Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-10-2014 Approved Joint HSC MinutesTHL CITY 01 CITY OF DUBLIN LIVEIRE FLEASA\TON. JOINT HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION WORKSHOP CITY OF DUBLIN, CITY OF LIVERMORE, AND CITY OF PLEASANTON Workshop Notes June 10, 2014 CALL TO ORDER The June 10, 2014 Joint Human Services Commission (Joint HSC) Workshop was called to order at 7:04 PM at the Dublin Civic Center, Dublin, California, by Chair Janet Lockhart. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Lockhart led the Pledge of Allegiance. COMMISSIONER INTRODUCTIONS Introductions commenced with the Commissioners and Staff from the cities of Pleasanton, Livermore and Dublin. ROLL CALL Commissioners (Cm.) Present: Dublin: Chair Janet Lockhart, Claudia McCormick, Angela Muetterties, Sue Wakamoto-Lee Livermore: Vice Chair (Vc.) Rob Durrant, Diana Carey, Joanne Horgan, Helen Meier, Julie Schnitter, Chair Wendy Weathers Pleasanton: Chair Joyce Berger, Prashant Jhanwar, David Nagler, Brock Roby, Susan Hayes, Theresa Rowland, Vc. Rosiland Wright Commissioners Absent: Dublin: Vc. Alan Brown Staff Present: Livermore: Barbara Bianchi Kai, Donette Phillips, Sherry Ramirez Pleasanton: Alison Boswell, Varsha Clare Dublin: Amy Cunningham, Assistant to the City Manager; Lynette Darensburg, Administrative Analyst II; Anastasia Nelson, Recording Secretary Livermore: Jean Prasher, Human Services Program Manager Pleasanton: Becky Hopkins, Community Services Manager Joint HSC Workshop Notes, June 10, 2014 Page 1 of 6 PUBLIC COMMENT Kenny Altenburg, Branch Operation Director, of the Tri-Valley YMCA gave an update on the Y-Camp, Kids with Special Needs program. He stated that they were able to lower ratios (8 to 1) of children to licensed child care personnel because of funding from the Commissions, an impressive number in comparison with other camps. He next directed attention to the Emerald Vista Apartment Community as they are requesting more services for resident parents. With the help of grant funding through Kaiser, YMCA is looking to offer a holistic health program. He then introduced YMCA's Case Manager, Susan, who is providing valuable one-on-one counseling and case management to residents at Emerald Vista. AXIS COMMUNITY HEALTH — FUTURE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER PRESENTATION Sue Compton, CEO, of Axis Community Health (Axis) shared information about the community capital campaign to build a new community health center. She explained that Axis is the sole provider of primary care medical services to the uninsured and low income residing in the Tri-Valley with clinics in Pleasanton and Livermore (including mental health). They serve 14,000 people and project an estimated 20,000 by the year 2016. Their current clinic sites are bursting at the seams even with 22 exam rooms, an estimated 50 exam rooms are needed to cover anticipated growth. She explained that the next phase of the project is construction. It is estimated to start November 1, 2014 with a target opening date of August 1, 2015. She then answered questions from the Commissioners, explaining the community capital campaign goal is $1.7 million dollars. The current clinics will not close because the exam rooms are needed and the patients expected to use the new clinic are residents of the Tri- Valley, with 60% of the patients living in Livermore. Ms. Hopkins introduced the M & M game. Commissioners answered a question of choice (from the list provided), corresponding to the M & M color. This exercise encouraged relationship building and familiarity among Commissioners; a lively discussion ensued. COMMISSIONS ROUNDTABLE Chair Lockhart opened up the floor to each Commission to share information about recent activities and accomplishments. Chair Weathers of Livermore related that their total grant funding of $703,901 dollars was disbursed among capital projects, public service and program administration. She explained the difficulty of only funding 20 of the 33 applicants. She next spoke of the Livermore Human Services Commission's (HSC) involvement in the Housing First Program and the City of Livermore's Homeless Summit. Ms. Prasher explained that 203 people attended the Homeless Summit and (for the first time) the City of Livermore will be funding a homeless outreach team with the aide of Abode Services (Abode). She then explained that the City of Livermore is participating in Housing First. This is a pilot program in Alameda County, in collaboration with other cities, where Joint HSC Workshop Notes, June 10, 2014 Page 2 of 6 grant money is used to put the chronically homeless directly into a home instead of a shelter, which contributes to a reduction of overall medical and emergency service costs. Chair Weathers also mentioned that December is a dynamic month of fund raising with efforts to provide warm clothing to the homeless and concluded by inviting fellow Commissioners to participate in these events. Ms. Prasher answered additional questions about the Housing First program. She explained that Alameda County provides an Emergency Solutions Grant for permanent housing vouchers and that the City of Livermore gives Abode $25,000 dollars for case management. Abode also provides other sources of funding with the goal of getting those housed stabilized and off the housing voucher, so it can be used to assist others in need. Chair Berger informed fellow Commissioners that the City of Pleasanton HSC put together a strategic plan (with the help of a consultant), a work plan and a timeline to promote education and outreach, focusing on dental services with the goal of producing a white paper for their City Council. The Joint HSC discussed dental services further clarifying the need to find willing providers to deliver services to low income families and the uninsured in the Tri-Valley with the current reimbursements that are available. In the discussion the Joint HSC identified program funding sources through the school district (awarded $5,000 from the City of Livermore), Medi-Cal (covering foster children until the age of 26), but noted the additional out-of-pocket co -pay would make it difficult for these income groups. Cm. McCormick asked the Commissions how often they meet. Livermore and Pleasanton Commissions confirmed they meet once a month. Chair Lockhart stated that the Dublin HSC meets quarterly and although newly formed jumped right into Community Grant funding and directing funds to organizations that provide services as identified in the needs assessment. The HSC set a precedent in requesting that arts programs be referred to a different funding source. She stated that $120,000 dollars was allocated from the City's General Fund, and additional CDBG funding through Alameda County. She then mentioned that the HSC created a mission and vision statement. She also mentioned a noteworthy event, the "Senior Resource Open House." This event was held in Dublin to bring seniors together with service providers that are able to offer targeted human services resources. Chair Weathers asked how many homeless are in Dublin. Ms. Cunningham stated that Alameda County issued numbers, but concerns arose as to the accuracy of the numbers. Chair Lockhart stated that the homeless in Dublin are primarily those living on the edge or "couch surfing." Cm. Roby asked if Dublin would have to wait until the next census to know if the population has reached 50,000. Joint HSC Workshop Notes, June 10, 2014 Page 3 of 6 Ms. Darensburg responded that HUD looks at the American Community Survey annually, even though the numbers come out every 2-3 years, and it is anticipated that as of July 1, 2014, the City will know if it has become an entitlement City. Ms. Prasher stated that a homeless count is coming up January 2015 and volunteers will be needed to interview the homeless. The interviews are usually conducted at feeding sites or locations were the homeless congregate. Ms. Cunningham stated that information can be sent to the Commissioners when available regarding volunteer opportunities for the up-and-coming homeless count. TRI-VALLEY HUMAN SERVICES NEEDS — DISCUSSION AND PRIORITIZATION Chair Lockhart opened the floor for a discussion on the Tri-Valley human service needs, suggesting the formation of a subcommittee of the three Commissions focusing on the group's top priority needs. Ms. Prasher gave a brief overview of the Eastern Alameda County Human Services Needs Assessment (June 2012) (needs assessment), highlighting the top 14 needs. Ms. Cunningham next had the Commissioners identify the top five needs out of the fourteen, and then explained that two from the top five will be further identified. Chair Lockhart recessed the Joint HSC at 8:31 PM for a break. Chair Lockhart called the meeting back to order at 8:43 PM. The Joint HSC choose six human service needs, instead of five (due to a tie), and then out of the top six, chose their top three. The top three human services needs are: 1. behavioral health; 2. health care (including dental); and 3. senior services. Cm. Lockhart opened up a discussion on how the Commissions could deal with the top priorities either through forming a subcommittee or by some other means. One idea was to communicate between Commissions to keep all informed of progress. Ms. Cunningham commented that the agendas from each Commission's meeting can be shared with the other Commissions. Chair Lockhart reminded the Commissioners of the Brown Act and the responsibility of notifying the public when meeting together. Additional thoughts from the HSC were to tackle projects that affect all three Cities. All Commissioners were in agreement of forming a subcommittee to address the identified three priorities. Cm. Rowland mentioned the issue of families in poverty and suggested holding a summit and including City leadership, HSC, and school districts to problem solve, explaining that visibility would show concern in the eyes of the community. Joint HSC Workshop Notes, June 10, 2014 Page 4 of 6 Chair Lockhart stated that as neighboring communities, one of the biggest powers is to speak with one voice. She continued that the Joint HSC offering findings to Alameda County on what needs the cities have in common carries weight. Cm. Nagler suggested a systemic approach versus programmatic. He gave an example of a work group with ongoing discussions between the HSC and the school districts. He mentioned the need to create a way for the HSC to know of evolving changes and what individual jurisdictions can do to respond to them. Ms. Prasher spoke of an initial convening meeting at Axis's new center regarding poverty in the Tri-Valley. She stated that Kaiser handed out a book, "Poverty in Suburbia," which talks about poverty seeping into suburban areas. These areas have no infrastructure to handle the poverty issues and it leads to people getting overlooked and hiding because they feel stigmatized. She mentioned that the next meeting is September 30, 2014. She also stated that the East Bay Community Foundation would like to expand their focus to the Tri-Valley. The Joint HSC discussed this important step in acknowledging poverty in the Tri-Valley. Available data provides evidence of the needs. Concern was noted not to duplicate efforts, but to liaison and to get involved with tangible, doable ideas that can fill an unmet needs. Chair Lockhart expressed concern about holding a summit and suggested supporting local city councils that have the power to make things happen and encouraged a tangible project of supporting summits without initiating them. The Joint HSC discussed agencies with surplus supplies (i.e. vans, food) and how the Commissioners can use this information to relate needs and solutions to elected officials. Ms. Cunningham explained the reason for the meeting today is to identify regional priorities, rather than distinguishing between strategy or tangibility. She encouraged the HSC to talk with elected officials and community members about the identified priorities and reminded the Joint HSC that dental care is under the umbrella of health care. Ms. Hopkins talked about the idea of a joint platform to educate the community and Alameda County on the Joint HSC priorities. Chair Lockhart asked if each Commission should work on one priority each. Ms. Prasher stated the Joint HSC should work jointly to have a Tri-Valley voice directing attention to priorities affecting all three cities. Ms. Hopkins emphasized that a joint voice is tangible and recommended a smaller work group to come up with a statement and objectives that would create a communication piece around the needs assessment. Ms. Cunningham explained that Staff was hoping the Joint HSC Subcommittee could brainstorm ideas, bringing concepts back to their respective Commissions who could further identify solutions. Ms. Prasher reminded the Joint HSC that according to the City of Livermore attorney, if there is one person from each Commission meeting together, the Brown Act applies. Joint HSC Workshop Notes, June 10, 2014 Page 5 of 6 Representatives for the Joint HSC Subcommittee from the Dublin and Livermore Commissions were decided upon: Chair Lockhart and Cm. Wakamoto-Lee from Dublin, Cm. Horgan, Cm. Schnitter and Cm. Carey from Livermore; and Pleasanton will decide next week at their Commission meeting. OTHER BUSINESS The Tri-Valley Health Fair, Carnaval de la Salud, August 23, 2014, 10 AM - 4 PM, is funded through Measure A dollars. The health fair will focus on Spanish speaking and low income families, providing health screening, and free transportation to and from the event. Outreach is provided through the schools and a speaker series was conducted in all three communities targeting specific language groups. Volunteers are needed and can sign up through the website at trivalleyhealth.org. ADJOURNMENT Being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:39 PM. Respectfully Submitted, LICF-5CCrtk) 1\\'7`, A-ria'stasia Nelson, Recording Secretary APPROVED: 7airperson, Janet Lockhart Joint HSC Workshop Notes, June 10, 2014 Page 6 of 6