Economic Support – Jeanine Spuhler • Spuhler reported the moratorium of utility disconnection will be lifted in April. Some individuals will be scrambling to pay utility bills to avoid a disconnect. • Spuhler received $20,000 in crisis funding at the beginning of the heating season. Sphulher reported when the funds were distributed, another $20,000 was requested and provided. • Sphuler reported there is currently $13,000 in crisis funding that can be used to help clients with utility bills. • Economic Support is nearing completion of the annual Desktop Monitoring process for the Energy Assistance Program. The process should be complete in early April. • Economic Support Specialist Rosie Kozeneski will be retiring April 30, 2021. Kozeneski has begun to cross train other Economic Support staff on some of her duties. FINAL Approved at April 22, 2021 DHS Board meeting BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC March 25, 2021 2 • DHS is currently recruiting two Economic Support Specialists – one to fill Kozeneski’ s position and another regionally funded position. The posting will close the end of this week. DHS hopes to have the positions filled by early May. If DHS is unable to identify two well qualified candidates to offer employment to, Ashland and Taylor Counties are also hiring, and the regional position would then be transferred to one of those counties. • The WI Rental Assistance program began mid-February. Seven households in Bayfield County applied and were awarded benefits. Over $18,000 was paid to those households for overdue and ongoing rental fees. • Spuhler participated in a virtual Management Evaluation Review (MER) with the state. Spuhler lacked the connectivity to conduct a virtual tour in real time, so she made a video to use for that portion of the evaluation. • On March 28, 2021, the state will run a Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT). This issusance affords additional FoodShare benefits for families with enrolled school aged children who qualify for free or reduced meals and who have partially conducted their child’s education virtually. Aging & Disability Services – Carrie Linder • Development of the three-year aging plan for older adults for 2022-2024 is in its early stages. Focus areas include: Supportive Services, Nutrition Program, Health Promotion and Caregiver Support. Linder is investigating creative ways to obtain feedback for the plan since connecting with individuals in person is not an option. • Grab and Go Meals will be reinstated in Iron River beginning April 1, 2021. Meals can be picked up Thursdays from 11:30-12:30. • Staff have worked with other departments and agencies on several difficult cases across the lifespan. • Linder met with local artist Sara Balbin, the artist who facilitated the distribution of weekly Art To Go packets for interested home delivered meal participants. A survey was completed to determine: what people enjoyed; what they did not; and how the packets can be improved. • Linder participated in a training entitled Trauma and Resilience-Informed Care: Putting Humanity Back into Human Services. • The Birth to Three qualitative file review was completed with the state. The results were less than favorable and additional training will be identified for staff in several areas. • Linder reviewed a socioemotional assessment tool called “Piccolo”. Piccolo focuses on parental interactions with a child and provides a nonthreatening or intimidating way to help address bonding and ongoing child parent contact. • Birth to Three staff participated in a Quarterly B-3 meeting with WI DHS staff, Lori Wittemann. • Linder covered the ADRC regional phones for an afternoon recently, the result of an unanticipated absence. A call was fielded from a man who was very embarrassed and flustered because he suspected he gave his Medicare number to a scammer and was uncertain what to do. Linder provided him with the Senior Medicare Patrol number. Linder also received a call from a concerned family member who suspected an elderly sibling was being taken financially advantage of by another family member. • The two current home delivered meal routes are currently significantly overburdened. The program experienced a 60 % increase in the number of meals delivered from January 2020 to January 2021. Although more seniors are being served, the lunch meal is delivered as early as BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC March 25, 2021 3 9:00 a.m. and as late as 3:00 p.m. Best practice, per state guidelines, is for routes to be no longer than 4 hours. Options on how to address this are being identified and considered. Family Services – Cheryl Hanson • Family Service has been busy with juvenile services and mental health referrals. • Behavioral Health Social Worker Isabel Gregersen has been working with clients subject to involuntary services - emergency detentions and third-party petitions. • Bayfield County tries to coordinate volunteer services with clients before seeking involuntary options. • Lindsey Friedrich accepted an offer of employment of Behavioral Health Social Worker. Her first day will be May 24, 2021. • Family Services is recruiting a Youth Justice Social Worker position vacated when Anich accepted the Family Services Manager position. • Most staff have returned to work at the courthouse. By April 1, 2021 all Family Services staff will be working full -time from the couthouse with the exception of two staff will be working hybrid schedules. • Family Service workers have been working out in the field throughout the pandemic. They stay safe using required PPE and maintaining social distance. • Anich’s first day as Family Service Manager was March 22. Anich is cross training with Hanson until Hanson retires on April 14, 2021. Comprehensive Community Services – Tom Croteau • Croteau reported there are currently 23 participants enrolled in the CCS program. • Croteau is working to improve the referrals process, internally and with partners to ensure follow up with participants within 24 hours of a referral. • Croteau is working with Criminal Justice to facilitate referrals of inmates so inmates have access to needed services upon release. • Croteau met with the Sheriff’s Office to provide a presentation about the CCS program. Deputies were provided with business cards they can distribute when they feel the program might benefit individuals they encounter. • Staff were very busy this month. Service Facilitators usually complete one or two six month reviews a month. Both staff had multiple reviews to compete and one service facilitator completed four reviews. Support Services – Stephanie Eder • Jane Cook is retiring April 16, 2021. Cook has worked for Bayfield County in DHS for 20 years. • Alannah Belanger was welcomed to the Support Staff team as a DHS Clerk I. Belanger’s first day was March 15, 2021. • Sam DeRosia was also welcomed to the Support Staff team as a DHS Clerk I. DeRosia’ s first day was February 8, 2021. • The Support Staff section is now fully staffed. • Cook is providing training to other clerical staff who will be assigned duties she has been performing. • Eder reviewed all support staff duties and reassigned some. This will ensure: workloads are balanced; there are no gaps in coverage; expectations are clear; and there will be backup for planned and unanticipated absences. • Support staff is working with Linder and A&D to prepare for the “Grab & Go” meals scheduled to resume in Iron River on April 1, 2021. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC March 25, 2021 4 Monthly Reports Monthly Financial and Training reports were reviewed and placed on file. Review of Bayfield County Vacation and Paid Benefit Time – Skulan reviewed vacation and sick time benefits included in the Bayfield County Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual. Discussion and Possible Action – Appointment Sandra Notzke, Participant Member of local and regional Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) Coordinating Committees – Wisconsin Administrative Code 36, which regulates the CCS Program, requires more than 30% of the CCS Coordinating Committees are program participants. Bayfield County currently has a vacancy on the local and regional committees for a participant member. Sandra Notzke applied to become a member of the committee. Notke’s application was vetted by the County Administrator and her appointment is recommended. Motion by Ludeking, seconded by Milanowski to approve the appointment of Sandra Notzke as a participant member of local and regional Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) Coordinating Committees. Motion passed. Budget Neutral Line Item Transfer– When the 2021 budget was developed, DHS neglected to include new account numbers for the Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) Section. This line item transfer is budget neutral. It creates a new profit center in the DHS budget and moves money from the Family Services Section to the CCS Section. Budget line item transfers require committee approval and recommendation to the Executive Committee for adoption. Motion by Oswald, seconded by Milanowski to approve the line item transfer as presented and to forward it with a recommendation to approve to the Executive Committee for approval. Motion passed. DHS 2022 Budget Memo– All Departments were required to develop a plan for a 2%, 5%, and 7% budget reduction for 2022. Responses are due March 31, 2021. Skulan reviewed the draft DHS response included in the packet. No changes were recommended. The memo will be forwarded to the County Adminsitator prior to the deadline. Human Services Day at the Capitol - Human Services Day at the Capitol will be held on Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Due to the pandemic, Senator Bewley and Representative Meyers are only meeting with constituents virtually and neither are available April 13, 2021. A meeting with Senator Bewley and Representative Meyers has been scheduled on Friday, April 16, 2021 at 1:30. Crandall, Oswald, and Rosa agreed to participate on the Bayfield County Team. Skulan will complete their registrations and send a Teams invitation for the April 16, 2021 meeting. Participants are expected to participate in both the April 13, 2021 morning general session and the April 16, 2021 meeting with legislators. Summary of the Health and Human Services funding included Governor Evers’ Budget – Skulan noted a summary, prepared by the Wisconsin Counties Association (WCA), of Human Services funding included in the Governor’s budget was included in the meeting packet for informational purposes. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC March 25, 2021 5 Other (Informational Items) A. Ludeking provided a link to an article regarding medication assisted treatment for methamphetamine B. Oswald will send DHS staff information regarding new FCC resources for individuals who lack connectivity Future Meetings A. April 22, 2021 B. May 27, 2021 C. June 24, 2021 Adjournment at 5:39 p.m. Submitted by Heather Gilbertson, Clerk II