DeKalb County, Illinois
	Minutes of the COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH BOARD May 20, 2002

Board Members Present:  Norm Gilbert, Patricia Terry, Bob Krogman, Maureen Russell, Dennis Sands and Opal Zitka

Board Members Absent: Sue Franz, Regina Parker and Mary Petruchius

Other Persons Present: Staff: Jerry Lane and Sue Halbrader

The Community Mental Health Board meeting was called to order at 7:35 p.m. by Secretary-Treasurer Opal Zitka.

There were no changes or additions to the agenda.

INTRODUCTIONS
None

Mr. Krogman moved to approve the April minutes, seconded by Mrs. Terry. On a voice vote, the motion carried.

 

Mrs. Zitka announced that she and her husband completed the Mental Health Walk (which benefits nine counties) and raised $300.

Mrs. Zitka reported that Open Door’s garage sale raised $5,000 this year.

Mr. Lane reminded Board members that on Wednesday, May 29, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., a Transportation Forum will be held at the DeKalb County Farm Bureau Theater. It is an opportunity to share experiences and concerns with legislators and local public officials. Senator Brad Burzynski and Representative Dave Wirsing are planning to attend, as of this date.

Mr. Lane reported that Ben Gordon Center asked the Board to review a Treatment for Homeless (substance abusing) grant which BGC may submit in conjunction with Hope Haven.

Mr. Lane provided several handouts of general interest to Board members, among which was a copy of the County Board’s indemnity policy, which protects volunteer board members from lawsuits and this year’s allocation of funds from the Senior Citizen tax levy.

Mr. Lane called attention to copies of a letter from Jim Graves to Gail Tennant, of Singer Zone Mental Health Center in Rockford. The letter discussed present crises within the MH system, including the fact that reduced funding causes clients long waits, thirteen of whom drop off the wait list monthly.

Mr. Lane reported that Medicaid audited Ben Gordon Center’s case records and determined that most cases were incorrectly charged. This error could cost BGC in excess of $200,000. The incorrect charges were probably not the result of sloppy bookkeeping but due to changes in federal requirements.

Mr. Lane shared the Thank You letter from Kishwaukee College for distributing the children’s book, Something Terrible Happened. The staff will continue to work with local libraries in providing information on mental health related issues.

Mr. Sands inquired if all libraries in the county have a stock of the police officer brochures. Mr. Lane said that brochures have been distributed to all libraries.

Mr. Lane offered information for interested Board members that was distributed by the County Board regarding where county monies are deposited, how much county officials are paid and the Resolutions of the Regional Planning Commission.

Mrs. Zitka added that another book on mental health, Undoing Depression, is available for those interested in depression. Since WWII, the cases of depression world wide have gone up dramatically. At the present time, the number of deaths by suicide (related to depression) is equal to the number of deaths from AIDs.

In spite of all the information and education regarding mental illness and mental health that is available through media and formal education, Mrs. Russell mentioned that an article in last Sunday’s Chicago Tribune was titled, "Depression is a Choice".

 

Mrs. Zitka moved acceptance of the May agency claims as submitted; seconded by Mrs. Russell. On a roll call vote the motion passed unanimously.

Mrs. Zitka moved acceptance of the May office claims as submitted; seconded by Mr. Gilbert. On a roll call vote the motion passed unanimously.

COMMUNITY INPUT
None

No committees have met. The Nominating Committee will have to meet before the next meeting as officers will be elected at that time.

OLD BUSINESS
None

NEW BUSINESS

Mr. Lane submitted a list of recommendations as discussion points for determining preliminary funding allocations. The first item to be discussed was cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business increases to all funded programs to maintain the level of service presently available in the county.

Mr. Gilbert moved to accept an across-the-board increase of 3.4% to maintain existing programs at their present level, seconded by Dennis Sands. On a roll call vote, the measure passed unanimously.

The SA*AS program at Ben Gordon Center was also discussed. As of Friday, May 17,

Safe Passage is developing a full sexual assault program at the urging of the State. The question is, will BGC surrender their program or not? The Department of Justice grant, which comes through NIU, will go to Safe Passage. Mr. Lane suggested that the agencies come to an agreement between themselves (At this time it looks as if Ben Gordon Center is willing to give up the sexual assault program). At present the program is funded through June 30, 2002. In addition, Ben Gordon Center is in the process of recruiting a child psychiatrist.

Mrs. Russell moved that the money for SA*AS and for the child psychiatrist be taken out of the Ben Gordon Center grant amount until a determination is made about the program and a psychiatrist is hired. Dennis Sands moved to escrow $30,000 for the psychiatrist and hold aside the SA*AS funds, Second by Opal Zitka. On a roll call vote,the motion passed unanimously.

Family Service Agency requested expansion of the DD Respite Care purchase of care program. Staff recommended in light of potential increased demand due to the budget crisis.

 

Mrs. Russell moved approval of expanding the DD Respite Care Program, seconded by Mr. Krogman. On a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously.

 

A request for expanding the Special Needs Funds for the Consumer Advocacy Council of DeKalb County would increase that fund to $10,000. Mrs. Russell requested a copy of the guidelines for granting awards for needy consumers and a list of persons on the Executive Committee of the CACDC, as a follow-up to assuring that the President, Bob Putz, is not saddled with the sole responsibility of these decisions.

Mrs. Russell moved the Special Needs Fund for CACDC be increased to $10,000, seconded by Mrs. Zitka. On a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously.

Guests from Family Service Agency, Executive Director Bill Wilkinson and Clinical Director Chris Gough, attended the meeting to discuss the original grant proposal for the Social Phobia Program and a subsequent request for support of their general scholarship fund. Questions about the Social Phobia program indicated that three groups of eight children each would be established in county schools. FSA views the program as one of prevention. They contend that failure to address extreme social phobia can lead to more serious mental illnesses. Mr. Lane did not recommend adding a new program at this time. Given other serious, unmet mental health needs among children, he suggested issuing a Requests for Proposals to deal with these needs. After some discussion, the Board concluded that the program could be funded as a special project with the following conditions: 1) that it be treated as a pilot project with no guarantee of on-going funding and 2) that an evaluation process be included in the program with concrete objectives and measurable outcomes.

Mrs. Russell moved to treat the Social Phobia program as a pilot project and to fund it as a Special Project, seconded by Mr. Sands. On a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously.

Family Service Agency also presented a late request for $15,000 to cover a deficit in their scholarship fund for FY2002, which ends June 30. In addition, they are requesting $10,000 for FY2003 to cover the loss of the grant which had funded the scholarships for several years.

It was decided to reserve judgement on the requests until the June meeting.

VAC is presented the Board with an opportunity leverage $50,000 for a Developmental Disability Transportation grant by providing $7,500 in one-time matching funds. This is a one-time grant that requires no further obligation on the part of the Board.

Mrs. Russell moved to provide VAC the $7,500 as local match for the Department of Transportation Grant, seconded by Mr. Krogman. On a roll call vote the motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Lane stated that he had polled the Executive Directors of all agencies to inquireincreasing insurance costs are eating up their budgets. The rates of health, property, liability and workman’s compensation insurance have increased at such a fast rate that the only way agencies can deal with the challenge is to lay off personnel and/or not fill vacancies. Mr. Lane said the Board has $204,000 in Contingency and an additional $46,000 that could be used to help defray this expense. The amount the Board can provide is not adequate to cover everyone’s needs. The amounts would have to be prorated as we did with the utility related emergency grant last year.

Discussion followed Mr. Lane’s statement. Mr. Sands favored using the funds available, but not necessarily tying it to insurance. Mr. Gilbert also favored using the funds flexibly. Mrs. Russell asked Mr. Lane to write a letter to each agency, asking them to list the amount of increase in insurance payments so Board members can see the figures before a decision is finalized.

Staff recommended that the Board consider a capital grant to VAC to replace the small bus used to transport our clients. VAC is on a list of to receive replacement busses. They’ve been approved for replacements for the past three years, but so far, no busses have been forthcoming. This is apparently due to bureaucratic bungling at state or federal levels. The problem this creates is that costs of maintenance on rolling stock increases dramatically the older a vehicle gets. This results in funds being diverted from operating expenses to pay for maintenance. The CMHB could afford the $40,000 to purchase a minibus for the DD route that VAC operates.

Due to the late hour, Board members decided to study the remaining list of recommendations and take them up at the June Board meeting.

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