HomeMy WebLinkAbout3. Human Services Department Update - 2015Village of Mount Prospect
Human Services Department
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO: ACTING VILLAGE MANAGER DAVE STRAHL
FROM: HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR
DATE: JANUARY 6, 2015
SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT UPDATE — 2015
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE 1-13-15
MOUNT PROSPECT
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HUMAN SERVICES
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Background
The Human Services Department provides both nursing and social services to residents
of Mount Prospect. Services are provided at Village Hall, the Community Connections
Center, in the home and offsite in the community. Direct services consist of:
• Assessment
• Counseling
• Case management
• Assistance with entitlement benefit applications
• Police social services
• Court advocacy
• Crisis intervention
• Emergency financial assistance
• Information and referral
• Nursing and homebound services
In addition to direct services, programming is offered by both the nurse and social
workers. Programs are supportive and/or educational in nature and are offered to
residents of all ages. Department staff consists of one nurse, four social workers, one
police counselor an office manager, a full time receptionist and two part time intake
worker/ receptionists.
As part of both the Village's and the Human Services Department's strategic plan, the
department has implemented new initiatives in order to be better informed in evaluating
current and future service needs. In addition to these initiatives, the department has
identified additional objectives in line with the strategic plan to be accomplished in 2015.
During 2015, a client satisfaction survey will be given to clients receiving services and
the department will be transitioning to a new client software program. The department
began tracking direct service statistics and reviewing data on a monthly basis in 2014
and will continue to do so in 2015.
Department Update — 2015
January 6, 2015
Page 2
Service Satisfaction Survev
In order to ensure the departments alignment with the strategic plan as it relates to
governance/quality service, the department is soliciting feedback from clients through
the administration of a client satisfaction survey. The survey is designed to measure
accessibility, responsiveness, empathy, performance, reliability and competency of
service provided. In addition, the survey solicits suggestions regarding requests for
additional services and improvements. Data from the surveys will be analyzed on a
quarterly basis and reported to staff. Data will be used to measure resident service
satisfaction as well as to address any identified issues and requests for services. A
copy of the introductory letter and survey are attached.
Technology Improvement
A transition to a new client software program will take place in 2015 allowing for the
reduction in paper files and a more centralized mechanism for client record keeping.
This transition will support the strategic plan's goal of governance/quality service by
improving our ability to analyze statistics and access client records. Currently, client
records are housed at both Village Hall and the Community Connections Center. The
new software program will allow for access to client records from both sites and
remotely. The program will allow for relevant documents to be uploaded and stored
electronically. In addition to centralizing records, the new program will also provide the
ability to run more comprehensive statistical reports. This will eliminate the need for
multiple processes in recording client data and monthly statistics and will accommodate
the needs for additional statistical information.
Tracking Service Delivery
A new method for tracking direct service delivery was implemented in April of 2014.
Regular review of department statistics will ensure an ongoing evaluation of sustainable
levels of service in line with the strategic plan's goal of governance/fiscal health.
Monthly statistics are recorded by all staff members providing direct services.
Department statistics are compiled and reviewed on a monthly basis. Data recorded for
each direct service includes:
• Gender
• Age range
• Ethnicity
• Type of service
• Location
• Mode of delivery
• Time spent in service delivery
In addition to direct service, program participation is also tracked and reviewed on a
monthly basis. This tracking information will be combined with the client satisfaction
Department Update - 2015
January 6, 2015
Page 3
survey data to evaluate department operations and make decisions regarding service
delivery. Data over the last eight months shows the following percentages in relation to
direct service units provided;
Ethnicity:
• Caucasian - 53%,
• Hispanic — 36%,
• African-American — 5%
• Asian — 6%
Age:
• Minor — 2%
• Adult — 58%
• Senior (65+) — 40%
Gender:
• Female — 74%
• Male — 26%
Location:
• Village Hall — 42%
• Community Connections Center — 38%
• Offsite home — 16%
• Offsite community — 4%.
Mode of Delivery:
• Face to face - 76%
• Phone — 12%
• Client not present — 12%
Service Type:
• Assessments — 8%
• Counseling — 6%
• Court advocacy — 1 %
• Crisis Intervention — 3%
• Entitlement Benefits — 15%
• Financial Assistance — 19%
• Homebound Visit/Nursing — 15%
• Case Management — 33%.
The department has implemented changes in the following areas in response to the
statistics we are tracking; increase in staffing hours at the CCC, increase in food pantry
distribution, senior services outreach at Centennial apartments and increased court
advocacy services for domestic violence victims. The department will continue to
evaluate services being provided through these tools in order to respond to community
needs based on current trends and future projections. The department will continue to
evaluate and review service offerings and efficient economical delivery of such services
in order to provide broad base social services to populations in need.
Department Update — 2015
January 6, 2015
Page 4
Department staff has identified areas of service which are requiring additional staff time
and resources. Online application is necessary for state and Federal benefits.
Application processes are lengthy and often require that supporting documentation be
uploaded which is resulting in longer appointment times with clients. An average
appointment time for a public aid application is 1.5 — 2 hours. Changes in existing state
and federal programs have resulted in residents seeking assistance in understanding
these changes. For example, the Medicare — Medicaid alignment initiative resulted in
seniors receiving information regarding managed care plans. Staff time is utilized in
helping residents understand information they receive and assisting with problems
resulting from the resident not understanding and responding in a timely manner. In
addition, the police counselor has worked with the police department to ensure that all
domestic battery arrests are forwarded to Human Services at the time of the arrest.
This has resulted in a 50% increase in court advocacy from September through
December of 2014 since the new procedure was put into place. Domestic battery cases
will have an average of three court dates and staff spend approximately nine hours per
case. In addition to court advocacy, clients are offered counseling services when
appropriate. In order to allow for response to domestic battery victims, the department
has begun referring residents seeking civil orders of protection to the civil court
advocates. Some of the challenges facing nursing services are residents seeking
assistance who have memory issues, are physically limited and unwilling to move to a
more supportive living environment. Staff works with family when those supports exist
to address safety concerns and provide referrals to community agencies which may
provide additional services. Adult protective services and the guardian's office are
contacted on cases requiring these services. Outreach and education is being offered
to the Hispanic population presenting with symptoms of diabetes. A blood sugar
screening was offered to all families participating in the holiday program. Referrals and
information regarding the diabetes support group which will be held at the CCC were
provided. Housing opportunities, such as Meyer's Place, have resulted in an increased
service demand at the Community Connections Center. Residents from Meyer's Place
have begun utilizing food pantry services. We have seen a 33% increase in food pantry
distribution from the CCC during the last six months. This increased demand requires
additional volunteer time to pack food, staff time to conduct assessments and distribute
the food. We anticipate an increased need for service with the senior population due to
the recent opening of the Mount Prospect Horizon Senior Living apartments. Human
services department staff will be meeting with the management to discuss Village
services and anticipated needs of seniors residing there. The department has seen an
increase in seniors seeking social service assistance with Medicare D enrollment. The
department assisted 128 individuals in 2013 with Medicare D enrollment. This number
increased to 171 individuals in 2014. Department staff will be meeting to evaluate this
past year's Medicare D enrollment process and discuss ways to improve efficiency of
program in order to manage increased demand for service.
Department Update — 2015
January 6, 2015
Page 5
We anticipate changes in service demands as the population ages. Providing services
to a greater number of seniors will require additional staff time in dealing with complex
cases, increase in service requests for programs such as Medicare D and increased
outreach in the home and community. In addition to changes in the demographics of
the aging population, we serve a large number of immigrant residents. Working with
non-English speaking clients is challenging in navigating the already complicated
judicial system. Department staff need to have an awareness of cultural differences
and participate in training as appropriate. We will continue to evaluate time dedicated to
various services, efficiency of our service delivery and staffing needs. Our service
delivery will be elastic based on needs.
Staffing Discussion
Due to the current needs of the center and the recent resignation of one of the part time
Intake Coordinator/Receptionist's, I am requesting that this position be considered as a
full time position. This position requires someone who is fully bilingual, can handle
crisis situations, assess needs, provide information and referral to residents and
function independently when the center coordinator is away from the center. This
position was originally approved as a full time position in 2010, but due to budget limits,
the position was filled by two part time employees and the Village benefited from two
quality and dedicated employees who remained in the position longer than typical.
However, the likelihood of finding the same combination of part time employees could
impact the overall services provided since there is currently a highly qualified person
working at the center that would be fully capable of increasing hours for better overall
coverage. Human Services staff would provide coverage when the full time person was
off. I am concerned that continuing to offer this position as two part time positions will
have an impact on the pool of potential candidates and that retention of employees in
this position will be impacted by a part time status. The staff time involved in the hiring
and training of new employees is costly. Staff turnover affects the operation of the
center and requires other staff members paid at higher salaries to provide coverage.
Over the last four years the following has been spent on two part time positions:
2010 - $49, 723
2011 - $50,114
2012 - $46,525
2013 - $51,313
I would propose offering an annual salary of $35,000 for this position which would result
in an overall increase of approximately $13,000 over what has been spent on this
position in the past. & �
KJK Julie Kane
Attachments
H:\COW\COW MEMO 2015.DOCX
(Kill d � �.� Village of Mount Prospect �pTPPop , T
Human Services Department
50 South Emerson Street, Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056
Phone (847) 870-5680 FAX: (847) 818-5321 HUMN s Kr s
Dear Resident,
One of our goals within the Human Services Department is to increase customer
service awareness. As a direct result, we are instituting a client satisfaction survey.
The survey is brief in nature and should take no more than five minutes of your time to
complete. Your input is very important to us and your feedback will help to ensure that
we are providing quality services.
We invite you to share your opinions and suggestions. Thank you for taking the time to
complete this survey.
Sincerely
Julie Kane, LCSW
Human Services Director
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HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT
SATISFACTION SURVEY
Date: / / Name (optional)
Initial Visit yes No Primary Language (optional)
Staff Name
Check Service(s) Received Today:
Financial Assistance __Food Pantry
Information & Referral __Counseling Services
Court Advocacy _ Crisis Intervention
Nursing Homebound Services Health Activity (Walking Group)
Nursing Clinic (Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Diabetes, etc.)
Entitlement Benefits Assistance (Public Aid, Medicare D, Access to Care, etc
Other
PLEASE RATE THE STATEMENTS BELOW BY CHECKING THE
APPROPRIATE BOX.
1. Overall, I was satisfied with the quality of service I received.
2. The current hours of operation meet my needs.
3. 1 was not kept waiting for more than ten minutes for my appointment.
4. 1 was treated with courtesy and respect during my visit.
5. The services I received addressed my needs.
.. _ ......... ........
6. If the staff member was unable to meet my needs, I was provided wi
additional resources and referrals to help me.
7. Regardless of whom I met with, continuous quality of service was provided.
8. 1 felt confident that staff members possess the knowledge and skills
necessary to assist me.
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IF YOU STRONGLY AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH ANY OF THE STATEMENTS ABOVE, PLEASE DESCRIBE WHY,
SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT AND/OR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME:
Are there any additional services you would like to see provided?
Thank you for answering these questions. Your responses will assist us in providing better service to you and others.
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HASURVEY\Satisfaction Survey (English) Rev 11-3-14,docx