MONROE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
Meeting of November 20th, 2008
Community Services Center, Sparta, Wisconsin
BOARD PRESENT:
James Shilling, Chairperson
Harv Simmons, Secretary
Mary Cook
Howard Garves
Barb Mlsna
John Rusch
Charles Schwarz
Robert Stump
STAFF PRESENT:
Gene Phillips, Director
Sue Rettler, Clinic Administrator
Ron Hamilton, Social Work Supervisor
Deb Suchla, Business Administrator
Carla Blackcoon, Economic Support Spec.
Cathy Abbott, Administrative Serv. Coord.
BOARD ABSENT:
Carol Las, Vice-Chairperson (Excused)
Call to Order: Chairperson James Shilling called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m.
Recognitions: No employee recognitions were presented at this meeting.
Approval of Open Meeting Minutes for October 16th, 2008: After brief review, A MOTION
MADE BY HARV SIMMONS, SECONDED BY CHARLES SCHWARZ, CARRIED WITH
ALL IN FAVOR to approve the open meeting minutes from October 16th, 2008 as printed.
Focus on 2009: Gene Phillips requested Board members offer their considerations and plans for
the agency’s services for the upcoming year. Each Board member provided their opinion about
the emphasis and direction they felt the agency should take in 2009. The following is a summary
of Board members’ comments:
 Identify, prioritize, and find possible alternatives for non-mandated services;
 Reduce paperwork and minimize Board reports;
 Acknowledgement of Board members’ belief in and support of the professional staff
within the agency and recognition for their decision making ability;
 Impact of a county administrator position in assisting agency operations and county-wide
collaborative efforts;
 Recognition of the fiscal and personnel impact resulting from the transition of services
and clients to the Aging and Disability Resource Center and Western Wisconsin CARES;
 Determination of the ripple effects on the budget and community for certain diversionary,
prevention, and non-mandated programs;
 Recognition of the difficulty in being able to analyze/measure the impact of not having a
service/program;
 Maintain availability to clients and provide prompt, confidential responses to callers in
specified time frames to acknowledge their concerns;
 Identify ways to balance greater expectations for services with reduced funding and
personnel;
 Configuration and interrelationship of services provided by the county departments;
 Maintain client accountability for providing services and programs that are deemed
necessary.
Monroe County Dept. of Human Services
MINUTES: November 20th, 2008
Page 2
Administrative staff also shared their hopes and concerns for 2009 including: the change of the
17-year-olds to the juvenile system; constraints on the budget due to the shift of long-term
support services, deficits in the current budget going into the new year, the reduction in
prevention grant funds, and a worsening economy and the anticipated expanding need for
services; striving for efficiency in basic, core office functions; a centralized call-in center;
shortage of staff available to provide for the increasing number of clients and demand for
service; and an improved emergency response system with a correlating reduction in inpatient
expenses.
Board members commented positively about the process for commenting on and planning for the
upcoming year and suggested this type of conversation be held periodically throughout the year,
but most definitely on an annual basis.
Staff/Director Reports:
Update on Western Wisconsin Cares Transition (WWC) and Aging and Disability Resource
Center (ADRC): Mr. Phillips outlined the work that is being done to prepare for the transition of
250 clients to Western Wisconsin Cares (WWC) in January 2009. He described the workload
social workers and clerical are putting forth in preparing the clients for this transition, as well as
noting the large volume of record reproduction and document preparation for this transition.
He also shared information about the operations of the Aging and Disability Resource Center
(ADRC) since its opening for business on November 3rd. Two agency social workers and one
clerical staff transferred from the Long-Term Support and Clerical units respectively to work in
the new facility located in Building B in the Community Services complex.
Mr. Shilling noted the financial impact on the Property and Purchasing Committee budget for
carpet replacement in the Center. Mr. Phillips explained that Monroe County would need to
submit requests for funding to La Crosse County since they are the contractor with the State for
the four-county ADRC consortium.
BadgerCare Plus Update – Coverage for Childless Adults: Carla Blackcoon provided Board
members with an update concerning the next phase under BadgerCare Plus set to initiate in
January 2009, that will provide various types of healthcare coverage to childless adults, and the
plans for notifying potential clients and processing the additional applications..
Board Member Reports/Discussion:
Oral Report by Jim Shilling Regarding Western Wisconsin Cares (WWC) Meeting: Jim
Shilling shared several potential logos for Western Wisconsin Cares and requested Board
members and administrative staff recommend their top choices for logo selection. He also
shared some of the decisions made by the new director including discontinuation of corporate
guardians and utilization of county resources for this function.
Oral Report by Carol Las Regarding Mississippi Valley Health Services Board Meeting: Mr.
Phillips informed Board members there had been no determination yet concerning the fee
charged to counties by the Mississippi Valley Health Services for clients placed at Lakeview
Health Care Center.
Monroe County Dept. of Human Services
MINUTES: November 20th, 2008
Page 3
Oral Report by Barb Mlsna and Howard Garves Regarding Aging and Disability Resource
Center of Western Wisconsin Advisory Committee Meeting: Barb Mlsna and Howard Garves
reported on their attendance at the recent Aging and Disability Resource Centers of Western
Wisconsin Advisory Committee in Vernon County on October 28th. The next Advisory
Committee meeting will be held in Monroe County on December 16th at 1:00 p.m. in Room 409
of Community Services Center. Ms. Mlsna and Mr. Garves reported that the ADRC mission
statement is finalized, Vernon County’s ADRC provided an update on their initiation status,
signage has been ordered for Monroe County, and copies of the Community Link Resource
Guide were shared and are being placed at nutrition sites throughout Monroe County.
Policy/Operational Items:
Final Review and Approval of Policy: With modest corrections made since the initial review to
the two policies relating to the Kinship Care Program, A MOTION MADE BY HARV
SIMMONS, SECONDED BY ROBERT STUMP, CARRIED WITH ALL IN FAVOR to
approve both the new Kinship Care Program Waiting List Policy and the revised Kinship Care
Eligibility and Payment Policy.
Initial Review of Policies: Mr. Phillips presented three policies for review, i.e., the Client
Misconduct and Infractions that May Result in Corrective Action or Discharge, Duty to Warn,
and Relinquishment of a Newborn Child Policies. These policies will be placed on the next
meeting’s agenda for final review and approval.
Personnel Updates: Recruitment Update: Mr. Phillips announced that as a result of the
resignation in the Children and Family Services unit, a recruitment process was initiated to fill
this position. Applications will close on November 21st and one of the Board members from the
Interview Committee will need to serve on the Interview Team planned for sometime in early
December. To date, the available pool of applicants appears to be very small due the recruitment
efforts of WWC and other counties in the consortium also recruiting for replacement staff.
Mr. Phillips reviewed the current staffing levels as a result of the ADRC initiation and the
upcoming WWC transition impacting a total of six positions including: two clerical positions
(one transfer and one vacancy), two social workers transferred to the ADRC, and two social
worker resignations thus far (to work at WWC). In addition to these positions, the agency has
also had three social workers impacted by either medical leave or family leave. As a result, Mr.
Phillips noted that on-call staff have been utilized to assist with all the work that still needs to be
done to maintain agency operations and prepare for the WWC transition of clients.
Director’s Evaluation in December: Copies of the performance evaluation form and the
Director’s current job description were provided to Board members, who discussed the process
utilized in past years for Mr. Phillips’ evaluation. Time will be set aside during the closed
session in the December meeting to actually conduct this evaluation.
Fiscal Reports:
Departmental Fiscal Status Reports: Ms. Suchla reported on the profit and loss report through
September which indicates the budget being over-expended by $282,252 or 2.5% of the budget.
Specific attention was detailed regarding the areas of increased revenue and ongoing over-
Monroe County Dept. of Human Services
MINUTES: November 20th, 2008
Page 4
expenditures in the line items of child supportive living, special services, and foster care. She
also presented the detailed expenditure and volatile line item reports and Mr. Phillips shared a
copy of the cash flow report through October indicating reduced cash flow during this time of the
year as a result of full utilization of State prepayments.
Ms. Suchla presented a comparative budget for 2006-2009 with the 2009 budget reflecting the
$75,000 reduction as directed by the Finance Committee. She also indicated that the bound
budget books will be presented most likely at the next meeting. Board members Charles
Schwarz and Harv Simmons were excused at this point in the meeting.
Other Reports (Service Contracts, Unanticipated Revenue Etc.): There were no purchase of
service contract amendments or unanticipated revenue reports provided at this meeting.
Review of Monroe County Planning Council Meeting Minutes of October 21st, 2008 and
Long-Term Support and Citizens’ Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes of October 23rd,
2008: The Monroe County Planning Council meeting minutes for October 21st, 2008 and the
Long-Term Support Programs and Citizens’ Advisory Committees meeting minutes for
October 23rd, 2008 were shared for informational purposes. Ms. Abbott commented on specific
details contained in the minutes and newsletter and addressed Board members’ questions.
Date of Next Meeting/Agenda Topics/Location: The next regular monthly meeting is
scheduled for Thursday, December 18th at 8:30 a.m. The meeting will be held at the Community
Services Center in Sparta. Items for inclusion on the next agenda were a discussion about
another section within the agency, reports on associated Boards/Committees, policies and
resolutions for review, a closed session for the Director’s evaluation, and any other updates on
pending issues.
Adjournment (approximately 11:30 a.m.): With no further topics for discussion, A MOTION
MADE BY MARY COOK, SECONDED BY ROBERT STUMP, CARRIED WITH ALL IN
FAVOR to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 11:48 a.m.
Respectfully submitted:
Cathy L. Abbott
Administrative Services Coordinator
/cla