[ Council Communication ]  [ Memo ]
[Ashland Strategic Plan Social and Human Services Element ]

Council Communication

Title:	Report on Health and Human Services Plan
Dept:	Finance Department
Date:	May 7, 2002
Submitted By:	Lee Tuneberg, Finance Director
Reviewed By:	Greg Scoles, City Administrator

Synopsis:	Attached is a report on the current city activities relating to the Health (Social) and Human Services Plan adopted by Council and included within the Strategic Plan Goals.
Recommendation:	Staff recommends acceptance of this report and consideration of additional steps via a future study session including affected departments and interested parties.
Fiscal Impact:	No immediate impact on the budget.
Background:	The Social & Human Services ad hoc committee was established in October 1999 to define the city's role and philosophy in providing social services to the community and to develop a funding plan. The committee met through November 2000 and the resultant plan is attached with a report of current activities that relate to elements of the plan and funding.

End of Document - Back to Top

MEMO

TO: Greg Scoles, City Administrator
FROM: Lee Tuneberg, Finance Director
DATE: May 7, 2002

RE: Report on Ashland Strategic Plan - Social and Human Services Element

The current Strategic Plan includes the following goal:

Implement and fund the Health and Human Services Plan

The Health and Human Services Plan Mission Statement:

To ensure that all people in Ashland live in a safe, strong, and caring community, the City of Ashland seeks to enhance the quality of life and promote the self-reliance, growth, and development of people. To these ends, the City of Ashland will strive to provide resources and services to meet basic human needs.

This report is intended to provide an overview of city activities that reasonably could be construed as elements of this plan, its endeavor to provide resources and services to meet basic human needs, and communicate them to Council for further consideration and direction.

The plan identifies a safe and healthy community as central to the mission. The city is charged with promoting the general welfare via an established safety net that addresses chemical dependency, a safe environment, available and affordable health services, effective and responsible emergency assistance, family development, and equal access to justice.

The city's role is:

• facilitating a safe and healthy community by providing leadership,
• enacting responsible public policy,
• encouraging effective, collaborative efforts and
• establishing and funding clear priorities.

The plan includes three goals:

1. Provide a comprehensive and coordinated system of services to address people in need.
2. Ensure that the allocation of program funding is fair, objective and consistent.
3. Ensure that funded programs directly address changing priorities and are administered in an effective and cost-efficient manner.

Current city efforts are significant yet only touch upon the above goals and their respective elements. Relevant city activities thought to fall under this program's umbrella and related policy numbers are:

A. Maintaining this plan and significant elements as continued elements of the city's strategic plan and inclusion within the annual budget process. (most all elements)

B. Allocate CDBG funds toward priority projects including affordable housing. (1-4, 2-2)

C. Social service grants funding 20+ agencies for total of $100,000 each year.(1-1, 2-1, 2-3)

D. Assistance programs helping seniors, low income and or disadvantaged customers pay utility bills. (2-3)

E. Senior program supporting needs of the growing population. (1-3)

F. Living wage initiative affecting contracted work in Ashland. (2-1)

G. AFN discounted services for community cable services. (1-3, 1-4)

As can be seen, these activities and their potential areas of inclusion are not comprehensive when considering the breadth of the elements of the plan. Elements not addressed to date are high-lighted below. It should be noted that element 2-2, allocating 15% of CDBG funds, has been deferred in light of the priority goal of developing affordable housing through a limited number of programs with that money instead. The current CDBG process calls for 75% to go to one or two projects, 5% to municipal building accessibility and 20% to administration.

PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE AND COORDINATED SYSTEM OF SERVICES TO ADDRESS PEOPLE IN NEED

POLICIES:

(1-1) Identify opportunities to achieve a broad spectrum of integrated community services that provides for all residents by helping eliminate identified barriers associated with collaboration such as liability insurance, ways to mitigate obstacles to information exchange among agencies, ways to overcome "turfdom" and fears of budget invasion and the creation of a streamlined, performance based contracting system that rapidly identifies changes in the community and responds with innovative projects.

(1-2) Create a consistent database of information on local service needs, successful program solutions to human and social service problems, and sources of funding for human and social service programs.

(1-3) Assist older Ashlanders, through the Senior Program, in achieving an opportunity for employment free from discriminatory practices because of age; suitable housing; an appropriate level of physical and mental health services; ready access to effective social services; appropriate institutional care when required; information about available supportive services; and supportive services which enable elderly persons to remain in their homes.

(1-4) Ensure that the needs of low income individuals are considered in the planning for public housing, community services, and fees for development.

(1-5) Identify opportunities to develop creative partnerships with service organizations that could include technical assistance, staff development, co-sponsorship of programs and development of new revenue sources.

(1-6) Play a leadership role in the creation of a "City of Ashland Operating Foundation for a Safe and Healthy Community."

ENSURE THAT THE ALLOCATION OF PROGRAM FUNDING IS FAIR, OBJECTIVE AND CONSISTENT.

POLICIES:

(2-1) Allocate public resources, from within the City's general fund, in an amount set by resolution, for the direct support of essential safety net services.

In recognition of the reality that the costs associated with the provision of essential safety net services increase on an annual basis, give due consideration in the City's budget process to matters pertaining to inflation indexes, environmental factors which may contribute to increased demand for services, and compensation rates (livable wages) paid to social service employees.

(2-2) Allocate, as permissible by the CDBG Block Grant process, on an annual basis, fifteen percent (15%) of categorical CDBG resources for the direct support of qualifying safety net services.

(2-3) Expend through the City's budget process, resources allocated from the City's General Fund and the proportional share of CDBG funds, in the charitable, private not-for-profit sector for the provision of safety net services such as:

a) Temporary, emergency food and shelter;
b) Substance abuse education, prevention and treatment;
c) The preservation of dignity and equal access to justice;
d) Primary and preventive health care services;
e) Critical supportive services for families, seniors and victims.

ENSURE THAT FUNDED PROGRAMS DIRECTLY ADDRESS CHANGING PRIORITIES AND ARE ADMINISTERED IN AN EFFECTIVE AND COST-EFFICIENT MANNER

POLICIES:

(3-1) Ensure that the City consults with local agency officials in the design, delivery and evaluation of services, by establishing an Ad Hoc Human Services Task Force with its primary focus on working on the implementation of Policies 1-2, 3-2 and 3-3 and related human services planning and management issues.

(3-2) Develop and adopt techniques for analyzing and measuring the equity of outcomes and benefits of services delivery which can be integrated into planning, evaluation and budgeting components. Programs should be evaluated on the basis of well defined performance standards that relate to program administration and participant development, in addition to the basis of numbers served or placed.

(3-3) Develop a format for presentations to the Budget Committee, to be made every 3-4 years, which utilize the results of the monitoring framework outlined in Policy 3-2.

Many of the tasks are currently dealt with by various committees, council liaisons and staff. Foremost is the work by the Housing Commission, Senior Board, Budget Committee and Council itself. The ad hoc committee last met in November 2000 and suggested alternative ways to fund this program (minutes attached). Several of the ideas generated relate to current operational and budgetary activities by the groups listed above.

The high-lighted items speak to a different level of activity than employed today. Item 1-2 calls for a database and its management, 1-5 looks for partnerships between the city and service organizations, 1-6 suggests creating a foundation and 3-1, 2, 3 identify and detail a management, tracking and reporting system.

All of these elements are labor intensive and would have a direct impact on the city budget, and possibly on the availability of funds needed for said services. Considering the existing efforts and funding mechanisms by Council and sub-groups, the allocation or reallocation of resources to bolster current efforts or to address less active elements of the plan requires further direction from Council. Staff suggests Council accept this report and determine what steps to take next.

End of Document - Back to Top

ASHLAND STRATEGIC PLAN
SOCIAL AND HUMAN SERVICES ELEMENT

Mission Statement

To ensure that all people in Ashland live in a safe, strong, and caring community, the City of Ashland seeks to enhance the quality of life and promote the self-reliance, growth, and development of people. To these ends, the City of Ashland will strive to provide resources and services to meet basic human needs.

Overview and Philosophy
Central to the attainment of this mission are a series of commitments and strategies to ensure that the City of Ashland will be characterized as a safe and healthy community. We value a community in which citizens are free to grow, to be safe within their person and family, and to join forces in the collaborative caring for one another.

The City of Ashland, as a government institution, is charged with promoting the general welfare. The status of the general welfare is severely diminished when there are those in the community who are ill with treatable conditions, but for the price of treatment, remain untreated; those who lack food and shelter, but for the price such necessities, who remain homeless and hungry. Every such circumstance diminishes the strength and functionality of the community, and erodes the ability of children to learn, of adults to work, parents to parent and seniors to remain independent.

Critical first steps toward the attainment of a safe and healthy community reside in the creation and support of a collaborative community wide safety net. When one thinks of providing a safety net one thinks first of any critical, life-or-death needs which might be provided to a person to protect against undue suffering or an inhumane response from neighbors. Specifically, a safe and healthy community:

• Offers its residents drug-free schools, workplaces, and community centers, while creating capacities for the prevention and treatment of chemical dependency;
• Is characterized by citizens who are not afraid to venture from their homes at night, and parents who are assured that their children are safe from negative influences that promote crime, substance abuse, or violence;
• Is characterized by the affordable and accessible presence of primary and preventative health care services which in turn support a healthy workforce and reduce adolescent pregnancies, infant mortality, disability, and the spread of communicable diseases;
• Is one that provides an essential safety net of effective and responsible emergency assistance to those who are unable to feed or shelter their families and who are confronted with situations they cannot alleviate by themselves;
• Supports the development of families through such programs as parenting education, affordable housing, quality childcare, crisis intervention, victims' assistance, and senior services;
• Is one that affords justice, and equal access to justice, to each of its members in a continuous effort to break the cycle of poverty, stabilize and strengthen the ability of parents to care for their children, obtain safe and affordable housing, facilitate safe working conditions, defend against consumer fraud, and protect the frail and vulnerable from abuse.

As the City of Ashland moves along a continuum which focuses on self-sufficiency, the tools for self-sufficiency must be included within the context of the community's safety net. There is no person who will achieve true self-sufficiency if denied timely, continuous, and affordable access to needed treatments, interventions, advocacy, and skill-building. For these reasons, beneficiaries of the community's safety net hold ethical obligations for personal advancement along a progressive continuum toward self-sufficiency (unless otherwise constrained by disability or vulnerability).

The Role of the City of Ashland
The City of Ashland plays a strategic and pro-active role in facilitating a safe and healthy community by:

Providing leadership in community forums in which safety, health, livability, and quality of life are discussed or debated.

• Enacting a responsible public policy that:
  1. Safeguards strategic partnerships with charitable providers of safety net services;
  2. Remains mindful of potential negative or unintended outcomes;
  3. Invites the counsel of community professionals who are actively involved in the delivery of safety net services when contemplating relevant public policy.
• Encouraging true collaboration, rewarding a dedication to and focus on mission, and discouraging unnecessary duplication of service or effort;
• Establishing clear definitions and priorities for safety net services and allocating public resources in accordance with those priorities;

GOAL # 1:

PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE AND COORDINATED SYSTEM OF SERVICES TO ADDRESS PEOPLE IN NEED

POLICIES:

(1-1) Identify opportunities to achieve a broad spectrum of integrated community services that provides for all residents by helping eliminate identified barriers associated with collaboration such as liability insurance, ways to mitigate obstacles to information exchange among agencies, ways to overcome "turfdom" and fears of budget invasion and the creation of a streamlined, performance based contracting system that rapidly identifies changes in the community and responds with innovative projects.

(1-2) Create a consistent database of information on local service needs, successful program solutions to human and social service problems, and sources of funding for human and social service programs.

(1-3) Assist older Ashlanders, through the Senior Program, in achieving an opportunity for employment free from discriminatory practices because of age; suitable housing; an appropriate level of physical and mental health services; ready access to effective social services; appropriate institutional care when required; information about available supportive services; and supportive services which enable elderly persons to remain in their homes.

(1-4) Ensure that the needs of low income individuals are considered in the planning for public housing, community services, and fees for development.

(1-5) Identify opportunities to develop creative partnerships with service organizations that could include technical assistance, staff development, co-sponsorship of programs and development of new revenue sources.

(1-6) Play a leadership role in the creation of a "City of Ashland Operating Foundation for a Safe and Healthy Community."

GOAL # 2:

ENSURE THAT THE ALLOCATION OF PROGRAM FUNDING IS FAIR, OBJECTIVE AND CONSISTENT.

POLICIES:

(2-1) Allocate public resources, from within the City's general fund, in an amount set by resolution, for the direct support of essential safety net services.

In recognition of the reality that the costs associated with the provision of essential safety net services increase on an annual basis, give due consideration in the City's budget process to matters pertaining to inflation indexes, environmental factors which may contribute to increased demand for services, and compensation rates (livable wages) paid to social service employees.

(2-2) Allocate, as permissible by the CDBG Block Grant process, on an annual basis, fifteen percent (15%) of categorical CDBG resources for the direct support of qualifying safety net services.

(2-3) Expend through the City's budget process, resources allocated from the City's General Fund and the proportional share of CDBG funds, in the charitable, private not-for-profit sector for the provision of safety net services such as:

(A) Temporary, emergency food and shelter;
(B) Substance abuse education, prevention and treatment;
(C) The preservation of dignity and equal access to justice;
(D) Primary and preventive health care services;
(E) Critical supportive services for families, seniors and victims.

GOAL #3:

ENSURE THAT FUNDED PROGRAMS DIRECTLY ADDRESS CHANGING PRIORITIES AND ARE ADMINISTERED IN AN EFFECTIVE AND COST-EFFICIENT MANNER.

POLICIES:

(3-1) Ensure that the City consults with local agency officials in the design, delivery and evaluation of services, by establishing an Ad Hoc Human Services Task Force with its primary focus on working on the implementation of Policies 1-2, 3-2 and 3-3 and related human services planning and management issues.

(3-2) Develop and adopt techniques for analyzing and measuring the equity of outcomes and benefits of services delivery which can be integrated into planning, evaluation and budgeting components. Programs should be evaluated on the basis of well defined performance standards that relate to program administration and participant development, in addition to the basis of numbers served or placed.

(3-3) Develop a format for presentations to the Budget Committee, to be made every 3-4 years, which utilize the results of the monitoring framework outlined in Policy 3-2.

End of Document - Back to Top