Mental Health Board

708 GENEVA COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH BOARD September 10, 2013 The Geneva Community Mental Health Board met at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 10, 2013, in the Geneva City Hall Chambers, 109 James Street, Geneva, Illinois 60134. Present: Chairman John Ford; Members Johnson, Goldstein, Davidson-Bell. Also present: and Recording Secretary Celeste Weilandt. 1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chairman Ford called the Mental Health Board meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and noted a quorum was present with four (4) voting members. 2. INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS - None. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE AGENDA - None 4. OMNIBUS AGENDA ( OMNIBUS VOTE ) All items listed with an asterisk ( * ) are considered to be routine by the Mental Health Board and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion on these items unless a board member or citizen so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the Omnibus (Consent) Agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the Regular Agenda. _Goldstein moved to approve the Omnibus Agenda, seconded by Johnson. Motion carried by voice vote of 4-0. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES *A. Regular Meeting Minutes of August 13, 2013 - Approved by Omnibus Agenda. 6. OLD BUSINESS A. Review the highlights from this year’s presentation; suggest policy or actions - Chairman Ford asked for member input on the five speakers below in order to extract information to build upon the strategic plan. He pointed out that these past five guests were basically mirrors of the community. Comments were as followed: 1) Phylis Russell, ACMHAI - Ms. Russell brought insight into statewide issues, was knowledgeable about Medicaid and the legislature; she recommended identifying the service gaps; she offered to assist this board with its strategic plan; and explained that this board had latitude to interpret the legislation to the best benefit of the local needs and move accordingly. 2) Barbara Jeffers, Kane County Public Health - Ms. Jeffers suggested creating a link on the city’s web site to the various local support groups, but Davidson-Bell suggested having the city’s web developer add links to the agencies this board funds, including NAMI-Kane County; Jeffers had suggested providing Respid services for families with DD individuals (for county and not necessarily Geneva); she spoke of the indicators pointing to depression and substance dependence among the youth and the parents’ financial anxiety contributing to same. (Davidson-Bell notes that there is a taskforce that is focusing on heroin abuse and she will email members the article she read.) 3) Richard Gabriel, Cadence, Behavioral Health - Mr. Gabriel discussed that Cadence will be adding more beds for mental health patients within the Delnor system; Goldstein recalls his discussion about prescription drug abuse; and that a large gap existed for the care of the chronic mentally ill population. 4) Mary Jane Johnson, Geneva High School, Guidance Office - Members recalled that Ms. Johnson spoke about anxiety and depression among the students and the number of students hospitalized over the past year. Ms. Johnson thought a motivational speaker or a part-time counseling person for the school would be beneficial to students and parents, which board members agreed would be a good use for the grant funding. Board member Johnson mentioned that NAMI, through a grant, would be visiting five schools to initiate the Red Flag program, a program teaches students the tools to recognize depression. 5) Ofc. Penny Boedigheimer, Geneva Police Dept. - Members recalled Ofc. Boedigheimer said there was a need for a place for a person to sober up other than jail; the homeless; the need for suicide prevention for adults; and the Crisis line being helpful. Members felt the information was insightful because it addressed situations occurring in Geneva. On that note, the chairman pointed out that some of the issues being raised would be better served at either a county level or some other level than a smaller 708 board, explaining, for example, that churches provide AA meetings to their communities and address such issues on their own. Goldstein suggested bringing together those agencies who deal with addiction and homelessness and bridging the gap. Chairman Ford indicated the board could either vote to write a letter to those agencies or at the 708 Geneva Community Mental Health Board - 2- September 10, 2013 funding meeting, question the agencies as to the services they deliver that the board thinks are being under- served. Other comments added to the above list included opportunities and threats for the new insurance changes, addressing the topic of resilience, possibly through a motivational speaker or inviting community elders to mentor Geneva’s youth, and to add a Respid bedroom when considering the next group home. In closing, Chairman Ford said he would take the information and begin working on the strategic plan. B. Further Thoughts on December at Council - Chairman Ford reported that Mayor Burns was open to having two or three speakers at the December meeting this year. The earlier-mentioned landlord, however, would not be a good choice. Ford suggested inviting Mary Jane Johnson, from Geneva High School, but he would have to confirm that with the school. Other suggestions included inviting Richard Gabriel from Cadence since his topic addressed Geneva; having Chairman Ford address the council; extracting minutes from the five previous months into one document to distribute at council; or inviting Phylis Russell (or Jerry Murphy) to speak to what is occurring in the transition to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. Chairman Ford would follow up with the speakers and place the matter on the agenda for next month. A side dialog followed on partnering with another funding group to obtain more funds for the board’s distribution. C. ACMHAI Invoice Corrected to $775.00 and OK’d to Pay - Chairman Ford noted the membership fee was at the wrong rate and was now corrected to $775.00 and was paid. 7. NEW BUSINESS A. AID Request to Fund School Transition Program - Chairman Ford recalled Lynn O’Shea came before the board asking for $7500 from seven various towns, including Geneva, to help fund the start-up costs of this school program. (Goldstein recuses herself.) Comments/questions followed that AID did serve a need, that five students would initially be served (with one student from Geneva), but where would the operational funding come from. The chairman tabled this matter based on a procedural question. 8. OTHER BUSINESS *A. Approve Payment to Recording Secretary for Services - Approved by Omnibus Agenda. Conversation followed regarding the board’s vacancies and voting at the November funding meeting. 9. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND MAIL - None 10. ADJOURNMENT The board adjourned at 8:02 p.m. on motion by Goldstein, seconded by Davidson-Bell. Motion carried unanimously by voice vote of 4-0. Recording Secretary, Celeste K. Weilandt