The Department of Community Support Services 3rd quarter report FY10/11 Cooperative Extension hosted the 1st annual Alachua Home Grown Farm Tours and the Alachua Home Grown Open House which was attended by a total of 200 people.
Statistics
The Department of Community Support Services staff responded to 53,086 phone calls 61,622 volunteer hours were donated to help Alachua County citizens through the Department of Community Support Services Social Services provided healthcare services to 237 clients CHOICES enrollment at the end of the quarter was 3,819 368 clients were seen by Veteran Services Counselors through in‐office appointments, home visits, and visits to as‐ sisted living facilities Volunteers donated 44,165 hours to our community through the Division of Community Partnerships 85% of clients assisted through the Division of Social Services maintained housing after 90 days Crisis Center staff and volunteers responded to 1,809 citizens in distress Unpaid counselors donated 10,300 hours of services to the Crisis Center to keep the Center open 24/7, 365 days a year 89% of CAPP agencies are fulfilling all of their contract obligations 4,879 Victim Services & Rape Crisis Center services were utilized this quarter 554 Household members were impacted via Social Services Rent, Mortgage, and Utility Assistance Program Cooperative Extension assisted 20,297 Commercial Agriculture customers 19 Cremations and 10 burials were provided by Social Services at a cost of $19,950 1,424 prescriptions were filled for Social Services clients via Catalyst $7,223 Non‐Ad valorem dollars were reinvested in the Sugarfoot P&E district for neighborhood revitalization $ 1,493,019 was spent on Medical, Dental, Vision and Pharmacy benefits for CHOICES participants An average of 756 residents saved an estimated $94,041 on prescriptions with the NACo Prescription Discount Card The Alachua County Extension Annual Master Gardener Plant Sale was held on Saturday, May 21, 2011 over 900 citizens attended. Proceeds from the sale help to support Master Gardener volunteer programming.
Issues
During the 3rd quarter, Social Services implemented a reduction plan to offset deficits in both the Medicine and Indigent Burial Program. The reduction plan is a temporary measure which allows for the reduction of services, while simultaneously continuing to serve our most vulnerable citizens in regards to their health needs. Some of the strategies adopted include (1) reducing the number of covered prescriptions from 10 to 5 per enrollee and (2) shortening the duration of program participation. Furthermore, we are working with our Pharmacy Benefits Manager to review, limit, and reduce the availability of certain pain medications. Additional steps may include line-item transfers from low utilization areas to high utilization areas. At the Federal level, RSVP funding was reduced 20%. In order to compensate for the reduction, the grantor proposes a 3-month extension to RSVP's 12-month contract. We will be seeking direction/approval from the County Manager and the Board of County Commissioners regarding an extension. $2,075,331.69 was deleted on monthly Medicaid bill due to staff auditing.
Department’s Impact Stories
This quarter, the Crisis Center was able to negotiate and develop an email message system that will allow us to send emergency emails to our over 100 volunteers via email and cell phone addresses alerting them of emergent situations impacting our community requiring their immediate phone call response to the Center . With hurricane season upon us, this is a valuable way to alert our volunteers that Rumor Control has been activated and we need immediate assistance. This system will also allow us to activate multiple emergency Crisis Outreach teams (Care Teams ) when an event calls for significant numbers of our Care Team workers at the same time. This technological advance allows us to better offer services to our citizens in distress. New American Legion accreditation received by Sr. Veteran Counselor resulted in catching a VA processing error being corrected by a phone call rather than a lengthy appeal process for a homeless veteran resulting in a retroactive award of $11,820. Veteran Services along with the Memorial Day Committee assisted in planning, organizing, and coordinating the Memorial Day Program at Forest Meadows on May 30 which was highly successful. Approximately 500 citizens attended. A display of posters from WWI through Desert Storm and booths of local veterans support groups to distribute information about various programs were set up on display for the public. Following the service, Forest Meadows Funeral Home provided a free BBQ luncheon in honor of our war dead . A UF student following a guest lecture by Center staff shared the following. The Crisis Center guest speaker who spoke about the suicide prevention hotline at the Alachua County Crisis Center, you could literally say, saved my friend’s life. “Earlier this semester, I met a girl who was at the time in a tumultuous and oftentimes abusive relationship with her boyfriend, who she also lived with in an apartment. After having a couple of classes together, we became acquaintances, and eventually good friends. One night, while I was eating at the dining hall, after getting into a verbal and physical fight with her boyfriend, she called me to say goodbye and said she couldn’t live with herself anymore. I was panicking while on the line with her, but I knew it was necessary for me to keep her talking and for me to find a way to be with her. I couldn’t leave her alone, as I knew she would attempt to hurt herself or attempt suicide (she had previously told me of a suicidal past prior to attending UF). I convinced her to come pick me up from the dining hall (she had been driving around in her car), and while I was waiting, I called the crisis hotline for advice. They told me to remain calm and get her to talk about the problem. When I met up with the girl, I noticed she had strangulation marks around her neck. She confessed to having attempted to choke herself with the strap on her bag. We sat in the car, and I listened as she described all of the crises she’s faced that night that led to this attempt at suicide. Once she was done talking and sobbing, we drove back to my place, where she stayed for the night. The next day, she went in for psychological counseling, and she and her boyfriend broke up. Nothing I could ever say in words could adequately express how much hearing that lesson on suicide and mood disorders, and the guest lecturer, had on my life and my friend’s life. “ Thirty-six hours of Education, Awareness and Risk Reduction presentations were presented to more than 700 participants. The program's coordination of Take Back the Night Rally to End Sexual Assault with the University of Florida's Victim Services Unit was an overwhelming success, highlighted by a male survivor of sexual assault served by the program speaking out against violence against women and children and confirming men can be raped.