HomeMy WebLinkAboutMH Provider Meeting 06-14-24
Mental Health Provider Meeting
Friday, June 14, 2024
MEETING MINUTES
Welcome and Introductions
This meeting was held via Google Meet. Jim Gilbert confirmed which providers were in
attendance at the start of the meeting.
Provider Announcements and Updates
TrueNorth Wellness Services
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TrueNorth is down 1.5 FTEs. They are getting ready to celebrate their 50
anniversary! More information will come on that.
The outpatient program has a part-time and full time staffing vacancy. The intern
that has been there is leaving in August. TrueNorth is always looking for new
interns!
TrueNorth has availability every week for new intakes. TrueNorth offers open
access every Thursday. Individuals need to be pre-registered before coming to
open access. They can do this through the main number. Individuals can be
treated as young as two (2) years of age through the lifespan. Telehealth is also
an option for service delivery.
Folium, Inc.
Folium will be fully staffed by the middle of July!
Service Access & Management, Inc. (SAM)
SAM currently has four (4) case manager vacancies. They typically have 16
blended case managers. A new staff member is starting on Monday and
another new case manager is starting in August. SAM hopes to start accepting
BCM referrals soon.
Any referrals can go through the Base Service Unit (BSU). Rocko Purvis and his
team are handling referrals. They are reaching out and meeting with individuals
as well as streamlining referrals so when BCM referrals do open up there is a
priority list and those who need case management quicker are opened sooner.
If anyone has any questions, please reach out to Stephanie Lawson. Her email
address is slawson@sam-inc.org.
New Visions
Staffing is really good at New Visions. They recently received an $8,000 grant
from WellSpan to incorporate laptops into their social rehabilitation program. This
will allow individuals to learn about computers and give them an opportunity to
fill out forms, apply for jobs and also have doctor appointments and therapy
sessions that they cannot do in their homes.
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New Visions was also awarded a program called ECHO which stands for Elder
Cottage Housing Opportunity). New Visions has purchased a tiny home and will
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find placement for the home.
Keystone Behavioral Health
Keystone has a waitlist. They are always recruiting staff; particularly therapy.
The Catherine Street project is on target. They are currently digging and moving
dirt. The planned opening is July 2025. This facility will include a behavioral health
urgent care.
Keystone is looking at a project in Waynesboro for the following year. More
information to come on that.
Roxbury Treatment Center
Matthew Null is the new Director of Business Development. Matt will be stepping
into Christina Kamau
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Next week Roxbury is celebrating their 40 anniversary! Matt encouraged
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participants to stop by and enjoy some food on Wednesday, June 19. Please
email Matt to join the list of attending. His email is matthew.null@uhsinc.com.
Keystone Human Services
Dieudonne (Dee) Metellus is the new Director that supervises McKinley Street.
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Keystone has a new supervisor starting on July 1. There is currently a vacancy for
the 3 pm to 11 pm shift. Keystone is in the process of scheduling interviews.
Occupational Services, Inc. (OSI)
OSI has one (1) active mental health referral for their SITES program. They are
currently going through the intake process. OSI is accepting referrals. They are
looking to hire a few more job coaches.
Keith, SITES Specialist, will be going on leave at the end of June. He will be out a
majority of the summer and possibly into the fall. Staff is currently training with
Keith and will be covering the SITES program during his absence. His emails will be
forwarded to Beth Freeman. Any referrals for the SITES program can be sent to
Ariane Warren or Beth Freeman.
Standing Agenda Items
Tuscarora Managed Care Alliance Brad Coccagna
TMCA had no updates to report.
PerformCare Update Brian Gannon
PerformCare had no updates to report.
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Community Resource Spotlight Luminest Community Development
Dave Keller is the Executive Director of Luminest. Luminest is an affordable
housing developer based in Chambersburg. Historically, they have only had a
presence in Franklin County with three (3) properties in Chambersburg and three
(3) properties in Waynesboro for low/moderate income individuals. Luminest has
also done some first time home buyer projects in Chambersburg and
Waynesboro.
Luminest has recently branched out to Adams and Cumberland counties. They
have a 36 town home development north of the borough of Gettysburg in
Cumberland Township for general occupancy. In addition, the ribbon was just
cut on Citrus Grove in downtown Shippensburg which is a 40 unit senior (62 years
of age and older) low/moderate income apartment building. Thanks to a capital
(2) apartments there reserved for individuals with a mental illness. Luminest is
working on filling those in conjunction with the Housing Authority and mental
health office in Cumberland County. If anyone knows of any possible tenants
looking for an apartment, reach out to Dave Keller at 717-977-3900 ext. 100 or by
email at dkeller@luminest.org. The front office staff can assist individuals in
completing an application.
Luminest is also looking at their next project. They have an application in for
funds through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) in the
Gettysburg area for 40 more apartments for seniors. The need for affordable
housing is strong in Franklin and Adams counties. The timeline is typically two (2)
years until an award is received and can begin construction.
All properties have service coordination on site. Luminest staff work with residents
to get connected with any services in the community that they may be entitled
to. Luminest has a partnership with WellSpan so they bring in healthcare
individuals to make sure individuals are healthy and connected to personal care
physicians as well as keeping tabs on their health. Luminest also connects
individuals with transportation and other community resources.
Luminest is a non-profit organization with 25 staff members. Staffing includes
onsite property management for all properties, maintenance services, and
service coordination. Luminest loves partnering with other community agencies.
Please reach out to Dave at any time to talk about how we can work together.
Questions/Discussion
Q: You have these apartments for the aging population and two (2) are
designated for individuals with mental illness. With the individuals that Luminest
services, besides those two (2) designated beds, are there any type of special
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needs that the aging population is dealing with such as diagnosis, health
conditions, etc. that make them eligible for the program or is it open to anyone?
A: it is all income based. All individuals are at 80% or less of area median income.
All units are handicapped accessible meaning they are all visit able. Depending
on the property, between four (4) and six (6) are fully handicapped accessible.
Aside from mobility issues, it is all income based properties.
Q: do the residents in the various units sign a year lease so it can be
considered long term housing?
cannot be called and the intent cannot be transitional housing.
Luminest does let individuals know that they were approved for grant funding for
a redevelopment project in Chambersburg called South Main Commons. The
old Chambersburg Hispanic American Center and the building next to it are
being renovated. There will be a total of eight (8) apartments. The hope is for
them to be online towards the end of next spring. Luminest has an agreement
with the County. The County will have a master lease on all apartments. The
intent is for them to be an approved home plan for individuals in the Franklin
County Jail who have served their minimum sentence and are eligible for early
release but are only in the jail because they do not have an approved home
plan. Historically, on any given day, there are ten (10) to twelve (12) individuals in
the jail who fit that description. The expectation is that individuals will be there
anywhere from six (6) months to two (2) years with the goal of establishing more
permanent setting in the community. Individuals in this program will be
connected with Service Access & Management (SAM), the Mental Health
Association (MHA), TrueNorth Wellness Services and other service providers in the
community. Luminest received a home grant from the Department of
Community & Economic Development (DCED) and the County Commissioners
are adding additional funds through Housing Trust Funds. Luminest is also
partnering with the Borough of Chambersburg. They are working on
subrecepients and environmental studies reports. The hope is to start
construction in the fall.
Q: sex offenders and arsonists have a difficult time finding residential placement.
Since a majority of the units are income based, as you do background checks
Law and arsonist?
A: Dave Keller will follow up on this response.
If you become aware of an agency or program that you want to hear more
about, please let Jim know.
Additional information provided by Dave Keller after the meeting
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The information addresses the question regarding potential tenants with criminal
backgrounds, and specifically sex offenders. This is from Tenant
Selection Plan: Landlord References: Rejection can result if the history indicates
that the applicant could be a credit risk, present a nuisance to the resident
community, or damage the premises. Criminal background checks will be
conducted on all household members who are 18 years of age or older.
Applicants will be rejected if any member of the applicant household has a
history of violent behavior, including but not limited to incidents of domestic
violence or has been involved in any criminal activity, including, but not limited
to drug related criminal activity, which would adversely affect the health, safety,
or welfare of other residents. Applicants will be given the opportunity to provide
mitigating information, including evidence of rehabilitation and the
circumstances of the criminal behavior. However, the general rule will be that no
ug related or criminal
activity within the past five years.
If someone is currently on the list as a registered sex offender, Luminest does not
house them. Officially, Luminest considers people on a case-by-case individual
basis through an appeal process. Generally, if there is a drug distribution charge
in the past ten (10) years, that is a disqualifier. If there are felonies for violent
crimes in the recent past, or crimes that are of a nature to put our residents or
property at risk, we send a denial letter, which can be appealed. If they have a
history of Landlord/Tenant complaintut everything
can be appealed to be discussed on a case-by-case basis.
People are often concerned about a DUI and about credit scores. Those things
in and of themselves are not disqualifiers.
Provider Spotlight
There was no provider spotlight during this meeting.
The agenda included opportunity for providers to share information on the
services provided in Franklin/Fulton, the eligibility criteria and referral process,
waiting lists for any services, and contact person(s) and additional information
(website, etc.).
If anyone is interested in being the provider spotlight for a future meeting, please
reach out to Jim.
County Announcements/Information
Reports Due Since Our Last MH Provider Meeting
o Quarterly Report of Expenditures (January-March)
o Appendix A for upcoming fiscal year
o Budget packets (to include: Budget/Rate Letter, Staff Roster, Unit
Assumptions, Budget Narrative for upcoming fiscal yearif appropriate)
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Reports Due Prior To Our Last MH Provider Meeting
o Audited Financial Report (for calendar year ending 12/31)
o Audit Engagement/Extension Letter (for FY ending 6/30)
o Progress Report on Outcomes in Appendix A
o Quarterly Report of Expenditures (April-June)
o Property Purchased/Property Leased Report (for FY ending 6/30)
o Fixed Assets Purchased with MH/IDD/EI funds (for FY ending 6/30)
Updates from Mental Health Staff
o Ashley McCartney
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MH is working on finalizing FY23-24. Invoices are due by the 15 of July.
Please contact Ashley if there are any invoices that are going to be
submitted after this date. Fiscal is hoping to have ALL invoices submitted
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no later than July 26.
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The fourth quarter expenditure report is due on August 15.
Looking ahead to FY24-25, for those who submit budget packets, MH staff
is in the process of reviewing them and preparing contracts.
If anyone has any questions or concerns, please email or call Ashley. Her
email is almccartney@franklincountypa.gov.
o On behalf of Cori Seilhamer
Cori ordered 24x24 side walk stickers that include five (5) mental health
tips for the week or 988 information. If anyone would like to be able to put
them in front of their agency on the sidewalk, please reach out to Cori
and let her know how many you would like. Her email address is
caseilhamer@franklincountypa.gov.
There is 988 advertisement on the side of various Rabbit Transit vehicles. Be
on the lookout for these vehicles!
o Jenn Hutchinson
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July 23 will be the homeless Point in Time (PIT) Count for the County. If
you would like to come and help, please reach out to Jenn Hutchinson at
jchutchinson@franklincountypa.gov.
o Erin Nye
Contracts and amendments will be sent to providers from Angela Alleman
who is the new MH/IDD/EI Administrative Assistant II. Any time there are
changes of who signs contracts or who should receive copies of contracts
please let us know. You can send this information to Erin, Angela or Jim
and they will update records accordingly.
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o Jim Gilbert
Very soon we should be receiving the final report from Recovery
Innovations (RI), the contracted crisis consultant from Phoenix, AZ. Our
next meeting with them is next Tuesday. The report is to include potential
changes to crisis in both counties. More information to come!
The request for proposal (RFP) was recently released for the forensic long-
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term structured residence (LTSR). Submissions are due July 22. This is a
joint project between Cumberland/Perry and Franklin/Fulton.
Jim sends out the Sharing Resource Network (SRN) email each Friday. If
you are interested in being added to the list, please email him at
jgilbert@franklincountypa.gov.
o Nancy Strueber
Nancy is the new Child and Adolescent Services Systems Program (CASSP)
Coordinator. She is looking forward to working with all providers in her new
role.
The meeting was adjourned.
Next Meeting:
Friday, September 13, 2024 starting at 10:00 a.m. in virtual format.
Remaining 2023 Meetings:
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December 13
Minutes by Erin Nye
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