MINUTES OF THE MCSSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

MAY 14, 2008

MCSSA OFFICE LANSING

Those in Attendance County District

In Person:

Floyd Rabineau Chippewa I

Wayne Buskirk Mason III

Fred Rogers Emmet III

Dave VanHouten Missaukee/Wexford III

Susan Bailey-Carman Allegan IV

Theresa Spencer Lapeer V

Irene Bazan Waller Lapeer/Sanilac V

Sue Hoffman Life Member

Evert Vermeer Member-at-Large

Reneé Beniak MCMCFC

Mel Haga MCSSA

Shelley Jipson-Lomax MCSSA

Via Telephone:

Jim Beach Montmorency/Oscoda II

Larry Boitnott Mason/Oceana III

Liz Jarzambek Kalamazoo IV

Patricia McKenzie MCSSW/Kent IV

Sue Fulton Livingston/Shiawassee V

I. Meeting Called to Order by President-Elect Spencer at 10:00 AM.

Those in attendance by phone and in person introduced themselves.

II. Disposition of Minutes of April 9, 2008

Floyd Rabineau moved to approve. Seconded. Motion carried.

A. Announcements – a card was circulated for Mark Stevens who lost his mother the day before.

B. Correspondence Report – reviewed and filed.

Today’s Lansing State Journal had a guest article from the Sheriff’s Association and the Prosecutor’s Association discussing the need for prevention as it relates to child abuse. Sue Hoffman read the article and reported that these two groups are supportive of a prevention program and are urging others to join in supporting the program(s).

Another article was written on the proposed changes on no-fault insurance. People with traumatic head injuries are likely not to have coverage for rehabilitation.

III. Treasurer’s Report – Wayne Buskirk

There is very little change from last month other than the decrease in funds in MCSSCET due to the management fee for the mid-year conference being paid to MCSSA.

We are down approximately $2000 in dues from last year. We have also underspent.

The mid-year was more expensive this year than last because the use of the Capitol is an expense and the lunch was approximately $5500. We have historically spent $3000 on the evening reception at the Radisson and the meeting room rental is not an extra charge at the Radisson. Next year we will have the reception at the Radisson again, with a reception budget of $3500.

Wayne noted that the May report, which will be available at the summer conference will show the investments made with Mutual of America for the MCSSCET money market and the MCSSA board designated fund.

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

IV. MCMCFC Report – Reneé Beniak

Reneé provided a written report covering the following topics:

FY 09 MDCH Budget

LTC Supports and Services Advisory Committee

GPO

Survey/Regulatory Issues

CMS Region V – Request for Meeting Regarding FRIs

CMS Rule Affecting Government Health Care

CON Quality Measures

MDCWI (Michigan Direct Care Workforce Initiative)

Money Follows the Person Stakeholder Council

MPRO

Advancing Excellence

Website/Email

MCMCF NH Survey Data

Medicaid Case Mix

District Meetings

Swing Bed Litigation

Evert expressed concern with the uneven assessment of nursing homes. He is on the CON committee in Kent County and they are studying the issue through the administrator in Oceana County. A report pointing out the inequities is being developed. Perhaps a challenge to Michigan’s surveys should be forwarded to Region 5.

V. MCSSW Report – Patricia McKenzie

The state board met on May 8 and worked on goals for next year. Caseloads are high and participation is down but the committee’s are working hard and have a number of resolutions for MCSSW action at summer conference.

VI. Legislative Report – Susan Bailey-Carman

A. Committee Recommendations

1. Letter to Congressman McDermott – Susan Bailey-Carman moved to support sending a letter to Congressman McDermott, supporting the Investment in Kids Act. Seconded. Motion carried.

2. SBs 1046 & 1047 – Susan Bailey-Carman moved to support. Seconded. SB 1046 creates a low-income energy account program and SB 1047 provides an income tax credit for contributions to low-income energy efficiency accounts. Motion carried.

3. HB 5593 – Susan Bailey-Carman moved to support. Seconded. This bill establishes a written utility shut-off notification process. Utilities would be required to deliver a notice to the customer by “personal service” or certified mail at least 15 days prior to the shut off date. Motion carried.

4. HB 5930 – Susan Bailey-Carman moved to oppose the bill. Seconded. This bill implements a voucher system for legal, counseling, psychological, or psychiatric services, but there are no details for implementation, responsible parties are not addressed in the bill. Motion carried.

5. HB 5931 – Susan Bailey-Carman moved to oppose the bill. Seconded. HB 5931 prohibits immunity for human services or private agency employees involved in any contract with the public, the court, or any individual or agency under the jurisdiction of the court if he/she files or produces a false report or document relating to a DHS case, or commits perjury in a proceeding relating to a case or duty encompassed within his or her job duties. The bill does not specify a case in which an employee willfully produces a false report or document, but includes instances in which the employee accidentally or unknowingly provides false information. Motion carried.

6. HB 5980 – Susan Bailey-Carman moved to oppose the bill. Seconded. The bill provides that a person no longer eligible for FIP benefits due to employment or time limits shall be permitted to reimburse the state for all monies received for FIP benefits; or shall be permitted to participate in community service for a nonprofit and be exempt from income tax. DHS would establish a schedule that translates the amount of hours of service to be performed into the equivalent amount of cash repayment. Doing so would allow the individual to be eligible for two more years of cash assistance should the need arise in the future. The bill further stipulates that a FIP recipient with a child under 5 years of age must participate in an early childhood education program in order to retain eligibility for benefits. Lastly, if the individual has a family member who is truant from school according to the local district’s truancy policy, the family group is no longer eligible for FIP until the truant youth returns to school. Motion carried.

B. Guest Speaker

Kelly Bartlett, Chief of Staff to Sen. Bill Hardiman, was in attendance to discuss budget issues.

Fritz’s written report included an update on MCSSA activity relative to the FY 09 DHS budget, and other issues such as two bills providing an early out option to some DHS employees at the Maxey Training School, and the Bi-annual Revenue Estimating Conference. Other key issues for legislators include the Blue Cross/Blue Shield expansion, a rewrite of the state’s electric energy status, and water withdrawal limits.

VII. Advisory Report – Irene Bazan Waller

Terry Salacina was welcomed. Terry will be acting in Jim’s position upon Jim Nye’s retirement.

In terms of the Children’s Rights Lawsuit, a formal announcement was expected the following week. The plan is that once there is a formal announcement, all county directors will likely be invited to a central location to go over the particulars.

Staffing for adult services has been difficult since the first round of early retirements. Right now about 1/3 of the actual staffing based on caseloads is allocated. There are no budgeted staffing increases in any categories for adult services or any cash assistance. Any increases will be in children’s services. There have been continuing conversations with Cynthia Farrell in regard to the program office concerns. We are all aware that the AS population has changed in the last few years in that we are seeing more young disabled people and those cases tend to be linked to gun injuries or injuries from other weapons. We are no longer seeing the nice elderly lady stereotype; our AS services staff are now entering dangerous areas. The newest trend with the younger group of recipients is that they tend to be angry at times. This is a younger group of people who will require services for longer periods of time.

Mel has asked Senators Hardiman and Jansen to hold hearings on adult services issues.

When asked about regional accounting expansion/single business office successes and challenges, the response was that there are really no plans for expansion, due to the Bridges activities. The plans for regional accounting are on hold.

The dual county arrangement decision-making process remains, wherein when a county director position becomes vacant a review is done to determine the benefits of dualing two counties, changing a current arrangement, or maintaining the county as a single entity.

Grand Traverse and Leelanau have a single office so these two counties will stay connected. When a vacancy occurs, the regional manager should meet with the board to discuss the hiring process and also review what is included in a dual county administrative analysis.

Is there statistical information on how many clients have taken advantage of the transparent county lines? Jim’s reply was yes, and the numbers of clients going to another county office for service is small with the exception of Mecosta County where the numbers who chose a different county office were so high that it deleted an entire caseload count. Wexford also saw an influx due to the closing of Osceola.

BCAL Investigations - A licensing review, which includes an interview with kids, staff, etc., could be classified as a child protection law investigation similar to a law enforcement investigation as opposed to a CPS/ investigation. BCAL has to abide by the child protection law; they don’t do risk assessments. This would enable Jim Gale’s staff to conduct the investigation as they do now with a single report and give them access to central registry, and then they would add the cases themselves when a preponderance of evidence is established. This is very good news.

Meeting Work First Participation Requirements - There is a JET coordinator conference scheduled for June 5 and 6. An L-letter just went out on the tools available, like the engagement report, etc. We have set a goal of maintaining a 90% engagement rate. Jim likens the process back to Project Zero. The reports available should make it easier for staff to track participants.

MRS should have completed the hiring of counselors in June, which should result in service to the new counties that came up in the last year. We’re going to have to do a better sales job to get people to MRS and MRS may have to work just a bit harder to keep them engaged.

Because of the caseloads, staff don’t spend much time on what MRS can do for the client. We need a better connection with MRS and we need counties to pay attention to medical deferments, which typically are not long lasting.

We have to engage those who are currently IN’s. A third of the cases are pulled out of the calculation because they are relative cases, ineligible grantees.

Irene noted an E-FIP issue in the thumb area in that there are two cases in which the participant earns the money, but doesn’t work the hours to meet the requirement. It is not known how many cases there are like this statewide.

We can allow 10 hours of community service after they meet the 20 hours of core service.

If a brochure were published and given to everyone coming into the county office that explains their rights and responsibilities, along with the services and expectations of MRS it might help. This was a suggestion from Evert and Jim feels it is worth exploring.

County Director Qualification Requirements – If an individual does not have a degree he/she can request a qualifications review and may be eligible to fill the position as is a person with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. The difference is in the screening criteria.

Because of the wording in county director position announcements it is not clear that those without a degree may apply for a qualifications review. A meeting with Sue King is being held and one of the discussion topics is the wording of announcements.

County Director Evaluation Process - Board members have been given a draft of the revised process and there has been no response, which indicates satisfaction with the process. The new process is being reviewed with regional managers and Terry will disseminate the process to the field and MCSSA can disseminate the new process to the county board members. Evaluations are typically due at the end of the fiscal year.

Sue Hoffman participated with the work group and noted the move away from the categories in the state’s evaluation process.

A request was made that county board members be given a copy of the final evaluation once it is completed. Confidentiality needs to be built into the process.

It is anticipated that the process will be disseminated prior to the summer conference and that a discussion and Q & A can take place at the summer conference on Board Member Development Day.

Thanks Jim! - Jim was thanked by the committee on behalf of the whole state for his dedication and caring. Jim commented on how valuable it is to work as a team. He leaves us in good hands with Terry.

Now that Jim is a life member he can participate with MCSSA in anyway he wishes.

Jim commented on his appreciation for working with MCSSA. The association provided him with an avenue for working with the county boards, which he would not have had without the association. The forum of the Advisory Committee has been very beneficial in keeping in touch with the counties.

VIII. Executive Committee Report – Wayne Buskirk

A. Dues From Clare and Ontonagon

Wayne Buskirk moved to declare Clare County to be not in good standing and table a decision on Ontonagon County until next month. Seconded. Dave VanHouten noted that the director in Ontonagon has only been in his position for one month. Their commissioner representative is putting pressure on the board to not pay the dues. Apparently the commissioner is indicating that the board’s allocation may be reduced in the future should they pay the county’s dues. There is a board meeting next week and the issue will be on the agenda. Motion carried.

B. Dues from Dickinson, Kalamazoo, and Luce Counties

When we took action to provide membership benefits with the exception of voting to counties who paid only a portion of the dues, the decision was based on the fact that the county wanted to participate but just didn’t have the funds. In the case of Kalamazoo County it appears that they have the funding, they are choosing not to pay the dues in full. Dickinson and Luce counties simply do not have the funds.

Several members felt that if we simply take away Kalamazoo’s voting privileges they won’t pay the dues and we may be setting a precedent that other counties will follow. Sue Hoffman moved to table the recommendation on Dickinson, Kalamazoo, and Luce counties. Seconded. Motion carried.

IX. Michigan Campaign for Justice – Michelle Weemhoff

The individuals seen by the justice system often have a connection to the welfare system. This means they have limited resources and are usually represented by attorneys appointed by a judge, often with little or no time spent with the accused before trial. This is not necessarily a reflection on the public defense system, but more a reflection on the lack of appropriate resources for the accused.

Juveniles are being included in the efforts of the campaign.

Michelle asked that if you’re interested, please visit the website and sign up to receive e-alerts, etc. Michelle also asked that, as a board, we adopt the resolution. The eleventh principle asks that others get involved in supporting mental health services when it is apparent that mental health services would be beneficial.

Michelle expressed an interest in speaking to community organizations and would welcome an invitation to do so.

Michelle will be writing a guest column for our Advocate.

A position was not taken this month but the resolution will remain on the agenda for possible action in June.

X. Executive Director’s Report – Mel Haga

Mel attended the County Director Evaluation work group meeting. This is a work group formed by Jim Nye after we raised the issue of board involvement, or the lack thereof, in this process. Sue Hoffman and Kim Coleman both volunteered at the Advisory meeting where the issue was raised and Mel invited Jim Letts, long time Ionia board member, to represent MCSSA. Jim Nye, Sharon Christensen, and Jane Goetschy represented central office. We consolidated several previous evaluation versions into one. That was sent to the committee members and to the members of the Board Member Development Committee. Input has been gathered and given to Jim and he will send out a final draft for review.

Mel met with Representative Darwin Booher (R) Evart. He has on several occasions expressed a concern about the clothing allowance and its utilization by our clients. He wants some kind of tracking system so that we can be sure that the allowance is indeed spent on clothes. Mel’s objective with meeting with him was to educate him regarding the allowance and Mel gave him four client satisfaction surveys that included questions about the clothing allowance. He spent the better part of an hour with Mel and he is sure he did not necessarily change his mind, but at least he gave him lots to think about. He is at least willing to listen.

Michelle Weemhoff of the Michigan Campaign for Justice met with Mel and gave an overview of the Campaign for Justice. They are a broad-based group of organizations and individuals from across political spectrums fighting for a fair and effective public defense system in Michigan. She is looking for MCSSA to join them as a supporting organization. Mel invited Michelle to make a presentation at today’s board meeting.

Mel attended two hearings of the Senate Subcommittee on Appropriations for DHS. Senator Bill Hardiman is the chair. They are currently taking testimony from the department and from any other interested parties. Mel testified on May 6^th. He used a letter (copy attached to the correspondence report) he wrote to the Senator as the basis for his testimony. He also gave the committee another copy of our legislative priorities. Mel received a welcome reception from the committee.

Mel also attended a Senate Families and Human Services Committee hearing on the Nicholas Braman case that involved both Saginaw and Montcalm Counties. Director Ahmed read a prepared statement and then he and Steve Yeager, the department’s Children’s Advocate, answered questions from the committee. Nicholas’ mother also testified. As far as Mel could determine, this was a fact finding hearing and no further action by the committee is planned. Very emotional and gut wrenching session. Senator Mark Jansen is the chair.

Mel met with Pat Babcock who is chairing the Michigan Child Welfare Improvement Task Force. This is the task force commissioned by Director Ahmed to provide recommendations to him “about the essential outcomes necessary to determine the efficacy of Michigan’s child welfare services in the development and transition of children at-risk of, or receiving, child welfare services.” As the task force develops, there will be at least five work groups. MCSSA members, both directors and board members, will participate at that level and Pat and Mel will consult as the membership for these work groups is determined. We do have four of our members who are members of the task force itself. They are Jane Johnson, Andy Zylstra, Margaret Warner, and Sheryl Thompson.

XI. Committee/Liaison Reports

A. Standard of Living/Housing/Employment Programs Committee

The Standard of Living/Housing/Employment Programs Committee recommended support for MCSSW Position Paper 04/02, Guidelines for Home Schooling. The position paper expresses concerns with home schooling and its possible impact on DHS youth. At the present time, home schooling has few requirements, no monitoring of curriculum, no public funding and no standardized testing to insure quality of education. A child experiencing behavior problems or truancy problems may be pulled out of a regular school and be “home schooled” without being schooled at all. And since there is no funding provided, DHS clients of extremely limited means are unlikely to be able to acquire appropriate educational materials. For DHS clients, this undermines the goal of self sufficiency by making the individual less likely to be employable. The position paper recommends registration with the Intermediate School District so the student can be tested. During the committee meeting personal anecdotes were shared including a person’s persistent interaction with the school which resulted in bad feeling between the parent and the school. The parent pulled the child from school to “home school” but there was never any follow-up to determine if the child was indeed being schooled. Another comment was that some serious behavior issues become a reason for removal but then the child may be short-changed both in education received and tools to address the behavior problems.

Evert has just written a paper for Representative Robert Dean on the issue of home-schooling. His recommendation is somewhat different from the MCSSW position paper.

There is a bill on home schooling that should be reviewed by the committee. We will secure the legislation and ask the committee to review the bill in relation to their position paper and Evert’s paper before a Board of Directors recommendation is formed. Susan Bailey-Carman so moved. Seconded. Motion carried.

B. MAC/NACo Liaison – Sue Hoffman

While Sue didn’t have a MAC or NACo report, she was pleased to report that her opponent in the primary election withdrew.

C. AARP Liaison – Evert Vermeer

Evert had the pleasure of joining in the Senator Hillary Clinton campaign I South Bend, Indiana. Regarding of who you support, it was a great experience. If you have an opportunity to attend one of the presidential campaign events do so. The AARP representatives from Michigan and Indiana wore their red, “divided we fail” shirts. They got the message out to strengthen social security, strengthen retirement plans, and to promote work for all ages.

The utility money stakes are high. Misleading advertising abounds. The big utility companies want to strengthen their grip on the utility business by having the utility payers pay an unspecified amount to build new plants that may not be needed. They promise jobs but do not specify the cost or the benefits. AARP wants the companies to first consider need and if they still want to build, then they should bond the project and take the risk as in the past. There are almost no money controls on this package.

The Senate Health Policy Committee made some changes to the so-called health reform bills supported by Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They limited the 30% profit. They kept the Attorney General in rate setting, and eliminated the risk pool. Instead of going to a conference committee, the House Speaker appointed a “working committee” with Sen. Tom George, chair of the Health Policy Committee and seven legislators thought to be sympathetic to the Blues. The lobbyists are having a field day on this legislation. Ask your legislators what’s going on. Why are they avoiding due process?

No fault auto insurance is out of gas. AARP has backed away from the coalition working on this legislation. The coalition was willing to make compromises that AARP was not. AARP continues to support relief in insurance costs.

$27 million has been cut from home and community based services. AARP is trying to get this money restored to the budget as proposed by the Governor with a postcard blitz.

The mental health parity bills are still alive.

XII. District Reports

A. District III’s next meeting date is June 20. They met with Rep. Darwin Booher at their last meeting.

B. District IV is getting back on track and will meet on June 4 in Kent County. Chuck Overbey from DMB will speak.

C. District V will meet on July 24 with Clinton and Gratiot counties hosting. Steve Yeager is the new director for Clinton and Gratiot counties. The last meeting was held on Bring Your Child to Work Day and one child attended.

XIII. New Business

A. Steve Barnes’ Resignation

Steve has been elected to the school board and by law, has resigned from the Mecosta County board and as co-chair of the Child and Family Services Committee.

XIV. Meeting Adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Shelley Jipson-Lomax

MCSSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

JUNE 11, 2008 AGENDA

I. Call to order at 10:00 a.m.

II. Disposition of the Minutes of May 14, 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

A. Ontonagon County’s Dues Status

B. Dickinson, Kalamazoo, and Luce County’s Dues

B. Campaign for Justice Resolution

XIII. New Business

XIV. Adjournment