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DeKalb County, Illinois |
Minutes of the
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DRAFT DeKalb County, IllinoisMinutes of the Health & Human Services Committee April 2-9, 2012
The Health & Human Services Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Monday, April 2, 2012, @ 5:30p.m. in the Administration Building’s Conference Room East. Chairman Paul Stoddard called the meeting to order. Members present were Marlene Allen, John Emerson, Sally DeFauw, Derek Tyson and Jeff Metzger. Others present were Donna Moulton, David Miller, Diane King, Charlene Riefler, Kathy Bettcher, Lesly Wicks, Susan Thanepohn, Virgil Beukelman, Diane Maculan, Michael Flora, Ellen Rogers, Tom Zucker and Ellen Tyne.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTESIt was moved by Mr. Emerson, seconded by Ms. Allen, and carried unanimously to approve the minutes from March 2012.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDAIt was moved by Mr. Metzger, Sr., seconded by Ms. DeFauw, and carried unanimously to approve the agenda.
HEALTH DEPARTMENT UPDATE – MR. PAUL STODDARDChairman Stoddard informed the committee that the Board of Health met recently and stated that the Home Health Care Division is losing money. The costs continue to rise and the reimbursements have gone down. He also said that competition that they are seeing is coming from the private sector. They are considering their options right now.
SENIOR SERVICES TAX LEVY HEARINGSBefore beginning the Senior Services Tax Levy hearings, Chairman Stoddard briefly informed the committee that they have received $551,000 in requests for funding this year and that the levy brought in only $488,000 this year. The County currently has $89,000 in reserves.
Barb City Manor – Ms. Ellen Tyne, AdministratorRequest: Barb City Manor is requesting $10,608.00 in funds that would assist an average of 4 residents per month for 1 year of service (48 months or units of service) at an average cost of $221.00 per service unit. Current Section 8 subsidies vary from $203.00 per month to $421.00 per month. Residents must be able to pay for the majority of their monthly cost of living at Barb City manor with an average cost of $1,303.00 per month. This is all done through monthly social security, pensions, interest or savings. Assistance from Barb City Manor’s Resident Endowment Fund may also be requested. Barb City Manor’s Endowment Fund is currently at $196,858. Residents are receiving $901.00 a month from this fund, which is over the amount the Fund is earning in interest. Residents with very low income or those who have outlived an annuity or other investment sometimes need assistance from more than one source. Ms. Tyne also said that they have opened up the waiting list currently and that 4 people are now waiting for Section 8 housing assistance.
In summary, an average of 4 residents a month will be served at an average cost of $221.00 per month for a total of 48 units of service = $10,608.00.
Mr. Metzger, Sr., asked Ms. Tyne if her agency did not receive all of their requested funding how would it affect her operation.
Ms. Tyne said that it would hurt them, but that they would have to go into their Endowment Fund.
2011 Award 2012 Requested Amount$ 10,608.00 $10,608.00
Fox Valley Older Adults – Ms. Susan Thanepohn and Mr. Virgil BeukelmanRequest: Fox Valley Older Adults Services Agency, (FVOAS) in FY2012, has proposed to provide residents of DeKalb County with 32,000 units of adult day care services to DeKalb County residents.
Ms. Thanepohn said that 9.8% of the DeKalb County population is 65 or older; however, the more rural DeKalb County communities indicate much higher numbers: 18.6% for Shabbona; 14.5% for Waterman; 11.5% for Somonauk, 12.71% for Sandwich, 10.5% in Sycamore and 9.8% in Kirkland.
In FY2012, FVOAS has proposed to provide a cumulative total of 32,000 units of Adult Day Services and In Home Services. The cost of one unit of service is $2.50 for a total request of $80,000.00
The agency projects that for FY2012, based on actual year-to-date figures, they will end the year with 39,616 units – well ahead of last year’s projected number of 32,000 units. Based on their experience, referrals and current numbers provided by our service area, they have projected a total of 42,000 units of Adult Day Service and In Home Services for FY2013. However, due to current economic conditions and awareness of the budgetary constraints faced by all governmental units within the State of Illinois, their funding request is being kept at 32,000 units – the same level as last year.
Ms. Thanepohn said that they receive funding not only from the County, but in 2011 they also received funding from the City of Sandwich, Sandwich Community Fund, and the Somonauk Community Fund. They have also received private donations from Sandwich - and DeKalb area individuals. She said that they also do a lot of fundraising.
Mr. Beukelman said that their agency has worked closely with the State and that now the State is no longer in arrears - they do not have a large accounts receivable with the State.
Mr. Metzger, Sr., asked Ms. Thanepohn if her agency did not receive all of their requested funding how would it affect her operation.
Both Ms. Thanepohn and Mr. Beukelman said that it would have quite an impact on their operation, and that it would hurt them. If that should happen they wouldn’t know how to pay the payroll or insurance. They are not overstaffed, said Mr. Beukelman.
2011 Award 2012 Requested Amount$61,611.00 $80,000 Voluntary Action Center – Transportation and Meals on WheelsRequest: Voluntary Action Center – Transportation request is for $86,000 for FY13 transportation services (Trans Vac and Med Vac). This request would fund 7,200 rides at a cost of $11.94 per ride. VAC’s actual transportation costs are currently $26.23 per ride. This rate continues to be among the lowest in the state amount public/community transportation providers. VAC has been able to shift some of its fixed transportation costs to state and federal grants, making it possible to supplement the senior levy cost per ride. Mr. Zucker said that gasoline prices are projected to rise in FY’13. They expect increases in vehicle and health insurance premiums. Expenses for labor will continue to increase as well. They have had success in replacing vehicles and reducing expenses for vehicle repair. He said that the demand is up for their services this year. Mr. Zucker pointed out to the committee that this is the first time that they have seen a 200,000 ride year. They have seen a 30,000-ride increase over last year, which is a 12% to 15% increase in services.
Request: Meals On Wheels request is for $114,000 that would be used to provide 12,000 meals, at a cost of $9.50 per unit of service. This equals 23% of the Meals On Wheels services for DeKalb County residents. Service will include a combination of noon, evening and weekend meals in addition to dietary supplements. Ms. Rogers pointed out that people are utilizing their service more because of the economy. They said that the average amount of time that their volunteers have offered their help in delivery the food is about 10 years, which is great.
Mr. Metzger, Sr., asked Ms. Rogers and Mr. Zucker if their agency did not receive all of their requested funding how would it affect their operation.
They both stated that it would hurt them, but that it would hurt Meals On Wheels more.
Mr. Tom Zucker, Executive Director of the Voluntary Action Center, and Ms. Ellen Rogers, thanked the committee for continued support of their services and for the Senior Services Tax Levy. 2011 Award 2012 Requested AmountTransportation and Meals On Wheels: $200,000
Transportation: $ 86,000
Meals on Wheels: $114,000 Hope Haven – Ms. Lesly WicksRequest: Hope Haven is requesting funds for a part-time Case Manager to work with elderly clients residing at their Dresser Court project. Dresser Court is a permanent housing facility for chronically ill people, mostly with mental health issues. They are requesting $14,528 to cover these costs. This is for 1040 units of service at a per-unit cost of $13.97. If this grant is funded, they would expend only $1,816.00 per client to ensure they have the needed resources, support and services to remain in their home and live as independently as possible.
Of the 26 residents residing at Dresser Court, eight residents are elderly. Ms. Wicks said that equals 31% of their population that are seniors. In five years it will amount to 50% and in 10 years it will amount to 90%. So these numbers will increase over time.
The case manager designated for this project would work 20 hours a week with elderly people only, totaling 1040 hours a year. The 20-hour position is currently funded solely through the Senior Tax Levy funds and private donations.
Mr. Metzger, Sr., asked Ms. Wicks if her agency did not receive all of their requested funding how would it affect her operation.
Ms. Wicks said that it would hurt them.
2011 Award 2012 Requested Amount$11,134.00 $14,528.00
Elder Care Services – Case Management, Elder Abuse, and Neglect Program – Ms. Diane Maculan Elder Care has three applications again this year. They are for Case Management, the Elder Abuse and Neglect Program, and the newly formed Self-Neglect Intervention Program.
Request: Elder Care – Elder Abuse, Neglect and Financial Exploitation Investigation and Care Coordination Services. Elder Care is requesting $80,000 to provide these services in DeKalb County. In Fiscal Year 2011, ECS provided Senior Protective Services to 95 unduplicated DeKalb County seniors. The funds will be used to provide 9750 units of service to those clients. They are requesting support in the amount of $19.44 per unit of service.
Ms. Maculan also explained that in FY’11 they served 538 seniors, where 91% were diverted from the nursing home. They also performed 813 nursing home pre-screens in FY’11, with 57% being then diverted from the nursing home. They had 95 reports of abuse, 43 of which were substantiated in FY’11. They have anywhere form 16 to 22 volunteers, and 11 staff members.
Mr. Metzger, Sr., asked Ms. Tyne if her agency did not receive all of their requested funding how would it affect her operation.
Ms. Maculan said that it would hurt them a lot. Agency 2011 Award 2012 Requested AmountCase Management: $67,100.00 $80,000 for all 3 services Elder Abuse: for all 3 Self-Neglect services.
Family Service Agency of DeKalb County – Mr. David Miller and Ms. Diane KingRequest: Family Service Agency is requesting $70,000.00 for the operational needs of the 5 Senior Activity Centers, the coordinator and director positions and the department receptionist. All centers are free of charge to the seniors. Their total proposed Senior Services budget is $368,429, which includes employees, programs, occupancy and other expenses. Their five locations serve 348 individual seniors with an average combined daily attendance climbing toward 200. Since July of 2011 the average daily attendance at these centers has increased by 43.9% (from 123 to 177). Their estimated number of service units delivered for the current fiscal year is 27,000. Each unit of service represents one-five hour participation at a center. After factoring out in-kind rent, the basic cost per unit is $5.81. The proposed number of units to be served in 2013 is 12,048.00 at $5.81 totaling $70,000.00.
Mr. Metzger, Sr., asked Mr. Miller if his agency did not receive all of their requested funding, how would it affect their operation.
Mr. Miller said that hit would hurt them a lot and that they would have to look at whether or not they could operate all 5 centers with the cut.
2011 Award 2012 Requested Amount$62,822.00 $70,000.00
Ben Gordon Center – Mr. Michael FloraRequest: The Ben Gordon Center is seeking $21,951.00 for their Older Adult Outreach Program. This funding would be to provide in-home services for seniors who suffer from severe mental health illness and substance abuse so that the Center can help prevent the premature institutionalization of these seniors. The project would provide 335 hours of service to older adult residents living in DeKalb County Housing Authority Facilities and other senior independent living facilities. Mr. Flora said that there have been 95,000 clinical events in FY’11 and that in total they saw 138 seniors, some with multiple visits totaling 900 events of services that were qualified under the Senior Services Tax Levy.
Mr. Metzger, Sr., asked Mr. Flora if his agency did not receive all of their requested funding how would it affect his operation.
Mr. Flora said that the case management would go away.
2011 Award 2012 Requested Amount$21,066.00 $21,951.00
Prairie State Legal Services – Ms. Kathy Bettcher and Ms. Charlene RieflerRequest: Prairie State Legal Services is seeking $8,000 which would fund 100.2 hours of attorney time in their Senior Citizens Legal Services program. They estimate that at least 50 DeKalb County Senior Citizens will apply for legal services and 46 of them will be found eligible for services after an interview by an attorney. Legal advice will be the primary service provided for approximately half of the clients served. They will provide approximately 198 hours of legal services to seniors with approximately 100 hours paid by the DeKalb County Senior Tax Levy.
Prairie State calculates the costs of an hour of attorney time by taking the total cost of operating the office and dividing this by the total attorney hours available for direct services to clients. For the proposed year this cost is $79.82 per hour. Based on our projection of 198 hours of services for DeKalb County residents, the total project cost is $15,804.00. They are seeking $8,000 from the DeKalb County Senior Tax Levy which will fund 100.2 hours of attorney time. These funds will be used as match and supplemental funding for the $7,804.00 grant from Northwestern Illinois Area Agency on Aging.
Ms. Bettcher said that they have established a phone line for seniors to call into now. Mr. Riefler informed the committee about some of the cases that she has handled in DeKalb County over the last year.
Mr. Metzger, Sr., asked Ms. Bettcher if her agency did not receive all of their requested funding how would it affect her operation.
Ms. Bettcher said that it would hurt them a lot – they are spread very thin now.
2011 Award 2012 Requested Amount$1,793.00 $8,000.00 Chairman Stoddard, reminded the committee that the meeting would reconvene on Monday night, April 9, 2012 at 5:30p.m. to continue with the senior services tax levy hearings in Conference Room East.
The Health & Human Services Committee of the DeKalb County Board reconvened their meeting their April 2, 2012 meeting, on Monday, April 9, 2012, @ 5:30p.m. in the Administration Building’s Conference Room East. Chairman Stoddard called the meeting to order. Members present were Ms. Allen, Ms. DeFauw, Mr. Metzger, Sr., and Mr. Tyson. Mr. Emerson was absent. Others present were Ms. Connie Birsa, Mr. Robert Shipman, Ms. Val Hinz, and Ms. Jane Lux.
Chairman Stoddard reopened the public hearings for the Senior Services Tax Levy Hearings from April 2, 2012.
Opportunity House –Mr. Robert ShipmanRequest: Opportunity House is requesting $31,500 for their specialized senior program that will help seniors with developmental disabilities to remain in their present living arrangement and prevent or delay referral to a nursing home. The amount that they receive provides for 1100 hours of annual services per person. They currently serve 41 individuals over the age of 55, 23 of whom are age 60 or older. They currently provide 1590 staff hours on an annual basis per person. The cost of one unit of service equals $15.13.
Mr. Metzger, Sr. asked Mr. Shipman how cutting funding would affect their program.
Mr. Shipman said that they would have to staff at whatever level they could.
2011 Award 2012 Requested Amount$24,941.00 $31,500.00
Hospice – Ms. Val HinzRequest #2: Hospice is requesting the amount of $2,136.00 to support an average of four (4) senior home-based Transitions End of Life care clients per month. The average time spent by the Transitions Coordinator on case management and volunteer supervision per client is two hours per month at $21.00 per hour. The request also includes $120.00 for the Transitions portion of the Direct Care Volunteer training (two trainings/year).
Mr. Stoddard asked Ms. Hinz how a cut to everyone’s funds would affect her agency.
2011 Award 2012 Requested Amount
DeKalb County Health Department – Ms. Jane LuxRequest: DeKalb County Health Department is requesting $30,000 to subsidize approximately 400 home care medical visits to 50 medically indigent DeKalb County senior citizens. Medically indigent individuals are those not covered under Medicare and who are uninsured or under-insured.
Full charges for home care visits in 2012 are as follows: $205 for skilled nursing, $180 for physical, speech and occupational therapy, and $95 for home health aide services.
Mr. Stoddard asked Ms. Lux how cuts to everyone’s funds would affect her agency.
Ms. Lux said that there would need to be a reduction in service to the amount that they are awarded.
2011 Award 2012 Requested Amount$25,693.00 $30,000
ALLOCATION OF FUNDSThe awards for the Senior Tax Levy Allocations are as follows: Barb City Manor was awarded $9,093.00; Ben Gordon Center was awarded $16,417.00; DeKalb County Health Department was awarded $27,042.00; DeKalb County Hospice was awarded $3,900.00; Elder Care Services was awarded $69,200.00 for Case Management, Elder Abuse and for Self-Neglect; Family Service Agency was awarded $63,833.00; Fox Valley Older Adults was awarded $66,250.00; Hope Haven was awarded $12,517.00; Opportunity House was awarded $23,616.00; Prairie State Legal Services was awarded $3,250.00; Voluntary Action Center was awarded $196,000.00 for Meals on Wheels and for Transportation. The total award amount of $491,117.00.
It was moved by Mr. Metzger, Sr., seconded by Ms. Allen, and carried unanimously to forward this recommendation to the full board for approval.
ADJOURNMENTIt was moved by Mr. Tyson, seconded by Ms. DeFauw, and carried unanimously to adjourn the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
______________________________________ Chairman Paul Stoddard
_________________________________________ Mary C. Supple, Secretary
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