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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Services Board - Minutes - 12/5/2023BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC & Virtual December 5, 2023 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2023 DHS Board Minutes\2023-12-05_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 1 Board Members Present: James Crandall, Mary Dougherty, Lona Schmidt, Sue Rosa, Madeline Rekemeyer, Marty Milanowski, Jeremy Oswald, Patrick Irvine*, Stephanie Haskins* (*attended virtually) Not Present: None Others Present: Elizabeth Skulan, Jeanine Spuhler, Stephanie Eder, Sarah Traaholt, Carrie Linder, Tom Croteau, Mary Anich, Carolyn Novak* Call to Order and Introductions Crandall called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Introductions were made. Opportunity for Public Comment (Limit 3 minutes please.) No Public Comment Discussion and Possible Action – Review and approval of the October 26, 2023, meeting minutes. Motion by Milanowski, seconded by Schmidt to approve the October 26, 2023, meeting minutes. Motion passed. Program Presentation – 2022-2024 Plan Period Nutrition Program Assessment, Carolyn Novak, Aging Services Coordinator, Aging and Disability Services Section Carolyn Novak introduced herself. Novak oversees the Senior Nutrition programs in the Aging and Disability Services Section; including Congregate and Home Delivered Meals. Novak reviewed the letter received from Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources (GWAAR) representative, Pam VanKampen, who met with Novak and Linder in August 2023 to complete the Bayfield County Elderly Nutrition Program 2022-2024 plan period Nutrition Assessment. Van Kampen’s comments/acknowledgements included: • Novak’s positive attitude and expertise as a registered dietitian. • The center manager, site manager and staff at the Cornucopia meal site do everything they can to make dining and socialization a special event for the participants. • County Jail Food Service Manager, Lori Fibert, is innovative and is very detail oriented. • The meal prepared at the jail was delicious, healthy, and beautifully presented. • Proper food safety was followed. The jail kitchens were clean and in good condition. • Fibert’s “look book” that had photos to show staff how meals should be placed in containers will be shared with others as a best practice. • Partnerships with Chartwells, local restaurants, and Red Cliff are outstanding. FINAL: Approved at the 02/22/2024 BCDHS Board Meeting BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC & Virtual December 5, 2023 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2023 DHS Board Minutes\2023-12-05_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 2 Highlights of the Nutrition Program included: • Compliments to the Nutrition Advisory Council for meeting regularly as required (quarterly) and having actively engaged committee members. • Many materials developed by the Council were identified as best practice and will be shared with peers. • Appreciation was extended for the innovative work performed, their dedication, input, and direction. • Senior dining and home delivered meal brochures are excellent and will be shared as best practice. • Recognized Ann Marie Mackin for her informational and timely Facebook posts. • Recognized staff and support staff for entering data in a timely manner. • Noted Bayfield County uses a suggested donation range for participant contributions. • Noted Bayfield County contributes local funds of approximately 50% of the senior nutrition program budget, which is rare. • Notes participants contributions make up 18% of the funds. The letter included the following areas that needed improvement: • Since there is no meal served in Bayfield County on Mondays, either a meal must be served, or a waiver must be completed and submitted to GWAAR for their consideration. • Now there is no longer a pandemic, Home Delivered Meal assessments must be conducted in person at the individual’s home within twelve weeks of beginning to serve the meal and annually afterwards. Some discussion followed. • Novak noted A & D hopes to open a congregate meal site in Cable the first and third Mondays of the month in 2024. • Novak will begin conducting the assessments as required. Goals for 2024 include: • Writing emergency preparedness information for each site. • Consistent volunteer and staff site trainings. • 2024 site in Cable. • Having the Nutrition Advisory Committee complete a site survey to provide them with a sense of ownership in the program. There was some discussion about donations to the programs and if donations online. Skulan will make some inquiries of the County Administrator regarding this. Novak thanked the group for their time and invited them to eat at a congregate meal site. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC & Virtual December 5, 2023 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2023 DHS Board Minutes\2023-12-05_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 3 Monthly Section Reports Economic Support Services – Jeanine Spuhler • Energy intake workers have provided outreach recently for the Wisconsin Home Energy Assistance Program (WHEAP) at the Town of Bell Community Center and at the St. Louis congregate meal site. • Spuhler notes that staff are busy taking energy applications. • Desktop monitoring process has begun for WHEAP. Staff will be working with the state to complete the reviews. • Maggie Morrison, newest hire, has completed the new worker training and is now taking calls independently on the call center. • Northern Income Maintenance Consortium (NIMC) has been plagued by technology problems. Unfortunately, this has negatively affected customer service and increased staff frustration. Spuhler is hoping the State will get the situation resolved soon. • NIMC is allowing staff to work voluntary overtime. • NIMC staff are busy processing application referrals from the federal marketplace. • Some staff are taking much needed time off this month. • Children will be afforded a one-year extension of health care coverage beginning January 1, 2024. Training on policy change will occur in the next few weeks. • Spuhler has been completing annual staff performance evaluations. Family Services – Mary Anich • Anich accepted the resignation of Alice Wilson, a child welfare case manager. Wilson’s last day was December 1, 2023. We wish Alice the best in her future endeavors! • Several staff have been out sick, and the section has been significantly short-staffed some days. • Anich and Linder have been preparing for January 2024 when the Children’s Long-Term Support (CLTS), Children’s Community Options Programs (CCOP) and Birth to Three (B-3) all transition from the Aging and Disability Services Section to the Family Services Section. Anich has been attending CLTS and Birth to Three meetings to acquaint herself with these programs. • Family Services will apply for funding to administer the Coordinated Services Team (CST) program beginning in 2024. • There is currently a posting for a CLTS supervisor. This newly created mid-level management position would start on the first of the year, supervise the CLTS staff, and handle most of the day- to-day CLTS administrative duties. • Anich reported two youth high-cost placements. One youth, currently in adult jail, will return to Lincoln Hills the second week of December, where he will stay until February when he ages out. Another youth is currently placed in secure detention. • Skulan, Anich, Linder, CLTS staff and financial staff attended a CLTS training by Milwaukee County staff. Bayfield County would like to maximize the use of tax dollars while continuing to meet the needs of children. Milwaukee County is currently doing this. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC & Virtual December 5, 2023 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2023 DHS Board Minutes\2023-12-05_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 4 Support Services – Stephanie Eder • Eder reports that Support Staff section is fully staffed. Newest hire, Angie Lazorik, doing well. Lazorik has shared that working at Bayfield County is one of the best jobs she has ever had. Lazorik worked at Ashland County in the county jail and the Ashland County Clerk’s office. • Performance evaluations are complete. • One support staff is currently out of the office on family medical leave. • Eder and staff are beginning to work on year-end financials. Behavioral Health and Community Programs – Tom Croteau • Croteau reported Emergency Detentions (ED) have stabilized. Currently getting one to two a week, instead of five. • There has been an increase in three-party petitions which involves extra staff time. • Working on coordinating services with Anich’s team for adolescents with behavioral issues. • Hailey BeBeau has been doing a great job coordinating monthly meetings between law enforcement, DHS staff, school systems, and Red Cliff. • Croteau worked with corporation counsel and the hospital to ensure the paperwork required for an emergency detention paperwork is done correctly. • CCS client population is currently stable. • There have been no applications for the new Mental Health Professional position in the CCS program. Space will be tight once the new person is hired until the county does some remodeling to create new offices. • Congratulations to Stephanie Tutor who received her Substance Abuse Counselor in Training (SAC-IT) certificate and was reclassified. Croteau noted all three CCS Service Facilitators can complete AODA assessments and it is working out well. • CCS is still experiencing issues with the new ECHO software. Billing has not been submitted successfully since May. Eder will reach out to Baker Tilly to discuss how this might affect the 2023 financials. • There are more CCS vendors. This will alleviate some of the burden of the CCS staff who provide direct services when vendors are not available. • The Community Support Program (CSP), which has been understaffed, will be able to take on twelve clients in January 2024. There are several referrals waiting, so this is very good news. • Croteau reported the coordination between Human Services section is successfully helping clients access needed services. • Rekemeyer inquired about CCS vendors and what they provide. Croteau gave examples including peer support, psychotherapy, and individual skill development. Croteau also noted that CCS is a recovery-based program, so the goal is to work with the client until they can do things independently without formal paid supports. • Rekemeyer questioned how a three-party petition worked. Croteau explained the process. Aging & Disability Services – Carrie Linder • Linder noted several staff have been out sick over the last few weeks. • Linder has been participating in transitioning CLTS, CCOP, and Birth to Three to Family Services in 2024. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC & Virtual December 5, 2023 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2023 DHS Board Minutes\2023-12-05_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 5 • Linder reported there were eight CLTS referrals recently. Five of the referrals are complete. A few were for critically high needs children. • Linder participated in three interviews for a Dementia Care Specialist. They are hoping to fill the position soon. • Linder is close to completing evaluations. • Linder partnered with UW-Extension and Public Health to produce the next edition of the Living Well Newsletter. This edition will be distributed countywide. • Linder continues to work on 2024 grant applications ensuring 2023 allocations are expended. Monthly Reports Monthly Financial and Training reports were reviewed and retained. Discussion and Possible Action – Review and Approval of the 2024 Bayfield County Department of Transportation Grant (s85.21) Application The annual application for funds from the Department of Transportation requires Board review and approval. The Transportation Coordination Committee reviewed the application, a Public Hearing was noticed, but could not proceed due to the lack of quorum. Despite the lack of quorum, input from the public was solicited, received, and included in the meeting notes. The application is being recommended for approval. Motion by Milanowski, seconded by Schmidt to approve the 2024 Bayfield County Department of Transportation Grant (s85.21) Application. Motion carried. Other (Informational Items) A. none Future Meetings • January 25, 2024 • February 22, 2024 • March 28, 2024 Crandall Adjourned the meeting at 5:11 p.m. Submitted by Sarah Traaholt, Clerk III