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Tama County Empowerment Board Meeting

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 – 12:00 noon

Traer City Council Chambers

Voting Members Present:

Richard Arp, North Tama School District Earlene Bacon, Citizen

Larry Vest, Board of Supervisors/Citizen Joyce Legg, Tama County Public Health

Angie Knowles, STC School District/Citizen Jill Herink, Meskwaki Settlement School/Education

Rick Vesely, Clergy/Citizen Darla Thiessen, Kid’s Corner

Jenn Stover, Business and Industry/Citizen

Others Present:

Deb Schlichting , Pied Piper Angela Dreesman, Child Care Consultant

Lori Johnson, Empowerment Coordinator Royce Hickie, Mid-Iowa Community Action

Jana Enfield, Child Abuse Prevention Frank Albertsen, ISU Extension

Rachel Porath, Mid-Iowa Community Action Jolynn Stoneking, Tama County Public Health

Nicki Arends, Mid-Iowa Community Action

Apologies: Michelle Gethmann Marisue Hartung Lindi Roelofse Jerri Leighton Laura Kopsa Linda Rosenberger Annette Dunn Rudy Papakee

Mandy Lekin Cindy Skopec Teresa McCall

Larry Vest, Chair, called meeting to order at 12:00 p.m.

Board Member Appreciation – Certificates of Appreciation were given to voting Board Members and treats were provided to all in attendance. Ms. Johnson shared that she appreciated all their hard work towards assuring services are provided to children 0 – 5 in Tama County.

Minutes of Previous Meeting –Empowerment Board meeting minutes for March 26, 2009 were reviewed. Rick Vesely made a motion to approve the minutes with noted corrections. Angie Knowles seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Financial Report – Ms. Johnson disbursed financial report handouts. We should be at 17% of the budget left after April’s expenses. We are at 30%. Rick Vesely made a motion to approve the financial report as presented. Angie Knowles seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Public Input – none noted.

Provider Reports – Child Consultant –Copies were disbursed and the Consultant Activity Report was shared. Ms. Dreesman noted that there has been some restructuring in DHS where the billing is being done in Webster County, andchild care registrations are handled in Japser County. Documentation is required, along with spot checks, and follow up with providers. New child care providers have to pass the criminal background checks and cannot have any sex offenders living close by. They currently have 2 providers at a level 2 and are within 1 point of being a level 3. One provider is at a level 3, and within 1 point of being at a level 4. The Nurse Consultant component is very time consuming for the providers and there is only 1 nurse consultant covering several counties.

Nurse Consultant – Handouts were shared showing services provided in January – March 2009 and April – May 15, 2009.

Stork’s Nest, Public Health Home Visitation, etc. – no updates provided.

Coordinator – Ms. Johnson updated the Board regarding information received at the Quarterly Coordinators Meeting. Tool U, Draft Tool FF and Draft Allocations for School Ready and Early Childhood Funds were disbursed.

Care for Kids –Jana Enfield shared Sexual Abuse Prevention Summary and 3^rd Quarter Report were disbursed. They have provided 133 child education sessions to 981 children. Program satisfaction and quotes were shared. It was noted at the SKIP (Supporting Kids in Prevention) meeting that the county attorney’s office is seeing an increase in sexual abuse cases involving internet predators.

Infant Toddler Specialist, Dental Hygienist, and Transportation –Royce Hickie disbursed handout listing services provided for March/April. They saw in increase in Li-HEAP(Energy Asistance) applications and with the stimulus funding, increase in families being approved for Weatherization services. Niki Arends attended the Child Abuse Prevention conference in Des Moines. She also incorporated the poem “If a child . .. “ with parents to involve discussion on who they would like to model their parenting with their own children.

Ms. Johnson shared e-mail communication she had received regarding 2^nd and 3^rd quarter dental services provided. In the 2^nd quarter sealants and fluoride varnishes were provided at the elementary and middle school students. 190 dental screens and 158 fluoride varnishes were completed. In the 3^rd quarter 129 fluoride varnishes and 164 dental screenings were performed.

Family Nutrition Specialist –Frank reported that Cheryl resigned and they will not be providing this program this next fiscal year. The Extension Council will be meeting tonight. The Extension Director’s position has been eliminated with the restructuring within ISU and Board of Regents direction. The new director will be regionalized and will be housed out of Black Hawk County. They have a lot of unanswered questions at the local level.

Respite Scholarships – no report given.

Tobacco Funds – Frank Albertsen shared that Rudy Papakee has been doing an excellent job and the tobacco program will continue. Rick Vesely shared that “he has received great communication” from Rudy and appreciates what he has received.

Old Business – none noted.

New Business – Funding Sub-committee Recommendations – Minutes from the May 19^th meeting were disbursed. Ms. Johnson highlighted the funding reallocation changes and items reviewed.

E-mail from Shanell Wagler, dated 5/6/09 regarding the Early Childhood Funding Formula was disbursed. Differences in the two options and pros from the Funding Sub-committee were noted.

Discussion was held, noting that the FIP cases are way down in Tama County.

Rick Vesely made a motion to approve the Funding Sub-committee’s reallocation recommendations as noted. Jenn Stover seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Jill Hernik made the motion to recommend to the State Empowerment Board, Option 2, with pros as stated. Jenn Stover seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Empowerment Board Member Terms – 6 Board members terms expire June 30^th. They are Jill Herink, Jenn Stover, Angie Knowles, Darla Thiessen, Larry Vest and Earlene Bacon. Deb Schlichting has volunteered to continue to rotate with Darla Thiessen and take over her Board position. Ms. Bacon has declined to continue on the Empowerment Board. Joyce Legg made a motion to recommend to the Board of Supervisors to appoint Jill Herink, Jenn Stover, Angie Knowles, Deb Schlichting and Larry Vest to continue on the Empowerment Board. Richard Arp seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Meeting Location – discussion was held regarding the meeting site alternating between Traer and Toledo. Jenn Stover made a motion to hold meetings in Traer 1 time a year in the month of May, with all other meetings being held in Toledo. Angie Knowles seconded the motion. Motion passed.

July Meeting Date – The regular July meeting date conflicted with Ms. Johnson as she has another training that day, and has also found out that a financial report needs to be submitted to the State Empowerment Office by July 15^th, noting the programs and funding allocations. This has also caused the deadline for the RFP (Requests for Proposal) dates to be sooner than previously targeted. The financial report has to be brought to the Empowerment Board for their approval, prior to being submitted to the state. After discussion the next meeting will be July 14^th at ISU Extension. The Funding Sub-committee meeting will be held June 29^th at 1 p.m.

Updates from the State – no further updates

Correspondence –

· Iowa Community Empowerment Newsletter

· Save the Date – Advocates for Today and Tomorrow

· I am Moving, I am Learning Training

Adjournment – Richard Arp made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Jenn Stover seconded the motion. Meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Lori Johnson, Tama County Empowerment Coordinator

Reminder: Next meeting will be July 14th at ISU Extension at 12:00 Noon

EMPOWERMENT AREA