Chairperson Neuzil called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:04 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson.

Motion by Harney, second by Thompson, to enter into Executive Session at 9:04 a.m. for an annual evaluation of SEATS Director under section 21.5(1.i), Code of Iowa, "to evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual’s reputation and that individual requests a closed session." Roll call: aye: Harney, Stutsman, Neuzil, Lehman, Thompson.

Motion by Thompson, second by Stutsman, to leave Executive Session at 9:28 a.m. Roll call: aye: Harney, Stutsman, Neuzil, Lehman, Thompson.

Recessed at 9:28 a.m.; reconvened at 9:35 a.m.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: PRE-EVALUATION AND GOAL SETTING of PLANNING AND ZONING ADMINISTRATOR RICK DVORAK AND COUNTY ENGINEER MIKE GARDNER

Motion by Lehman, second by Stutsman, to enter into Executive Session at 9:35 a.m. for an annual evaluation of Planning and Zoning Administrator and County Engineer Mike Gardner under section 21.5(1.i), Code of Iowa, "to evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual’s reputation and that individual requests a closed session." Roll call: aye: Harney, Stutsman, Neuzil, Lehman, Thompson.

Recessed at 11:27 a.m.; reconvened at 11:33 a.m.

Motion by Lehman, second by Stutsman, to leave Executive Session at 11:46 a.m. Roll call: aye: Harney, Stutsman, Neuzil, Lehman, Thompson.

Department of Human Services (DHS) Representative Cheryl Whitney said that DHS needs to make a decision about the phone system. Whitney said the current system is outdated, but they are debating updating only the voice mail until the new building is complete. She said that since the Human Services building is first on the list to be built, replacing only the voicemail feature, which will no longer be serviced by the company, makes the most sense. Thompson asked if these systems are portable. Whitney replied that they may be, but there would be considerable risk regarding compatibility with the new building. Thompson asked what year the County plans on building the Human Services building. Neuzil replied that the money is budgeted in the Fiscal Year 2007 budget. Stutsman asked how that date would affect DHS. Whitney replied that they would replace the voicemail system, with the phone system lasting until the new building is built. Harney asked if DHS has a shared system with Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities. Whitney replied that they share. Stutsman asked what the cost will be to upgrade the voice mail. Whitney answered that the quote is for $12,000. Stutsman asked if MH/DD will pay for a portion of the cost. Whitney said that for building purchases in the past, the funds have come out of DHS Fund 45, but part of the cost is paid for by the Targeted Case Management reimbursements. Neuzil said that there is more room in the MH/DD budget and it is eligible for MH/DD funding based on their use. The Board decided to have a proper proportion paid out of the MH/DD Fund, with the remainder to be paid by Fund 45.

Thompson asked how the increased MH/DD positions are affecting the space assignments within the building. Whitney replied that her office spoke with Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Director Elaine Sweet regarding additional offices, but DHS does not have any vacant offices. Neuzil asked if the DHS employees in Johnson County are providing Johnson County services. Whitney replied that 2 positions serve Johnson County and additional counties. Neuzil asked if those positions are in Johnson County more than 50% of the time or if they could share an office, freeing up the office MH/DD needs. Whitney replied that 2 people would not be able to fit in one office. Stutsman explained that sharing an office would be temporary due to the new building and she believes MH/DD can share offices as they have in the past. Thompson said that the criteria on sharing in the past was been based on whether or not a person needs privacy to see clients. Stutsman said that criteria applies to most MH/DD workers. Harney said that the positions who need space are those that will be working out of the jail, monitoring mental health issues there. Stutsman suggested they work out of the Fisher Building. Neuzil said that Sweet is concerned with not having part of her staff in her building. Thompson said that sharing offices isn’t the most effect work environment. Neuzil said that the County’s workers should take priority over State workers. Thompson replied that the County is required to offer space for State workers as well. Harney said that there are workers from Cedar Rapids who have been moved to Johnson County. Whitney replied that one employee was previously located in Cedar Rapids because it is more centrally based for the area she serves. Department of Human Services Representative Marc Baty said that it sounds like the Board is keeping score, but he can empathize with the space needs problem. He explained that the 3 staff members he based in Johnson County in the reorganization were moved here due to space restrictions in Linn County and because Johnson County is a critical county in the region. Baty said that the records these positions keep take up a considerable amount of space in their offices, which is why sharing would be difficult. He said that the Board can say that since it is a State position, it is a State problem, but DHS doesn’t want to have to lease any more space. Thompson said that the Board problem is that their space is finite, unlike in Cedar Rapids. She said that they need the managers in the Human Services Building to manage the building so that everyone fits. Whitney said that there is a possibility of not filling a position that may open due to retirement. She suggested possibilities she’d be willing to look into including the technology office and any office opened by retirement. The Board discussed a number of possibilities. Whitney asked when the MH/DD positions will be filled. Neuzil responded that they will not begin before July. Thompson directed Whitney to include General Assistance Director Kay Hull in the discussions as well. Neuzil said that the Board is discussing restructuring the Human Services area after Hull retires. Whitney asked what process the Board would use to investigate the area. Neuzil replied that they’d use a committee format. Neuzil asked how many State employees the County provides space for, specifically at the Eastdale location. Whitney replied that there are an additional 14 employees housed in Eastdale and 24 at the Human Services Building. Neuzil said that the County needs to know how many people to house because shortly they will look at the design of the building.

Whitney explained that the Social Worker Margo Magee-Swim is in charge of foster home support and she’s requesting the Board sign a proclamation designating May as Foster Parent Month. The Board agreed. Thompson suggested Magee-Swim make a presentation regarding the need for foster parents. Whitney agreed, noting that it would be nice to get the cable coverage. She said that Johnson County was also selected for the Community Partnership Program, whose purpose is to engage families by developing plans to facilitate a broader support base for families. Whitney said that the program provides financial assistance for the program, so she’s asking the Board to make Johnson County the fiscal agent for those funds. She said that the funding this year is approximately $15,000. Lehman said that if the funds begin this year, the Board will probably need to amend their budget. Whitney said that Human Services Accountant Kathy Lynch has provided that function in the past and should have time to take on the responsibility. Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan said that April 23rd is the deadline to add anything to the upcoming amendment. Whitney said that since the Board is willing to become the fiscal agent, she will follow through on implementation. Stutsman suggested that the person in charge of the program give a presentation as well. Baty said that this program was included in the DHS Strategic Plan, which may have helped DHS obtain the grant. Thompson said that the 3 positions Whitney is discussing are considered each year in budget cuts, so it would be good for the Board to have an understanding how their functions fit the County’s strategy. Whitney explained that the third social worker has been working with the Continued Care Program, serving 145 children in FY 03. She said that the program allows children who lose their funding sources to stay in their programs, funded up to $1,000 by the Continued Care Program through Empowerment Funds. Thompson asked if these positions still do intake work. Whitney replied that 2 of the 3 positions work with State staff in that function. Stutsman asked for Whitney’s input regarding Decat and Empowerment in the Human Services restructuring.

Baty said that he’d like to speak with the Board after DHS has a better sense of what the child welfare redesign will be following the 2005 Legislative Session. He said that the Federal Children and Family Services Review will also have an affect on this area. Currently DHS has been instructed to absorb the salary adjustments in the next fiscal year, he explained. Baty said that the Department of Human Services Director sent out information on a likely scenario, which includes another reduction of 100 filled positions on top of the unfilled positions, but assured staff that facilities would not be closed, only possibly reduced. He said that those 100 positions would be cut throughout the 3 areas within DHS including central administration, the field that they are a part of, and the facilities. He said that the Federal Department of Justice is in the final negotiation stages with the State over the Woodward and Glenwood Resource Centers, so he doesn’t know how these cuts will affect the State’s facilities. Thompson said that she now understands why the State is asking the County to pay the full cost of some residents at the institutions. Baty said that he doesn’t know what the future of State facilities is because even the physical buildings are decaying. He said that there is an early out retirement option for State employees, but only 75% of the vacancies by that effort will be filled.

Baty said that things will be difficult in the child welfare area next year as well. He said that child welfare has enjoyed 2 years of allocations based on expenditures, but he’s anticipating fewer resources next year because a new formula has been implemented, which gives the region less funding. He said that there will be less money for foster families and home based services. Baty said that the Legislature is also considering housing shelter, which ISAC is hoping will cap the counties costs. He said that this year the State funded $1.6 million to shelter 54 kids a day in the 14 county region, but the region won’t see that level of funding again. He said that his DHS region tries to be very sensitive on the impact of child welfare on County’s budgets. Baty said that the DHS Region began the year with 120 children in shelter housing, but currently only has 50 children, of which 20 are from Johnson County. He said he isn’t sure how much lower he can get with shelter utilization in the second largest area in the State. Baty said that the State will reflect the will of the people by using language regarding the populations that will and will not be served. Thompson asked if DHS is serving any children who are not abused or neglected. Baty replied that there are different kids of abuse and neglect within the child abuse assessment process. Whitney said that DHS is still serving the Code’s definition of a child in need of assistance, which are children with difficult behaviors. She said that DHS will have to turn people away that they have not in the past including high-risk families who they currently provide protective services to. Thompson commented that those families will come back as real cases in 3 months time and Whitney agreed. Baty said that it will be very difficult for staff because DHS is arguing the need, only that the policy makers are no longer making the resources available. He said that there is a certain category of family who used to be served by DHS, but will now be handed off to a diversionary organization. Stutsman asked who pays for those organizations. Baty replied that it will be State dollars coming from the child welfare appropriation. Stutsman asked if the Child Welfare redesigns’ driving force is to get rid of the department. Baty replied that some people believe the State wants to privatize the department and others believe that the purpose is just to reduce State dollars. He said that changing the law could allow DHS to reduce dollars. Thompson commented that some states have said that they’ll no longer handle neglect cases. Baty replied that it’s a possibility, but they’d still see those children coming back in the future. Whitney said that currently families are willing to work with DHS because DHS hasn’t gone to court in their cases, but that won’t be an option in the future in many cases.

Baty said that the cuts will turn up the heat on the pressure cooker, because this is a public policy issue for the citizens of Iowa. He said that MH/MR/DD Commission submitted its adult redesign findings to the Legislature and will now begin to investigate a child behavioral system due December 2005. He said that this system deals with children with mental health challenges. Baty said that the criteria for children in need of assistance can be added and deleted by the Legislature, without regards for the needs of the families. He said that he anticipates next year will be a hard year. Baty said that there is a change occurring of what the citizens of Iowa want State Government to be. He said that the current dilemma is how to handle children they’ve already placed in services. Stutsman said that Iowa citizens do not care much about children. Baty replied that they do, but the question is whether they care enough.

Baty said that another issue before the Legislature is the adoption subsidy portion of DHS. He said that those subsidies now account for over 25% of the child welfare appropriation. He said that cutting, eliminating or phasing out these subsidies will become an impassioned public policy issue over the next year. He said that in the past there were rules proposed for childcare cases, but they never made it to the Legislature because of the emotional nature. Baty said that if there isn’t added funding to support the pledge to these families, it will continue to come out of child welfare and juvenile justice funding. He said that the sky may not be falling, but the change in assisting at risk children is the utmost concern. Stutsman commented that the permanent damage those children may sustain is a large concern, because it will affect their future and probably the prison system down the road. She stressed that it’s appropriate to intervene in these cases, but some still seem to think if they ignore the problem the children will turn out all right.

Stutsman asked how these changes will affect the County budget, because the County has a responsibility to these children too. Baty asked if there is a different way for the County to spend their current funds on these types of cases, especially in the shelter area. Thompson asked if Whitney pays for some of these cases out of the Department 45 budget. Whitney replied that there is some money in that budget for those cases. Whitney commented that there has been an increase in drug related cases in the past year, with substance abuse cases taking up 80% of their cases. Stutsman asked if that is true in Johnson County as well. She said that the department has lost track of those that have gone into foster care for substance abuse. She said that DHS absolutely can’t leave children in homes where methamphetamine is being used.

Recessed at 12:55 p.m.; reconvened at 1:00 p.m.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: PRE-EVALUATION AND GOAL SETTING OF PLANNING AND ZONING ADMINISTRATOR RICK DVORAK AND COUNTY ENGINEER MIKE GARDNER

Motion by Harney, second by Thompson, to enter into Executive Session at 1:00 p.m. for an annual evaluation of Planning and Zoning Administrator and County Engineer Mike Gardner under section 21.5(1.i), Code of Iowa, "to evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual’s reputation and that individual requests a closed session." Roll call: aye: Harney, Stutsman, Neuzil, Lehman, Thompson.

Motion by Harney, second by Lehman, to leave Executive Session at 1:47 p.m. Roll call: aye: Harney, Stutsman, Neuzil, Lehman, Thompson.

Adjourned at 1:47 p.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Casie Kadlec and Krissy Dallman, Recording Secretary