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Home My WebLink AboutHuman Services Board - Minutes - 5/27/2021BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC May 27, 2021 1 Board Members Present: Jim Crandall; Marty Milanowski, David Zepczyk, Lona Schmidt, Mark Ludeking, Susan Rosa by phone at 4:04, Jeremy Oswald joined at 4:12 Board Members Not Present: Larry Fickbohm, Stephanie Defoe Haskins Others Present: Elizabeth Skulan, Jeanine Spuhler, Carrie Linder, Stephanie Eder, Mary Anich, Heather Gilbertson, Karen Bodin, Tom Crouteau Call to Order and Introductions Crandall called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. Roll Call Taken Discussion and Possible Action – Review of the April 22, 2021 meeting minutes Motion by Milanowski, second by Schmidt to approve the April 22, 2021 meeting minutes as presented. Motion passed. Opportunity for Public Comment (Limited to 3 minutes per person) none Program Presentation – Adult Protective Services, Aging and Disability Services-Adult Protective Services Specialist Karen Bodin  World Elder Abuse Day is June 15, 2021.  Bayfield County had 71 calls/referrals of Elder Adult at Risk and 32 calls/referrals for Adults at Risk. This is an increase from previous years.  Self-Neglect and Financial exploitation are the two major types of abuse for referrals in Bayfield County.  Suspected Financial Exploitation are referred to and investigated by law enforcement.  APS Staff receive information and referrals through intake.  APS Staff received over 100 calls for Elder Abuse in 2020. Monthly Section Reports Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) – Tom Croteau  The CCS program currently has 25 participants. The program is seeing a steady increase in participants this year.  Croteau is having regular ongoing conversations with law enforcement about community members who may be eligible for CCS. Law enforcement work toward creating good relationships with these community members and then inform them about CCS or refer them to CCS for services.  CCS has two new vendors who provide client services. Innovative Services, Inc. and The Equine Connection owned by Jeanna Metallica.  May is Mental Health awareness month. DRAFT: Subject to change at the next BCDHS meeting BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC May 27, 2021 2  Croteau is focusing on marketing CCS services by having public service announcement and Facebook ads.  Community Support Program (CSP) is a program for individuals with chronic and persistent mental illness. Northland Counseling is the contractor who provides CSP services. Croteau is working with Northland Counseling to develop more clinical oversight of the program. There were no referrals for CSP in 2020. There have already been 3 referrals in 2021 and one more potential referral.  CSP and CCS are voluntary Medicaid funded programs. Bayfield County has the capacity to hire additional CCS staff should program numbers continue to increase. Support Services – Stephanie Eder  Completed the High-Cost Pool Fund for Tribal Court Placement application.  Training continues with two new staff and one staff person who has been with the Department for more than a year whose duties have changed.  Staff have provided some additional support by creating brochures for the Transportation Assistance Program (TAP) and creating COVID19 Vaccination Outreach postcards for the Health Department. Economic Support (ES) – Jeanine Spuhler  Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance (WHEAP) season closed on May 15th. Residents can still apply for crisis funding and the furnace repair or replacing program until the new season begins in the fall.  The state of Wisconsin Division of Energy will be issuing automated summer fill payments to qualifying WHEAP clients in June.  Pre-6 Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (PEBT) payments for children under the age of 6 not enrolled in school will be issued in June. This is a new resource for families.  Spuhler started working on the ES Section of the DHS Annual Report for 2020.  Andrea Fisk has been job shadowing with Danielle Colby and Audra Austin. Andrea’s first day was April 26th, and she is steadily making her way through state required new worker training.  Participated in a Management Evaluation Review (MER) for the Foodshare program on May 18th. The Northern Consortium was given a 95% accuracy rate and of those surveyed 97% stated they were treated with respect.  The overall NIMC workload is increasing since the state reinstated previously waived requirements. This requires applicants to complete recertifications for benefits. Staff have been reviewing cases and requesting paperwork previously waived due to the pandemic to update them.  Economic Support Week starts June 14, 2021. Family Services – Mary Anich  Family services continues to see an increase in referrals for child protective services and youth justice/delinquency referrals.  Staff have been working more than full-time to meet the needs of the families of Bayfield County. This has included work after hours client contacts and supervised visits that occur after the close of the business day or on weekends.  Several on-call cases have resulted in additional staff time, often beginning with a middle of the night call.  Family Services is seeing an increase in referrals due to Meth and Heroine use. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC May 27, 2021 3  Family Service on-call workers have recently received several calls from Law Enforcement regarding the elderly. The only statutory requirement for 24/7 on-call work is Child Protective Services and these workers do not work with the elderly.  A pressing issue for Family Services is a 15-year-old youth who is being asked to leave a secured detention facility. Family Services staff have contacted every facility in the state of Wisconsin to find another placement for the child. All requests for placement have been denied. Workers have now begun to contact out of state providers for placement options. Aging & Disability Services – Carrie Linder  Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15, 2021. Elder Abuse Awareness Day is meant to honor older adults and to provide outreach regarding the abuse of elders.  JoAnn Paraventi provided notice of her retirement. Her last day of work will be June 30th.  Brynna Watters-Moffit has accepted an offer of employment. Watters-Moffit will be the new Adult Protection Services (APS) Social Worker. Her first day will be June 14, 2021.  Linder has working on the Home Delivered Meal (HDM) routes to structure additional routes. Civic groups have been contacted to see if anyone is interested in delivering meals.  Linder prepared a Brown Bag lunch presentation on, “How to care for aging parents,” and presented it to county employees.  Linder will be participating in ten listening sessions in ten different communities to gather input regarding the Congregate Meal Program. Linder is hoping for a good response to the public meetings.  In person Tai Chi classes for the elderly are being reimplemented. Classes take place outside at Memorial Park in Washburn.  To date substitute Meals on Wheels (MOW) drivers have delivered 90 pandemic food boxes to MOW participants.  Linder also responded to after-hours calls from law enforcement regarding elderly residents.  Ninety-one surveys have been completed for the Aging Plan. Monthly Reports Monthly Financial and Training reports were reviewed and placed on file. Discussion and Possible Action – Resolution #2021-03 Proclamation Honoring Older Adults on World Elder Abuse Day, June 15, 2021. This resolution recognizes the older adults in our community and honors them on World Elder Abuse Day. A celebration has been scheduled and will be facilitated by A&D staff as one more way to bring awareness of the situation to the community. Motion by Malinowski, second by Rosa to approve Resolution #2021-03, Approving Resolution #2021-03 Proclamation Honoring Older Adults on World Elder Abuse Day, June 15, 2021. Motion passed. Discussion and Possible Action – Conflict of Interest Policy for Medicaid Waiver Services Policy. The existing policy required an update. Motion by Oswald, second by Rosa to approve the Conflict-of-Interest Policy for Medicaid Waiver Services Policy. Motion carried. Discussion and Possible Action – The committee reviewed the Required Co-Payments – S 85.21 Transportation Policy and the updated documents for the Transportation Assistance Program (TAP) formerly called Volunteer Driver Program. The TAP will begin on June 1, 2021 or as soon as the BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC May 27, 2021 4 required driver information has been collected and drivers are approved to drive. Linder streamlined the co-payment schedule to improve efficiency for department staff and to make it easier for riders to understand. After some discussion, it was determined updated gender information will be added to the form. Motion by Malinowski, second by Ludeking to approve the revised version of the updated Required Co- Payments – S 85.21 Transportation Policy. Motion carried. 2022 DHS Budget – A Notice and Request for Public Input and a Request for Provider Input for 2022 was reviewed. Information regarding the Public Hearing will be distributed shortly. The Public Hearing is scheduled on June 24th, 2021 and will be included in the June DHS Board meeting. DHS provided a budget presentation on May 25, 2021, prior to the County board meeting. Other (Informational Items) Future Meetings A. June 24, 2021 -Meeting will take place in the County Board Room. Preferred method is for people to respond online but there is room available for people who want to be in person. B. July 22, 2021 C. August 19, 2021 Adjournment at 5:58 p.m. Submitted by Heather Gilbertson, Clerk II