Herman advocates for serving Jones Co. citizens

     “People aren't coming to our office because they’re having a good day. They walk in our door because they're surviving. They're human beings in crisis. That's what Community Services does. That's what they do in all counties. They deal with humans in crisis.

   “These people need help with resources to eat, housing, medical insurance, trying to navigate the system, the HHS (Department of Health & Human Services) system. We don't say sorry, not our job. We're the county social work; we help them.”

   Jones County Community Services Director Lucia Herman continued to advocate for hiring an assistant to fill a vacancy in her office and to help with the workload.

   During the Jan. 11 Jones County Supervisors meeting, Herman explained to the board that Community Services goes beyond offering representative payee services to the citizens of Jones County. They also handle substance abuse and General Assistance (GA). That entails rent and utility assistance.

   At the prior board meeting, the supervisors asked Herman to look into how other counties handle Community Services. Herman said some counties contract with providers for such services as representative payee, but those providers only offer those services to clients, not the general public.

   “For example, if it was Advancement Services or Systems Unlimited, you’d have to have a specific disability to receive a service from them,” she said.

   Some counties have multiple full-time and part-time employees operating Community Services, too.

   While there are three social workers working in Herman’s office, they are MHDS regional employees. Herman and her former assistant were the only ones who worked for both the county and the region.

   “I have a continued urgency to hire,” she told the board.

   The former assistant was working 20 hours for the county and 20 hours for the region. Herman said while there is a desperate need to hire, she’ll follow whatever guidelines the supervisors set out.

   “I'm not going to die on a hill. I need help,” she said. “Community Services is a one-stop, coordinated support system. It's for anyone who is seeking services in this county, regardless of age, income, disability. We're trying to keep those citizens integrated and staying in our community.”

   “Carl,” a resident of Jones County who has sought services from Community Services for the past 15 years, addressed the board via Zoom on the need for this department.

   “I've had the payee service for 15-20 years,” he said. “Aside from writing checks, they help manage our money and bills. Say I get a letter from Medicaid or Medicare and I'm not sure what to do with it; they help with that. For me, it's been a pretty necessary service. I know there are lots of people like me in the area that have the same need. Part of the reason I have payee is because I have mental health issues.”

   “Carl” ended with: “If it isn't broke, don't fix it.”

   There was talk at the previous board meeting about moving some of Community Services’ duties into the Auditor’s Office.

   “It's not just writing a check,” Herman said. “You have to have a professional degree to deal with this whole social work part and to manage hours and hours of finances in your office to process through Social Security.”

   Herman said hiring someone at 20 hours would cost the county $18,700. Auditor Whitney Hein clarified that when the county adds benefits, “personnel costs” are more around $32,000.

   Herman shared that her regional budget is over $420,000.

   Sherri Hunt, Early Childhood Iowa (ECI) director, shared with the board that the state plans to make further cuts and changes to HHS.

   “This is not the time to cut services,” urged Hunt. “We are facing serious changes. I'm not opposed to change; I think it's a good thing. But this is a time I think we all need to rally together with this change.”

   Hunt noted that the governor, in her Condition of the State Address, is wanting to reduce the 14 MHDS regions down to seven. Right now, Jones County is one of nine counties served by the East Central Region.

   Hunt said this could mean a loss of services, a loss of representation for Jones County.

   “We need to position ourselves to say that Jones County is important,” she continued. “We have to have a voice. I think it's a very minimal investment. This is not about cutting checks. This is about having someone present to deal with people in need. This is more about personal relationships with people than just providing a service. You're listening to people; you're hearing their troubles, their stories.”

   Supervisor Joe Oswald suggested Herman hire two people at 20 hours a week, one to serve the county and one to serve the region.

   “Good luck trying to hire two part-time people,” voiced Herman. “I've been trying to hire a mental health advocate for five years.”

   Supervisor Jeff Swisher said this way, the county is not on the hook for insurance benefits, saving the county money in the long-run.

   “At least we're saving, but not cutting the service,” said Swisher. “That's where I'm at. It's not my plan to cut services. We're in this pickle because other people (the state) put us here. I'm trying to figure out a plan.”

   The board approved posting the Community Services assistant job at 20 hours a week. Herman also plans to hire part-time for the MHDS region as well.

   “I'm not trying to act defensive, but I am defensive,” Herman said. “Twenty-five years of taking care of the real people in need in this county, you do protect them a little bit. Some of these folks have to be taken care of; they don't have someone else to do it.”