City of Lawrence
Social Service Funding Advisory Board Meeting
May 23, 2014 minutes
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Erika Dvorske, Judy Bellome, Megan Leopold, Joshua Brown |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
Barbara Schnitker, Donna Osness, Jeremy Fite |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
Casey Toomay, Budget Manager Kevyn Gero, Management Intern |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
Andy Brown |
The meeting was called to order at 8 am.
Dvorske suggested that the board make recommendations the City Commission in a tiered approach. Commissioners could then be presented with options based on priority and choose to fund programs at Tier 1, which would be level funding, or Tier 2, which would provide additional funding for priorities.
Dvorske proposed board members disclose conflicts of interest and request that Commissioners disclose as well. Dvorske is affiliated with the following agencies: Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Club, GaDugi, Headquarters, Heartland Community Health Center, Van Go, Willow Domestic Violence Center, Ballard Center, Communities in Schools, Douglas County CASA, Douglas County Dental Clinic, Harvesters, Healthcare Access, Douglas County Childhood Development Association, Housing and Credit Counseling, Just Food, Salvation Army, Success by 6. Her husband is on the board of the Lawrence Children’s Choir.
Bellome suggested collecting information from absent Board members. Bellome serves on Douglas County Senior Services Board, previously served on the Board at JAAA and was a Headquarters volunteer. Leopold is a CASA volunteer. Brown is familiar with Headquarters and will recuse himself from Lawrence Creates as Barbara Kerr is on faculty in his department. Board members discussed that knowledge is an asset but expressed the importance of transparency. The Board suggested that if a Commissioner is paid by an applicant they should recuse themselves from discussions of any funding application.
The board started with a review of applications for special alcohol funds. Any applicant that does not meet the goals of impacting substance abuse moves toward the bottom while stronger ones move toward the top. Both DCCCA applications, Hearthstone and Willow were identified to be directly related to serving alcohol and substance abuse issues.
Andy Brown, Executive Director of Headquarters, Inc., joined the meeting. Bellome asked Andy Brown to explain why headquarters applied to the alcohol fund. Leopold asked if they provide on-going services. Brown said they did not but there are some repeat callers. Dvorske asked about the number of calls and where they are coming from. Brown answered that many of the calls are from urban areas including: Topeka, Wichita, Lawrence, etc. Bellome inquired about how the agency collaborates. Brown explained he is known personally for collaboration, and while new to his job with Headquarters, plans to partner with GaDuGi SafeCenter and Willow Domestic Violence Center. Also, they are currently working with University of Kansas and Suicide Prevention Coalition. Joshua Brown asked how the public knows about Headquarters. Andy Brown said a potential grant will provide funds to “train the trainer” and possibly bring in money from around the state. When Bellome asked how they previously paid for the project since this is the first time asking for Special Alcohol funds, Brown responded by saying this is a new project.
Andy Brown left the meeting.
Leopold stated that the application states that the forty-five trained would be in Lawrence at call center but the “train the trainer” would go across the state. The board considered if this application could be a one-time request.
Bellome asks if the board should consider having applicants attend these meetings next year. Dvorske comments that this process can be lengthy and typically does not change decision making.
Moving ahead, Dvorske asks if there are other applications that are directly targeted to the purpose of the alcohol fund. She asks the Board if they agree these are the top four priority applications. Treatment focused programs were identified at top priority. The other agencies are not primarily focused on substance abuse. Next priority in Tier 1 is youth prevention with earlier intervention as a higher priority than intervention for adults. Prevention programs identified to be included in Tier 1 by the board include: Van Go Mobile Arts, Inc. and Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence.
Increases in funding for Tier 2 reflect the expanded priorities. Heartland Community Health Center is also included in Tier 2. The Board expressed that the application is not clear as to what program is being funded. Treatment is involved but not the primary focus, pushing the application into Tier 2.
The recommendations for Tier 1 and Tier 2 are shown below.
|
Budget |
Request |
Req. vs. |
SSFAB Recommendation |
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|
SPECIAL ALCOHOL FUND |
2014 |
2015 |
14 Budget |
tier 1 |
tier 2 |
|
Big Brothers/Big Sisters |
23,665 |
5,500 |
-76.76% |
0 |
|
|
Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence |
97,000 |
106,278 |
9.56% |
97,000 |
+3,000 |
|
DCCCA |
41,000 |
124,928 |
204.70% |
93,696 |
|
|
DCCCA d/b/a First Step House |
27,660 |
48,672 |
75.97% |
37,421 |
+11,251 |
|
GaDugi SafeCenter |
2,000 |
2,500 |
25.00% |
0 |
|
|
Headquarters, Inc. |
10,000 |
10,000 |
0.00% |
0 |
|
|
Lawrence Alcoholic Recovery House |
7,500 |
7,500 |
0.00% |
7,500 |
|
|
Heartland Community Health Center |
28,792 |
32,800 |
13.92% |
0 |
+28,792 |
|
Van Go Mobile Arts, Inc. |
32,000 |
44,000 |
37.50% |
32,000 |
+3,000 |
|
Willow Domestic Violence Center |
17,000 |
19,000 |
11.76% |
19,000 |
|
|
Total |
$286,617 |
$401,178 |
39.97% |
$286,617 |
+$46,043 |
The board moved on to review of General Fund applications. They discussed possible uses of the Community Health Plan or Reporting Requirements for considering applications.
There were applications from two new agencies that the Board did not consider because did not think they were for social services - Douglas County Senior Services and the City’s Sustainability Advisory Board. The Board did not weigh the merits of the applications and did not think funding for either should come from the funds available for social services.
In considering eligibility, the Board decided to call Ecumenical Minister’s Fellowship. The Board had questions about the absence of 2013 reports and the late submission for the 2015 application. A call was placed to the phone number provided within the application pursuant to the instructions but there was no answer or opportunity to leave a message. Without this information, the Board agreed that they were unable to recommend funding for the agency.
The Board made a list of agency proposals they considered to be the top priority for funding because the programs were most directly related to the Community Health Plan. The agencies listed were Bert Nash Community Center, Health Care Access, Housing and Credit Counseling, Douglas County CASA, Healthy Sprouts, Success by 6, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence, Communities in Schools, and Harvesters.
The Board discussed the intent that no more than 50% of the total should go toward programs providing emergency services/crisis funding. They agreed there is a need for safety net programs but the higher priority should be given to programs that are providing earlier interventions.
The Board discussed that Healthy Sprouts is great program but that there may be other more vulnerable populations and more pressing needs related to food.
It was suggested to start with recommendations for funding for the priority agencies at 2014 level and new applications at 50% of their request.
The Board took a short recess.
The Board reconvened and began with a discussion of the bus passes/ work clothes funding. The Board strongly encourages collaboration between agencies to ensure that agencies other than the Lawrence Community Shelter, who also receives bus passes from the City’s Transit Funds, are able to access them.
Warm Hearts has no overhead cost but may need overhead structure to improve service delivery. The Board considered increasing funding for Ballard Community Center because they offer similar services and have the organizational capacity in place to administer the funds.
David Corliss stopped in the meeting. Dvorske reviewed the tiered approach with Corliss and explained the priorities for funding previously discussed by the board.
The Board discussed that Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging is getting funded in other places and the likelihood that services would continue without city funding.
The Board discussed the efficacy of the Douglas County Dental Clinic program but limited resources prevent the Board from recommending the requested increase.
The Board discussed the value of possible partnerships between GaDuGi and Willow. The Board placed a call to Chrissy Heikkila at GaDuGi for clarification on support groups. Currently, staff are operating support group on a volunteer basis but there are no paid professionals providing support groups. Bellome inquired about whether they are looking at partnerships with Willow? Heikkila states there is no reason we couldn’t do that. Leopold asked who would lead the support groups? Heikkila responded that they would try to find licensed mental health practitioner or survivors for peer support. GaDuGi could possibly work with Bert Nash. The Board thanks Heikkila and ended the call.
The Board talked about considering Ballard Community Center‘s request because they provide case management and existing program funding.
The Board discussed funding priorities and the need to reduce several programs in an effort to fund these Community Health Plan priorities.
The Board discussed the need for TFI Family Services and that this agency is providing a service that no other agency provides. TFI Family serves are preventative in nature to keep families and children from needed additional support services in the future.
The Board brought up questions about the strategic direction of Headquarters, Inc. There are call centers everywhere and other agencies providing these services in this community. Support from KU students funding could indicate student satisfaction but there are concerns about timing of starting new program while the agency is still in transition.
The Board also discussed the Van Go program and the high cost per student. The Board questioned why long term outcome statistics haven’t been provided.
The Board discussed the Just Food proposal. The Board was not clear on what the requested funding would be used for. Additionally, Tier 1 includes other programs with a focus on healthy food that had more clearly defined programs in their applications. Tier 2 would increase that commitment. The Board discussed the difference between funding a viable program and just underwriting an organization and agreed they placed a higher priority on funding programs because the outcomes were easier to measure.
The Board discussed the Communities in Schools proposal. The Board responded favorably to the program because it offers case management and “wrap around services” for kids and provides long term outcomes.
Ecumenical Minister’s Fellowship was not funded in Tier 1 or 2. The 2015 request from Ecumenical is 300% over the 2014 budget, their application continues to be late, they don’t submit reports, and no one answered the phone. The Board expressed serious concerned about the lack of administrative capacity. The Board strongly agreed with the need but there has not been any evidence provided that this program achieves the targeted outcomes.
The Board’s recommendations for Tier One and Tier Two are shown below.
|
|
Budget |
Request |
Req. vs. |
SSFAB Recommendation |
|
|
GENERAL OPERATING FUND |
2014 |
2015 |
14 Budget |
tier 1 |
tier 2 |
|
Ballard Community Center |
8,500 |
15,000 |
76.5% |
14,500 |
|
|
Bert Nash City Homeless Outreach Team |
168,114 |
174,500 |
3.8% |
168,114 |
|
|
Big Brothers Big Sisters |
NA |
38,600 |
19,300 |
|
|
|
Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence |
148,722 |
148,722 |
0.0% |
130,922 |
|
|
Communities in Schools |
NA |
5,000 |
|
2,500 |
|
|
Douglas County CASA, Inc. |
25,000 |
25,000 |
0.0% |
25,000 |
|
|
Douglas County Dental Clinic |
5,000 |
15,000 |
200.0% |
5,000 |
|
|
Douglas County Senior Services |
NA |
|
|
|
|
|
Downtown Farmers Market |
10,600 |
10,000 |
-5.7% |
10,000 |
|
|
Ecumenical Minister's Fellowship |
2,000 |
8,000 |
300.0% |
0 |
|
|
GaDugi SafeCenter |
NA |
21,147 |
|
0 |
+8,000 |
|
Harvesters |
NA |
35,000 |
|
17,500 |
|
|
Headquarters |
NA |
31,000 |
|
0 |
|
|
Health Care Access |
26,800 |
26,800 |
0.0% |
26,800 |
|
|
Do. Co. Child Dev. Assoc. |
NA |
50,000 |
|
0 |
+10,000 |
|
Housing & Credit Counseling |
17,100 |
17,100 |
0.0% |
17,100 |
|
|
Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging |
7,400 |
7,400 |
0.0% |
0 |
|
|
Just Food of Douglas County, KS |
NA |
80,000 |
|
0 |
+25,000 |
|
Lawrence Alliance |
NA |
4,000 |
|
0 |
|
|
Lawrence Creates Inc. |
NA |
60,000 |
|
0 |
|
|
The Shelter, Inc. |
32,000 |
32,000 |
0.0% |
32,000 |
|
|
Salvation Army |
NA |
15,000 |
|
0 |
|
|
Spencer Art Museum |
NA |
30,000 |
|
0 |
|
|
Success By 6 Coalition of Douglas County |
NA |
55,000 |
|
27,500 |
|
|
Sustainability Advisory Board |
NA |
|
|
|
|
|
TFI Family Services |
7,000 |
7,000 |
|
7,000 |
|
|
Van Go Mobile Arts |
35,000 |
44,000 |
25.7% |
0 |
+35,000 |
|
Warm Hearts of Douglas County |
6,000 |
6,000 |
0.0% |
0 |
|
|
Willow Domestic Violence Center |
6,000 |
6,000 |
|
6,000 |
|
|
Willow - Bus Pass / Work Clothes |
8,000 |
8,000 |
0.0% |
4,000 |
|
|
Total |
$513,236 |
$975,269 |
90.0% |
$513,236 |
+$78,000 |
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highlighting indicates application received after deadline |
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|
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|
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board does not consider this agency to be a social service agency and therefore did not review |
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The Board tentatively scheduled the next meeting for May 30 at 8:30 am to review the minutes from the meeting and take action to forward recommendations to the City Commission.
A motion to adjourn was made by Bellome with a second by Leopold. The motion passed 4-0.
The meeting adjourned at 11:50 am.