Children's Services Act Meeting Minutes

City of Suffolk Children’s Services Act Community Policy and Management Team Meeting Minutes April 17, 2024 9:00 am Social Services Building, Third Floor Training Room A Members Present: Jenny Hodge – Tidewater Youth Services Commission Jessica Joyner – Suffolk Public Schools Rachel Lewis – CSA Coordinator Saniyyah Manigault-Westbrook – Suffolk Dept. of Social Services Sheridan Meriwether – Blakey Weaver Counseling Center (Vice Chair) Patricia Pitts (for Marli Laudun) - Suffolk Health Dept. Nicole Porter – City of Suffolk Towanda Shirley – Suffolk Public Schools (Secretary) Wendy Warfel – Assistant Director of Finance, City of Suffolk Vonda Warren-Lilly – WTCSB Members absent: Mary Bess- Parent Representative Kimberly Jennings – 5th District Court Services Unit (Chair) Guests Present: Roxanne Flamer – CSA Office Assistant 1. CPMT Secretary Towanda Shirley calls the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m. 2. CPMT Secretary Towanda Shirley entertains motion for the approval of the March 20, 2024 meeting minutes. Motion made by Jessica Joyner to approve the minutes as written, seconded by Nicole Porter. All are in favor and the motion passed. 3. CSA Coordinator Rachel Lewis reviewed the Financial Report as of April 17, 2024. The concern in reference to funding is going over the allotted City of Suffolk original budget. CSA has received some IV-E reimbursements. Local match is subtracted from State funds that are part of the FY 24 budget. CSA is spending more, but serving more children than last year. CPMT Secretary Towanda Shirley entertains motion for the approval of the financial report. Motion made by Saniyyah Manigault-Westbrook to accept Financial Report as written, seconded by Jessica Joyner. All are in favor and the motion passed. 4. CLOSED SESSION - CPMT Secretary Towanda Shirley entertains a motion to convene a Closed Meeting for the purpose of discussing cases before the Family Assessment and Planning Team in accordance with the provisions in subsection A of ş 2.2-3711 of the Code of Virginia as amended in 2001 and 2005 respectively. Only applicable exceptions as provided in section ş 2.2-3707 or subsection A of Section ş 2.2-3711 are to be discussed. Jessica Joyner motions to enter closed session. Saniyyah Manigault-Westbrook seconds motion to enter into closed session. All are in favor and the motion passed. 5. RETURN TO OPEN SESSION – CPMT Secretary Towanda Shirley entertains a motion to move out of Closed Meeting. Jessica Joyner motions to enter open session. Saniyyah  Manigault-Westbrook seconds the motion. All are in favor and the motion passed. Kimberly Jennings initiated a roll call certifying that to the best of each member’s knowledge only the following matters were discussed during the closed session: 1) public business matters lawfully exempted from statutory open meeting requirements and 2) public business matters identified in the motion to convene the closed meeting. All Affirmed. CPMT Secretary Towanda Shirley entertains a motion to approve all cases presented. Jessica Joyner enters the motion to approve all cases presented and appropriately discussed. Saniyyah Manigault-Westbrook seconded the motion. All other members are in favor and the motion passed. Jessica Joyner entertains motion to table the discussion for Serenity C & C payment until further investigation. Saniyyah Manigault-Westbrook seconded the motion. All other members are in favor and the motion passed. Total CSA request approved $51,102.67. 6. Old Business A. Items from Members – No items presented 7. New Business A. FAPT Presentations for CSA Contracts for 2025-2026 – Jay Smigielski, Purchasing Agent for the City of Suffolk is currently working on vendor contracts for FY 24-26. Out of the six (6) vendor presentations held on March 28, 2024, FAPT recommended pursing the following: Milestone, Cornerstone and Teen Titans Youth. Motion made by Towanda Shirley to approve Milestone and Cornerstone and table Teen Titans Youth until CPMT receives responses to questions posed about the new group home. Seconded by Jessica Joyner. All members are in favor and the motion passed. B. Best Practice Court Team Update – Suffolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court the Honorable Judge Wiser has begun meeting again in hopes of better serving the community. He would like to create a community service guide, work with the biological parents and children to promote better outcomes. The team will also focus on addressing truancy issues within Suffolk Public Schools, collaborating with local agencies to provide the necessary services and resources. Saniyyah Manigault- Westbrook discussed the possibility of hiring a reunification worker for the Dept. of Social Services who would advocate for the parent (court, FAPT, etc.). C. CQI Dashboard Review – Rachel Lewis gave an updated review of the dashboard data. Some contributing issues are more children needing higher levels of care. Concerns of what IV-E will pay and higher rates set by vendors. There have been a push on kinship placements. Private Day has increased significantly. Suffolk Public School staff is currently working on returning students back to the public school environment. D. Annual Risk Assessment Survey – Rachel Lewis reviewed the survey for discussion that was completed by the team.  E. Items from the Members – The upcoming FAPT Retreat will be held on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at Bennetts Creek Recreation Center. CPMT Secretary Towanda Shirley last day of employment as the Director of Special Education for Suffolk Public Schools will be June 30, 2024. Ms. Shirley has enjoyed being a part of CPMT and will continue to network. We wish her well with all future endeavors. Jenny Hodge gave an update on the Crisis Intervention Home. Renovations are nearing completion, the new Program Director will start at the end of April and plans to reopen will be in June. 8. Adjourn – CPMT adjourned the meeting at 12:15 p.m. Motion to adjourn made by Jenny Hodge, seconded by Saniyyah Manigault-Westbrook. All are in favor and the motion passed. Recorded by Roxanne Flamer, CSA Office Assistant.