Adopted Minutes of the Joint Powers Board Meeting held August 16, 2016 Waseca County East Annex, 300 North State Street, Waseca Large conference room

Transcription

1 Adopted Minutes of the Joint Powers Board Meeting held August 16, 2016 Waseca County East Annex, 300 North State Street, Waseca Large conference room I. The joint powers board met in regular session on August 16, 2016, in the Large Conference Room at the Waseca County East Annex, 300 North State Street, Waseca, MN. Commissioner Nina Huntington called the meeting to order at 3:00 pm. Call to order II. Introductions were made and Commissioner Huntington established that there was a quorum: Roll call and introductions Members present: Members absent: Also present: Rodney Peterson Nina Huntington John Glynn Blair Nelson Richard Androli Tim Tjosaas None Jane Hardwick Kristin Ferris Kevin Venenga Cathy Skogen Shari Kottke Charity Floen Laura Elvebak Julie Johnson Shelley Koen Sheila Pokorny Lisa Kramer Kathy Jordan Dodge County Commissioner Steele County Commissioner Steele County Commissioner Waseca County Commissioner Waseca County Commissioner Dodge County Commissioner MNPrairie Executive Director MNPrairie Executive Assistant MNPrairie Finance Manager MNPrairie Income & Health Care Assistance Manager MNPrairie Child & Family Social Services Manager MNPrairie Adult & Disability Social Services Manager Steele County Administrator MNPrairie and Steele County Human Resources Director AFSCME Council 65 Representative Dodge County Finance Director Adopted 09/20/2016 1

2 Zola Bennett Lisa Poppe (3:19) James Peterson Amy Buker Waseca County Commissioner, Alternate III. by Commissioner Rodney Peterson seconded by Commissioner Blair Nelson to adopt the agenda as presented. adopted unanimously. IV. by Commissioner R. Peterson seconded by Commissioner Richard Androli to accept the final meeting minutes as presented from the July 19, 2016 meeting of the joint powers board. adopted unanimously. V. by Commissioner R. Peterson seconded by Commissioner Nelson to adopt the following by consent and remove the administrative bills for discussion. Agenda and motion Meeting minutes and motion Consent agenda motion VI. a. To authorize $735, in client support bills as presented. b. To renew the agreement with Olmsted County for the specialized case management services through the Whatever It Takes grant adopted unanimously. Kevin Venenga, MNPrairie Finance Manager, presented the board with the administrative bills in the amount of $247, A discussion resulted regarding mileage reimbursement policy; payments to MRCI Worksource, FoodShare Employment and Training (FSET) contract, SelectAccount, Springsted Incorporated, and Woodward Repair. by Commissioner R. Peterson seconded by Commissioner Tim Tjosaas to approve the administrative bills as presented. adopted unanimously. Administrative bills VII. Kevin Venenga, MNPrairie Finance Manager and Jane Hardwick, MNPrairie Executive Director, presented the board with recommendation 4-1 of the 2017 MNPrairie budget. The finance committee recommended that MNPrairie s 2017 budget be adopted at a level that would result in no more than a 10 to 15 percent increase in the aggregate member-county operating budget contribution and no more than $400,000 in appropriation from the human services fund. This included direction from the joint powers board to significantly reduce use of the human services fund for on-going operating expenditures, which is the single largest change in the budget budget Adopted 09/20/2016 2

3 Ms. Hardwick discussed that recommendation 4-1 has a 0.21 percent reduction in state and federal revenues budgeted, a 70 percent reduction in use of human services fund balance and a 1.1 percent increase in expenditures. Those changes came from wage and health insurance cost adjustments, staffing changes to address caseload changes including: elimination of 1.0 FTE child support office position by attrition, an additional 1.0 FTE social worker-case manager for disability waivers, and an additional 1.0 FTE social worker-case manager for senior services; other administrative budget changes such as: an increase in postage and mail handling, increase in non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT), reduction in contracted staff, increase in travel (in combination with planned policy change to reduce costs and increase use of MNPrairie vehicles), increase rent, increase in workers compensation; reduction in child support tax collection fee; increase computer replacement costs; reduction in legal services costs and outsource some administrative legal support; reduce cost of payroll administration, and elimination of community capacity grants funded by other sources. Ms. Hardwick also addressed that the 2017 budget recommendation 4-1 does not address the following identified areas of risk: market wage adjustment of significance; increased caseload of child-protection cases; increased costs of out-ofhome placements and related services for at-risk children and their families; truancy and parent support outreach programs; more robust state expectation of 24/7 child protection response as state policy refined; increased volume of intake for aging and disability services; any further growth in demand for consumer support grants. Home and community-based waiver services and other services for people with disabilities that result from MNCHOICES; increased cost and volume of commitments for mental health, chemical dependency, and restoration to competency; any potential impact of state supreme court decisions regarding civil commitment of sex offenders; impact of MNsure period-data-matching on health care caseload; impact of Mnsure on child support caseload; any vehicle replacement or other capital improvement plan. A discussion resulted regarding what was had changed from the previous 2017 budget recommendation and the budget presented today continuing, fund balance reduction year after year, continued use of fund balance as a part of the operating budget, and the inability for a county to pay their original fund balance share for A discussion rose regarding the child support tax collection fee, what MNPrairie would like as a strategy going forward in relation to community grants across the member-counties, the Waseca Public Schools grant, if each member-county has similar vendors where grant dollars could be distributed and equalized, how these grants fit into the strategic plan, and taking a further look for A further discussion ensued regarding MNPrairie s budget exceeding what Dodge County had passed for their county budget and cutting an additional $78,000 for Dodge which equates to over $416,000 in cuts from budget 4-1, causing a reduction Adopted 09/20/2016 3

4 in budget expenditures from the previous year. If MNPrairie were to use fund balance dollars this year; there was some discussion of the impact of further reducing fund balance to zero in Discussions occurred regarding the support for the strategic plan and going back to the member-county boards regarding the vision and mission along with budgetary strategy; how we were on this road far before MNPrairie, what this budget would be if they were individual county budgets and not MNPrairie, and the number of employees in the budget presented. The board recommended to bring the 2017 budget back to the September meeting with a final recommendation based on the discussions of the joint powers board and staying with no more than a $400,000 fund balance use and to reduce the increase in the total operating levy contribution to increase no more than $250,000 for Dodge. VIII. Shari Kottke, MNPrairie Child & Family Social Services Manager, presented the board with an interagency agreement for background studies for corporate foster care homes. Ms. Kottke noted the proposal to transfer duties is based on feedback received from licensing agencies and corporate foster care providers during planning to transition to use the Department of Human Services (DHS) NETStudy 2.0 system. A pilot study was conducted and resulted in streamlined process. Licensing agencies benefit from being removed from the process of verifying and submitting background studies requests and reconsiderations on behalf of corporate child foster care employees who, unlike subjects related to family foster care, they generally do not meet. To implement this change, support is required from all counties and private licensing agencies. by Commissioner John Glynn seconded by Commissioner Richard Androli to approve the interagency agreement with the Department of Human Services (DHS) transferring certain duties related to the completion of background studies for corporate foster care homes from county and private licensing agencies to DHS. adopted unanimously. IX. Cathy Skogen, MNPrairie Income & Health Care Assistance Manager, presented the committee with the civil rights policy and limited-english-proficiency (LEP) policy noting that DHS requires MNPrairie to have a comprehensive civil rights policy in place, which also incorporates the LEP policy. Ms. Skogen also discussed that DHS sent her the template with most of the language for the plan. Ms. Skogen overviewed the policies and briefly discussed the process of merging the three individual policies into a single policy. by Commissioner Glynn seconded by Commissioner Nelson to adopt the civil rights policy and limited English proficiency policy as approved by the policy committee effective August 16, adopted unanimously. Interagency agreement background studies for corporate foster care homes Civil rights policy and limited English proficiency (LEP) policy Adopted 09/20/2016 4

5 X. Shelley Koen, MNPrairie Fiscal Supervisor presented the board with an amendment to the cell phone policy to facilitate the implementation of a mobile device management solution (MDM). The MDM will help secure sensitive data used on mobile devices with Office 365. The management team has approved the implementation of an MDM. This will allow more control over devices that are connected to the MNPrairie system. Software must be loaded on each phone connected to a MNPrairie account to allow it access. For staff who have MNPrairie-owned cell phones, software will be loaded on the MNPrairie-owned cell phones to enable administration and management by MNPrairie. For staff who receive cell phone stipends, employees must agree that software be loaded on their personal phone to enable administration and management by MNPrairie. Staff must agree that their phone can be remotely wiped in the event of phone loss or other similar circumstance. Cell phone policy A discussion resulted regarding employee compliance, how staff will have to acknowledge the change and the penalty for policy violation. by Commissioner Glynn seconded by Commissioner Androli to amend the cell phone policy as approved by the policy committee effective August 16, adopted unanimously XI. Shelley Koen presented the committee with the acceptable-use of technology policy noting that the changes are highlighted in yellow. Ms. Koen discussed that the technology strategy team requested an update to the acceptable use of technology policy. With and file storage through Office 365, employees can access their s and files through any device with an internet connection. This presents a potential issue of using an unsecure device to access files and subsequently, sensitive data being compromised. The request change in the policy would limit access of Office 365 resources to MNPrairie and employee-owned equipment only. by Commissioner Tjosaas seconded by Commissioner R. Peterson to amend the acceptable use policy as approved by the policy committee effective August 16, adopted unanimously Acceptable-use policy XII. XIII. Julie Johnson, MNPrairie and Steele County Human Resources Director, presented the board with a personnel report noting recent hires, vacancies, and promotions as of August 9, Ms. Johnson also discussed the changes that have occurred since August 9, Charity Floen, MNPrairie Adult & Disability Services Manager, presented the board with the current Group Residential Housing (GRH) agreements. Ms. Floen noted DHS revised the process for GRH agreements for the new state fiscal year. There is now one agreement with the overall organization and then vendor profile forms for each of the specific sites that run by that organization. Across the three MNPrairie counties there are 109 different sites. There are 34 provider agreements being updated and renewed in this process. The number of facilities per county is as Personnel report Group residential housing agreements Adopted 09/20/2016 5

6 follows: Dodge, 37; Steele, 38; and Waseca, 34. The broad categories that make the GRH include assisted living (18), board & lodge (13), corporate adult foster care (73) and family foster care (5). A discussion resulted regarding the broad range of categories a corporate foster care facility can provide, and the number of facilities year-over-year. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. Shari Kottke, Child & Family Social Services Manager, provided the board with information regarding a draft guidance provided by DHS regarding the legislative changes requiring 24/7 child protection response by local agencies which must be in place by January 1, MNPrairie s current after-hours response system does not currently meet these requirements. Ms. Kottke noted that local agencies must be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays to receive reports of child maltreatment. All child maltreatment reports must be evaluated for imminent danger, and whenever possible, reports should be screened by an on-call staff and a supervisor. The state change also says To meet this requirement, local agencies may provide one or more of: after-hours crisis response, on-call, or some other contracted service and access to supervisory consultation. It does not include delegation solely to law enforcement. A discussion resulted regarding the lack of state funding accompanied the new child protection response guidance. Cathy Skogen, presented the board with the annual supplemental nutrition assistance (SNAP) program and training local area plan for Ms. Skogen noted the plan details the responsibilities for administering the SNAP program for ablebodied adults without dependents (ABAWD). Ms. Skogen discussed that she has worked with all three of the service providers that MNPrairie works with at each of the sites. A discussion resulted regarding how comfortable MNPrairie felt regarding the local area plan. Cathy Skogen presented the board with an overview of the MNPrairie services and programs available for elderly and disabled individuals. Ms. Skogen also presented a number of brochures regarding services available to the elderly and/or disabled. Ms. Skogen discussed that if any commissioner or constituents had questions about services offered to please call the MNPrairie offices and someone can assist them in accessing these programs. A discussion resulted regarding South Country Health Alliances involvement in some programs. Cathy Skogen provided information to the board regarding the pilot project planned for the Steele site to improve customer service. At the Steele site there is significantly higher volume of traffic which is causing an extraordinary amount of 24/7 child protection response guidance Annual supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) employment & training local area plan for 2017 MNPrairie programs for the elderly and disabled Pilot project to improve customer service Adopted 09/20/2016 6

7 pressure on the Steele site intake workers in the eligibility unit and on office support staff. In an effort to help alleviate these pressures, the eligibility supervisors and office support supervisor, along with Ms. Skogen and Ms. Hardwick, discussed the possibility of having an eligibility worker stationed at the front desk for clients to access for questions, simple changes, providing forms, etc. The goal is to reduce the number of talk appointments that the intake workers are seeing and allow them to focus on actual intakes. Ms. Skogen noted this project will take place in phases, the first being exploratory in nature. In the first phase MNPrairie plans to have a lead worker stationed at the front desk during specific times of the day for a certain length of time (yet to be determined). This phase will be mostly trial and error. A discussion resulted regarding where the idea progressed from. XVIII. Cathy Skogen provided the board with and reviewed the new income and health care assistance (ICHA) dashboard and second quarter data. Ms. Skogen orientated the board to the document and noted this dashboard will be presented to the board monthly and if there is data that is not present to please let Ms. Skogen know so it can be included in the future. Income and health care assistance dashboard and second quarter 2016 data XIX. Jane Hardwick provided a director s report that included the following topics: A reporter from the New York Times has requested data from the MN Department of Human Services (DHS) about child fatalities/near-fatalities as a result of maltreatment. There are four in the MNPrairie region over the period of There were two fatalities in 2015; and two nearfatalities, one in 2012 and one in Reviews of the situation in each of these cases is conducted with the state. MNPrairie and our member county agencies may not necessarily have had a report of concern prior to the situation. Continue to participate with Steele County supervision training. Getting near to being able to implement a single keycard/id badge for access to all three sites in collaboration with Steele recorder s office, Steele IT, and facilities management from the three counties Began experimenting a year ago with meeting holidays during four different holiday weeks encouraging staff to not schedule non-urgent meetings (over which they have control) during those weeks. We ll be reviewing this practice later this week. We held our first meet & confer meeting with AFSCME. It went well, and we anticipate this will one important way of doing business with the union as we go forward. I conducted a new employee orientation to the agency mission, vision, and core values and do so as new employees join us. We will likely want to hold a closed session at our next meeting (preceded by a personnel committee meeting) to discuss bargaining. I have agreed to be on the ballot for the MACSSA president-elect for Director s report Adopted 09/20/2016 7

8 XX. No employee had comments Employee comments XXI. XXII. The next scheduled meeting is September 20, 2016 from 3:00 pm-5:30 pm in Room 40 of the Steele County Administration Center, 630 Florence Ave, Owatonna, MN. by Commissioner Androli seconded by Commissioner Nelson to adjourn the meeting at 5:03 pm. adopted unanimously. Next meeting Adjournment Adopted 09/20/2016 8