Petersburg Regional
Local Human Rights Committee (LHRC) Meeting Minutes
November 18, 2014

Committee Members Present:

Ms. Kathy Tierney, LHRC Member/Vice Chair

Mr. Stephen Crawford, LHRC Member

Committee Members Absent:

Ms. Isabel Vartanian

Affiliate Members (Group B) Present:

Mr. Lola Shodeinde, Amazings Grace, LLC, LHRC Affiliate

Ms. Wilma Mullins, DBS Family Services, LHRC Affiliate

Ms. Kristina Derderian, Y.E.A., LLC, LHRC Affiliate

Ms. Fatima Smith, New Journey Family Services, LLC, LHRC Affiliate

Ms. Pattie Murphy, Ridge Place Family Services, LHRC Affiliate

Ms. Tazashia Wilson, Total Wellness Centers, Inc., LHRC Affiliate

Ms. Tamika Lynch, TAG Services, LHRC Affiliate

Ms. Demetria Mitchell, We Care Residential Services, LHRC Affiliate

Ms. Lakisha Boone, We Care Residential Services, LHRC Affiliate

Ms. Marquita Garrett-Knight, Balanced Minds, LLC, LHRC Affiliate

Ms. Portia Hairston, Balanced Minds, LLC, LHRC Affiliate

Affiliate Members (Group B) Absent:

Ms. Cheryl Snowden, We Care Residential, LLC, LHRC Affiliate

Mr. Rudolph Ford, Jr. S.O.A.R., LLC, LHRC Affiliate

Mr. Chad Chappell, C & N Family Services, LLC, LHRC Affiliate

Affiliate Members (Group A) Present:

None

Others Present:

Ms. Carrie Flowers, Human Rights Advocate, Office of Human Rights

Ms. Kate Wiltsie, LHRC Member Applicant

Dr. Qwendolyn Roy, LHRC Member Applicant

I. Call to Order

Mr. Crawford called the meeting to order at 2:31pm.

II. Approval of the Minutes

The committee reviewed the minutes from the August 7, 2014 meeting.

  1. Public Comments

Affiliates inquired about the status of membership. Several new members will be interviewed during this meeting. Approval of those members is likely to occur within one to two months at the State Human Rights Committee (SHRC) level.

  1. New Business

a) Ms. Demetria Mitchell of We Care Residential addressed the committee to request to add Mental Health Skill Building to their array of services. The service will include assessment, individualized service planning, training and reinforcement of social, interpersonal, and functional skills (i.e. daily living and budgeting). This is a service that is supervised by a LMHP. The client population will include adults with mental health disabilities. Currently, the agency provides group home services to intellectually disabled adults. Ms. Tierney inquired about how service delivery will be different for the two populations served (the cognitively impaired and those clients with mental health issues). Staff will not be cross trained; those who provide the mental health services will be appropriately trained and will not also serve those in the group home. The training will be geared toward service delivery to clients with mental health issues. Based on the shortage of committee members, only a tentative approval was made on this matter. Once this committee has additional members approved, another meeting will be scheduled to make a final and official approval of the addition of this service.

b) Ms. LaShanda Powell of Triumph Residential Services addressed the committee to request permission to add a new location to an existing home due to the needs of the clients and the layout of the current residence. The affiliate was informed that they do not need approval at this time for this type of change. They will amend their program report and enter the information in that report.

  1. Old Business

a) Affiliates discussed the balance in the affiliate “bank” account. Members will review financial statement when the statement comes out in January 2015; committee members will recommend citation by DBHDS for the agencies who remain in the rears as of December 31, 2014.

b) The committee reviewed the existing LHRC meeting schedule. Ms. Tierney reported she has a conflict in August 2015. This will be discussed further in the May 2015 meeting, to identify an alternate date. The first meeting in 2015 will be held on February 11, 2015 at 2:30pm at Poplar Springs Hospital.

  1. Affiliate Reports
  • Amazings Grace, LLC
  • DBS Family Services, Inc.
  • Y.E.A., LLC
  • A & C Alternative Care (absent)
  • We Care Residential, LLC
  • Specialized Youth services of Va. Inc
  • S.O.A.R., LLC
  • New Journey Family Services
  • Balanced Minds
  • Ridge Place Family Services
  • Total Wellness Centers, Inc
  • C & N Family Services, LLC
  • TAG Services

a) Reminder to Affiliates: you are required to forward Program Reports (on the newest quarterly report format) to your Affiliate Liaison (Ms. Lindblad) regardless of whether or not your attendance is required at the scheduled meeting. (Group A attends the February 11, 2015 meeting.) Meeting attendance or failure to provide a written report may result in a citation from DBHDS.

b) Ms. Tierney motioned to accept the reports; Mr. Crawford seconded the motion. Motion carried.

  1. Advocate’s Report

Ms. Carrie Flowers reminded the committee to recruit members for the committee so that affiliates can continue to conduct business in a timely manner. Despite two candidates being interviewed in this meeting, the committee will still need additional members, so recruiting should continue.

  1. Closed Session

Two potential committee members were interviewed in closed session; a third applicant was unable to attend this meeting and will be invited to the next meeting. Information will be forwarded to the SHRC for review/approval.

  1. Other Business

a) Meetings in 2015 will occur as follows: February 11, 2015 (Group A), May 13, 2015 (Group B), August 12, 2015 (Group A), November 11, 2015 (Group B) (November date is subject to change).

b) Reporting PeriodReports to Kim byMeeting Date

10/1/14 – 12/31/20141/10/152/11/15 (Group A attends meeting)

1/1/15 – 3/31/20154/10/155/13/15 (Group B attends meeting)

4/1/15 – 6/30/20157/10/158/12/2015 (Group A attends meeting)

7/1/15 – 9/30/201510/10/1511/11/2015 (Group B attends meeting)

10/1/2015 – 12/31/20151/10/20162/10/2016 (Group A attends meeting)

  1. Adjournment

Meeting was adjourned at 3:40pm.

12/11/14; kml

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