7:40 - 9:30 PM
Glenview Mansion | Members Present: | | Michelle Beadle | Tom Lawrey | Agnes Saenz | Shari Cohen | David L’Heureux | Eric Wang | Sarah Duffy | Joshua Rogers | | | | | | 
| | | Members Absent: | | Kim Dawkins | | Tim Stranges | |
| | | Staff Present: | | Mary Lou Jacobs | | Sarah Gicale |
Re: Call Meeting to Order/ Introductions Sarah Duffy called the meeting to order at 7 40 p.m. She welcomed Shari Cohen as a new Commission member. Re: Approve May 8 Meeting Minutes Mary Lou Jacobs suggested that the sentence at the top of page 2 be changed to include the phrase “with the approval of the Mayor and Council” as follows: “Sarah said that she learned that the City has a reserve that can be used when necessary with the approval of the Mayor and Council, for example, if funds were needed for REAP.” Tom Lawrey moved that the minutes be approved as amended. Agnes Saenz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Re: Selection of Issue Areas for Commission’s FY 2008 Work Plan Sarah began the discussion by explaining that Commission members needed now to focus in on those three or four areas that are “actionable”, that is, areas in which the Commission could actually accomplish something in the next year. She suggested discussing the areas of need that the Commission had identified as most critical at the May meeting. Youth issues: both Agnes Saenz and Eric Wang liked the idea of holding a gang summit. Michelle Beadle said that the Commission’s role might be to facilitate the community to take action, especially the faith community. She would ask the question “What does your mission compel you to do when there is a problem in the community?” David L’Heureux said that first he would make a list of everyone that could potentially deal with the youth issue. In his opinion the school system needs to place an emphasis on the value and importance of a human life and the impact of destroying that life since criminal groups have no respect for human life. The school system could develop a curriculum with progressive training every year. Sarah asked if a commission could do that kind of thing. Mary Lou said that the Mayor and Council would need to provide permission. Adult immigration: David suggested that a series of educational seminars would be helpful. Mary Lou said that the Community Services Division has some type of seminar going on every month. Agnes agreed that the Division’s seminars are great but don’t include the more than one third of city residents who speak languages other than English at home. Mary Lou said that Housing and Community Initiatives also do seminars. She thinks that recent immigrants have many different issues. She gave an example of a person who had come into Community Services for assistance. He had been approved for a mortgage where the monthly payment was more than his wages. She has learned that the Attorney General’s office is swamped with similar issues. It would be helpful to look at them in more detail. Agnes added that she had read recently in the Washington Post that close to 40% of people who had purchased houses within the past year were losing their homes to foreclosure. Mary Lou added that there might be additional issues affecting recent immigrants. Agnes said that the Commission’s role could be the dissemination of that kind of information. David suggested using Rockville Reports as one means of communication. Access to Services/information dissemination: Sarah said that the larger question is, “How do you get information to people who need services?” or, “How do you engage people in a meaningful way?” Shari said that “marketing” is essential, like Starbucks. Employment services: Sarah said that helping people with other issues might also help in this area. Mary Lou thought it would be interesting if the Commission met with Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI) to learn to what extent they help create jobs for Rockville residents. She said that a couple of years ago the Commission met with staff from Montgomery Works and discussed having a kiosk in Rockville. Perhaps the Commission could meet with them again and explore that concept. Commission members could also find out what executive search firms are located in Rockville. Needs related to people with disabilities: Sarah asked what the Commission could do in this area. David said that very little to no money is coming from the state of Maryland to help in this area. Agencies have to terminate skilled staff and sell homes that are already equipped for people with special needs. Sarah said that the City can’t provide the funding needed but perhaps the Commission could alert the Mayor and Council as to the current situation. Needs associated with single heads of household: Agnes said that this is another area that overlaps with other areas of need. Mary Lou suggested researching “best practices.” Sarah then asked members to prioritize areas of need by choosing one in which they would like to work. Those members present signed up as follows: Single heads of household: Sarah signed up Kim Dawkins (in absentia) Youth Issues: Eric Wang and Joshua Rogers Adult Immigration: Agnes Saenz People with disabilities: David L’Heureux Access to services: David L’Heureux, Agnes Saenz, Shari Cohen, Tom Lawrey, Michelle Beadle Employment: Shari Cohen, Sarah Duffy, Tom Lawrey
There followed a discussion as to how many topic areas the Commission could work on. Tom Lawrey moved that the Commission undertake to study Youth Issues, Access to Services, and Employment Services. Agnes seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. As a result of the motion, three committees were formed with members signing up for one as follows: Youth Issues: Eric Wang, Joshua Rogers Access to Services: David L’Heureux, Michelle Beadle, Agnes Saenz, Tom Lawrey Employment: Shari Cohen, Sarah Duffy
Sarah encouraged each group to begin by considering a goal for the year and developing a plan of action. Mary Lou said that she would like to mention a specific concern related to Youth Issues that the committee could consider researching. She said that the City has been approached about funding a program called Sharp Street Program intended for youth who have been suspended from school. Other such programs are located in other areas of the county. The City’s position thus far has been that the City would be happy to contribute toward such a program but does not want to be the sole funder. The committee could research how other programs in the area are funded. Their research would include many of the other topics that the Commission has discussed previously with respect to youth issues. Re: Discussion of FY 2008 Performance Measures for Community Services Mary Lou planned to walk Commission members through these measures. The figures related to actual performance for FY 07 have just been updated. The information will be sent out to members for discussion at the next meeting. Re: Updates Commission Brochure: Mary Lou said that the revised text has been sent to Graphics. Once it has been formatted, it will be translated into Chinese and Spanish. In addition the resource postcards have also gone to Graphics. Report from Identity, Inc.: Agnes said that she thought some pages in the report are more important than others. She pointed out that 2.2% of youth surveyed for the report attended Rockville High School. Just 4% of youth surveyed reported living in Rockville. Of that 4%, many might not live within the corporate city limits of Rockville. As a result it cannot be assumed that the results of this survey are accurate for Rockville youth. The report presents a high correlation between socioeconomic indicators and gang involvement, which Agnes considers significant. She also alerted members to the fact that many youth surveyed reported not feeling safe at home. Mary Lou mentioned a local family that had found it necessary to transfer their son to a high school away from Rockville because he was being pressured to join a gang. Rockville’s police chief had offered to meet with this family. Agnes said that she has talked with a number of parents and they are typically reluctant to speak with the police about their concerns. Agnes highlighted other significant conclusions from the survey, namely that 40% of youth in gangs were first involved between the ages of 11 and 13 years. Also, 57% of youth surveyed rarely or never had assistance from their parents with homework. 48% of youth surveyed reported spending time after school with no adult supervision. Re: New Business Recruitment for Commission Vacancy: Tom said he thought that each member should work on recruiting. Mary Lou said she would check with Carol Binta Nadeem to see if there were any parents at Maryvale Elementary School that might be interested. Community Services Division Monthly Report: there was a brief discussion of the May report and the previous monthly reports, which have been included in mailings to Commission members. The reports provide members with a picture of Division activities. Mary Lou commented that Cynthia Bangali, the Youth Programs Coordinator, and she were amazed that 25 girls came to the first SISTERS meeting at Julius West Middle School.
Re: Plan Agenda for July 10 Meeting Speaker: Alfred Thompson, City of Rockville Community Services Information and Referral Coordinator Performance Measures: this topic will be carried over from the June meeting agenda Salute to Nonprofits: this event is scheduled for August 24, 2007 Distribute the Human Services Advisory Commission brochure, if ready
Re: Adjourn David moved that the meeting be adjourned. Michelle seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. The next meeting of the Human Services Advisory Commission will be held Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. in the Glenview Mansion Dining Room. | 
