Board
of Commissioners Meeting
August 24, 2005
| BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: | Leonard Bradley, Glenn Carter, Gwen Harris, Linda Mattson |
EMPLOYEES
PRESENT: |
Giovanni, Achoe, Abdelghani Barre, Bonnie Campbell, Dinah Gregory, Yuri Hancock, Steve Lavigne, Pamela McEwen, Demitria Norman, Renee Pratt, Gerri Robinson, Tarver Smith, Pat Wingfield, Julius Witherspoon |
| GUESTS PRESENT: | Margaret Holleman, Metro Legal Department |
Chair Mattson called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m.
Motion: Approve July, 2005 meeting minutes
Made by: Glenn Carter
Seconded: Gwen Harris
Passed unanimously.
Executive Director’s Report: Ms. Robinson began the meeting by providing information concerning Results Matter, which is scheduled for the last week in September. The purpose of Results Matter is to discuss strategic planning for FY05/06 and we are looking forward to going through the process. Results Matter teaches us to put the customer first, and results first in everything we do. All Metro departments are required to follow this process. The goal is to make sure the entire business plan work together within one network.
Ms. Robinson stated that our work process of our new service model is going extremely well. Staff moral is good and Gerri would like to commend all staff for a job well done in implementing the new business model. We are convening work groups of direct service staff and this group has provided some recommendations that we are currently acting on.
Ms. Robinson further stated that we have held our first meeting of the Homelessness Commission and we felt it went extremely well. Ms. Robinson then ended her report by offering to entertain any questions.
Commissioner Bradley then stated his concern with the board and the amendment with the legislative session on social worker degrees. Commissioner Bradley then asked Commissioner Carter his thoughts concerning this topic since he had brought it up at the last board meeting.
Commissioner Carter stated that he had some concerns with the document
he had received from Ms. Robinson concerning the social worker legislative
bill. Mr. Carter did not feel there would be a lack of available people
with social work degrees to fill positions. As far as the exemption,
Commissioner Carter felt that only people with social work degrees
should use the title social worker. Commissioner Carter also felt that
different titles should be used for people that do social work that
do not have social work degrees.
Commissioner Bradley stated that we have many programs that produce
caseworkers that are doing the very same work as degreed social workers
and they do not have the social work title. Commissioner Bradley
also stated that a general phrase that has been used in the dictionary
for years is being changed to protect jobs for degreed social workers.
Commissioner Bradley suggested that employees that are currently
called social workers should be grandfathered in to keep these jobs
and titles as long as they are in these positions and when a vacancy
occurs, a person without a social worker degree could not be hired
to replace that person. Commissioner Bradley feels that the board
needs to have more discussions concerning this matter and that the
board should protect Metro Social Services interest regarding this
matter.
Commissioner
Harris voiced her agreement with Commissioner Bradley’s
comments. Chair Mattson stated to the board that Renee Pratt will be
providing an issue paper on this topic at the next board of commissioners
meeting and that we should table this matter until after the issue
paper is presented to board.
Finance Report: Pamela
McEwen reported that the budget ending the fiscal year 06 is not
ready and there is nothing to report until after she receives the
budget. Ms. McEwen expects to have a posted budget by the end of the
month.
Program Updates: Demitria Norman and Dinah Gregory reported the Program updates.
Adult and Family Support Services
Demitria Norman began by stating that we are currently in the 2nd month of the new business model and the staff has done an excellent job in moving forward in the transition.
- Intake and Assessment unit has been challenged with limited staff, and with this unit alone they have received a total 254 contacts (194 phone contacts, 43 burial phone contact, 14 walk-ins and 3 email contacts)
- Family Support unit is fully staffed including the Richland Village staff. They are currently working to complete the Universal assessment tool. We are working closely with Martha O’Bryan’s staff to create a position description for the School Liaison and we are also looking to have a social worker placed at Red Shield by September.
- Homeless unit continues to stay busy since we are receiving referrals from Codes, hospitals, the Public Defenders office and citizens of Davidson County. The Homeless unit has very seasoned staff and many of the staff is participating on MDHA’ Gaps in Services (GAPS) Committee. We are also putting together a communication plan to make our partners, county residents and other agencies aware of the services we provide under the new business model.
Commissioner Harris had a concern with the Homelessness Commission
and she wanted to make sure that the community included the 18 to 19
year old age group. Per Commissioner Bradley, being a member of the
Homelessness Commission, assumed that the Homelessness Commission dealt
with all ages of the homeless.
Planning and Coordination
Dinah Gregory
- Edgehill Community continues to meet monthly to enhance communication and collaboration in the Edgehill Community. The main focus of the last meeting was dealing with the crime in the area.
- Immigrant Coordinator unit is now being supervised by Abdelghani Barre who will serve as Program Manager for the Homeless Services Unit and is also the Interim Director of Home and Community Services.
- Hispanic Liaison has hosted its second Metropolitan Government Hispanic Liaison meeting. We had almost 30 people in attendance and the purpose of these meetings is to improve services to the Hispanic community.
- Homelessness Commission held its first meeting on August 17th. It was basically a discussion meeting and the next meeting is currently scheduled for August 31, at 9:00 a.m.
- Pilot Project which is currently being operated with the Mid-Cumberland Human Resource Agency and we are in the processing of preparing the RFP.
- University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research met with senior staff to discuss the two research projects. During this meeting draft questions were reviewed for the Relative Caregiver Survey and they also identified revisions and clarifications needed. Later in the fiscal year, they will provide cost-benefit analysis information and the final report. Also, they will provide drafts of the surveys before October for the comparison between the Pilot Project for Homemakers and Nutrition Services. The preliminary results are anticipated to be available in March, with the final report by June.
- Senior Transportation issues still exist and we have created an Aging Advisory Committee to participate on this committee. This committee is working to develop a survey to better understand existing barriers to public transportation for senior as well as public perception about the actual services, which are available.
- Training
for Informal Child Care Providers is childcare provided by family,
friends and /or neighbors who
are exempt
from state
licensing requirements.
In Tennessee, childcare for 1-4 children is exempt from
licensure requirements.
Data from the U.S. Census indicates that 45% of all children
whose parents work receive informal childcare. This is
giving Metro Social
Services an
opportunity to step in and fill a gap to some of the needs
of these families.
Administration
In terms of attrition, Metro Social Services has had a total of 10 resignations since the beginning of the calendar year. Exit interviews were conducted with each staff with the exception of 1 who refused. We learned from the exit interviews that 8 were due to restructuring or lack of opportunity within the department, 1 was personal reasons. Metro Social Services currently have a total of 12 vacancies.
Staff Training Renee Pratt
The Adult Protective Services training scheduled for August is postponed to a later date. So, this training will be rescheduled for next quarter. We have a Microsoft Access client intake database we began using in July. We will continue to have training sessions, and adding additional reports to this database. The database will be monitored to ensure information is entered in a timely and accurate manner.
New Business
Commissioner Harris was asked to join Commission Carter and Chair Mattson on the Personnel committee and she has agreed to accept. We will schedule a meeting for the September time frame since we have a performance review with our Executive Director due at our next board meeting.
The Metro Social Services staff is in the process of planning our Board of Commissioners Retreat scheduled for the 14th and 15th of October at McCabe Golf Course. Chair Mattson has agreed to join the planning committee, however, Chair Mattson would like for another board member to participate on this committee. So, is was agreed that if additional assistance was required with planning the board retreat to contact Commissioner Glenn Carter for additional assistance.
Motion: If additional assistance is needed call Commissioner Glenn
Carter
Made by: Leonard Bradley
Seconded: Gwen Harris
Passed unanimously.
Chair Mattson moved to adjourn.
Motion: Moved to adjourn
Made by: Glenn Carter
Seconded by: Gwen Harris
Approved unanimously
Chair
Mattson adjourned the meeting at 3:46 pm.
______________________________
Gerri Robinson
Director
Metro Social Services