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Home My WebLink AboutTransportation Coordination Committee - Agenda - 4/20/2021 FROM: Carrie Linder, Aging and Disability Services Manager DATE: April 15, 2021 RE: TCC Meeting Notice The Bayfield County Department of Human Services Transportation Coordinating Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. Due to COVID-19 and the pandemic, remote access to this meeting will originate from Conference Room A, lower level of the Courthouse in Washburn. Public participation remote access is available by phone by calling 1-715-318-2087 at the start of the meeting and entering participant code 407092766 followed by the # sign. TCC members will receive an invitation via Microsoft Teams. Any person wishing to attend who, because of a disability, requires special accommodations should contact the Department of Human Services at 715-373-6144, at least 24 hours before the scheduled meeting time so appropriate arrangements can be made. The agenda includes: Review of the March 16, 2021 Meeting Minutes; Volunteer Driver Program Status report; Required Co-Payments- Aging Transportation Policy; Rural Transportation Grant; Review and refine TCC’s goals and activities; Discuss Next Action Steps; and other business that may come before the Committee. cc: Post (bulletin board and website) E-Mailed: Dennis Pocernich, County Board Chairman Mark Abeles Allison, County Administrator Lynn Divine, County Clerk Human Services Board Elizabeth Skulan, BCDHS Director Management Staff Sara Wartman, Health Dept. Director Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources, Inc. (GWAAR) DCS, Rhinelander Red Cliff-Tribal Chair Daily Press K:\Agendas and Minutes\A&D Trans Coord Committee\Meeting Notices\2021-04-20 TCC Meeting Notice Department of Human Services 117 East Fifth Street P.O. Box 100 Washburn, WI 54891-0100 Telephone (715) 373-6144 Fax (715) 373-6130 Email: baycodhs@bayfieldcounty.wi.gov Department of Human Services 117 East Fifth Street P.O. Box 100 Washburn, WI 54891-0100 Telephone (715) 373-6144 Fax (715) 373-6130 Email: baycodhs@bayfieldcounty.wi.gov BAYFIELD COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TRANSPORTATION COORDINATING COMMITTEE Carla Becker (Vice Chairman) Carrie Linder Sam Ray Jeff Benton Jeremy Oswald Carol Salminen Mary Dougherty (Chairman) Beth Probst Perri Shuga RE: April 20, 2021 Transportation Coordinating Committee Meeting Dear Committee Members: Please be advised that the next Transportation Coordinating Committee Meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 3:00pm – 4:30pm via Microsoft Teams. Due to COVID19 and the pandemic, remote access to this meeting will originate from Conference Room A, Washburn, Wisconsin. Public participation remote access is available by phone by calling +1 715-318-2087 at the start of the meeting and entering participant code 407092766 followed by the # sign. TCC members to receive an invitation via Microsoft Teams. Notice is hereby given, in the event the standing committee does not have a quorum, the County Board Chair or Vice Chair may act as an ex officio member (County ordinance, Chapter 3, section 2-3-1 (c)). The agenda for the meeting is as follows: AGENDA 1. Call to order 2. Discussion and Possible Action – Review of the March 16, 2021 Meeting Minutes 3. Volunteer Driver Program-Status report by Carrie Linder 4. Discussion and Possible Action - Required Co-Payments – Aging Transportation Policy 5. Rural Transportation Grant-Overview by Pat Daoust 6. Review and refine TCC’s goals and activities Any person planning to attend who, because of a disability, requires special accommodations, should contact the Department of Human Services at 715-373-6144, at least 24 hours before the scheduled meeting time, so appropriate arrangements can be made. 7. Discuss next action steps 8. Motion or Chair Statement to Adjourn Thank you! Sincerely, Carrie Linder Aging and Disability Services Manager c: Bayfield County DHS Transportation Coordinating Committee Members 1 BAYFIELD COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TRANSPORTATION COORDINATING COMMITTEE MICROSOFT TEAMS MEETING March 16th 3:30 - 4:30 PM Committee Members Present: Mary Dougherty, Sam Ray, Carla Becker, Jeff Benton Committee Members Excused: Jeremy Oswald, Beth Probst Committee Member Absent: Perri Campbell-Shuga, Carol Salminen Staff Present: Carrie Linder, Mark Abeles-Allison, Jenise Swartley Other Present: Sunshine Lemieux, Bobbi Craig, Robert Blanchard, Pat Daoust 1. Call to Order and Introductions Mary Dougherty called the meeting to order at 3:33 PM. 2. Discussion and Possible Action - Review of the February 17, 2021 Meeting Minutes Motion by Carrie, second by Carla to approve the minutes, motion carried. 3. Program Presentation: Transportation Voucher Programs a. North County Independent Living Voucher Program Presentation – NCIL, Transportation Voucher Program Coordinator – Sunshine Lemieux 117 consumers use their voucher program. 75% either drive themselves or have a friends or family member. 25% use “stranger” drivers, which are drivers NCIL recruits for them. In Superior, they provide $25/month in a cab voucher. Consumers can also have 155 - 300 miles/month reimbursed through DOT money they receive. They previously had a pot of money for people looking for one or two rides but are not registered to use their voucher program as well as a pot of money for specialized transportation services (i.e., handicap accessible vehicles). These pots of money went away with DOT budget cuts. Needs they see: ● They receive one or two calls a day looking for volunteer/stranger rides that were previously covered by the above pots of money that no longer exist. They applied for a grant to replace these funds. ● The need is currently surpassing their ability to provide rides. They have a volunteer shortage. The volunteers they do have, need the reimbursement money and aren’t interested in doing short trips around town because they don’t get a large reimbursement for 1- or 2-mile trips. ● Funding to cover non-emergency medical rides for people who do not quite qualify for Medicaid rides and medical rides that are not covered by Medicaid. DRAFT Subject to change at the NEXT meeting 2 b. Center for Independent Living Western Wisconsin Voucher Program Presentation – CILWW, Director of Transportation Bobbi Craig Their New Freedom Transportation program operates across 49 counties with 165 drivers to provide 30,000 rides. Similarly, short trips around town are hard to fill because mileage checks are low. People who use this program tell them all the rides they plan on needing at the beginning of each month. They pay the mileage directly to the recipient, and the recipient pays the driver. They use a software program called PC Trans that automatically calls both the driver and the recipient. Recruiting has been hard during the pandemic, but they have retained most of their drivers throughout COVID. Drivers are considered frontline workers and are being vaccinated. Insurance is difficult, but they found a policy that works for them. There is a list of insurance companies that work with volunteer drivers to cover them sufficiently. They have a policy that covers where drivers’ personal policy leaves off. 4. Program Presentation: Bad River Van Rental Program – Lloyd Hartwell, Bad River Transit Manager They have a van that they rent out. Renters schedule a time for them to use it. They must show their insurance and driver's license unless they work for the Tribe. The tribe’s insurance covers it if they work for them. They simply keep that information on file. The Tribe fills it with gas and takes care of maintenance. They ask that they return it with gas filled up, but not everyone has the financial resources to do so. They deal with those situations on a case-by-case basis. On weekends, they have a staff member there to run the program. They track start and end mileage. If someone has trouble on the road (i.e., flat tire), they have a maintenance person ready to respond most days and times. They let people take it as far as they need, but usually people only use it to get to Ashland and back. Insurance would be a barrier to access. If they do not have a car, they might not have insurance. 5. Statewide Transportation Survey CORE will help get the link out. 6. Review and refine TCC’s goals and activities We will dive into this at the next meeting. 7. Discuss next action steps We will dive into this at the next meeting. Future Meeting Date Next meeting April 20th at 3 PM. 8. Adjournment Motion by Carrie, second by Sam to adjourn at 4:33, motion carried. Minutes respectfully submitted by Jenise Swartley. (715) 373-6144 Phone/TDD • (715) 373-6130 FAX • www.bayfieldcounty.org • baycodhs@bayfieldcounty.org Department of Human Services 117 East Fifth Street P.O. Box 100 Washburn, WI 54891-0100 Required Co-Payments – Aging Transportation Policy Purpose: Bayfield County is committed to provide transportation services to as many of its senior residents as possible. To meet this goal and to perpetuate the program, co-payments for the services will be charged to those seniors who can afford to contribute. Policy: The Department will define co-payments for consumers of Aging Transportation services and outline the procedures for requesting a waiver of co-pay. Procedure: Person(s) Responsible Action DHS Staff Reimburses certified volunteer drivers the established IRS rate. Denies reimbursement to consumer, family members, or household members for mileage funded through the Aging programs. Consumers Pays 30% of the mileage cost for medical appointments. Pays 50% of the mileage cost for mileage for trips related to nutritional needs. Pays 75% of the mileage cost for employment related trips. Consumers May request a waiver of the co-payments. Must submit the request in writing to the Aging & Disability Section Manager, including justification for the exception to the policy. Aging & Disability Services Section Manager Reviews the request. Considers the following: Is the consumer at or below 150% of Federal Poverty Level? Has the consumer been forced to travel due to a medical emergency? Does the consumer have unusual and exceptional medical expenses or circumstances? Approves or denies the request on a case by case basis. The decision of the Aging & Disability Services Section Manger is final. There is no appeal process. Support Staff Bills consumers monthly for co-payments. Person(s) Responsible Action DHS Staff May deny the prior authorization of additional mileage if co-payments are not made in a timely manner. K:\Policy & Procedures\Purpose-Procedures\CoPayments - Aging Transportation Policy.doc 7/04 Approved by DHS Board 7/22/2004