 to Sheboygan County government working for you. My name's Adam Payne, Sheboygan County Administrative Coordinator and co-host of this program with Chairman Bill Gehring. And today is rather a special program. Not only do we have Anne Wundergem, our Director of the Health and Human Services Department, but a special guest, Heidi Thompson, who is a foster parent and going to be talking somewhat about her roles and responsibilities. Nice to have you both here today. Thank you. Thank you. Anne, we're going to start with you. Please begin by sharing a little bit about the broad roles and responsibilities of the Health and Human Services Department. And you want me to do that in five minutes or less. In five minutes or less. As you know, Adam, we consist of five major divisions. And those divisions are our Division on Aging, our Division of Economic Support, Community Programs. And Heidi, of course, is very familiar with community programs, also being an adult family home provider. Our Division of Social Services. And you'll find out a little bit more about our foster care program and that division from Heidi. And then also our Division of Public Health. And we'll talk a little bit more about some public health responsibilities. As I've often said affectionately, we do everything from pre-birth with women who are pregnant all the way through death, where people who are low income and would not have the resources we assist with burial and everything in between. We're one of the three large departments in the county. We have approximately 200 employees. And a 30, well actually now next year, it'll be a $40 million budget. And just about 11 million is tax levy that supports our department. We're probably somewhat unique in the fact that out of that budget, approximately 67% are services that we purchase from organizations throughout the county in the community, helping support the people we serve through those purchase services. So even though we have 200 employees, the majority of our budget is spent in purchasing services on behalf of our clients. So five divisions, about 200 programs, or 200 employees rather. And Ann is somewhat modest, not only the one of the top three largest departments, it's the largest department with over a $40 million budget. And she does a tremendous job overseeing a very complex area. Recently Chairman Gehring led a prioritization process looking at all of our county programs and services. And Ann came in with over 44 programs in that department alone. So there's no way we can cover it all in five or 30 minutes. But Ann, how long have you been the director and when you mentioned these five divisions, could you briefly give just a little flavor as to what they are responsible for? Sure, not a problem. I think I've been director for years, going on five years. I've been with Sheboyton County in one capacity or another since 1975. So it's been a long time. And I've learned a lot through those years also. I'll try to highlight just one kind of program from each of the areas to give a flavor of what we provide in our division on aging. Probably the most notable is our meal sites, our senior dining sites. We have nine sites throughout Sheboyton County. It provides a meal to our senior citizens. And in addition to the meal fellowship and activities. So that's a significant part of the services that we offer there. As Chairman Gehring knows, our Division of Economic Support not only provides the eligibility determination for medical assistance, food share, but also we do the Wisconsin Works W-2 program, which is a non-mandatory program, but very vital to our residents in Sheboyton County. In Division of Social Services, we work very closely with a number of organizations in terms of keeping children safe, our Child Protective Services Program, and also our Juvenile Justice Programs. And we do that cooperatively with a number of agencies. Probably the most notable program is our STRI program with the Sheboyton Area School District, where we work with some juveniles who have some pretty severe problems. And between the school district and our program, we're able to maintain them in the community in their own homes, rather than the placement at Lincoln Hills, which would cost over $80 a day. So very beneficial program. In community programs, we have been working very closely with community agencies in terms of mental health and substance abuse programs, and also our long-term support programs to keep people in their own homes. And lastly, public health, and I'm now located on the third floor, so I learned a lot more about public health that not being my background. Just as I was leaving, people were coming in again for our WIC program, which is the Women Infant and Children Program, to get their vouchers, to get the basic nutritional needs met for their young children. So those are some of the areas. And I saw just a few vendors across the street as I was leaving, because we also work with the farmer's market with our WIC program. And before we turn it over to Heidi to hear from her a little bit, could you set the stage from a standpoint of the foster care program? I started out in social services, so I know a lot more about Heidi than she probably would care for me to share. But oftentimes we have children that, for one reason or another, we can't maintain safely in their own home, primarily due to child abuse, neglect, or juvenile justice issues. And we need to place those children in a safe and nurturing environment. There's a number of options, but the best option that's been statistically proven is with another family. And sometimes relatives aren't available for that placement. And so we go out and recruit, or I should say foster parents recruit us to open up their homes to these children. They foster parents go through, I should say foster families actually go through an extensive process. It takes three to four months to actually get the license issued. The process is mandated by the state. Interviews of all the family members, background checks, a visit to the home to check out the physical plant, does it meet all the code criteria, references, medical exams, we can go on and on. And we have a coordinator that does that licensing process and works with our foster families. Right now, foster families are also required to complete a 36th training program. And Heidi knows a lot more about that than I do as she is one of our foster parent trainers. And currently we have 51 licensed foster homes in Sheboygan County. And that provides 105 beds available to us for placements. Some families will work only with infants. Some families will take any age group. And some of that changes over the years. And many of our foster families also become adoptive parents for the children that are placed with them. So it's probably one of the programs that's really close to my heart in terms of working with people who are truly dedicated to the care and well-being of children. And I'm so pleased that you suggested Heidi be here today because we have such respect and appreciation for the job that you do. And you mentioned off the air, you've been a foster parent for 30 years. Almost 30 years. And in addition to a foster parent, we also adoptive parents. And we also have an adult provider as well. Which is just fantastic. So again, welcome. It's great to have you here today. How does one go about, or specifically you, what got you interested in being a foster parent? Well, it was kind of interesting because we were a young couple and had two small children. And one day we opened up the Sheboygan Press and there's this little article about fostering. Children becoming a foster parent. And at that time, I think Dobby Brown was in charge of the program. And they had an informative meeting and we went. And I've always loved children. And that came from a somewhat dysfunctional family. And I thought, you know, maybe I could help these kids out. So we discussed it and we made a decision to try foster care. And it's been about 30 years now since we've been doing it. I'll be there. And for those 30 years from your standpoint, what have been some of the challenges and what have been some of the rewards? I mean, what's it like being a foster parent? Well, there's highs and lows just like having your own children. And the whole concept has changed so much from the beginning. When we first started out, it was more or less that you were a babysitter for the county. You took care of the kids, you know, and the county took care of their end. Now over the years, it's much, much more involved. You become more of a professional. There's much more extensive training. The reunification trying to get these children back into their families is pushed much more and at a much faster pace. Years ago, they had put the child in foster care and everything was going well. They had a tendency, you know, to kind of leave the child there, which really didn't benefit anyone, birth family, child, anyone. And now they have much more involved that they're trying to get help for all of the family and the foster child. And it's a team approach. Everyone is involved. Now the foster parent, the social workers, the birth parent, the foster child himself, depending upon their age, and they make a plan and everybody works on it. It's a lot more support. Absolutely. There's so many more programs to help the children because these kids come with some baggage. You know, they have their issues because of what they've been through. And they have many more programs to help these kids and the birth families to help them be able to get their children back. It's not like they're trying to take these kids away and keep them from the birth parents. They work very, very hard at trying to get these children back into the birth home. That's where they belong, if at all possible. Now Ann mentioned earlier that now, after all these years of experience, you are now one of the trainers, which has to give tremendous comfort to those who are new, getting involved with it. What's that process like? Could you provide a little bit more detail on that? Sure. Johnny has been blessed to have Joan Grunwald who does the training. And she's great. She used to be a foster parent, but hasn't in a long time. And you get all these new little faces that come in and they're all excited about becoming foster parents and they really enjoy all learning all the things from the textbook. But boy, they sure love our stories. There is two other foster parents, Carl and Pam, that also help train. And we share with them the stories and some of the struggles that we have or some of the thoughts that we're having. It's pretty tough not to get attached. You have a child with you two, three years possibly and all of a sudden it goes home. There is a hole in the heart and it takes a little while to work through it. And the different issues. The program is 13 weeks and it helps prepare you for issues that come up. Rather than the old way of where okay, something comes up, how are we going to fix it or how are you going to react? We have the training now, so when the issue comes up, we can react immediately and take care of the issue before it becomes a problem. Are you seeing much interest in folks in this community wanting to become a foster parent? You say you'll have a lot of new faces in there and they're all their eyes wide open at learning, but is there a need for more foster parents? Always, there's always need for more foster families. And the good thing about the training too is there is some people that come in with misconceptions on exactly what foster care is going to be and how it's going to react with their family. And what we don't want anyone going into it if it's not really what the entire family is willing to do. So it really gives them a chance to see how it's going to affect them as a couple, them as a family, their extended family, how that's going to react, and maybe it's not right for them. And then maybe we can direct them to a big brother's big sister program. Maybe they'd be better as a mentor or helping advocate for these kids. So it really is a good sound thing to take these classes and find out for sure that you can make this kind of dedication that everyone in your family is willing to make the dedication. Because it takes a whole family to raise a foster child, not just one person in that family. Well, final question before I turn it over to Bill. All of us sitting here, and I'm sure many of our viewers are parents and have certainly had the challenges associated with being a parent as well as the rewards. And you share without breaching any confidentiality one of the rewards of being a foster parent. You know, I guess one of the biggest things is being able to see these kids come in, troubled with issues and problems, and to try and help them go through the steps of becoming a productive person in society. And they call and Mother's Day I'll go down to the mailbox and maybe there'll be five Mother's Day cards in the box for me from girls that have left five, 10 years ago. Or they call and say, I met my first true love. What do you think? And they want to share that with me. And it's the connection that stays with. I mean, it's a part of us forever, these girls. And apparently a lot of these girls were a part of their life. And it's just neat that they call and I'm pregnant and I'm gonna have my first baby or come to my wedding. And it just makes you feel like you've got one big extended family. Excellent, thank you. Thank you. Heidi, on behalf of the County Board of Supervises, I really want to thank you for your service. You've done a lot for citizens, a lot for the kids of Shebaigan County. So I give you a hearty thanks for all that you've done. We've enjoyed it. And you will for many more years. Many more. Turning back to you, Anne, as I led the Pepsi process, I understood that foster care was a major part of what your department does. But there are about another 40 other programs and things continue to change. There are new mandates from the federal government, state government. Can you tell us about some of those changes that are coming down the pike that will impact your department? I think probably the biggest change that I see right now is long-term care reform. And I use that as a general term because there's so much right now going on that is kind of lumped into that particular effort. As you're aware, we've been working very closely with the healthcare centers in terms of the intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded, the ICFMR. In fact, as of yesterday, we have two people relocated from the ICFMR into the community. And that is an initiative, both at the federal and state level, that individuals with a developmental disability residing in that facility as part of their annual review process, we look at moving them to the most integrated setting, which in most cases for most of those individuals will be a community setting. So we're working on that. And in fact, met with Dale Pauls and Roxanne just this week in terms of strategizing for the balance of the residents and what we can do and received a number of replies to our request for information in terms of service providers to provide those community-based services. So that's on the fast track right now, one of the initiatives. In the governor's budget, as another part of long-term care reform, we have what's called the Community Reintegration Initiative or CIR. And we've had nine requests from the community without any publicity. This is in particular for elderly individuals currently residing in a nursing home who would like to relocate from the nursing home back into a community setting. It can be an apartment, their own home that they still have or it could be in a community-based residential facility. As I said, that one is new and as more publicity comes out, I think we'll see more applications. That's voluntary on the part of the elderly person. It's not required. And as of the end of October, we had nine requests. And so that program, as I said, is moving along quite quickly. The last one that I just kind of like to touch on a little bit is called Comprehensive Community Services. And as everything has an acronym, this is CCS. And that is a program that has developed specifically to work with people who have a severe and persistent mental illness to provide funding and support to maintain them once again in the community versus an institution or nursing home. And for those services that are social and rehabilitative in nature, we'll be able to draw down 60% federal funding. So it's a new initiative that comes with dollars as does the relocation initiative from the nursing homes and also the ICFMR. Now the Health Care Center's Department and the Human Services Department have really been working fairly closely on the initiatives to move people to the least restrictive setting. Can you talk a little bit about some of the meetings that have gone on, how you're really working together for the best of the citizens? As I said, when we met with the Health Care Centers again this week, one of the things we always look at is when you're working with an individual and for Rocky Knoll, the greatest impact will be that eventually the ICFMR, the new structure in Rocky Knoll will be closed down in terms of providing services to people with developmental disabilities and then the nursing home will look at converting those to skilled nursing home beds. We need to work closely with the Health Care Centers because what we're looking at is what services, what types of things work well with an individual while they're residing in the nursing home that we can duplicate or at least try to duplicate in the community setting. So as an example, we've identified groups of people within the ICFMR who work well kind of as a family unit, as Heidi mentioned, even with foster care, so that we can maybe take four or five individuals and locate them in a group home or a small community-based residential facility in the community. So our meetings really focus on what's working for the individual, what are the assessed needs, how do we get the family support and the guardian support. So we're focusing on that primarily at this point in time. When we look at the community relocation initiative, there we're just helping all the nursing homes get information that this is an option available to residents on a voluntary basis, but I think as the Health Care Centers look at downsizing, this becomes an opportunity then for individuals who are interested in relocating to the community to do that, so I see that as a real benefit, not only to the resident who would like to move, but to the Health Care Centers in terms of their downsizing plan. Now the Division of Health is kind of a division that keeps plugging along, it's not really high profile, but there are certain initiatives that they're working on. Could you enlighten us upon those? And I wanna say I'm glad they're not high profile because that means something is probably going on in the community that we would prefer not to happen, like a foodborne outbreak or cryptosporidium or something along those lines, so definitely when we look at public health we like to keep a low profile. I talked a little bit about the farmer's market because it's ending at the end of November in terms, actually it's November now, in October, but during the summer months when that is in kind of the peak, we do what's called a Vaging Out Program and there's a chef that comes in, and he volunteers his time, and he actually goes around and gets produce from the various vendors and does a cooking demonstration that is also taped for TV8 and it's just fascinating to watch how he can take very basic ingredients and make a meal. Of course I talked a little bit about the WIC program, but we're also into immunizations and as we know, anything we can do in terms of preventative health is important and then as I mentioned, our planning for bioterrorism is always occurring in cooperation with our four contiguous counties that we're in partnership with and we work closely with emergency government also in that bioterrorism planning. Bird flu seems to be the buzzword today when you listen to television or read the paper. Have there been a lot of calls coming in regarding bird flu? We are trying to keep that one quiet and hasn't been, but there's always a few. There's always concern, especially if people are traveling overseas, they would like a little bit more information and I do have to do a disclaimer that I'm not a public health official, I have a public health officer, but I did ask Dale Hippenstiel who is that public health officer to provide me some information so I did a little research on it, figuring that that's kind of a hot topic right now. I think the real key here is that government, believe it or not, is pre-planning for this both through the CDC and the National Health Organizations and the World Health Organizations. The transfer to humans is limited, but the potential is always there and the one thing I found out in working closely with public health, viruses tend to mutate and change over a period of time. So one of the key things is, again, hand washing. If you're coughing or if you're ill, not to expose other people to the illness. Just good practice in terms of food handling. Should this flu make its presence in the United States, one of the things people need to be aware of is there will not be a vaccine available for at least four to six months. So that's one of the keys in terms of everything we can do to prevent any illness from spreading. We're gonna be much better off than trying to treat it after the fact, but we're not panicked. We have a plan in place should it occur in the United States or in Sheboygan County and you and Adam would both become part of that plan in terms of implementation because we would look at setting up immunization clinics on a broad basis once that vaccine would become available. Okay, thanks for that update. My wife last night made a great meal of some fried chicken and she's been feeding me a lot of chicken of late. I don't know if it's just the news, the bird flu, or she's trying to get things rolling here. Is she feeding you sauerkraut on the side too? As you can see, she's feeding me well. But we had a delicious meal and speaking of birds, we've got Thanksgiving right around the corner and the holidays and I can't believe it's nearly mid-November here and it's still in the 50s outside and beautiful weather, although I think that's gonna get colder in a hurry. And another thing about your department is with the breadth of responsibilities and all the programs that you oversee and that your staff provide, you have some real special activities over the holidays. Please share with our viewers a little bit about what's coming up. I'm gonna save the best for last. I'm gonna start with some of our traditional type of things. We've once again been selected as a recipient of Festival of Tree money and that's coming up on December 2nd, 3rd, and 4th and our staff volunteer. I'll be doing some volunteer work there hopefully on Friday evening but we would encourage our viewers to participate in that because it supports a number of worthy causes including our department's Child Abuse Neglect Fund. Share the spirit we do in cooperation with the Sheboygan Press. Primarily that program benefits people who are elderly or have a disability and there'll be little blurbs in the Sheboygan Press about different people and what they might like and it ranges anywhere from they would like a box, a homemade cookies, to a trip to the mall, that type of thing so I would encourage people there. I wanna talk a little bit about something that's close to Heidi in my heart. We can always use more foster parents and I have to read this because it's something that I can't just do off the top of my head but we had a young foster child who wrote, on January 27th, I'm going to be adopted and I'm not going to be a foster kid, I'm going to be a kid. And when we really talk about what we do, it is helping children have a safe and nurturing loving environment and this young lady who wrote that, it's very important to her that she's part of a family and has that permanency so we can always use foster parents as Heidi can attest to. And lastly, hopefully you can pan in a little bit, we have a group of young ladies who work with one of our providers and it's the STARS program and it's a mentoring after-school program for teenage girls who are having some real challenges in their life and it's a 12 week program. During every season, the girls work with their mentors and they make different items that they sell and that's how they support their activities and their outings and some of that and Lori who is the primary lead person for that contract agency shared with me what they're going to make for the Christmas season and these are just, Heidi and I really like these so we're definitely going to be buying these, they do light up and they're just the glass blocks that people use for basement windows or showers and that type of thing. With a Christmasy or winter decalon wrapped like a gift box and as I said they plug in and light up. So actually I have bought one of these and I'm going to be dropping one off. Not for you two though, it's for Dorothy because Dorothy is the one that does all the decorations for your office. So- And has the good taste. Yes that's true. So that's my little gift to you guys this year in terms of supporting the program and then in the back along the brick wall they're also doing snowman and I'm hoping today definitely I was glad the wind was not bringing snow or rain. That also has Christmas lights that it lights up and can be placed outside. The nice thing is with the girls doing this they collect different materials and stuff so even though you see that one with blue the next one could come with gingham it could come with plaid. They get fairly creative and really enjoy doing it and as a department we enjoy supporting them because the changes I've seen in some of those young ladies because they come in and do community service work is fantastic from when they start the program until when they end. And we only have a minute remaining they've covered a lot of ground a lot of important information. Viewers who are interested in the last information you just shared or learning more about becoming a foster parent or any other area that we provide, who would they contact? What's a good way to help the health and human services department be successful? Well they can step by if they would like to and we're at 1011 North A Street for those long-term residents that's the old Sheboygan Clinic or they could also call 459-3207 459-3207 that's our main number and depending upon what they're interested and if they explain the receptionist can get them to the right person and if all this fails they can always just ask for me and I'll direct them to the right place. Outstanding. Well Ms. Heidi Thompson, Ms. Anne Wunderjim thank you so much for being our guest today and all the good information and thank you for joining us next month that we're going to have our highway commissioner here Mr. Roger Lanning and he'll be talking about all the hard work that his staff do keeping our roads safe and hopefully not hitting too many mailboxes so we'll have Mr. Lanning in here and until then on behalf of chairman Bill Gehring and myself Adam Payne and the Sheboygan County Board thank you for joining us.