Social Services

Board of Commissioners Meeting December 12, 2007

Board Members Present: Frank Boehm, Dot Dobbins, Howard Gentry, Gwen Harris, Mary Kate Mouser, George Price and Barbara Toms

Board Members Absent:

Legal Advisor: Chris Lackey, Attorney for Metro Government representing Metro Social Services Board

Mayor Liaison: Hershell Warren

Chair Lady Harris called the meeting to order by thanking Metro Social Services (MSS) Board of Commissioners for their commitment to the most vulnerable person in Davidson County.

Chair Lady Harris then referred to our legal advisor to read the provisions of Section 2.68.030 Metropolitan Code of Laws which governs actions by the Board and must be included in the announcement of each meeting. Chris Lackey will provide Bonnie Campbell a copy of the language, who will share it with all commissioners.

Chair Lady Harris asked all commissioners to introduce themselves.

Name Commissioner Background Information
Gwen Harris State of Tennessee, Juvenile Justice Student Advocate
Barbara Toms Attorney, served 10 years Director of Charity Solicitation with State of Tennessee
Mary Kate Mouser Director of Children’s Health Improvement for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, formerly director of Center for Non-Profit Management
Bishop George Price President of the Interdenominational Ministerial Fellowship, pastor of Bethesda Original Church of God in Bordeaux
Dot Dobbins Attorney, worked previously with Legal Aid and the State of Tennessee as general counsel for the Department of Human Services
Howard Gentry Former Vice Mayor of Nashville, Chairperson of the Homelessness Commission, Chief Executive Officer of the Nashville Chamber Public Benefit Foundation
Dr. Frank Boehm Obstetrician and Gynecologist at Vanderbilt Medical Center

Chair Lady Harris asked for approval of the March 28, 2007 minutes.

Motion: Approval of March 28th meeting minutes
Made by: Commissioner Dobbins
Seconded: Commissioner Toms

Director’s Report

Mrs. Robinson noted how pleased and excited she was to be meeting again and having the support and guidance of the governing body of Metro Social Services. Mrs. Robinson expressed a special thanks to Commissioners Harris, Dobbins and Toms for their encouragement and support. A special introduction was given to Mr. Hershell Warren, Mayor’s Liaison to the Commission.

Mrs. Robinson provided the board with a copy of her report and made mention of some of the highlights.

  • Poverty rate is slightly higher than the poverty rate for the U.S. as a whole
  • While serving very low income people, a significant increase in requests for service from the working poor was noted.
  • Affordable housing in Davidson county is truly lacking
  • Seniors, particularly low income seniors, face many challenges in Davidson county

Mrs. Robinson asked the board to listen carefully to the Division Directors presentations as they walk through each program using service data for the month of November as a guide.

Mrs. Robinson ended her report noting the importance of accreditation and it’s measurement of staff’s compliance with best practice. Metro Social Services for the first time in history is accredited by the Council on Accreditation as of July 17th.

Division Report

Renee Pratt, Director of Administration

Renee is responsible for Human Resources, managed by Yuri Hancock and Quality Assurance (QA), managed by Michelle Davis.

  • Each month the HR manager will provide you with an HR report that list all vacancies and all funded positions. We are currently staffed with 93 out of 98 positions for the agency. Demographics on employees are provided in the Briefing Document.
  • The data received in the Comprehensive Management Report, has been reviewed by QA staff to ensure accuracy. The results of QA reviews are provided on a quarterly basis in the Comprehensive Management Report.
  • The briefing document provides administrative information on pages 12-15.
  • Renee Pratt also acknowledged Mark Naccarato, the MSS SEIU (Services Employee International Union) representative. Mark meets with MSS human resources division on a quarterly basis to review and address issues with staff or questions regarding the agency.
Dinah Gregory, Director of Planning and Coordination

Planning and Coordination is a new part of MSS. It has been in existence a little over 2 years. The purpose of Planning and Coordination is to provide an effective use of resources and also help to keep up with the needs of the community. The Comprehensive Social Services Plan of MSS focuses on 5 areas or trends:

  1. access to services
  2. education
  3. housing
  4. systems development
  5. workforce development

It was determined that these five trends touched across all 3 areas of the coordinators:

  1. adult and seniors – Lee Stewart
  2. children and youth – Brenda Venson
  3. immigrant services - Abdelghani Barre

Additional information is found on pages 15 through 17 of the Briefing Document. You will also receive a narrative report each month.

Julius Witherspoon, Program Manager Nutrition Services substituted for
Demitria Norman, Director of Adult Family Support Services (AFSS)

Adult and Family Support Division staff provide direct services. This staff provides support services to the elderly, disabled, single adults, families including kinship families and homeless individuals. AFSS has five areas of service delivery:

  1. family support services
  2. intake assessment/burial assistance
  3. homeless services
  4. homemaker services
  5. nutrition services

The definition of elderly and disabled is described as 60+ years old or disabled with a medical diagnosis from a qualified physician. Mrs. Robinson also noted that for the nutrition program, there is no income guideline; while, the homemaker program has eligibility criteria related to income. MSS is the largest provider of nutrition and homemaker services in Davidson County. We have chosen to follow the Department of Human Services and Greater Nashville Regional Council (GNRC) income eligibility guidelines with Metro dollars to make sure we are serving the most vulnerable citizens in Davidson County.

Jessica Campbell, Systems Analysis

Jessica provides technical support and maintains all MSS specific data bases. Jessica also assists with compiling all reports for the agency.

Commissioner Tom’s requested an update on the Integrated Case Management System and the status of the RFP for that project. Ms. Robinson noted that the system is a part of the Audit Recommendation. The reason the project is not implemented is due to the fact that the Health Department, MDHA, MAC and MSS were to come together to create this single database. MSS completed all the required documentation for the project well over a year ago. Information Technical Systems (ITS) is still working with the other departments to secure the needed information.

Commissioner Toms asked if a study had been done to estimate how much money Metro would save if this system was in place. Gerri Robinson stated that projections had been done by MSS when it was first presented to the finance department. These projections will be shared with the Commission.

MSS is currently using a stand alone data system created by MSS with some support from ITS. The system analyst and the systems director positions were recommended in the 2004 audit. The systems director position is currently vacant. Commissioners were encouraged to help recruit to fill this position by letting us know of any person with systems experience. Renee Pratt will follow up and send information to all commissioners regarding the position.

Chair Lady Harris asked about an increase in the number of homeless persons seeking service. Gerri Robinson stated that MSS receives the homelessness management information system data. This system should include all homeless service providers in Davidson County that receive federal dollars. Mrs. Robinson agreed to secure a report from the Health Department that staffs the HMIS.

Commissioner Gentry asked if we currently have the Integrated Case Management System in place, and does’ MSS have the ability to maintain the system or will ITS need to assistant in maintaining the system. Mrs. Robinson replied that the system would be operated by the ITS department and it will be a Metro based system.

Pam McEwen, Director of Finance

Pam McEwen reviewed the budget process. Each board member received 3 options to reflect budget cuts of 5%, 10% and 15% as requested by the Mayor.

Pam McEwen began with a financial overview of the budget from Financial Packets distributed to each board member. The packet provided the following information:

  • The specific budget for every program along with the available positions for that program. The items with internal service fees listed beside them mean we are not allowed to cut from this area. MSS is provided an internal service fee and we plug that number in the system. Departments have no control over that money and it cannot be cut.
  • Page 3 -14 is the budget for every program along with the number of positions within each program.
  • December 3rd the Mayor met with finance and directors of each department to go over the requirements for the budget. January 30th MSS will meet with the finance department to present the selected options. Ms. Robinson asks that the board members attend this meeting if possible.
  • Three proposed options were prepared for consideration:
    • Option One:
      • the first one spreads the reductions throughout the department (all Division Directors had input into his decision)
    • o Option Two:
      • Similar to option 1 and the main difference is that the systems administrator position (currently vacant) will be eliminated.
    • Option Three:
      • Concentrate all reductions in the Planning and Coordination Division.

Gerri Robinson stated that all of the options involve cutting staff. However, keep in mind that option two involve cutting the vacant system position and option 3 is an option that says we are going to hold those programs that serve people as harmless as we can.

Commissioner Gentry asked if we are prepared to operate with whichever option is selected. Pam McEwen stated that the Finance department made it very clear not to provide any information if you are not prepared to accept the outcome.

Commissioner Mouser asks for an explanation of MTA Access Ride. Access Ride is a transportation program for the handicapped and the elderly. MSS purchases access ride tickets from MTA for seniors and the handicapped to attend nutrition sites and other personal trips.

Commissioner Mouser asked if MSS had compared its service model with other Social Services agencies around the country with demographics similar to Nashville. She also suggested staff look at additional funding and suggested that we go forward and do some long term thinking to compensate for funding short falls.

Gerri Robinson responded that comparisons with other jurisdictions were made by MAXIMUS. However, the jurisdictions that Nashville compared were not comparable to Nashville. Mrs. Robinson committed to providing this information at the follow up meeting.

Commissioner Toms asked if other agencies in Davidson County could absorb MSS customers if funding was reduced?

Pam McEwen stated that a recently issued RFI sought to collect this information for Nutrition and Homemaker services specifically. The response was low. MSS is having trouble finding vendors willing to provide the type of services we are providing to the customer base that we serve. One response was received to provide Homemaker services and four to provide Nutrition services.

Commissioner Bohem asked if this was the same as the Pilot Project for Mid Cumberland and do we have a cost analysis? The MCHRA is the pilot project. The contract has been at capacity since the beginning of the fiscal year. No cost analysis has been conducted because the funds were eliminated from the 07/08 budget.

Commissioner Bohem asked if we have an end point for the Pilot Project in two years. Mrs. Robinson stated that it is a board decision, but it is a direct service project and she would like to see it grow.

Commissioner Gentry made a proposal to Chair Lady Harris and the Commission that Mrs. Robinson propose a budget that she feels passionate about and present it to the Commission the same way as if she were presenting to the Mayor. This will provide the board with the full impact of her thinking.

Chair Lady Harris agreed with Commissioner Gentry and stated that a portion of the next meeting would be set aside for Mrs. Robinson to share her proposal.

Commissioner Bohem 2nd this request and suggested that the board need to know the pros and cons as to help the board make an informed decision.

Mrs. Robinson stated that she could provide the requested proposal now. Mrs. Robinson felt strongly that vulnerable people should not bear the brunt of the budget cuts. Toward that end, Mrs. Robinson selected Option 3 for all options thus eliminating Planning and Coordination since there are other entities with a longer history of providing this service. Mrs. Robinson agreed to provide a more detailed response during the next Board meeting.

Chair Lady Harris asked legal if the board could deliberate by email any questions that may arise between board members.

Chris Lackey agreed that questions could go through Mrs. Robinson and she can then send them to the appropriate person within the agency to get the answer and respond back to the board as a whole.

Chair Lady Harris scheduled the next MSS board meeting for Thursday, December 27th at 3:00 in the same meeting room if possible. Commissioner Price will call in.

Chair Lady Harris asked Hershell Warren if the board can be provided parking decals for the meeting to avoid the meters. Mr. Warren will follow up on this request.

Chair Lady Harris asked to defer the portion of the agenda we were unable to get to, Old and New business until the next regular meeting in January.

Chair Lady Harris also stated that we will discuss the board retreat at the December 27th meeting.

Motion: Motion for adjournment
Made by: Commissioner Dobbins
Seconded: Commissioner Gentry