THESE MINUTES ARE IN DRAFT FORM AND HAVE NOT YET BEEN APPROVED.

MCSSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MINUTES OF THE JUNE 11, 2008 MEETING

MCSSA OFFICE LANSING

Those Participating County District

In Person:

Wayne Buskirk Mason III

Fred Rogers Emmet III

Susan Bailey-Carman Allegan IV

Theresa Spencer Lapeer V

Mark Stevens Isabella/Midland

Sue Hoffman Life Member

Evert Vermeer Member-at-Large

Reneé Beniak MCMCFC

Mel Haga MCSSA

Shelley Jipson-Lomax MCSSA

Via Telephone:

Larry Boitnott Mason/Oceana III

Shirley Rybicki Mason III

Sue Fulton Livingston/Shiawassee V

Irene Bazan Waller Lapeer/Sanilac V

I. Meeting Called to Order at 10:00 AM by Mark Stevens.

II. Disposition of Minutes of May 14, 2008

Evert Vermeer moved approval. Seconded. Motion carried.

A. Announcements – Mel’s mother-in-law passed away last evening. The arrangements are being handled by Stephenson-Wyman Funeral Home in Farwell. Visitation is on Friday from 2-4 PM and 6-8 PM, and the service will be held on Saturday.

B. Correspondence Report – A draft copy of a letter to Rep. Spade regarding the DHS FY 09 budget was distributed. This letter will be hand delivered to Rep. Spade and and Sen. Hardiman on Monday by Fritz and Mel. Conference committee meetings on the FY 2009 budget are expected to begin by the end of next week.

III. Treasurer’s Report – Wayne Buskirk

There is very little change from last month for MCSSCET. Our mid-year revenue is about where expected although expenses were somewhat higher. Hopefully the annual business meeting will result in better revenue to make us even for the year.

The report shows a balance on hand as of April 30 of $25,000+ in the MCMCFC Executive Director account.

The dues income is about $5,000 short of that budgeted. The MCSSA budget line items show us to be on target. The bottom line is that our net income is up $10,000 over the same time period from last year.

Fred Rogers moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Seconded. Motion carried.

IV. MCMCFC Report – Reneé Beniak

The talking points on the budget have been shared with all MCMCFC members and they have been urged to share the information with their board members so they too can discuss the budget with their lawmakers.

V. Legislative Report

A. Committee Recommendation

The committee met yesterday. There was only one committee recommendation, that being from the Child and Family Services Committee. Susan Bailey-Carman moved to support HB 5984. Seconded. Motion carried.

B. Committee Discussion

Fritz’s written report was distributed to those in attendance.

VI. Advisory Committee Report

Jocelyn Vanda attended on behalf of central office. A number of topics were discussed:

· Private Agency Licensing of Private Relative Homes

· Adult Services Programs and Staffing

· Private Agencies are Ill-Prepared to Begin Working with Children Available for Adoption

· SWSS CPS System Inadequacies

· BCAL Investigations

· Children’s Rights Lawsuit

· Inflation and Increased Costs as They Relate to Food, Shelter, Gasoline, Heat, and Utilities

· FAP Accuracy

In addition to the items listed above, Jocelyn noted her pleasure with the new Native American Affairs director, Stacey Tadgerson, who will be starting on Monday. Director Ahmed has raised the issue of urban Indian concerns. There are a number of Native American association’s in the tri-county area. Meetings will be scheduled with these groups and a “go-between” named to represent this group at the larger meetings held in St. Ignace.

Carol Seaman being named the new Child Welfare Institute director is very good news.

Michigan is expecting a large number of Iraqi refugees. Some are single, but about 90% of the refugees have family members already here. A meeting was scheduled with the Department of State representative who makes recommendations as to which refugees go to which states. This individual has expressed concern about the state of the economy in Michigan and the ability of the state to support these refugees. Director Ahmed will be in attendance at this meeting to show how important caring for these individuals and families is to the department. Keith Cooley, director of DLEG has named his deputy Andy Levin, to meet with Al Horn and Jocelyn to discuss fast-tracking certifications for these refugees in order to get them working and not receiving public assistance.

Jocelyn indicated that the posting for the migrant affairs director is once again open, and will run through June 20. If you have talented people in your community who may be interested in the position please direct them to the department’s website.

The Poverty Summit on November 13 should include a discussion of the inflation factor. MCSSA has invited Director Ahmed to speak at lunch on August 12 at the conference, and having Chuck Jones in attendance to discuss the Summit would be ideal.

The status of the children’s task force efforts would be of great interest to the membership. Members asked that MCSSA receive copies of the task force meeting minutes.

VII. Executive Committee Report

The Executive Committee recommended that a letter be sent to the counties that have not paid their dues (Calhoun, Dickinson [1/2], Kalamazoo [1/3], Ontonagon [100%]), that all dues are payable by July 31 or they are not in good standing, explaining what that means. There must be consequences for choosing not to pay MCSSA dues. If a county has no funds that’s one thing, but simply choosing not to pay the dues must have consequences. Wayne Buskirk moved to send a letter to those counties with outstanding dues. Seconded. Motion carried.

The Executive Committee recommended forwarding the proposed 2008-2009 dues schedule to the membership for action/adoption at the annual business meeting on August 11, in Pontiac. The proposal includes a three percent dues increase. Sue Hoffman moved to forward the proposed dues schedule. Seconded. The Finance Committee worked very hard to develop a better formula for assessing the dues and there is no way to alter the formula without it having a major impact on a large number of counties. Motion carried.

The Executive Committee recommended forwarding the proposed 2008-2009 MCSSA and MCSSCET budgets to the membership for action/adoption at the 2008 annual business meeting on August 11, in Pontiac. Wayne commented that the proposed MCSSA budget shows a decrease in dues revenue due to not including dues from the counties that did not pay this year. Sue Hoffman moved to forward the budgets to the membership. Seconded. There was discussion about the two percent increase for staff. Motion carried, with Susan Bailey-Carman, Sue Hoffman, and Shirley Rybicki opposing.

Evert wondered about the feasibility of budgeting the two percent increase as a merit increase. While some supported the idea, Wayne likened this option back to a time when bonuses were provided. MCSSA has fiscal and economic concerns just as the state does and the budget reflects a decrease in the dues income.

The committee held a discussion on the county director hiring process. There was some question about the process used in one particular county. Apparently the board interviewed six candidates and the regional manager instructed the board to rank all six. The final selection was apparently ranked among the top three candidates.

The law states that the director will be selected from among those certified as qualified by Civil Service, named to the pool by the department, and recommended by the county board.

It would be in the interest of all county boards for MCSSA to take a position on this issue. Don Rewa is retiring in August. The Barry and Eaton County board members need to have the correct information pertaining to the hiring process.

The Board of Directors needs to decide whether or not to take a stand and communicate this stand to the membership clearly. It was reported that in some instances the area managers are not giving the full candidate pool to the board.

Once this process is agreed upon within the association, communication needs to be given to Director Ahmed and Mel can hand deliver it in a meeting with Director Ahmed. Evert Vermeer moved that the Executive Director draft a letter to the DHS director outlining the concerns of the board relative to the appointment of county directors, clarifying the policy and procedures. Seconded. Sue Hoffman moved to amend the motion, naming the Board Member Development Committee Co-Chairs and incoming President Theresa Spencer as signers of the letter. Seconded. Theresa asked to be included in the meeting with Director Ahmed when the letter is delivered. Motion to amend carried. Amended motion carried.

A letter of understanding with the department needs to be developed.

VIII. Executive Director’s Report – Mel Haga

Mel attended the Spring Management Conference of MCMCFC at Boyne Highlands. An excellent, well-attended conference that provided a variety of presentations and workshops relevant to administrators and directors of nursing and MCF staffs. Because of the provision of continuing education units (CEUs) for the sessions, attendance tends to be high as that helps meet the licensing requirement for both administrators and nurses. In addition to the planned sessions this is an opportunity for informal networking and sharing. Mel’s attendance allowed him that same opportunity. We need to support our affiliates in any way we can.

Mel has attended a couple of district meetings during his tenure and hopes to go to every district in the next few months. He began that process with District IV the previous Wednesday. The meeting was chaired by Jane Johnson, Director in Muskegon, and the main topic of discussion was the role, responsibilities, and expectations of board members. Excellent discussion and they developed an action plan of steps they want to see in the selection and development of board members. Mel will begin working on some of these and once we have defined them more will share them with the other districts and then discuss them at district meetings as he attends. Any changes in policy or procedure or committee structure will be presented to the board.

Mel met with Fritz and Ron Hicks and compared legislative priorities between the association and the department. With budget decision making currently underway it is critical that we are as close to the same page as possible. Ron gave us several issues along with areas we had already identified and Mel has incorporated them into a letter to Rep. Spade who is the chair of the DHS Budget Conference Committee. A copy of that letter is attached to the correspondence report.

IX. Committee/Liaison Reports

A. Board Member Development

Board Member Development Day at the summer conference is being planned for August 13.

B. Conference Planning

Sue Hoffman suggested that a session be done for board members with someone from MAC on the relationship between board members and the commissioners.

It has been suggested that Sharon Parks be asked to be the keynote speaker for Tuesday morning.

Other sessions include retirement planning, a Bridges demo, methamphetamine protocol workshop, JET-Plus, Family to Family, Domestic Violence Treatment and Prevention, Child Welfare Improvement Task Force, Adult Services Programs, and a poverty simulation exercise.

C. MAC Liaison

Sue Hoffman reported that she attended the last meeting of the MAC Human Services Committee and their issues are in line with ours.

Susan Bailey-Carman noted a discussion about boards of commissioners not knowing the parameters of eligibility for county board members. Commissioners need to understand that DHS board members cannot hold elective offices and if a board member is elected to an office they need to be diligent and remove that individual from the board.

MAC members also need to allocate the funding for MCSSA dues. They also need to be aware of the role of board members in hiring and evaluating county directors.

We could write a piece for the MAC newsletter on the qualifications of a county board member.

D. AARP – Evert Vermeer

Evert offered some personal thoughts before going into the AARP report.

It has been a month of adversity and challenge for us and for those we serve. Gasoline passed the $4 per gallon mark. If you have a car you have the cost. Home heating is up too. We require our clients to work and send their children to school. Human service boards should be thinking of ways to help in their local communities. Ideas:

· Advertise and encourage shared rides.

· Encourage bicycle use by getting bikes the police have picked up and find a volunteer to repair them; issue the bike to each person who gets a job within biking distance.

· Boards may want to invest in locks, baskets, and tire pumps.

· Food is getting more expensive and surplus is in shorter supply. How can the board help the local food pantry?

· What can the board do for those clients losing their homes to foreclosure? Can they get them connected to the Governor’s “Save Your Home” project?

· Utility costs are going up, up, up. How can the board help clients conserve energy?

Boards can lead the community in any of these areas. There is a lot of need and the legislature in not helping. Sue Hoffman commented on food pantries. Board members collectively can do some good, but individually they can garner community support. Members of the community can be encouraged to donate food items when attending local community events.

AARP sees many problem areas:

· The budget, where money is insufficient for the need. Prison reform is being talked about, but no one is serious. Some want to cut Medicaid but do not have an answer for how to provide for the uninsured. No one wants to raise taxes but department heads each have ideas for ten ways to gore another department’s budget. Maybe switch department heads. The legislators all want to go home and campaign on the wonderful job they have done.

· Blue Cross and Blue Shield keep trying to change the way they do business. They are in court now for buying a for-profit business with nonprofit funds. They keep lobbying, advertising, and manipulating to get a greater share of the business while paying no taxes.

· The two big utilities are still trying to get you and me to build a new utility plant with no cost limits and no price controls. Let’s insist on needs assessment and bids. Michigan can buy the utilities it needs from other states. The companies have a big lobby and public relations program going. Jobs and money for Michigan. They like to make us think that their proposal will benefit Michigan and in reality it benefits them the most.

· Auto insurance is still a problem. There is a bill to do away with the unlimited medical insurance. This is a hard issue. No one sees limiting the profits of insurance companies. How much profit is too much?

X. District Reports

A. District III is scheduled to meet on June 20 at the Missaukee/Wexford office.

B. District IV met this month, hosted by Muskegon County, held at Kent County. They have some action plans. The speaker was Chuck Overbey from DMB. He made a presentation but stayed for one-on-one discussions.

C. District V will meet on July 24 in Frankenmuth with Steve Yeager, Clinton/ Gratiot hosting.

XI. Unfinished Business

A. Campaign for Justice Resolution

This resolution was distributed and discussed last month. Sue Hoffman moved to adopt the resolution. Seconded. Motion carried.

XII. Meeting Adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Shelley Jipson-Lomax

MCSSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

AUGUST 11, 2008 AGENDA

I. Call to order

II. Disposition of the Minutes of June 11, 2008

A. Agenda Update

B. Announcements

C. Correspondence Report

III. Treasurer’s Report – Wayne Buskirk

IV. MCMCFC Report – Reneé Beniak

V. MCSSW Report – Jan Skornicka

VI. Legislative Report – Susan Bailey-Carman & Sue Hoffman

VII. Advisory Committee Report

VIII. Executive Committee Report

IX. Executive Director’s Report – Mel Haga

X. Committee/Liaison Reports

A. Adult and Health Services Committee – Kay Andrzejak

B. Automated Systems/Local Management Committee – Louise Wing

C. Board Member Development Committee – Don Arquette & Shirley Rybicki

D. Child and Family Services Committee – Jim Turner

E. Conference Planning Committee – Jane Ritter & Shirley Dietlin

F. Standard of Living/Housing/Employment Programs Committee – Liz Jarzambek

G. APHSA Liaison – Susan Bailey-Carman

H. MAC Liaison – Sue Hoffman

I. NACo Liaison – Sue Hoffman

J. AARP Liaison – Evert Vermeer

K. MCSSW Liaison – Janice Covey

XI. District Reports

A. District I

B. District II

C. District III

D. District IV

E. District V

F. District VI

XII. Unfinished Business

XIII. New Business

XIV. Adjournment

MCSSA INCOMING BOARD OF DIRECTORS

August 11, 2008

AGENDA

I. Call to Order Immediately Following MCSSA & MCSSCET Annual Business Meeting at Centerpoint Marriott in Pontiac

II. Approval of 2008-2009 Board of Director Meeting Schedule –

(Includes adoption of Executive, Legislative, and Advisory Committee

Meeting Schedule)

The Executive Committee will meet at 1:00 p.m. on the day preceding the Board of Directors.

The Legislative Committee will meet at 3:00 p.m. on the day preceding the Board of Directors.

The Advisory Committee will meet at 8:00 a.m. on the day of the Board of Directors meeting.

Unless otherwise noted, the MCSSA Board of Directors meets on the second Wednesday of the month, at 10:00 a.m. The dates are:

October 8, 2008

November dates to be determined as the Executive and Legislative Committees would meet on Veteran’s Day under regular schedule

December 10, 2008

January 14, 2009

February 11, 2009

March 11, 2009 (Wednesday evening in conjunction with Legislative Conference)

April 8, 2009

May 13, 2009

June 10, 2009

September 21, 2009 (Monday afternoon in conjunction with summer conference)

III. Approval of 2008-2009 Advisory Committee Membership

IV. Adjournment