MANSFIELD DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

MINUTES

 

Thursday, April 7, 2005

 3:30 PM

 

PRESENT: K. Grunwald (staff), J. Heald (Chair), M. Hauslaib, J. Krisch, J. Peters

            REGRETS: E. Passmore

 

I.                    MINUTES: The minutes of the March 3, 2005 meeting were accepted as written.

 

II.                  OLD BUSINESS:

A.      Status of agency funding requests: K. Grunwald reported that the Town Council meeting to consider agency funding requests will be held on April 11.  

B.      Advisory Committee Goals: K. Grunwald asked that members of the advisory committee review the following goals to assure that these are the goals that the committee is still interested in pursuing:

·        Continue to provide oversight and input on all Department programs, activities, and grant initiatives;

·        Explore various ways of surveying residents of Mansfield regarding social service needs and potential programs that may be offered through the Department; suggested that we look at what other Towns are doing to assess needs.

·        Advocate for the development of an assisted living facility for seniors;

·        Identify opportunities to partner with the Community Center in response to the social service needs of residents;

·        Consult on fund raising efforts aimed at providing financial support to assist residents in participating fully in community life, regardless of economic status;

·        Identify an optimal venue to facilitate dialogue among Mansfield’s state legislators, area social service agency representatives and town social service advisory committees;

·        Provide input to the Town Council on the process for funding non-profit community agencies.

C.      Membership: M. Hauslaib has provided suggested names as new members of the advisory committee.  She and E. Passmore will be completing their terms this year.  K. Grunwald will pursue recruitment efforts.  Members were asked to provide other suggestions for new members.

D.      Other: none

 

      III.      NEW BUSINESS:

A.     Update on United Way- J. Heald reported on research that she did on the Windham Region United Way.  A staff member is willing to come and talk to this group about how they operate.  They have started to look at measured outcomes for the agencies that they fund.  She would like to find out what criteria they use for funding.  J. Krisch asked how we are looking at integrating our efforts with the United Way?  J. Heald stated that she would like to know how efficient they are as a funding organization; she feels that they should be able to fund a larger percentage of non-profit agencies.  M. Hauslaib states that she feels that this should be a municipal responsibility.  J. Heald will follow up with the United Way on funding criteria and how successful they are in generating donations from Mansfield residents. 

B.    Brief Report: “NLC Cities Supporting Parents of Young Children Leadership Academy”: K. Grunwald reported that he is submitting a proposal for technical assistance in the area of developing “family-friendly” workplace policies and connecting families to resources.  We are eligible for this assistance as one of 28 cities and towns that participated in the recent leadership academy.

C.    Proposed School Readiness Grant: K. Grunwald reported that the Town is once again eligible for school readiness funding, and he will be meeting with directors of the early care centers in town to discuss submitting a proposal.  M. Hauslaib strongly advocated for pursuing this grant, and feels that it will put us in line for future funding.  She offered to assist in the grant application process.

D.    Status of Full-Day Kindergarten proposal: K. Grunwald reported that the Board of Education budget that has been submitted to the Town Council includes funding for full-day kindergarten.

E.     Action Plan: anti-poverty resources: K. Grunwald distributed the action plan; there was no time for discussion.

F.     Other: none.

 

     IV.  COMMUNICATIONS/REPORTS: 

A.     Review of Department activity and other items in packet and discussion with SSD Director:

B.          Program updates

·        Early Care and Education

·        Adult Services

·        Senior Services

·        Youth Services

C.    Other

 

V.        PLANS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS

·        Senior Center Update in June.

 

VI.       ADJOURNMENT: the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Kevin Grunwald