Columbus, Georgia

NEW HORIZONS COMMUNITY SERVICE BOARD





March 10, 2003 The REACH Center, 4411 Rosemont Drive, Columbus, GA.



Members Present: Vickie Allen, Sandra Gill, Anne Hopp, Nancy Schroeder



Members Excused: Kittye Crockett, Brenda Hardamon, Linda McElroy, Wesley

Shorter, Lawrence Young



Guests: Greg Hoyt (Regional Planning Office)

Caren Nuetzel (WCGRH)

Mike Swingle (Regional Planning Office)



1. Call to Order: Nancy Schroeder, Chairperson, called the meeting to order for

informational purposes only as there was not a quorum present.



2. Recognition of Guests: All guests attending today?s meeting were recognized.



3. Secretary?s Minutes: The minutes of the January 13, 2003 meeting were tabled

for approval due to there not being a quorum present.



4. Board Member Resignation: Judge Roxann Daniel?s letter of resignation as a

board of director for New Horizons Community Service Board was accepted.



5. Board Training: Yolanda Sewell reported that The REACH Center now provides

Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services for our consumers. Psychosocial

Rehabilitation teaches consumers how to develop independence and make decisions

for themselves. Consumers have to be able to make choices (sometimes with

consequences) and staff has to be there as a support for the consumers.



Joe Andrews reported that Psychosocial Rehabilitation is designed so that

consumers can reach their potential and move back into the community without so

much support from staff.



The REACH Center is: Rehab, Employment, Accept, Choice, Hope



The REACH Center employs 16 full-time employees and three part-time employees

(two who are consumer/employee). Eighty-nine consumers are currently on roll

at The REACH Center ?18 are Medicare, 54 are Medicaid, 10 are self-pay, and 7

are insurance.



Psychosocial Rehabilitation is a therapeutic, rehabilitative, social skills

building services for individuals to increase and maintain competence in normal

life activities and gain the skills necessary to allow them to remain in or

return to naturally occurring community programs. Services include, but are

not limited to, individual or group skills building activities that focus on

the development of problem solving techniques, self-medication skills,

cognitive and psychosocial functioning and illness management.



Psychosocial Rehabilitation is provided to adults with serious mental illness,

including those with co-occurring substance abuse disorders.



The Admission Criteria for Psychosocial Rehabilitation is:

? Present low risk to self and others

? Is not functional in life skills/social/vocational/academic or skills

necessary to live in the community

? Needs frequent assistance to obtain and use community resources



Psychosocial Rehabilitation is a change from treatment to teaching independent

living skills.



Continuing Stay Criteria:

? Behavior health that continues to be low or no imminent risk to self or others

? Improvement in some areas, but needs improvement in others

? If service is discontinued, symptoms would increase

? Additional training or time is needed



Day Support:

? 1:10 ratio

? Minimum of 4 hours per day

? Minimum of 3 days per week

? Emphasis is on acquisition, retention, or improvement of self-help,

socialization and adaptive skills in a structural environment with staff support



Psychosocial Rehabilitation:

? 1:12 ratio

? Minimum of 25 hours per week

? Evening and every other Saturday services provided

? Emphasis on skill building and integration into an environment of their choice

? Has work units

? Housekeeping/Facility Management

? Food Services

? Clerical



Tracy Capozzoli provided a listing of current Supported Employment employers

and she works to continue adding to this list. Supported Employment provides

educational groups for consumers on how to complete a resume and application,

how to look for a job and how to dress for an interview. Consumers from the

Women?s Program, ADAPT and The REACH Center as assessed by Tracy for Supported

Employment Services.



6. Performance Improvement Report: Bob Carlson provided a copy of the survey

instrument ? Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) that was used to

randomly survey 837 New Horizons Community Service Board consumers during

November/December 2002. This is 25% of our active consumer population. The

breakdown is as follows:



Gender: Male - 49%

Female - 51%



Race: African American - 58%

Caucasian - 41%



Age: Median Age C&A Programs ? 11 years (range 4 ? 18 years)

Median Age Adult Programs - 41 years (range 19 ? 79 years)



Time in Treatment: Less than 6 months - 24%

6 to 12 months - 23%

1 to 2 years - 17%

More than 2 years - 36%



The CSQ-8 consists of a single factor structure (client satisfaction with

services). Scoring and interpretation involves the summation and comparison of

total scores across questions (8 ? 32 points).



New Horizons Community Service Board National Norms (Nguyen, 1983)

26.80 (mean = 3.35) 27.09 (mean ? 3.38)



New Horizons Community Service Board Service Division

Mental Health 26.79

Substance Abuse 26.61

Child and Adolescent 26.48

Developmental Disabilities 27.51



New Horizons Community Service Board Disability Area

Outpatient Services 27.00

Residential Services 27.09

Day Services 25.54

Service Centers 28.83

Employment Services 28.50



Gender

Male 26.43

Female 27.14



Race

White 27.04

African American 26.70

Hispanic/Asian 28.00



Multiple Treatments

No 26.88

Yes 26.77



Length of Service

Less than 6 months 26.49

6 to 12 months 27.24

1 to 2 years 25.93

More than 2 years 27.20



Mean Scores for each survey question were computed and are presented below.

Mean ratings were collapsed across service divisions and disability areas.



Question:



How would you rate the quality of services received? 3.29 (Good)

Did you get the kind of services you wanted? 3.28 (Yes)

To what extent has our program met your needs? 3.16 (Most))

If a friend needed help, would you recommend our program? 3.46 (Yes)

How satisfied are you with the amount of help you received? 3.35 (Mostly)

Have services helped you deal more effectively with your problems? 3.55 (Yes)

Overall, how satisfied are you with the services you have received? 3.35

(Mostly)

If you needed help again, would you come back to our program? 3.41 (Yes)



7. Valerie Bowden reported that New Horizons Community Service Board

experienced a $40,452 surplus for the month of February 2003 with a

year-to-date deficit of (108,402). We had projected a $41,339 surplus for

February 2003. We project a year-to-date surplus of $257,647. We experienced

a decrease in Medicaid revenue billing due to less working days for the month

of February 2003. The revenue per day had a slight increase. We continue

looking at programs with potential growth.



8. Information Technology Services: Jim Thomas reported that he has 25 years

experience working in ITS. He stated that he has reviewed the consultant?s

report and is working on some of the recommendations made. Phase I consists of

establishing a Windows 2000 domain whereby ITS staff can perform most PC

administration tasks from their desk top, thereby making better use of

resources and provide higher quality services. The computer room needs to be

upgraded to meet policy/procedures, HIPAA, and other ITS security standards.

The cost for Phase I is approximately $15,000 and should take from 30 ? 90 days

to complete.



Phase II will connect users with proper licenses and equipment and will cost

approximately $15,000 to complete.



Board members agreed that a motion was not necessary for this work to begin.

This ITS upgrade is necessary and is approved.



9. Therapeutic Foster Care Homes Licensure: Therapeutic Foster Care Homes will

soon require licensure by the Office of Regulatory Services. Our Division

Office has been working with the Office of Regulatory Services over the past

year to develop standards and requirements to get all Therapeutic Foster Care

Homes, operated by a community service board, licensed throughout the state.

New Horizons Community Service Board staff has been involved in this effort

from the beginning and we are asked to provide certain required information in

order to apply for licensure. One piece of required information is a board

resolution approving New Horizons Community Service Board to apply for

licensure.



M/S/P that the four board members present vote to approve the resolution to

apply for the Therapeutic Foster Care Homes licensure with the understanding

that additional board members would be called to either approve or disapprove

this motion. Ms. Linda McElroy and Mr. Wesley Shorter were contacted and

approved the resolution for New Horizons Community Service Board to apply for

the Therapeutic Foster Care Home licensure.



10. Board Governance Policies: Board members in attendance agreed to table this

agenda item until the April 14, 2003 meeting and requested that they not be

sent any additional policies for review at this time.



11. Signature Event Update: Vickie Allen reported that the Development Advisory

Board?s next signature event would be a Roast/Toast of Congressman Sanford

Bishop. This event will be held on May 29, 2003 in Legacy Hall of the Columbus

RiverCenter. The reception will begin at 6:00 p.m. with the Roast/Toast

beginning at 7:30 p.m. The dress for this event is business attire. The

proceeds from the event will benefit New Horizons Community Service Board?s

consumers. Tickets will be available through the RiverCenter Box Office and

through the Development Advisory Board members.



The Development Advisory Board has been working with representatives from

Congressman Bishop and Congressman Collins? offices to identify

Roasters/Toasters. There will be 12 Roasters/Toasters with three alternates.

A video is being worked on to show at this event. Also, there will be

corporate sponsors ? Silver - $500; Gold - $1,000; Platinum ? $2,000; Major -

$2,500. Tickets to this event are tax deductible.



12. Strategic Plan Update: Perry Alexander reported that one of the policies

presented for board action recommends that New Horizons Community Service Board

maintain a two-year Strategic Plan with progress reports provided quarterly to

the board.



13. DACE: Valerie Bowden reported that for the month of February 2003, New

Horizons Community Service Board was under our allowed DACE by 71 days.



14. Current Events: Perry Alexander reported that he had provided articles from

The Augusta Chronicle regarding the investigation of the Mental Health Center

of East Central Georgia. Usually investigations of this type create

repercussions for all community service boards in terms of policy changes,

regulatory changes, and additional audits.



15. Public Comments: Greg Hoyt distributed a table of organization of the West

Central Georgia Regional Planning Office.



16. Adjournment: There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at

5:00 p.m.

















____________________________________

Sandra Gill



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