Human Services Board

hsbminutesjan2013_0.pdf (25 KB)

MINUTES
SAUK COUNTY BOARD OF HUMAN SERVICES

Meeting: January 7, 2013, 5:00 p.m., County Board Gallery, Baraboo, WI

Members Present: Scott Alexander, James Bowers, Karen Fabisiak, Beverly Vertein, Andrea Lombard, Thomas Kriegl, Ruth Dawson, John Miller

Members Excused: Mark Detter

Members Absent: None

Others Present: Orth, Brattset, Box, Marty Krueger, Kathy Schauf

Chair Alexander called the meeting to order and certified compliance with the Open Meeting Law.

Motion by Karen Fabisiak, seconded by Andrea Lombard to adopt the agenda. Amended agenda Department Updates, Item B to Business Items to accommodate Resolution. Motion Carried.

Motion by Andrea Lombard, seconded by Ruth Dawson to approve minutes of the previous meeting. Motion Carried.

Public Comment
None

Communications:
None

Business Items:

A. Review and Approval of Monthly Vouchers: Box distributed the monthly voucher report (see attached). Salary and Benefits were up due to the timing of the pay period and health insurance. Administration was up due to annual dictation service agreement and 2012 mileage. Community Living and Support was down due to last month there were multiple months paid. Community Treatment was down due to multiple months paid last month. Institutions were up due to expenses occurred due to utilization. Motion by Beverly Vertein, seconded by Karen Fabisiak to approve the monthly vouchers in the amount of $1,303.656.17. Motion Carried.

B. Resolution Authorizing the Purchase of an Upgrade to Netsmart (CMHC) System in Human Services: Orth reviewed a Resolution (see attached) for the authorization of the purchase of upgrading to Netsmart(CMHC) system in Human Services. Orth spoke about the need to do E-Records upgrades in order to bill Medical Assistance and be current with Federal Health Care changes. The new system, AVATAR, would decrease costs and has been approved by MIS. Orth reviewed the fiscal note which stated all of the items have been budgeted for and there are incentive dollars for doing this upgrade earlier. Andrea Lombard asked if this will cost more in the future. Orth indicated yes, but the system will do more and will bring more revenue in. Additional Meaningful Use dollars, including $42,000 initially leading to about $120,000 following implementation. John Miller asked would Federal budget reductions change this upgrade and incentives. Orth indicated that not as of now. In addition, Steve Pate has looked at the interface with Public Health. Box indicated that she is unsure about the Public Health System details, but Brattset noted that Steve Pate has indicated regardless of the system’s differences, there will be the ability to interface and interface with hospital based systems in the future. Motion by Beverly Vertein, seconded by, Karen Fabisiak to approve the Resolution authorizing the purchase of an upgrade to the Netsmart (CMHC) system in Human Services. Motion Carried.
 

Department Updates

A. Mental Health Services and School Shootings: Orth noted that Thomas Kriegl submitted an article (see attached). The focus of this article was on mental health, however, these incidents are difficult to predict. Also, Orth indicated that mental health systems vary. In Wisconsin the mental health systems appear to be very solid compared to other states. In addition, Orth noted that it is not perfect, people can refuse treatment, however, there are offers for help and the public commitment process. The new position for mental health therapist for early intervention is an example of a situation that would help this. Andrea Lombard indicated that she is concerned that the gun control issue is a concern in that she is concerned that gun free zones might be a danger in that criminals would be aware and exploit these zones. Thomas Kriegl indicated that this is a complex issue and that the article he submitted was supported by research. Ruth Dawson spoke about an article she submitted which indicated that the real issue was not so much guns (see attached), and the concern is a combination of multiple complex issues including the media, spiritual battle in society, and music and media portraying violent messages to youth. Additional discussion took place. James Bowers noted that when the founding fathers determined a right to bear arms, he did not think they anticipated the level of sophistications of weapons that are present today. Brattset indicated that it was important to remember that mental illness is a disease and the vast majority of mentally ill people do not commit violent acts. Orth indicated that it is important to note that many of the services that the Board has approved historically are favorable to people with mental health issues and the importance of this infrastructure is to assist in reducing the risk of some of the occurrences noted.

B. New Position Updates: Brattset reported that the Psychotherapist Assessment/Early Intervention position will involve interview 1/10/13. There have been a number of exceptional candidates that have submitted their resumes and seven have been selected for interviews. The committee will be updated when these candidates are screened for hiring and a hire is selected. Orth indicated that the Economic Support positions also have many applicants and that the committee will be updated to this process in the near future.

The next meeting of the Sauk County Human Services Board will be February 4, 2013 at 5:00 P.M. Motion by Karen Fabisiak, seconded by James Bowers to adjourn. Motion Carried.



Ruth Dawson