The human side [Spring 2000]

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2000 GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF HuMAN RESOURCES 0 APRIL
The mission of the Georgia Department of Human Resources is to assist Georgians in achieving healthy, independent and self-sufficient lives.

Dealing with another disaster in SW Georgia

Tornadoes this time.
Homes reduced to piles of sticks and rags. Eighteen dead, including a beloved county nurse manager and relatives of DHR staff.
The suspense while DFCS, Area Agency on Aging, and MHMRSA staff hunted for foster children, people with mental retardation, frail elderly people, and others in DHR programs.
A massive, multi-county, multi-agency, community-wide effort to provide for the survivors.
People coming for help while wearing the same pajamas and nightgowns they were sleeping in when the warning came.
This was the aftermath of the tornadoes that swept through portions of Mitchell, Colquitt, Grady and Tift counties in southwest Georgia about 1 a.m. on Valentine's Day. GEMA counted 258 homes destroyed - 200 in Mitchell County - 191 homes damaged, and 18 people killed.
One person died in Colquitt County - the sister of health education aide Jose Luis Palomarez - and seven in Grady County, including nurse manager Mary Ann McClelland and her husband (see page 5). Brenda Pollock, a Medicaid

eligibility supervisor for Dougherty and Colquitt County, lost a family member in Camilla. Carol Ford, the nurse manager for Mitchell County, Sonya Dewberry of Colquitt County DFCS, and Robin Cohen of Tift County DFCS lost their homes. One MHMRSA consumer was among the dead.
DFCS staff and counselors from the Georgia Pines and Albany Area community service boards went door to door with Red Cross workers on Feb. 14 to help assess the damage and offer crisis counseling and other services. Transportation problems and power outages interrupted some programs temporarily, but in general DHR facilities were unharmed.
PH nurses and DFCS workers, including volunteers from neighboring counties, shifted their work

Photo by George Armstrong
schedules to staff shelters and distribution centers in Mitchell and Grady counties. A PH assessment team checked for damage to the medical infrastructure and surveyed health needs. PH also gave readyto-use baby formula to WIC mothers while environmental health staff tested local water for contamination. Within a week, DFCS began
continued on page 4
In this issue
Commissioner's Corner.......pg. 2
Write it Right .....................pg. 3
How are we doing? ..............pg. 5
Fitness Challenge.................pg. 6
Opportunity knocks ..........pg. 7
Who's/What's news ............pg. 8

The Human Side April 2000

I

A s I talk about DHR, people are often amazed at the
...... .. "scope of our programs and responsibility we have that affects the lives of everyone in Georgia. The scope of our work and the breadth of our concerns should be a source of pride for everyone who reads this newsletter.
DHR has over 100 programs throughout the state that provide health, mental health, employment and financial assistance, social services, regulation and rehabilitation services in 1,000 locations. Our budget is $2.4 billion. Thirty percent of this goes to treatment for mental and physical disabilities and substance abuse, and another 29 percent goes to work services for welfare clients and people with disabilities.
But that's not all. Most of those programs work in partnerships with local coalitions, religious and civic groups, private nonprofit organizations, other public agencies and businesses.
Everyone benefits from our inspections to ensure that drinking water systems, ambulances, septic

tanks and restaurants function correctly. This protects the health of all families and communities. We prevent diseases in many other ways as well, such as making sure that tuberculosis patients take their medication properly so they don't infect others or develop drug-resistant forms of the disease.
Whenever we help a person with a disability or a low-income parent to find employment, we are also adding another taxpayer to the rolls. Whenever we help a frail elderly person continue to live in her own home, we are saving

Medicaid funds as well as helping that person live independently and with dignity. Prevention and treatment of substance abuse keeps families together and reduces crime in our neighborhoods.
Many of our programs help those most in need, but we also have community-wide responsibilities. Programs such as the Family Connection and Adolescent Health and Youth Development bring people together to plan ways to strengthen families in their local area. Mental health and rehabilitation staff advocate for changes in attitudes that help people with different abilities contribute to their communities as workers and neighbors.
So, next time someone asks you what you do, you can feel proud in telling them of the department's role in helping all Georgians achieve healthy; independent and self-sufficient lives. And I am proud to have this opportunity to work alongside you.
~)\'.~

May is Older Americans Month
T he theme for Older Americans Month, May 2000, is "In the new century ... the future is aging." The Division of Aging Services is planning a number of activities, including two conferences:
"Elder Rights 2000" will focus on building an elder rights system and preventing elder abuse and consumer fraud. The conference will be held May 23-25 at the Atlanta Airport Hilton Hotel, sponsored by the Elder Rights and Advocacy Section of Aging Services.
"The Joy of Living with Food, Fun and Fitness" will be held June 15-16 at the Atlanta Airport Hilton Hotel. This conference is for dietitians, case managers, Area Agency on Aging directors, home health agency staff and other professionals providing care for older adults.
For more information, contact Virginia Clark at 404/657-5290.

2 The Human Side April 2000

Child Protective Services

: Task Force on the job ommissioner Horne creat- at full steam. They have held 11

. ed the Child Protective

community forums around the state

C...:Services Task Force in

and heard from panels of experts.

De~~~ber to study Georgia's child Committee members assigned to

welfare system. In her charge to research and provide background

the group, Commissioner Horne asked the members to "help us

information for the task force have been deluged with information. The task force will submit its report

rethink what we do and how we and recommendations April 20,

do it. First, we need a renewed 2000.

focus on accountability. Second,

To send your comments, advice

we need to involve others such as and suggestions to the task force,

judges, health providers, mandat- write CPS Task Force, Box 1417,

ed reporters, communities and

Atlanta, GA 30303. A wep site pro-

families."

vides regularly updated information

Since the initial meeting, the

at www.cpstaskforce.state.ga.us.

16-member group has been moving

-Renee Huie

Write it Right
Writing, by the golde:n 1tule

chair?" It sounds like a judge's sentence. Actually, the wheelchair adds to that person's mobility, which is liberating, not confining. If you say someone "uses a wheelchair," that's accurate, and you put that person in the driver's seat. Emphasizing a person's abilities and common humanity is the key to good manners when referring to people who have physical or mental disabilities. Staff of Rehabilitation Services and MHMRSA recommend putting words like "person" (or "man,"

"woman," "child," etc.) ahead of the disability.
Example: "These products were made by people with mental retardation" emphasizes individuals, not the disability.
Stick to the facts: Say, "He has multiple sclerosis," rather than, "He suffers from multiple sclerosis."
Some terms for disabilities are in themselves insulting. Examples: "Cripple"; "victim"; "defective"; "deaf and dumb"; "retarded." In fact, some people prefer to call themselves "differently abled" rather than "disabled."
Any of us could become disabled. Avoid the word "normal" to mean "not disabled" or "able-bodied." Also, "healthy" is not the opposite of "disabled," because

Members of the Child Protective Services Task Force
Leszlie Bishop, corporate affairs director, AT&:T, Atlanta; Julia Bloodworth, executive director, Augusta Child Advocates, Inc., Augusta, Ga.; Cherry Cornelious, CPS investigator, Fulton County DFCS, Atlanta; Roy Richards, chairman, Southwire Company, Carrollton, Ga.; Maria Gonzales, social worker, Hiram, Ga.; Dr. Otis Johnson, dean, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Savannah State University; Doug Nelson, president, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Baltimore, Md.; The Rev. Nelson Price, pastor, Roswell Street Baptist Church, Marietta, Ga.; Harold Richman, executive director, Chapin Hall Center for Children, Chicago, Ill.; Patricia Schene Ph.D., Patricia Schene and Associates, consultants in children and family services, Littleton, Col.; Ozie Scott, foster parent, Montezuma, Ga.
-Renee Huie
many people with disabilities are in perfect health.
Some diseases still carry stigma, especially AIDS. Instead of "AIDS victims," say "people living with AIDS." This reflects the truth that HIV/AIDS disease does not make people sick all the time and is not an immediate death sentence.
Verbal good manners should not be called "political correctness,'' which implies one group imposing its ideas on another arbitrarily. It's really just a matter of applying the golden rule: Talk about others with respect, the same way you would want them to talk about you.
- Marian the Grammarian

The Human Side April 2000

3

Disaster
continuedfrom page 1
processing applications for emergency food stamps and federal aid to pay for a variety of needs, including housing, vehicles, medical care, and funeral expenses, for more than 200 survivors.
The Mitchell County shelter in Camilla took in 16 people and stayed open for two nights. Shelters were also open in Moultrie and Cairo the first night. Most survivors soon found temporary housing. "Here in rural south Georgia, people have large families and support networks," explains Connie Hobbs, Mitchell County DFCS director. "Good neighbors and church families help out too."
This family spirit was obvious as community organizations, churches, businesses and individuals came together to organize relief for the survivors. The Seventh Day Adventist Relief Organization worked with GEMA to set up a donation center in Camilla, with help from DFCS and volunteers. The United Way set up a center in Grady County, also with DFCS help. They gave out personal care items and household supplies as well as food.
Help from the community Mitchell County DFCS and the
Mitchell County Neighborhood Service Center, a community action agency, were able to give people emergency clothing vouchers within 24 hours after the disaster. One Colquitt County DFCS worker who had lost a relative (and had a previous injury) went to Mitchell County as a volunteer to help give children clothing and school supplies so they could return to school.
"It's been real tough for a lot of people in Mitchell County," says Hobbs. "We're just grateful we're in

Governor Roy Barnes (center) and Vice President Al Gore (behind Governor Barnes) surveyed the devastation and consoled local residents following the tornado in Mitchell County.

CSB offered emergency crisis counseling at the disaster center in

Camilla. "We feel like we're
becoming experts in disaster management here, with Hurricane

Floyd and two floods in the past few years,"

says Brenda Green, director of nursing

DFCS staff were on hand providing emergency food and other supplies to the tornado victims. Pictured (L to R) are Elaine Durham, Bonnie May and Kay Williams from Colquitt County DFCS; Connie Hobbs, director, Mitchell County DFCS; and Hugh Lipscomb, co-director of the Adventist Community Service Central Distribution Center.

and clinical services for the Southwest Georgia PH district. "We've had more practice than we wanted," adds District Director

a position to provide services. One of our case managers bought a little boy a bicycle with her own money. This is just one example of how our staff go the extra mile."
Many other churches, nonprofit organizations and government agencies are raising funds and giving survivors critical information, referrals, day care, and housing. The Mitchell County Emergency Response Team, which includes area DHR agencies, started an "Adopt a

]. Paul Newell, M.D.
"...We're survivors" The Camilla Chamber of
Commerce donated space on its web page for information about all the relief activity. A slogan on the web page voices the spirit of southwest Georgia: "We are not victims we're survivors!"
For information on how to help the survivors, call the Mitchell County Volunteer Command Center at 912-336-7963.

Family" program. The GA Pines

- Barbara Joye

4 The Human Side April 2000

Ft aced with a growing population that has complex needs, H<, MHMRSA has developed a new evaluation system.
The Performance Measurement and Evaluation System (PERMES) adapts nationally proven methods to measure customer satisfaction and service delivery outcomes; help managers identify what is working and what isn't; evaluate the system reform; and make policy decisions.
The first phase of the PERMES process asked consumers how they feel about the quality, range and accessibility of services, as well as employment, housing and other important issues. From September through November 1999, 160 consumers were paid to survey 10,000 other consumers statewide. Division staff believe this is the largest consumer-to-consumer survey of its kind in the nation. The early findings are:
Positive findings Most of the adult substance
abuse consumers felt services had a

positive impact on their lives. Most consumers were satisfied
with services at a level approaching the national norm. Children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbances were somewhat less satisfied.
Consumers were positive about access to services. Consumers with mental retardation felt they could do things in their communities and get help from family and friends when they needed it.

Mary Ann McClelland remembered

M ary Ann McClelland, nurse manager of Grady County PH, and her husband, the Rev. Jackie McClelland, died in Pelham when a tor-

nado destroyed their recently restored 100-year-old home. Mary

McClelland had worked for PH for 34 years and was six weeks away

from retirement. An overflow crowd of hundreds attended the funeral.

"We had been planning her retirement reception," said Carolyn

Fincher, acting Grady County nurse manager. "Her loss is truly felt

here. We're still dealing with it. She was a good nurse and a good nurse

manager. We miss her."

Emergency personnel found Jackie McClelland's body first. They

located Mary Ann under a fallen tree. She died that day at the hospital.

The couple was buried on the grounds of the Union Hill Primitive

Baptist Church, which had also served as the Grady County Emergency

Shelter.

- Barbara Joye

~ Many mental health consumers (both children and adults) and substance abuse consumers felt good about their ability to get help from peers when needed.
Many adult consumers with either mental illness or mental retardation indicated that they had chosen and liked where they lived.
What needs more attention More than 13 percent of all
consumers felt certain services they needed were not at all available.
Nearly 19 percent of adults with mental illness and over 27 percent of children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbances said they felt little or no involvement in service planning.
Consumer employment is a concern. The vast majority of adult consumers with mental illness and chemical dependency reported that they were unemployed, and few of them were receiving training needed to get a job.
What will happen next? PERMES staff stress that it is
neither appropriate nor desirable to draw any conclusions, due to the newness of the survey and the limited analysis conducted to date. However, the PERMES surveys will continue and the information will be further analyzed.
The survey reports, combined with clinical assessment reports and other service data, will be used by the division and regional boards for ongoing evaluation and quality improvement. An annual PERMES performance profile will be issued for each region and the state.
- Iris Mcilvaine

The Human Side April 2000

5

Governor's Fitness Challenge sweeps DUR

At the Governors Take Charge Challenge Kickoff at the Capitol:

(l-r) First Lady Marie Barnes; Marjorie Young, commissioner, Merit System for

Personnel Administration; Kathleen E. Toomey, M.D.,M.P.H., director, PH; State Senator

Connie Stokes; Patrick Meehan, M.D., director, Gwinnett/Rockdale/Douglas PH District.

,he Govern~r's Take Charge
Challenge is up and run-
T. . .. . ning for thousands of

The program is adapted from the DHR Division of Public Health's 1995 Lifestyle Challenge, which

employees from DHR and other state agencies and organizations in metro Atlanta. This 10-week physical activity program began

inspired the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 50th Anniversary Physical Activity Challenge in 1996. It is promoted by the Governor's Commission on

March 10 with a kickoff on the

Physical Fitness and Sports and the

steps of the State Capitol, featur- Georgia Coalition for Physical

ing a tai chi demonstration fol-

Activity and Nutrition. The

lowed by encouraging words by Cobb/Douglas, DeKalb, Fulton, and

First Lady Marie Barnes and PH Gwinnett/Rockdale/Newton public

Director Kathleen E. Toomey,

health districts have held annual

M.D., M.P.H.

challenges in recent years.

During the Challenge, teams of

More than 1,200 DHR employ-

volunteer participants will earn

ees who work at 2 Peachtree and

points for every 10 minutes of

the central public health laboratory

increased physical activity. The

signed up for the 2000 Take Charge

team members set individual goals Challenge, plus hundreds from

based on their starting level of

Atlanta area public health depart-

activity and where they want to be ments, the Governor's Office, the

by May 21.

Department of Community Health,

"The benefits of physical fitness and the Merit System for Personnel

are so great that it should be a pri- Administration. Many Atlanta

ority for everyone," said Mrs.

businesses and nonprofit organiza-

Barnes. "I hope that this program tions are also taking part. The

will help get more people into the Australian Bodyworks fitness center

habit of making exercise a part of chain is a corporate sponsor for the

their regular schedule."

private sector's involvement.

The Challenge is also combining forces with other spring fitness events, including the American Heart Association's Heart Trek, National Employee Health and Fitness Day; and the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Preliminary results of the 10-week effort will be announced May 13 at a Get Active Atlanta Day event at Centennial Park, sponsored by Australian Bodyworks and Kaiser Permanente. Other agencies and groups throughout the state will be encouraged to implement the Challenge this summer and fall. For more information, contact Amber Norris at 678/442-6885.
- Barbara Joye

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6 The Human Side April 2000

New DFCS Director stays busy

L ife as DFCS director has been moving very quickly
. , ."}or Juanita Blount-Clark. She arrives at her 2 Peachtree
office at 3:40 p.m. after yet another meeting, with another appointment in 20 minutes. Her schedule over the next few days includes visits to Rome, Camilla and Thomasville.
"It's been breathtaking so far," she exclaims. "There's so much going on, but it helps me stay focused on the things we need to do."
Blount-Clark was named DFCS bdeirgeacntohreirnjoNbovDeemc.b1e6r .1S9h9e9'caamnde to DFCS from the Georgia Policy wChoeurnecislhfeorhaCdhbiledernenexaencduFtiavme idliieresc' tor since July 1997. A graduate of Spelman College, she served as strategic planning coordinator for the Children's Initiative for five years and worked on several public health projects with Emory University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
For Blount-Clark, the decision to take the job was simple. "I saw this job as a real opportunity to further the work I had done with children over the last nine years," she says. "I didn't know of any other agency anywhere with as much opportunity to change children's and families' lives."
Blount-Clark arrived in the middle of a storm of media coverage over the child protective services system. Since she came on board, most of her time has been spent working on child abuse,issues, including the transfer of 171 eligibility workers to CPS and a propos-

Juanita Blount-Clark
al to raise caseworkers' salaries. A Child Protective Services Task Force will be making recommendations for changing the system, so she may spend the next few months working on those changes.
"... nothing is more worthy than working on behalf of children in need. All we can do is the best we can do."
- Juanita Blount-Clark
However, she emphasizes the positive aspects of the media attention.
"We're in a time of crisis. We can't change that, but we can change the way we react to it. We can focus on the negative publicity, or we can understand it and use it as an opportunity to reform the system," she says.

Blount-Clark's vision for DFCS includes three beliefs:
1. All children who are born healthy and grow up healthy need a stable, supportive family. DFCS must do all it can to help those children by keeping the family stable.
2. Adults and parents must be gainfully employed. Again, DFCS must do all it can to help those adults find a job and support their family.
3. DFCS has a role to play in helping communities be places that support the social and economic well-being of their citizens.
Blount-Clark faces several challenges in addition to CPS. The fouryear time limit for some TANF recipients will arrive January 1, 2001. The division is helping longterm recipients overcome barriers such as substance abuse and domestic violence, and it is providing more child care subsidies than ever before.
There has been no chance for a learning curve or orientation for Blount-Clark. However, she is beginning to travel around the state to talk with staff and see how the division operates firsthand. Her trips to Rome, Camilla and Thomasville will be spent talking with DFCS directors in those areas. She delivers words of encouragement to the staff.
"We have been charged with carrying out a monumental task," she says. "But nothing is more worthy than working on behalf of children in need. All we can do is the best we can do."
-Peter Lee

The Human Side April 2000

7

Who's news

Debra L. Elovich is the new 'assistant commissioner for policy and government services for DHR. The Office of Policy and Government Services reviews legislation, keeps elected officials apprised of DHR issues, and responds to constituent concerns. It also oversees the Office of Communications and the Legal Services Office.
Commissioner Horne made the appointment in January, citing Elovich's years of legislative experience. "She has dealt with many issues, such as child protective services, fraud and abuse, and aging services," Horne said. "She is the perfect person for this position and a valuable addition to our management team, especially during the legislative session."

Debra L. Elovich
Elovich served most recently as coordinator of the Fatherhood Program for the Department of Technical and Adult Education. She was previously director of Women's and Juvenile Services for the Georgia Department of Corrections. As executive director of policy for Lieutenant Governor Pierre Howard from 1991 to 1995, she helped develop child protective services legislation as well as legislation concerning the elderly.

New vaccine requirements for kids entering school or day care

C. . . l hildren entering Georgia schools or day care centers now must have varicella (chicken pox) vaccinations. The Board of Human . ,'" ;: Resources added varicella to the list of required vaccinations,

according to Michael Chaney, director of immunization programs for PH.

Starting August 2000, children entering day care and children enter-

ing kindergarten through 12th grade for the first time must show proof

of vaccination or immunity to varicella. In addition, they must have two

doses of vaccine that protects against measles.

"The varicella vaccination was first licensed in 1995, and became a

part of the recommended vaccine schedule in 1997," says Chaney. "It's a

safe, cost.,effective way to prevent chicken pox, which can cause serious

medical problems and even death."

Any child already enrolled in school is exempt from the new

requirement. However, starting in the fall df the 2001-2002 school year,

children entering sixth grade will be required to have varicella vaccine or

proof of immunity. Currently, sixth graders are required to show proof of

a second dose of the vaccine that includes measles.

Anyone wanting more information about the new immunization

requirements or where to have a child immunized may call their pediatri-

cian or county health department.

- Barbara Joye

.atalie Thomas, Aging Services' N.... . legal services developer, has
been appointed to a one-year term with the American Bar Association's Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly.
What's news
D HR received the Governor's
.......... 'Award for the 1999-2000 State Charitable Contributions Program, recognizing the largest increase in contributions to the program by a state agency. A total of 6,149 DHR employees contributed $374,200 to the overall total of $2. 7 million from 32,900 state employees. The award was presented to Forrest Burson, director of the Office of Adoptions and DHR's campaign chair for 1999-2000.
- Bernadette Burden
CORRECTION The governor of North Carolina who received advice from Rick Berry about flood recovery (The Human Side, ]an. 2000) was James B. Hunt, not Guy Hunt, who is a former governor of Alabama.
The purpose of The Human Side is to provide interesting and important information related to DHR employees and their jobs.
Published by the DHR Office of Communications -
Fran Buchanan, director Managing editor - Barbara Joye , Graphic designer - Eddie Reddick 'l Editorial and production staff .Dianne Phillips; Bill Gwynn; Renee I Huie; Barbara Joye; Angel Rodriguez;
I Bernadette Burden; Peter Lee; Lola
Russell Wilkinson; and Iris Mcilvaine.
I Please send your letters and ideas to:
I The Human Side, 2 Peachtree Street,
I NW, Suite 29-426, Atlanta, GA 30303
! 404/656-4937 FAX 404/651-6815 DHR GroupWise e-mail - brjoye Internet: brjoye@dhr.state.ga.us.

8 The Human Side April 2000