Called to Order

 Ms. Robertson, Chair, called the meeting to order at 4:18 p.m.  She welcomed everyone in attendance; all present introduced themselves and their affiliation.

 Ms. Robertson said the idea for this meeting came up at the Homeless and Housing Task Force, because where a question was raised with regard to what planning exists for housing accommodations for individuals being discharged from the Jail, hospital, or other institutions.  In particular, there had been some comments about some people leaving the Jail and it will bewaiting a number of days before a Medicaid Public Assistance application can be processed; there are also situations where someone is in the Jail waiting for Medicaid approval before they can move to a rehab bed in a rehab facility to become available.  Ms. Robertson said this sounds seemed like an area where improvements could be made.

 She mentioned that Ms. Carey said athad pulled together a meeting of the agencies and department staff that normally work with inmates.  Ms. Carey said her goal was to reduce the emergency shelter budgetHomeless and Housing Task Force last Fall where this was discussed it appeared that all of the fingers pointed to DSS and questions were raised with regard to  so she wanted to see whether DSS applications could be processed faster.  The group felt that one possibility might be to assign an eligibility worker to the Jail.  Ms. Carey said her response to that was that there are already a lot of service providers going to the Jail; she therefore, called a meeting to see who is responsible for doing certain things.   She stated this the meeting then turned into an educational process for all involved.  Some of the people participating in the discussion were very clear about what needs to happen when a person is being released, while and some were not as clear about what happens.  They also took a look at the possible duplication of services in the system, with DSS being open to examining ways in which things could be done differently.  She said when talking about releasing people from jail and other institutions there are things that can be done early on to make sure their needs are metsupport is available as soon as they are back in the community.  DSS is responsible for paying expenses for the homeless shelter for these individuals.  Ms. Carey said on a monthly basis, she examines these statistics and also looks at the number of individuals in the Jail.

 At this time Ms. Carey explained the process for the processing of public assistance applications.  She said legally, intake workers have up to 45 days after the date of application to process thedecide on a person’s eligibility application, and that is a long time for someone to stay in the Shelter shelter if they have no where else to go.  She said she has met with Sonia Sonya Hicks to tighten up some of the systems currently in place as well as make DSS staff more available to OAR.  At that time Ms. Hicks was working at OAR but has since left that Agencyagency.  The Sheriff and Probation also got together to discuss the system.

 Ms. Carey is called a meeting with the Sheriff, Jail Administrator Neimi, and Probation to discuss the system, looking at ways that DSS could interact with people before they get out of the Jail if they can be easily identified as individuals who very likely to are likely to be eligible anyways.  She said if they were on services before they went into the Jail it is likely they will be on services when they get out.

 Ms. Leinthall reported that on a meeting she attended along with Ms. Carey, Sheriff Meskill and Debra Neimi, Jail Administrator, to discuss this.  Tthe outcome of the meeting was that the Sheriff will notify Ms. CareyDSS in circumstances when inmates’ release dates are setcertain people are being released and especially if they do not have a housing plan.  The intent of this is to have the time to get documentation ready; the more complete the paperwork, the quicker the approval and the sooner money can be available.  The time from release to getting funds has lately been one to two days; Ms. Carey’s goal is to keep it within three days. If they can get Public Assistance quickly, they can start job-hunting.  resolve the housing issueThis advance notice also helps providers to work on a housing plan with inmates and decrease the reliance on the Emergency Shelter.  Ms. Carey said DSS has also been talking to the Division of Parole about this as well.  She noted that it will not be possible to avoid use of the Shelter in all cases as there are situations where someone thinks they have a housing plan upon their release and actually do not, and some may have housing plans that fall apart at the last minute.  Also, some inmates are released by the judge with very little notice.

 Ms. Carey said one item that was identified as something there was control over was the sentenced population.   Sheriff Meskill has agreed it would be helpful for DSS to have a list of these people and is now sending a list of individuals who have been sentenced.  The Division of Parole is also sending a list of people who will be released from prison in 60-90 days.

 Ms. Carey addressed the issue of whether there are things that are difficult to accomplish in those 45 days if someone is in the Jail and stated the biggest hindrance is the paperworkdocumentation.  She said those providers who are going  to the Jail and assist in gathering the required information are helping a great deal.  The reason the process can sometimes takes up to 45 days is because of the time it takes to collect informationthe documentation.

 Ms. Spencer said OAR works cooperatively with Tricia Eth who is the DSS point-person.  Ms. Eth processes temporary assistance applications and informs OAR about what documents are required to complete the application.  Ms. Spencer said that until a replacement is found for Sonia Sonya Hicks at OAR she will be the staff person handling this.

 Mr. Mack said during her employment with OAR, Ms. Hicks often met with Ms. Eth.  For the last three months they have been able to put in PEF's Public Assistance applications when before someone is getting gets out and that has sped up the process.  He stated he feels the process is improving.

 Ms. Hardy said the American Red Cross has someone who goes to the Jail bi-weekly to help get complete applications.  She stated they do not want anyone in the Shelter any longer than they have to be.

 Ms. Emmons, CARS, spoke of situations in which clients are being housed at Jails outside of Tompkins County and are out of reach for services.  She said she has attempted to make contact but is not allowed the same level of access as in Tompkins County.  It was also pointed out that resources are not available for CARS to make routine trips to out-of-county facilities.

 Ms. Hovaguimian, Alcohol and Drug Council, said the ADC is at the Jail twice per month for a total of six hours and the visits are the result of referrals from four judges requesting evaluations or attorneys.  She said she feels the processing of paperwork is improving.

 Mr. Bennett, CARS, distributed a document that explains CARS' role with regard to the Jail, as well as the strengths and areas of weaknesses CARS has identified in the process.

 Mr. Rusen, CARS, said his agency interacts with more than thirty different counties and described the required paperwork to be "amazing".  He stated if the paperwork process is not completed in time there is a potential that someone's admission date could be put off.   He said there are some counties that refuse to begin processing an application until the 45th day.   He stated if he were to rank Tompkins County against other counties in a top ten list, Tompkins County would have the first five places.   As an example, people coming out of Willard often face situations where no one wants to deal with them.  In many instances they are sent through many "hoops" with the hope they will stop asking for help.  He said they have not experienced this in Tompkins County.   Ms. Carey said she did not want anyone to misinterpret this as it being easy to obtain services from Tompkins County, and that she attributes Mr. Rusen's comments to the effectiveness and efficiency that takes place.

 Ms. Carey said that the state is beginning to send us lists of people who will be released on parole, within 60 days.  At some time in the future they will also notify us of people coming out who are not on parole, so DSS can also send them a letter and offer an application for services.  Many in the shelter are people who completed their full sentences, and therefore they’re not on parole.  They come out of prison with no supervision and we need to connect them to services to help them re-integrate into the community.

 Mr. Whicher said one of the sensitive areas is where someone comes from.  Ms. Carey said in terms of eligibility, if they are not in this county there are regulations that they have to go by.   In certain cases of individuals being released from prison it is based on things such as where there were sentenced, or where they have family; there are many different factors that determine what county the individual is going back to.   She said there is concern across the state by DSS Commissioners because Parole can make a decision where a person gets released and that location can be the area in which the crime was committed.

 Ms. Kiefer asked if there would be any objection to video conferencing in working with inmates who are boarded out to other counties.  Ms. Emmons said it would up to the individual jail.  Ms. Carey suggested there maymight be a way of opening up communications with other counties to improve and facilitate contact with inmates, and she will pursue this.

 Mr. Winch thanked Ms. Carey for getting this group together and pulling together this information and asked whether an effort could now be directed by the group to produce a plan to expedite the process; and if so, how long would it take?  Ms. Carey said this is her goal.  She is trying to see what things need to be addressed and put them at the top of the list.  She said she cancould make a commitment to have a formalized plan to identify when people are in the Jail who is responsible for what, when, and how.  The plan would also include ways to identify parts that are not working correctly.

 Ms. Leinthall said this is in no way an effort to usurp the Sheriff or those running the Jail; and that the goal is to get services to the people who need them as soon as possible to allow them to secure housing when they are released.

 Mr. Proto asked if there is a plan for Workforce Development to become involved.  He said Workforce Development has access to a lot of programs that the County supports.  Ms. Carey said there are steps in place to refer individuals to some type of employment activity but was unsure of the role Workforce Development could play. She will add this to her list of areas to look into.

 Ms. Blanchard said Debra Giordano made a presentation to the Planning, Development and Environmental Quality Committee and stated their outreach is limited because of a loss three staff members due to a lack of funding.  She said there are times when they can be of assistance in particular areas, but there are also limitations due to their funding situation.

 Mr. Proto asked what the estimated number of people being released on a monthly basis is.  Ms. Carey said at this time she believes it to be four to five people.

 Mr. De Luca said the Mental Health Department has a Transitional Case Manager who visits the Jail on a regular basis.  He said a part of Kendra's Law is to ensure that people who need psychotropic medications get on Medicaid.  There is a medication grant program that provides people with medications before the leave the Jail, pending the decision on their Medicaid eligibility.   He also said the Medical Director visits the Jail on a weekly basis.

 Ms. Hardy spoke of the process of admitting individuals into the Emergency Shelter and said there is an eight-page screening process.  They also try to identify what hurdles there are that block people from obtaining housing.  She noted that many of the people using the Shelter are employed; however, the cost of housing is just beyond their reach.

 Ms. Carey said she will prepare a flow chart to see how things look and will send it out to people to review.  Ms. Carey and Ms. Leinthall will meet with the new Parole officer to make sure he is aware of the services that are available to parolees.

PINS Update

 Ms. Leinthall reported on a change in PINS (Persons in Need of Supervision) Legislation legislation that was put into effect in April.  She said it basically says that the detention of PINS should be discouraged at all costs and can only be used if all other efforts have been exhausted.  She said DSS and Probation staff are working together to develop a creative approach to this.

Adjournment

 The meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by Michelle Pottorff, Legislature Office