Mansfield Youth Service Bureau Advisory Board

MINUTES

 

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

12:00 noon @ Mansfield Town Hall

Conf. B

           

PRESENT: E. Mantzaris (Chair), F. Perrotti

       K. Grunwald (staff), P. Michalak (staff), K. McNamara, (Staff)

       K. Taylor (Secretary)

 

ABSENT:  J. Marchon, C. Morrell, S. Riffle, H. Spottiswoode, E. Griffin, A. Hoyt

 

I.            Call to Order: Chair E. Mantzaris called the meeting to order at 12:02 PM.

 

II.            Approval of minutes: The minutes of the 3/17/09 were not approved as there was not a quorum of Board Members present to do so.

       

III.            Reports

 

      Director’s Report – K. Grunwald updated the Board members on the Town budget, informing them that a social work position at the Senior Center had been reduced to 20 per week.

 

      F. Perrotti requested that K. Grunwald and P. Michalak be the voice for the Youth Service Bureau and inform the Town Council and the Town Manager of the history of Mansfield’s YSB. This includes how the Bureau has functioned in prior years, what the reductions have been, and what the needs are in order to serve the youth of Mansfield. 

 

      F. Perrotti also suggested using more volunteers to support the Youth Service Bureau to assist them in meeting the needs of the community.  He stated that he does not believe that the Town Council and Town Manager are aware of all that the YSB does to serve this community and the efforts it takes to accomplish what they do.

 

      P. Michalak suggested that the Town Manager should attend at least one Youth Service Advisory Board meeting per year.  E. Mantzaris and F. Perrotti requested that K. Grunwald and P. Michalak invite Matt Hart, Town Manager to the next Board meeting on May 12, 2009.

 

 K. Grunwald informed the Board that the Department has obtained the “My      Senior Center” software, and that it will be used Department wide for case management, data collection and reporting.

 

Coordinator’s Report – P. Michalak advised the Board that she and K. McNamara would be meeting with the Board of Education on April 16, 2009 to inform them of the services that are provided and how the two entities can collaborate in order to serve the youth of Mansfield better.

 

P. Michalak summarized the monthly activities listed below for the board:

 

March 2009 Activities

 

Teen Center:  Meeting with community center regarding expanding our involvement with teen center programs

 

JUMP: After school leadership training group with Ken Caputo. Group meets weekly for the next 14 weeks. Off to a great start more than 25 students signed up and program expected to continue to grow. 

 

 Martial Arts Exhibition Tournament: Villari’s of North Windham showcased many of our students. Great event for families!

 

Parent Group:  Jay O’Keefe spoke with our group regarding programs and activities for youth and families at the Mansfield Community Center.

 

UConn Baseball Team:  Serving as mentors in our Cope Program in the elementary schools and also corresponding through post cards to students in our mentoring program.

 

Grief Matters:  Dedication ceremony of the YSB computer in our office waiting room in memory of Jimmy Mooney.  Jimmy’s family and friends as well as the Grief Matters group participated in the event.

 

Death of a parent:  YSB supported a Mansfield youth and her family following the sudden and unexpected death of her father. 

 

PAWS: Peers Are Wonderful Support Leadership Conference:  YSB staff participated in planning and facilitating of the two day workshop with over 400 middle school and high school students from 15 towns in attendance.  Nine Mansfield middle school students attended. 

 

JOY:  Jorgensen- Out- Reach to Youth.  Many YSB children and their parents received complementary tickets to attend the Cinderella Ballet as well as the African Children’s Choir. 

 

Grandparent’s Raising Grandchildren’s Group:  Grandparents are stepping forward to nurture and care for their grandchildren in the absence of their parents.  Dealing with the separation and loss is challenging for these children and often emotionally overwhelming.

Grandparents are finding support with this group.

 

Lucky Strike bowling:  YSB Staff accompanied middle school students from Carrie Holman’s class and their parents to fun family night of pizza and bowling.

 

Goodwin school consultant:  YSB coordinator and consultant for the Goodwin after school program made a site visit and offered recommendations.

 

 

IV.            Old Business – K. Grunwald handed out the K-12 Vision plan that he and P. Michalak prepared for the Board to review and approve.  It was noted that the notes from the March 17, 2009 discussion on this Action Plan were missing.  A discussion ensued over the information in the Action Plan and how this may be of assistance in identifying the needs of youth in this community.  A decision was made to table this agenda item until the next Board meeting.  K. Grunwald and P. Michalak agreed to develop an expanded Action Plan prior to the next meeting that will encompass some of the elements of expanding Youth Services.  The Advisory Board will review this revised plan prior to submitting it to the Strategic Planning Steering Committee.

 

V.            New Business

The update on the budget was covered in the Directors Report.

          

VI.            Other

None

 

Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 12:53 PM. 

 

NOTE:  The next meeting is scheduled for May 12th at noon in Conference Room B.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Karen L. Taylor

Secretary