HUMAN SERVICES ADVISORY COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
February 11, 2003
7:35 – 9:35 p.m.
1150 Carnation Drive

Re: Approve Minutes of January 14, 2003 Meeting

The minutes of the January 14, 2003 meeting were approved with the correction of two typographical errors and the addition of the phrase "in FY 02" after the word "hotels" in the fifth paragraph, page four.

Re: Nomination of New Commission Chair and Caregiver Coalition Representative

Tom Lawrey asked for nominations for the position of Commission Chair. Ann Reiss nominated Bill Goodwin with David L'Heureux seconding her nomination. Bill thanked members for the nomination and said that he hopes his experience on the original Human Needs and Services Task Force will help him in this new role. He accepted the nomination with the understanding that he will need every member's input and ideas. David moved that the nominations be closed. The motion that Bill Goodwin's name should be sent to the Mayor and Council for approval as Commission Chair was passed unanimously.

Tom then asked for a motion on the position of Vice Chair, which is not forwarded to the Mayor and Council for approval. Darrell Butler nominated Ann Reiss to be Vice Chair with Charlotte Zuckman seconding the nomination. David moved that the nominations be closed and Commission members voted unanimously to approve Ann to serve as Vice Chair.

Tom opened the floor for a motion to confirm the Caregiver Agencies' nomination of Darrell Butler as their representative to the Commission and send his name on to the Mayor and Council for approval. David moved to confirm Darrell's nomination with Ann seconding and the motion was passed unanimously.

Bill Goodwin asked when the Mayor and Council would approve the recommendations. David said that nothing precludes his acting as chair prior to their approval. Tom agreed saying that Bill should develop the agendas for future meetings.

Re: Briefing on Rockville Emergency Assistance Program

Mary Lou Jacobs reminded everyone that at the last meeting Tom mentioned that the Commission would benefit from an update on the Rockville Emergency Assistance Program (REAP). She explained that tonight's guest, Robin Sparer, is the Supervisor of Youth, Family, and Community Services in the City's Department of Neighborhood and Community Services. Robin's staff does the screening and intake for all City residents who come in to apply for emergency assistance. The demographic information for REAP, which members received prior to this meeting, was provided by Sarah Gicale who maintains a database for the program. Community Ministries of Rockville (CMR) writes checks from City funds for those people processed by Robin's staff. In addition CMR administers other funds to help additional clients. Agnes Saenz, Commission member and Managing Director of CMR, was available to present information on this aspect of REAP.

Robin told Commission members that she had worked for Montgomery County Emergency Services before coming to work for the City. She said that the REAP Fund is used for people with issues such as eviction, homelessness, or utility shut-off. The City wants to help in true emergencies, not to support poor financial planning. Providing this assistance takes many combinations of funds. In giving monetary assistance, the City's policy is

• County funds are used first; and
  
• the City is a partner with other providers.
  

Robin said that there have been discussions as to whether funds can be used more flexibly. Her view is that the program needs to be marketed first. Very little has been done in the past to publicize the availability of REAP funds.

When someone comes in to apply for REAP, they may be a walk-in or they may have been referred from the County. Eligibility is determined by residence in Rockville, the nature of the emergency, and the existence of a workable plan. The maximum amount that an applicant can receive is $750 per year. Robin thinks this amount is adequate and generous for a city the size of Rockville. Her staff works closely with Rockville Housing Enterprises when appropriate to make certain that they are aware that one of their families has applied for assistance. Most current emergency situations are not related to the aftermath of 9/11 but are related to the high cost of living in Rockville. Recidivists are handled through case management with staff introducing additional resources to help these families.

Charlotte asked if the fund was exhausted. Sarah passed out copies of a chart showing that the total amount of REAP payments made from July 1, 2002, through January 31, 2003, was $38,184. Including the balance carried over the last several years, there is still $51,488 remaining that could potentially be spent during the current fiscal year. John Sverha asked how much money has been left unspent in the past. A second chart was distributed showing that a combined balance from the last five years of $32,465 was carried over from FY 02 to FY 03.

David suggested that a representative from the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services might want to attend a meeting of the civic associations being held tomorrow evening to speak about REAP. Robin said she knew about the meeting and agreed that this would be a useful marketing strategy but was aware that the agenda for this particular meeting was full. Possibly this could be done at a future meeting. David said he would like to see the money used and not left over. Bill Goodwin suggested doing a drop of REAP brochures at the meeting instead.

Agnes then spoke about CMR's part of the program. She said that in addition to helping the City with some city residents, her agency also serves the area covered by all Rockville zip codes (as differentiated from the corporate city limits of Rockville). As such CMR is a part of the Emergency Assistance Coalition, a group of agencies assigned to provide emergency assistance based on zip code. Sometimes people living across the street from each other may or may not be City residents, as, for example, residents on either side of Twinbrook Parkway.

Agnes said that last year CMR received $12,000 from FEMA. $6,000 of this amount was spent on City residents and $6,000 was spent on Rockville residents living outside the corporate city limits. She passed out several handouts describing the program. Included was a chart illustrating the sources of the emergency assistance funds distributed by CMR. Another showed how those funds had been spent for the 555 clients served by CMR during the first six months of FY03 (40% were used for housing costs and 31% were used for utility bills). Agnes does not think that the $750 maximum allowed by the City is sufficient to meet the need. By way of example she said that CMR frequently receives referrals from the Senior Center for $4-500 for prescription costs where the need for a medicine may continue into the future. Another example is the need to help City residents bring their homes up to code. She feels that the program needs flexibility in helping people in these situations.

Bill Meeker said he thought it was great that funds are provided for medications, especially for people with psychiatric problems. Charlotte asked if money is also provided for over-the-counter medications. Agnes and Robin said that currently this is not being done. Darrell pointed out that there has been a dramatic increase in shelter residents who are dually diagnosed, which demonstrates the need for increased funds for prescriptions. Mary Lou said that not all shelter residents qualify as City of Rockville residents. Darrell said that the rise in shelter residents needing medications might be an indication of an increased need in the general population. Mary Lou said that REAP records indicate fewer seniors receiving emergency assistance.

Robin said that she thinks the program is becoming more flexible and agrees that collaboration is important. If an applicant needs more than $750, they would not just have exhausted City funds but County funds as well. She thinks we have to move carefully. She doesn't want to invest in a family if they are not going to work to help themselves. Perhaps we need to discuss those situations where CMR is using non-City funds for City residents. That is an area where potentially City funds could be used.

Mary Lou asked Sarah to speak to the issue of recidivism. Sarah said that REAP records for the last five years show that 15% of REAP recipients had reapplied a second time during that period. Robin said that her staff tries to connect applicants to all other programs using every available resource to prevent their having to reapply. Darrell asked how long the $750 ceiling has existed. Agnes said it has remained the same for ten years--that is one reason to increase the amount. Robin said that she does not disagree. She just wants the $750 utilized to its fullest.

Charlotte asked if religious leaders in Rockville know about REAP. Robin said they are the founders/members of the Emergency Assistance Coalition. Bill said he thought it might be useful to target Asian and Hispanic churches with a mailing. Darrell questioned if that strategy would actually result in an increase in the amount of REAP funds spent because of cultural factors and concerns. Robin thought it would be worth a try. Agnes said that for the Hispanic community, affordable housing is a big need. Frequently members of this community are reluctant to apply for REAP because of what they perceive as eligibility requirements. Mary Lou said that the City does not look at income as much as at the family's plan. Agnes said that Hispanic families might be intimidated for example in situations where two families are living in one house. Charlotte asked if there was sufficient manpower to market the program. Robin said that her staff would be increasing to 10.5 including the staff currently being hired for the Linkages to Learning Program at Maryvale Elementary School. Outreach is a priority of the department director as well as her own.

Re: Recommendation to Mayor and Council re: "Beginning to End, A Plan to End Homelessness in Montgomery County"

Tom advised Commission members that he had discussed the "Plan to End Homelessness" with Ann Robbins, Council liaison to the Human Services Advisory Commission. She suggested that Commission members address their comments in written form to the Mayor and everyone on the Council. Tom also considered going to the podium at a Citizens' Forum (before a regular meeting). Although Tom feels the Mayor and Council need to be informed of the Plan, he had decided not to pursue the issue until discussing it with the Commission. John said it sounded as though Tom was suggesting that the matter be brought to the attention of the Mayor and Council as information--not to recommend that they take a position on it. David said he sees the Commission more in an advisory capacity. An example would be a letter from the Chair saying that Commission members have reviewed the Plan and have endorsed it and feel that the Mayor and Council should also endorse it. If the matter is raised at a Citizens' Forum, the Mayor and Council won't take action. One alternative might be to do both--testify and follow up with a letter.

Mary Lou thought it might be best to make the Plan one of the items discussed at a worksession with the Mayor and Council. She said this format could be requested on the basis that there is a new Commission whose members would like to talk with the Mayor and Council about what they feel is important. One pitfall for the City regarding the Plan is that the City is in negotiations with the County on a number of issues. The Plan asks the County to take certain steps, many of which are expensive.

Bill Goodwin said he thought members were too concerned with whether the Council endorses the Plan. He thinks we should ask whether the policies reflected in the steps outlined in the Plan are beneficial to our citizens. If we believe based on our experience that it would be good policy, we should take that step. Part of our job is to apply the Plan to Rockville. Otherwise, it doesn't look as though we have put any thought into it. John said the Commission needs to be concerned with dollars. What portions of the Plan will never be funded? The Plan includes no timelines. We don't need to back off but we need to be aware of the consequences.

Agnes said that what she heard members saying was that the Commission needs to take a more active role. Many committees are included in the Plan that Commission members could join. John commented that these are not City committees but County committees. Bill Goodwin asked what the time constraints are. Mary Lou responded that initially Kelley O'Dell said that they wanted endorsements in January.

Bill Goodwin asked what a worksession with the Mayor and Council on these issues would look like. Mary Lou said she thought it would provide the Mayor and Council an opportunity to get to know Commission members. If they had any concerns, they could use this forum to communicate them. It would provide an opportunity also to discuss the Commission's last report. The Plan on Homelessness could be one of the last things discussed. Tom said he agreed with Mary Lou.

Bill Goodwin inquired as to how many in the group would be interested in a worksession. John asked how likely the Mayor and Council are to meet with the Commission. Mary Lou said that she had spoken with the City Clerk who thought it would be appropriate for the Commission to request a worksession. David said he thought it would have some benefit in that the Mayor and Council have been very preoccupied with material issues in Rockville; not much has been heard about the human side. Agnes said she thought this would be a good time for a worksession. Ann agreed especially in light of the current turmoil within the County. Darrell said he felt it would be a good idea simply to establish a relationship with the Mayor and Council. Bill Meeker said he felt the Commission would become irrelevant if it didn't establish a relationship. Charlotte said she hoped that Commission members would come away from a worksession with a more structured focus.

Since everyone was in agreement, Bill Goodwin said it would be best to schedule a worksession after the Commission's March meeting so that there would be time to prepare. David suggested that a packet of information be put together and distributed to the Mayor and Council a week before the worksession. Bill Goodwin offered to organize a conference call in order to draft an agenda for the worksession before the next meeting.

Re: Plan Agenda for Next Meeting

Bill Goodwin said that a decision needed to be made regarding the disposition of the Plan to End Homelessness. David suggested that everyone review the plan, make notes, and focus on those items the Mayor and Council need to know. Bill responded that no action would be taken on the Plan until members determine what is appropriate for discussion with the Mayor and Council.

Mary Lou reminded Commission members that Mike Berman, the new Chair of the Human Rights Commission, had been asked to attend a meeting. It was agreed that his presentation would be scheduled for 7:30 to 8:00 PM at the March meeting with the remaining time left for planning the worksession.

Re: Adjourn

Prior to adjourning the meeting, Bill Goodwin, on behalf of Commission members, expressed appreciation to Tom for filling in as Interim Chair. The Commission adjourned at 9:35 PM. The next regular meeting of the Human Services Advisory Commission will be held Tuesday, March 11, 2003, at the Lincoln Park Community Center, 357 Frederick Ave.
(Rt. 355 north to right on Middle Lane by Metro station. Left immediately past underpass onto Stonestreet Ave. to right onto Frederick Ave. to Center on right.)