Human Services Committee
Meeting Minutes
December 7, 2011
** NOT APPROVED **
Committee Members
Attending
The following members of the Human Services Committee were
in attendance: Doug Burdick, Karl
Graves, Don Cady, Kevin LaForge, Fred Sinclair and
Others Attending
Others in attendance were Vicki Grant, Kim Toot, Tom Hull, John Margeson, Mitch Alger, Brenda Riehle, Tom Miner, Ted Hopkins, Dwight Fanton, Ellen Ruckle, Dwight Healy and Larry Hoyt.
Approval of
Minutes
The meeting minutes from the November 2, 2011 and November 14, 2011 meetings were approved by a motion from Fred Sinclair and seconded by Karl Graves. Motion carried.
Called to Order
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Doug Burdick at 10:05AM.
Office for the
Aging
Kim Toot, Director of Office for the Aging disseminated her monthly report for the committee members to review. She answered questions regarding her report. Kim reported today, December 7, 2011, is the last day of Medicare Open enrollment. Kim reported her staff has had 275 appointments with residents regarding Medicare enrollment and assisted them with their questions. Each appointment takes approximately one and one half hours. Satisfaction surveys and contribution envelopes were handed to each person who came in for their Medicare Open Enrollment appointment. Kim indicated she would be under budget in every account except for personnel. Increases for staff which were approved by the ratification of a new union contract were not accounted for in the 2011 budget which accounts for being over budget in the personal accounts. Kim noted there is a waiting list for in-home care and respite. In-home care is non-medical support such as grocery shopping etc. This program is one that is not adequately funded through the state.
Office for the Aging sent out over 600 applications last week for HEAP. This office has already processed 900 applications. HEAP benefits may not last through the entire winter, so residents were encouraged to have their applications completed as soon as possible.
Kim reported one of their vehicles was hit by another vehicle. This was no fault of the county worker and no one was injured. The Office for the Aging vehicle will be fixed very soon.
Health Department
Tom Hull, Deputy Public Health Director, asked the
committee to approve the transfer of $7,500.00 from the A4010.464 Public Health
Contracts (Mercy Flight) to account A4010.409 Public Health Fees. This money will be used to pay for current
obligations for post exposure injection series for individuals who have been
potentially exposed to rabies. Also the
health department has current obligations to pay for water sampling and
analysis. A motion was made by Karl
Graves to approve this transfer and seconded by Kevin LaForge. Motion carried. Prepare Resolution
Tom requested a
resolution to ratify Chairman Crandall’s signature for the extension of the
Health Department’s part of the Homeland Security Grant Contract #T838294. Homeland Security is requesting that we fully
expend the funds. The monies are already
included in the County budget under A10.3306.HTH9 (revenue), A3645.219 and
A3645.449 (appropriations). The grant
period was August 10, 2009 through August 11, 20111, and the Health Department
is requesting this be extended to December 31, 2011. A motion was made to extend the grant until
December 31, 2011 so the balance of the monies may be expended by Don Cady and
seconded by Fred Sinclair. Motion carried.
Prepare Resolution
Tom requested a resolution to appropriate COLA funds for
the Children with Special Health Care Needs Program for the 2012 budget year. The amount to be appropriated to account
A4054.424 and revenue account A10.3401.4054 is $1,435.00. A motion was made by
Tom requested a resolution to appropriate COLA funds for the Tobacco Program for the 2011 budget year. $100.00 will be appropriated to account A4051.201 and $2,267.00 to account A4051.408. and revenue account A10.3450.04 the total of $2367.00. A motion was made by Karl Graves and seconded by Fred Sinclair to accept the COLA money. Motion carried. Refer to Ways and Means
Old Business
There was no old business to be discussed.
New Business
The four- year term of Kathy Bentley, Raymond Loh, and
Calvin Schierer on the Community Services Board will expire on December 31,
2011. The Community Services Board is
requesting that these individuals be appointed to another four-year term
expiring on December 31, 2016. Doug
Burdick asked the committee to approve the reappointments of these three
individuals to the Community Services Board.
A motion was made by Fred Sinclair and seconded by Karl Graves to
reappoint Kathy Bentley, Raymond Loh and Calvin Schierer to the Community
Services Board. Motion Carried.
Prepare Resolution
The Chairman of
the Board would like to reappoint William Emrick, Scio, Nancy Rouse, Scio, and
Robert Riber, Alfred Station members of the Citizens Advisory Council to the
Office for the Aging for a three-year term commencing January 1, 2012 and
expiring December 31, 2014, subject to the confirmation by the Board of
Legislators. A motion was made by Fred
Sinclair and seconded by
Social Services
Vicki Grant, Commissioner of Social Services, disseminated her monthly report to the Human Services Committee for their review and entertained questions by the committee members.
Vicki requested to fill a Typist position in the Social Services Department. This is a full- time, permanent, vacant position. This position is vacant due to a promotion. This position is funded 50% by federal dollars, 25% by state dollars, and 25% by local dollars. A motion was made by Fred Sinclair and seconded by Karl Graves to fill the typist position. Motion Carried. Refer to Ways and Means
Vicki gave an update on the TASA (Teenage Services Act) closing. TASA provided services to at-risk youth. Before they closed, cases were referred to various agencies. The state discontinued funding to TASA so they had to close their doors.
Vicki gave a report on the potential ripple effect on housing and services should hydraulic fracturing impact our county from a DSS perspective. She indicated information for other southern tier counties who have had economic impacts due to hydo-fracking in Pennsylvania indicates that rental rates and hotel/motel availability have made some fairly significant housing issues for DSS clientele. Currently we have an average of 1.5 Family Assistance or TANF cases housed in hotel/motels per month. Social Services have an average of 8.33 SN clients housed in hotel/motels per month.
Lou Conklin, gave an in depth overview of the food stamp program. This is a federally funded program. The rules and regulations are overseen by the State of New York. Food Stamp recipients are given a debit card to use for food purchases at grocery stores and farmers markets. The debit card can also be used to purchase plants and seeds so recipients may grow a garden. Debit cards began so that recipients could avoid the stigma attached to using food stamps. Some food stamp recipients may be working but may only hold part-time or low paying jobs. 1/6 of the Food Stamp population receives cash assistance. 5/6 has other income. There are currently 3029 Food Stamp cases. Vicki indicated 200-300 applications are received per month. The government has relaxed the regulations so more people can have food stamps. Applications may be filed in person, on-line or by mail. There is a dedicated laptop for clients to use and apply on-line.
A motion was made to adjourn since there was no further business to come before the Human Services Committee a motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Karl Graves, seconded by Kevin LaForge. Motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:05am.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet Norris