Attended:  Leon Frison, Chair; William Clark, Vice Chair; Jean Austin, Anna Baker, Tricia Biles, Bill Kerbin, Pam Kuster, Rev. Lawrence Purnell, Joe Newell (by phone). LMB Staff:  Candy Edwards, Director; Karen Cotton, Rebecca Lepter, Jenny Randolph, Kimberly Crew.  Public attendance:  Paula Gish, Gina Jachimowicz, Marianne Peltier-Allison.

Regrets:  Nora Becker, Chelsie Crouch, Amy Crowding, Matthew Hash, Sheriff John Price, Ron Fithian, Debby Schelts, Jeff Troester, Kerry Ahearn-Brown, Anthony Pack.

Welcome and Introductions

Approval of Board meeting minutes – Board members reviewed meeting minutes from the February 21, 2008 Board meeting.  Leon Frison asked for a motion to approve the minutes.  Bill Clark motioned and Jean Austin seconded.  Motion approved.

Executive Committee:  Candy Edwards, Jean Austin and Bill Clark met with Ron Fithian, Liaison for the Kent County Commissioners, in Rock Hall last week to discuss some current issues with the LMB.

Program and Finance Committee:  These two committees met to discuss unspent funds and contract issues.  They have view contracts and where things are going with the vendors for the next fiscal year. 

Board Development Committee: Did not meet for the month of March.  Attorney for the LMB, Chip MacLeod, has reviewed the by-laws with a couple of minor changes which have been included with the minutes.  Chip said that youth membership, their voting capacity and their length of term needed to be made clearer.  It has gone to the County Commissioners for final approval.  Jean Austin motioned to approve with specific changes made to pages 3 and 4. Reverend Lawrence Purnell seconded.  Recommendation approved.

Board members:  There are eight members of the Board whose term will expire at the end of June. There has been an interest form placed in your packets to be able to recruit new members.  Leon Frison will be stepping down from his position as Chair. 

Policies and Procedures:  Rebecca Lepter has sent out the revised policies and procedures for Board approval.  The policies and procedures manual is a vital asset on how the LMB operates.  When we are monitored by the Governor’s Office for Children, they monitor us on our compliance with our policies and procedures.  We are requesting a vote on the table for approval of policies and procedures.  Motion to accept was made by Bill Clark on March 27, 2008.  Tricia Biles seconded.  Motion recommended.

Director’s Report:
CPA Contract Synopsis – Ending 3rd Quarter.  All programs we are currently funding are expected to provide us with their narratives and their expenditure reports by April 10th.  The finance committee was able to meet last week to discuss some of the current vendor contracts and they will provide more information once the finance and program committees meet in April which will be in time for our next Board meeting.
Extended Day After-School Programs – The RFP hasn’t been sent out due to the time remaining of the school year.   Adolescent substance abuse and underage drinking were two major concerns found on the needs assessment.  Ms. Edwards has spoken with the Kent County Health Department (KCHD).  Discussions will follow between KCHD and KCPS. The LMB believes there is a great need to have a substance abuse counselor available at the schools.  Any plan for an Adolescent Substance Abuse Counselor could include services amongst the high school and the three middles schools. GOC will be here on April 16th to discuss the unspent dollars with expectations of a plan for unspent funds.  A motion has been put out on the floor for the LMB Board to support pursuing the community partnership unspent dollars to be able to move forward with this program.  Motion was made by Bill Clark.  Motion recommended.

Drug Free Communities:  ASAC is moving forward and has a growing membership.  The Marketing Committee has been working with Loblolley Productions in coming up with a LOGO and a website for the Adolescent Substance Abuse Coalition. ASAC is a supporter of the Parks and Recreation in taking the lead in the Post Prom party.  Prom is May 17th.  The Post Prom party’s destination is Betterton Beach from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday morning. ASAC has supported this event in previous years in the amount of $5,600.

Youth to Youth (Y2):  The program is supported by ASAC with Drug Free Community dollars.  It is a leadership program that is ran through Kent County Parks and Rec with the supervision of Abby Joiner.  The members of this program attended CADCA conference in February and were very inspired by one of the speakers who will be attending the high school on Monday,  April 21.  The motivational speakers name is Milton Creagh. There will be four presentations at the high school. We are asking the Board to support this by paying for the transportation.  Leon Frison asked for a motion to pay for the bus transportation. Bill Clark asked to put $150.00 per bus, which would equal $900.00.  At this time, Mr. Frison asked the Board for a motion. Bill Clark motioned and Rev. Lawrence Purnell seconded.  Motion was recommend.  No oppositions.

Truancy Diversion:  The Truancy Diversion Grant is to help reduce truancy in Kent County.  The LMB has joined partnerships with the TDCM, KCPS and DSS to come up with a consent form and a letter to go out to the parents. Mr. Pack has received all approvals and consents so the TDCM can start accepting referrals next week.  GOCCP will be here on April 1st at 1:30 to meet with our TDCM as well as DSS.

Earned Reinvestment Projects:  Due to the low number of foster care homes and day care providers that are available, DSS Child Care Licensing are participating with the LMB in recruiting foster home families and day care providers. There have been 10 families attending the nine weeks.

This project helps support Character Counts.  Midhu Sidhu has been participating in the training.  Some of the Character Counts coaching material is now in the library. 

Community Enrichment:  We are in our 2nd quarter of Community Enrichment Grants.  The deadline for acceptance is April 25th.  Ms. Edwards has been encouraging everyone to apply, however she has been emphasizing there is a guideline that must be followed in order to be approved for the grant.

Rehab Option Dollars/LCC Flex Funds/CSI Funds:  There are Rehab Option dollars for IAC & LCC that have been unspent. The Community Services Initiative (CSI) and the Local Coordinating Council (LCC) were given these flex funds.   Because there is a lack of independent living resources, they have come up with a plan which will teach kids coming out of group homes the life skills they need to be independent. The five County Committee will develop a RFP to go out into the community so that local entities and/or agencies can apply for this type of funding to expand their services. 

NOFA:  They have come up with two pots of money totally over a million dollars each. The LMB has the opportunity to apply for this money, however, it’s a very difficult process.  The deadline to apply is April 18th.

There is a Systems of Care training in Nashville, Tennessee in July, which is highly supported by GOC.  The dates are July 15th – 20th. 

Funded Programs:  GOC requested spending plans for unforeseen unspent Rehab Option/CSI dollars.  A plan was disclosed to support KCPR in purchasing a 15 passenger van, to support the Crisis Prevention training at the Chester River Hospital Center.  There is a room to be redesigned at the high school for the mental health substance abuse.  The LMB also had money to support DSS for family center practice which is another opportunity to make sure we are delivering the right services to the community.  This pays for a consultant to come in and work with DSS and work with their stake holders in coming up with a plan.

Needs Assessment:  The needs assessment draft has been received from Dr. Tossey, Salisbury University.  We have gone over this and made the corrections.

Kent Family Center:  The LMB would like to welcome Marianne Peltier-Allison.  Marianne is the new Executive Director at the Kent Family Center.   She has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work, specializing in substance abuse/adolescents.  At her previous employer, she was Executive Director of Student Services in the Burlington, North Carolina school system. The population consists of 22,000 students and is steady growing.  She has received her Master’s Degree in Business Administration.  The Systems of Care was really strong in the school area she comes from.

Community Center Authority:  The next meeting is scheduled for April 10th @ 4:00 p.m.  They are in the process of identifying the project manager, however, it hasn’t been confirmed as of yet due to not having a full commission panel.

Ms. Edwards is asking the Board for their support and guidance in writing a letter of support for the Community Center and having it placed in the Kent County Newspaper. Leon Frison asked for a vote to support the letter.  Motion was approved.

Meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.

Next meeting:  The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 17th, at 4:00 p.m.

Upcoming Events:

There will be a Town Hall meeting hosted by the County Commissioners on April 1st in the County Commissioners meeting room. The meeting is scheduled from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.

April 21st, 2008 Kent County High School will be having Milton Creagh  who is a very motivational speaker on Prevention.

Respectfully Submitted,

Kimberly E. Crew
Recorder