HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 10, 2004 11:30 A.M.
SCOTT HEYMAN CONFERENCE ROOM
Present: M. Robertson, Chair; T. Todd; N. Schuler; M. Koplinka-Loehr; B. Blanchard (arrived at 11:55 a.m.)
Staff: C. Covert, Clerk of the Legislature;
W. Skinner, Public Information; N. Zahler, Youth Services; N. Burston, Human
Services Coalition; B. Falcao, Health Planning Council; J. Kippola, Administration;
P. Carey, Social Services
Guests: T. Joseph, Chair of the Legislature; A. Tutino, Ithaca Journal
Called to Order
The meeting was called to order at 11:30 a.m.
Changes to Agenda
There were no changes to the agenda.
Youth Services
Program Updates
Ms. Zahler provided a report and an update on the programs
the Youth Services Department is responsible for. During the months
of September and October, 2004 there were 13 different contracted programs
that served 2,000 kids in all municipalities.
She reported that the New York State Office of Children
and Family Services contacted her and informed her that there is a small
amount of money, approximately $1,300, available this year. As the
Department has runaway and homeless programs and does a good job running
the programs, the money was offered to Tompkins County first. She anticipates
the money will be targeted for use to purchase bus passes for the young homeless
people. Following a brief discussion, Ms. Schuler suggested a youth
advocate have a presence on the TCAT Board. Ms. Zahler also mentioned
that County Youth Services has been identified in the County’s draft Comprehensive
Plan as leading on the issue of housing for independent, or at-risk, youth.
Ms. Robertson commented on the community presentation
Fight Crime, Invest in Kids sponsored by the Youth Services Department; Mr.
Koplinka-Loehr recommended the presentation be given to the full Legislature
in December.
Ms. Robertson also commented on the liaison assignments
and said she was unable to find a Legislator who could make the meetings
of the Youth Services Board on a regular basis and hoped the advisory board
would consider changing its meeting times next year.
Prescription Drug Program
Ms. Kippola distributed copies of the information and
discount card that would be provided to Tompkins County citizens. She
said the information provided is a marketing campaign that Advance's legal
and marketing team have approved as well as the appropriate officials in
Nassau County.
Ms. Blanchard arrived at this time.
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr raised the question of the appropriateness
of including the County's seal on the cards and asked if the County Attorney
provided an opinion. Ms. Kippola said she has not discussed it with
him, but agreed to do so. In addition, although Nassau County’s card includes
the names of elected officials, and Caremark said it adds local credibility
to the card, Committee members felt that was not necessary.
Ms. Robertson asked what flexibility the County had with changing the information
on the brochure. Ms. Kippola said a request to change the information
can be made but could add several weeks to the process. She said there
is likely to be very little flexibility with the format and language as both
legal and marketing teams have reviewed it and the information does not conflict
with any contractual relationships with the pharmacies. The County
may add language for clarity such as local information.
Ms. Robertson expressed concern with some of the language
and would like to have more information provided concerning the Health Planning
Council, Child Health Plus, etc. as well as more language in Spanish.
Ms. Falcao feels adding information on the HPC and Child Health Plus could
be confusing and misleading and recommended additional information be made
available separately with the brochures. Ms. Robertson would like additional
translation be provided in Spanish and asked Ms. Kippola to raise this with
Caremark.
Discussion followed concerning what local information
should be included on the card and the Committee agreed with the name “TompkinsRx”
and to eliminate the County Seal and possibly replace it with a graphic of
a border of the County. The Committee also agreed to add the word "free"
in the following statement: Tear off this "free" card and start saving
today!
Ms. Carey suggested the proposed brochure be reviewed
by some consumers for their opinions and said she would be willing to assist
in getting and sharing the information. Ms. Kippola indicated that
the contract would be for three years. Committee members expressed
some concern about this, but agreed that if the law regarding importation
of drugs changes, the County can cancel the contract or just stop using the
cards.
Discussion followed concerning the publicity for this
program and it was felt that the press releases and word of mouth would be
important pieces for getting this information out to the public. The
Health Planning Council will be working with human services agencies on getting
the information out.
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr and Ms. Blanchard feel the County should
not debate the language in the brochure; however Mr. Koplinka-Loehr would
agree to changing the information on the card if the County has the flexibility.
Ms. Schuler agreed with the suggestion to have "users" of the card review
the brochures. Ms. Robertson felt the County Attorney should also review
the information.
At this time the Committee reviewed the publicity recommendations
distributed by Ms. Falcao, who said she is still waiting to hear if one grant
application was approved. The one item not included on the publicity
list is the posters on TCAT buses. Other suggestions made for possible
funding sources included the Service League and the Community Foundation’s
Quality of Life Fund.
Following further discussion, it was MOVED by Mr. Koplinka-Loehr,
seconded by Ms. Blanchard, and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to endorse
the execution of contract for a prescription discount card program through
CAREMARK. The resolution will be presented early in January when the
program is ready to be rolled out.
Department of Social Services
Monthly Reports
Ms. Carey reported that, as anticipated, the State is
planning to shift responsibilities for certain programs and costs onto Medicaid.
For example, the Department of Social Services will now be responsible for
transportation costs under Medicaid, which have previously been funded by
the state through the Office of Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities.
The Department is providing comments, as appropriate, on these additional
attempts to add new programs to Medicaid.
At this time, Ms. Carey highlighted some areas of the
fiscal reports distributed to the Committee. The number of families
in the Family Safety Net assistance program has increased. This is
because people who have been on Public Assistance for their maximum period
of time are being shifted into the safety net program. That category costs
the County more money, as the Federal share is no longer available.
The funding for Public Assistance is 50% federal, 35% state, and 15% local.
Safety Net funding is split with the state, carrying a 44% local share.
Ms. Carey said the families who end up on Safety Net are those with multiple
problems such as addictions, and they are not able to stay employed; they
lead a “crisis-driven life.” Ms. Blanchard asked if the history of
these families such as demographics, age, number of children, etc. could
be provided as appropriate.
Ms. Carey also reported that the number of youth detention
days has decreased with only three youth currently in institutional care.
The Department is averaging nine days, which is down from 20.
In response to a question, Ms. Carey reported that staff
is responding very well to the loss of the Director of Eligibility, meeting
weekly to ensure that the work is being covered. She has hired Ms.
Bush on a contract basis to advise staff on eligibility issues.
Next Meeting
The Committee agreed to cancel the next meeting of November 24th.
Committee Goals
Ms. Robertson asked Committee members to report on which
goals or topics they wished to have addressed before the end of the year.
Ms. Schuler said she would like more information on the monitoring of rural
services as it relates to the dental program. She would also like to
hear more about the prescription drug - cost-saving measures at the jail.
Ms. Blanchard said this item was discussed at the Public Safety Committee
and a packet of material was provided. The final item Ms. Schuler said
she would like the Committee to discuss is the open burning issue.
Ms. Robertson said this topic was discussed and a resolution passed at an
Environmental Management Council meeting and forwarded to the Planning, Environmental
Quality Committee.
Ms. Blanchard indicated she has been having discussions
with Ms. Cole concerning a presentation after the first of the year to be
given at a Legislature meeting on homeland security and bio-terrorism emergency
management issues. The presentation would be a joint effort between
Lee Shurtleff, Peter Meskill, Brian Wilbur, and Alice Cole.
Mr. Robertson asked about the status of the COMPASS II
report. Ms. Burston said the final report is complete; however there
is a follow-up piece being worked on concerning the hunger issue. It
is hoped the report will be available in December.
Liaison Reports
Office for the Aging Advisory Committee and Senior Citizens Council
Mr. Todd said he attends meetings of both groups monthly and said there are budget concerns in both areas.
DSS Advisory Council
Mr. Koplinka-Loehr said this group has not met.
Recreation Partnership
` Mr. Koplinka-Loehr commented it was a challenging year
but the group made it through the budget season. The group is reorienting
some of its priorities based on feedback from the public.
Homeless and Housing Task Force
Ms. Blanchard said this group meets because it finds value
with sharing information and bringing housing interests in the community
together. She commented that more and more people are in trouble and
finding housing they can afford is difficult.
Alcoholism and Drug Council
Ms. Schuler said the Council is doing a lot of outreach
with Cayuga Medical Center and collaborating with BOCES. A grant request
was submitted to United Way for the program working with families.
There is one person working with the Family Drug Court. The Council
treated 174 clients in the month of September.
Mental Health Services Board
Ms. Schuler said the Mental Health Commissioner Search
Committee is meeting every other Tuesday. She said Lakeview has broken
ground on Cascadilla Street for their new building and is refurbishing a
house near the Reconstruction Home. The MR/DD group will be looking
at obesity among people with disabilities. The group also passed a
resolution to send on to Senator Nozzolio to request the cuts in the Mental
Health Hygiene budget, of $7.7 million, be overridden.
Personal Emergency Response System Advisory Board
Ms. Schuler reported the group meets quarterly.
In October there were 310 machines in homes and through the Department of
Social Services, there are 157 machines in homes. The main problem
is many of the machines need revamping which is being handled by the Emergency
Response Center's staff. Currently there is no waiting list for the
machines.
Board of Health
Ms. Robertson said she is not the liaison and has not
been able to attend a meeting in the last couple of months, but said one
accomplishment this year was the Code for restaurants was translated into
Chinese for some of the local Chinese restaurants. She will ask Dan
Winch, the legislature’s liaison, to report to the committee in December.
GIAC Board
Ms. Robertson said GIAC was quite involved with the reorganization
of Southside this year. The structural changes requested by the GIAC/Southside
group were not implemented in this current budget year but the City increased
their budget by $35,000.
Human Services Coalition
Ms. Robertson said this group meets monthly and at the
last meeting discussed the Canadian prescription option and what information
would be made available on the web.
Youth Services Board
Ms. Robertson hoped a liaison would be assigned next year to this board.
Chair's Report
Ms. Robertson reported on the roundtable on “Hunger and
Food Insecurity in Tompkins County,” held by the Community Foundation and
United Way on September 28. Although she was not able to attend, she
read from the Executive Summary of the meeting, concerning the growing level
of need and the barriers people experience in getting assistance.
Approval of Minutes
It was MOVED by Mr. Koplinka-Loehr, seconded by Mr. Todd,
and unanimously adopted by voice vote, to approve the minutes from the September
22, October 19, and October 27, 2004, meetings as submitted.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m.
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