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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Services Board - Minutes - 4/22/2024BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC & Virtual April 22, 2024 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2024 DHS Board Minutes\2024-04-22_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 1 Board Members Present: James Crandall, Sue Rosa (virtual), Lona Schmidt, Marty Milanowski, Mary Dougherty, Patrick Irvine (virtual) Not Present: Madeline Rekemeyer, Stephanie Defoe-Haskins Others Present: Elizabeth Skulan, Stephanie Eder, Tom Croteau, Carrie Linder, Jeanine Spuhler, Val Levno, Teri Ovaska, Julie Winter Call to Order and Introductions Crandall called the meeting to order at 4:03 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 March 28, 2024, meeting minutes. Motion by Milanowski, seconded by Schmidt to approve the March 28, 2024, meeting minutes. Motion passed. Discussion and Possible Action – Nominations and Election of DHS Chair. Crandall opened the floor for nominations for DHS Chair (three times, no seconds required). Sue Rosa nominated Jim Crandall. Mary Dougherty also nominated Jim Crandall. Motion by Dougherty, seconded by Schmidt to approve Crandall for DHS Chair. Motion passed. Discussion and Possible Action – Nominations and Election of DHS Vice Chair – Crandall opened the floor for nominations for DHS Vice Chair (three times, no seconds required). Milanowski nominated Dougherty. Dougherty declined and nominated Milanowski. Schmidt also nominated Milanowski. Motion by Schmidt, seconded by Dougherty to approve Milanowski for DHS Vice Chair. Motion passed. Skulan answered board questions on vacancies. Rosa has taken Jeremy Oswald’s place as a county board member representative. Rosa’s vacancy as a citizen member is now open. Rosa is actively recruiting for a citizen member from Cable to fill the vacancy. Program Presentation – Behavioral Health and Community Programs – Val Levno, CCS Administrator, 2023 Bayfield County Community Services (BCCS) Satisfaction Survey Results Val Levno, CCS Administrator, introduced her successor, Teri Ovaska, to the DHS board. Levno noted that a mental health statistical improvement program (MHSIP) survey was designed to measure the satisfaction of participants of public mental health and substance abuse service, such as CCS. Counties and tribes across the state use these surveys to gauge and improve satisfaction among adult, youth and family participants who receive mental health and/or substance abuse services. FINAL: Approved at the 5/23/24 BCDHS Board meeting BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC & Virtual April 22, 2024 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2024 DHS Board Minutes\2024-04-22_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 2 Bayfield County surveys are distributed annually by a service facilitator to participants who were in the program more than six months in the prior year. Adult surveys are completed by the participant. Youth surveys are filled out by the caregiver of the child. Results are sealed and compiled anonymously. A $5.00 gift card is provided as an incentive to complete and return the survey. Crandall asked how many surveys were returned. Levno reported that 23 of the 29, or 79% of adult surveys were returned and two out of the three, 67% of youth responded. No family surveys were distributed since there is only one family in the CCS program and they would lose anonymity. Levno reviewed the results of the 2023 Bayfield County CCS satisfaction surveys provided in the board meeting packet. Levno noted Bayfield County met or exceeded the minimum expectations in all satisfaction categories. Levno reported the Bayfield County CCS team has a lot of heart, is extremely skillful, and the satisfaction survey scores reflect this. Information from the survey is used to set goals for the next year. The 2024 goals include improving the functions and use of the new electronic health record system and increasing the CCS participants’ perception of functioning. Rosa asked for examples of survey questions. Levno provided a few examples and reported the survey can be accessed on the WI Department of Health Services website for more information about the survey and how it is administered. Levno, who is retiring on May 3, 2024, noted that it has been a pleasure working with Bayfield County over the years. Levno also thanked the board members for support. The DHS Board commended Levno for a job well done. Monthly Section Reports Behavioral Health and Community Programs – Tom Croteau • Teri Ovaska was hired as Val Levno successor as Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) administrator. • Croteau noted that an additional CCS position was created to help with quality assurance, Julie Winter was hired for this position. Winter previously worked for Bayfield County in the CCS program. Welcome Julie. • Mental health professional position remains posted after six months. Hoping for the right candidate to come along. • Partnered with Department of Vocational Rehab (DVR) to hire CCS scanning intern, Richard Carbon. Carbon joined the team April 9th and will assist with a backlog of historical documents that need to be scanned and uploaded to the new electronic health record. • Croteau states that CCS and Community Support Programs (CSP) numbers remain steady. A few participants are transitioning from CCS to CSP, now that Northland Counseling has additional capacity. CSP offers coordinated professional care and treatment to adults who live with severe mental illness. CCS service facilitators work hard to assess complex situations, stabilize and move participants to the most appropriate program. BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC & Virtual April 22, 2024 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2024 DHS Board Minutes\2024-04-22_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 3 • Jamie Allen and Hailey BeBeau, behavioral health case managers, workloads continue to grow. Allen and BeBeau also work hard at helping shift participants to the right program. Shifting participants to tribal, CST, CCS, CSP and Family Care not only helps the participant get the proper help for their situation but helps the case managers reasonably manage their caseloads. • Placements for emergency detentions continue to grow. Budget is at 82% in the first three months of 2024. • Croteau will be attending treatment court training in Wisconsin Dells with Bayfield County treatment court staff. • Dougherty started discussion about Pigeon Lake property as a treatment center location for youth. Participants discussed disrepair and staffing issues that may make this a heavy feat. Economic Support Services – Jeanine Spuhler • Spuhler was happy to announce that Colleen Detjens was hired for the vacant Economic Support (ES) position. Detjens first day of work will be Monday, April 29, 2024. • Spuhler stated that with the moratorium for utility cut-off ended April 15, 2024, and calls regarding disconnections are increasing. Staff are working with customers to help avoid disconnection. • The state will provide a summer bulk fuel program again this year. • Spuhler stated as of July 1, 2024 “unwinding” the public health emergency rules will be complete and the consortium will be operating under post-pandemic policies. • Due to additional funding provided by the state, the consortium allowed any interested staff the opportunity to work up to an additional ten hours a week to assist in the unwinding. The additional funding will lapse at the end of June. • Crandall asked what the term “unwinding” refers to. Per Spuhler, program rule changes (e.g., leniencies in some requirements) available to individuals or households during the pandemic are reverting to regular policy. Spuhler noted that things that had been waived, such as regular renewals, changes in income, co-payments, and timely reporting of some additional information would need to be updated. Some of those changes once reported, will make some individuals and/or households no longer eligible for benefits. Staff are both responding to many questions and providing alternative options or resources when benefits are lost. Family Services – Elizabeth Skulan (for Mary Anich) • Anich remotely attended the quarterly regional child welfare supervisors meeting where WiLearn was discussed. WiLearn is the child welfare training in Wisconsin for those entering jobs within the child protective services/child welfare area. It is a comprehensive protocol where the staff member attends all training within their cohort. A second staff member is also taking the training. There has been good feedback that it is an especially helpful process for those entering the field without social work or human services related degrees. • Anich attended the monthly Childcare Program Committee Meeting on April 17th. Anich is the childcare certifier for Bayfield County. • Anich attended the statewide HIPPA training. • Anich continues to gain knowledge about the Coordinated Services Team (CST) process. DHS has requested contact info for several good examples of this program around the state that works with youth with complex behavioral needs who are involved with at least two systems such as BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC & Virtual April 22, 2024 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2024 DHS Board Minutes\2024-04-22_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 4 child protection, youth justice, special education, mental health, etc. CST is new (again) to Bayfield County in 2024. Most counties and tribal governments currently have CST programs at some level of success. • Anich attended the swearing in of the new Bayfield County Board of Supervisors. • Family Services has been handling drug testing for the Economic Support unit. Staff covering Family Services access complete the testing. Currently, there are one to two tests a week and the numbers are increasing. • Anich accepted the resignation of Val Gurske-Westlund, effective April 26th. Gurske-Westlund is a Family Specialist that works with parents and children with several challenges across child protective services, youth justice and behavioral health. Anich wishes Gurske-Westlund the best of luck in her future pursuits. • Anich is currently on vacation, as it is important to take time off and recharge from challenging work. Support Services – Stephanie Eder • Eder and Skulan are working on a new position in Support Services. Several factors including program and census increases have led to additional work. Additional program staff have been hired to compensate for a heavier workload, but support staff have not. Position would be 80% funded with CCS and CLTS funding and 20% county levy, if approved. • Everything else is going well. Aging & Disability Services – Carrie Linder • Linder has returned from vacation. • Linder and staff have been busy getting information for three year aging plan. Survey was created and distributed. Hoping for a lot of feedback to help set transportation goals for the next three years. • Linder has additional ARPA funds that need to be expended by September. Linder is working with an engaged group in Port Wing for an additional exercise class option for the elderly. The UW- Extension StrongBodies program was researched as an option. Linder approached Extension with the idea of having volunteers to help run a class. Two people are currently training to become leaders. Linder is working with them to develop a budget and fine tune equipment. Class will be held in the Port Wing town hall. Milanowski asked how often the classes will be held. Linder noted that they would take place twice a week for eight weeks. • Linder worked with Health Department last year on a vaccination grant. Linder found out the grant was funded but is now short on five months of planning. Linder notes that they are retooling and reorganizing the grant to bring vaccinations to the elderly into communities using meal outreach sites. • Linder also applied for a social isolation grant with the Cable community repair café piolet project in mind. Linder will have more information April 30th on whether the project was selected for funding. Linder is hoping State will take into consideration that although not as populated, Bayfield County is one of the five oldest counties in the state. • Linder noted that the Cable meal site has been very well received. Crandall noted that he had attended Cable and Barnes and noted the difference in attendance. Linder stated that even BAYFIELD COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING EOC & Virtual April 22, 2024 K:\Agendas and Minutes\DHS Board\Minutes\2024 DHS Board Minutes\2024-04-22_BCDHS_Board_meeting_minutes -FINAL.docx 5 though participants in Barns are far less than Cable, Barnes has grown significantly from three participants to fourteen. • Rosa commented that the public awareness steering committee’s next project is ‘make music’ day. Make music day is an international event that originated in France forty-one years ago. Event is free and open to public and takes place on summer solstice, June 21st. Monthly Reports Monthly Financial and Training reports were reviewed and retained. Discussion and Possible Action – Recommendation to Support the Request for a new Clerk III position in the 2025 DHS Budget Skulan requested the DHS Board consider support for funding of a new Support Staff that would be 80% funded by CCS and CLTS programs. Approximately 20% of the position would include general clerical duties covered by county funding. Crandall questioned if the CCS and CLTS funding will be available in the future. Skulan noted that yes, historically both programs have remained funded and believes they will continue to be funded in the future. Motion by Milanowski, seconded by Dougherty, to support request of a Clerk III position to the County Board. Motion passed. Other (Informational Items) Future Meetings • May 23, 2024 • June 27, 2024, in the County Board Room, will include the Public Hearing on the 2024 Buade Opportunity for Comments Regarding Bayfield County’s Policies and Procedures for Equal Opportunity in Employment, Service Delivery and Language Access. • July/August meeting August 15, 2024 (please note special meeting day). Review of the budget. Crandall adjourned the meeting at 5:09 p.m. Submitted by Sarah Traaholt, Clerk III