Committee on Health and Human Services
Wayne County Commission
Health
Politics
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Edited and summarized by the Detroit - MI Documenters Team
Note-taking by
Lynelle Herndon Documenter
Committee concerned with COVID and kids aging out of foster care; angry parents protest mask mandates in schools.
Live reporting by
N Kincade
Committee concerned with COVID and kids aging out of foster care; angry parents protest mask mandates in schools.
n kincade
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Good afternoon! I'll be live-tweeting the Wayne County Committee on Health and Human Services today for #DetDocumenters. The meeting is on Zoom and is scheduled to begin at 1:30pm.
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12:20 PM Sep 7, 2021 CDT
Commissioner Marecki is excused from this meeting. With a quorum, this meeting has been called to order, and the previous meeting's minutes were approved.
Harolyn Baker, Chief Operating Officer for the Committee on Health and Human Services is giving a presentation on COVID. 1,342 new cases over the last week, a 5% decrease.
Dearborn, Canton, and Livonia are the current hot spots for COVID in Wayne County. https://t.co/OYBDnB7Br9
Commissioner McCormick asked how the feedback from parents has been re: mask mandates. Ms. Baker replied that it has been overwhelmingly positive.
Ms. Baker is unsure if there will be an upcoming mandate for County employees to get vaccinated.
Commissioner Daub asked about booster shots, and if there are plans to expand those shots beyond the immune-compromised. Baker replied that the CDC has not provided any clear guidance, and they are waiting on that so they are aligned with both the CDC and the state of Michigan.
The chat on this meeting is full of anti-mask advocates, some of whom claim there is no pandemic.
Commissioner Killeen would like to know if they could get a graph of the distribution of ages of those getting sick. He would also like an explanation of why the positivity rate is so important.
Ms. Baker replied that the positivity rate gives the indication of the rate of illness among those getting tested. The cases per 1000 in population gives a different picture, as it explains the rate of spread amongst the entire population.
Killeen had heard that a positivity rate above 5% was a concern, and now we're looking at 8% and higher. Baker agrees that it's a concern, but reminds him to not overlook the fact that hospitalizations and fatalities are both down from the beginning of the pandemic.
Harolyn Baker stated they are in the process of putting together a list of FAQ's, and that will be coming soon. Not much of an overview.....🙄
Due to the number of public comments, they are going to limit comments to 1 minute. Here we go.
The first few public commenters believe Vitamin D and ionization will prevent COVID, not masks.
A parent is concerned with the side effects of mask-wearing. The next parent believes there will be long-term effects from mask-wearing, and everyone is just "blowing up" the risks of COVID.
The current public commenter stated she was injured by the vaccine and her child had to see her go from a healthy adult to being paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair.
Commenter Sara Biery has yet to see any data that shows masks prevent the spread of the virus.
Commenter Billie Schultz would like to know why they are cutting mental health spending. She would also like to see how many of the COVID deaths were from suicide.
Several public commenters have now referred to mask mandates for their children as "abuse".
Having finished public comments, we're hearing a presentation from Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, Director of Academic Outreach for Team Wellness Center, on mental health and foster care in Wayne County. https://t.co/5e49ZGEk8T
Some of the services offered by Team Wellness Center: https://t.co/xCixjJlGnA
One of their focuses is on young adults who are soon to age-out of the foster care system, and ensuring they have somewhere to live. https://t.co/JloigojxWD
Due to the length of the meeting a full question and answer session was cut short. Now we are hearing from Lynda McGhee, Executive Director of Michigan Children's Law Center, also focused on the aging-out community in the foster care system. https://t.co/KjR9m0N41t
She stated she was moved by all the parents in this meeting advocating for their children, whether for or against mask mandates. The children she works with have no parent to advocate for them, and need all the services and help we can provide.
She stated that of the 13,000 children currently in the foster care system in Wayne County, 900 will age-out of the system by the end of the year. What happens to those individuals when all of their support is taken away? Many end up in the criminal justice system.
It is her sole focus that no person should age out of the system and not have resources. They need mentors, job training, and a support system. Only 3% of them will pursue a college degree.
She stated that there is a chunk of federal $ that will have to be returned after Sept. 30 if Governor Whitmer doesn't release those funds. She asked that everyone reach out to their representatives and ask them to request those funds be released.
Commissioner Killeen mentioned that there is a shortage of families interested in fostering children. McGhee agrees, but stated that some of the requirements for qualifying to be a foster family are easier and can be done online.
Also, according to McGhee, as long as you have a bedroom you can begin becoming a provider before you are licensed as a foster parent.
Lastly, there are also plenty of other ways to help foster kids without having them live in your home.
Item 4 of new business on the agenda, a 3-yr agreement with Michigan State University, was approved unanimously: https://t.co/SrBC3IdaHf
It was moved and supported that items 5-8 on the agenda all be approved. Upon questioning by Commissioner Daub, it was explained that these are all quarterly adjustments to where money gets spent among various mental health services. No $ is being taken away, just moved around.
Item 9 is a contract with an advertising agency to promote COVID messaging. It was unanimously approved. https://t.co/v0XayA97FP
The clerk is now reading public comments submitted via email. The first few commenters are grateful and relieved for the mask mandates in schools, and the safety it provides their children.
One commenter wrote in to object to Item 9 on the agenda, and doesn't want their tax money being spent on vaccine advertising.
It should be noted that the clerk's reading of emailed public comments is also being limited to 1 minute each.
With no more public comments and no other business, this meeting of the Wayne County Committee on Health and Human Services is adjourned at 3:58 p.m.
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Wayne County Commission
The Wayne County Commission and its employees are the legislative branch of county government. The chief role of the commission is to adopt a budget and enact ordinances. The commission also approves contracts, appointments and rules. The money is spent and ordinances are enforced through the administrative branch. The $1.5 billion budget runs the county operations that serve the more than 1.8 million people living in Wayne County.
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Committee on Health and Human Services
Wayne County Commission
Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024
1:30 p.m. EDT