Human Services Advisory Council

MINUTES Human Services Advisory Council City of Falls Church PURPOSE OF MEETING: To advise City Council on human services delivery to Falls Church residents. DATE OF MEETING: September 20, 2018 PLACE OF MEETING: Gage House MEETING CALLED TO ORDER BY Nicole Newman: at 6:29 p.m. THOSE PRESENT: HSAC Members: Staff: Craig Cheney Susan Richter Alisa Macht City Council Liaison Nicole Newman (chair) Marybeth Connelly Anne Norloff Student Representative Debra Roth Tahaseen Shaik OTHERS PRESENT: Guest speakers John and Eileen Williams APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes from August 16, 2018 were approved, with one correction. OLD BUSINESS:  Miller House project update Nancy Vincent drove to Richmond and met personally with the Deputy Administrator at the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to explain the Miller House project and request that Medicaid Waivers be dedicated to Falls Church residents. The Deputy Administrator was not able to influence the waiver selection. The slots are awarded to the CSBs based on population and since the population of Falls Church is so small, no slots can be awarded directly. The award process is this: A Waiver Slot Assignment Committee (WSAC) determines from among the individuals who meet priority one criteria who should be served first, based on the needs of the individual at the time a slot becomes available. DBHDS staff are responsible for participating in each WSAC meeting as an observer and monitor of the slot assignment process in order to assure statewide consistency of its application, as well as the accuracy of the results. The membership of the WSAC consists of community volunteers knowledgeable of and/or having experience with persons with Developmental Disabilities(DD) and/or the DD service system. WSAC members may not be persons with a direct or indirect interest in the outcome of the proceedings. After the WSAC meeting, DBHDS staff will link those in the highest scoring rankings with the number of available slots based on services needed. The WSAC is scheduled to meet in October. Ms. Connelly indicated she would contact the City’s rep and will discuss with Ms. Vincent. HSAC said they would send a letter or whatever is needed.   Transportation The Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Transportation (CACT) is reviewing a joint memo produced in response to the joint HSAC/CACT meeting and will provide comments in the next week or so. Ms. Vincent will keep the committee posted. NEW BUSINESS:  Presentation by John and Eileen Williams Mr. and Mrs. Williams live in the City and are parents of a child with disabilities. The William’s talked about their daughter and the support services that are available. .  Draft Affordable Housing Policy review Mr. Cheney gave an update on the draft Affordable Housing Policy, noting it is currently out for review and comment by Boards and Commission. Comments are due back November 8, 2018. The committee members were requested to send their comments to Ms. Vincent by October 4th so they can be discussed at the committee’s October meeting.  Project planning for Fiscal Year 2019 Since not all committee members were present, this will be discussed at the October meeting.  Other Community Services Grant Funds – the time frame and deadlines were presented to the committee for FY 2020 grant year. The group would like to see the quarterly reports for two of the current grantees when they come in. STAFF REPORT  A flyer was handed out to the group regarding Medicaid expansion starting January 1, 2019. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 7:29 p.m. SIGNATURE OF RECORDER: Susan Richter The City of Falls Church is committed to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This document will be made available in an alternate format upon request. Call 703-248-5005 (TTY 711).