Community Services and Care Planning Boards:  Purpose, Responsibilities, & How They Can Help Build Stronger, Healthier, and More Inclusive Communities

Gordon Allen, NH Council on Developmental Disabilities

A.  New Law, New Idea, New Potential

There is a new law in NH (RSA 20:1 Chapter 678) that for the first time allows municipalities to establish Community Services and Care Planning Boards (CSCPBs).  This is also a new idea, so NH will be breaking new ground in establishing them.  In fact, NH is the first state to allow local governments to establish an official town board that has the responsibility and authority to develop a comprehensive master plan for creating a rich, vibrant, healthy, and supportive community life for all its residents.

B.  Purpose

The basic purpose of the Community Services and Care Planning Boards is to give communities a powerful new tool to do the sustained and creative planning required to build the rich, supportive, and connected community life essential to the health and social well-being of all their residents.  Specifically, CSCPBs allow communities to tap the vast reservoir of community spirit and talent in their midst to create plans that give all townspeople the supports, care, and opportunities they need to thrive, get better, lead better lives, and better themselves.

Put another way, CSCPBs are designed to provide a way in our fast-paced world (which so often works against bringing communities together) to safeguard what many feel is most special about New Hampshire – its strong and vibrant communities where people really care, participate, and take pride in forging ahead and mobilizing homegrown resources to take care of their neighbors and make their communities special places to live – communities which residents proudly call “my hometown.”

C.  Flexibility and Potential

The law provides Community Services and Care Planning Boards (CSCPB) great flexibility to develop a wide range of creative plans and recommendations.  This means the “sky is the limit” for the local initiatives, projects, programs, and solutions that the CSCPB can put in its Master Plan and work to implement to build their communities.

Many exciting ideas came out of the legislative hearings. These included creating community, senior, and family resource centers that bring people together and increase access to state and regional as well as local services; creating new community events and traditions such as community suppers, celebrations, fairs, festivals, and blogs; setting up exchanges of services, resources and talents such as a “Time Dollar” system or community gardens and wood banks; and simple neighbors-helping-neighbor matching for needed rides, shopping, companionship, and even simple repairs and chores.

D. The Basic Duties of CSCPBs

CSCPBs have three basic responsibilities:

1. Prepare and continually update the Community Services Master Plan.

2. Prepare an Annual Report on the well-being of the community including progress made and barriers encountered using a homegrown “Community Well-Being Index” as a measure.

3. Make recommendations for initiatives, projects, programs and other activities for strengthening community spirit, life, and support.

The CSCPBs can decide the issues, concerns, factors, and proposals they include in their plans, reports, and recommendations. They also have flexibility in how they engage their fellow citizens, spark a civic dialogue, set up working groups to get things done, tap the local and outside resources and information they need, keep focused on the mission and the energy alive, set solid benchmarks and objectives – and in the end – to develop creative solutions and the broad support for them that will make them a reality.

E. The Community Services Master Plan (CSMP)

The CSMP is the heart of the CSCPB’s work. This is because it sets out a clear written strategy and blueprint for building, nurturing, and safeguarding the health and social well-being of all its residents and the richness of community life and spirit. Specifically, the CSMP is designed to guide the development and delivery of all community services and support systems to residents, including healthcare and human services provided and funded by the State. A CSMP can also include any areas outside the municipality as needed, so cooperative and regional CSMPs are allowed.

The planning process is designed to encourage the development of commonsense and practical solutions. For example, by inventorying community assets and organizations, a lot of “community building” connections can be made just by going through this process. Likewise, uncovering and cataloging the specific talents, needs, and interests of community members can lead to instant “win-win” connections.

Elements of the CSMP – In developing the Community Services Master Plan, the CSCPB conducts an the ongoing assessment of the availability, adequacy, and accessibility of the local, regional, state, and federal health and human services systems (formal and informal) in the community.

The CSMP must include - at a minimum - the following elements:

(a) A list and description of the specific community assets and programs in existence to serve and support citizens of all ages and abilities;

(b) An analysis of specific improvements to community assets and programs, in priority order that the board recommends be made over the next 5 years and the specific issues these improvements address. These improvements shall be as measurable as possible and include consideration of improvements to all health and human services provided to residents and funded all or in part by the state and other public sources;

(c) The community assets available and needed to achieve each improvement, the most important barriers that must be overcome to achieve each improvement, and an assessment of the feasibility and cost of achieving each improvement;

(d) An overall strategy and problem-solving approach and process for achieving the improvements and a description of the rationale for using these strategies; and

(e) A 5-year plan of action with annual updates as required, which follow the strategy to achieve the improvements. These action steps shall include describing each step, establishing measurable objectives and benchmarks for achieving each step, setting up timelines and the process and methods for achieving each step, and identifying the agencies and persons responsible for accomplishing each step.

(f) Recommendations (optional or as needed) to the governing body for amendments or additions to local ordinances, services, and programs to improve the community’s social services and support systems.

F. Educating the Citizenry on the Community Services Master Plan

In preparing, amending, and updating the CSMP:

(a) The board shall have responsibility for promoting interest in, and understanding of, the CSMP of the municipality. In order to promote this interest and understanding, the board may publish and distribute copies of the community services master plan, or copies of any report relating to the community services master plan, hold public forums and meetings, and employ such other means of publicity and education as it deems advisable.

(b) The board shall also have authority to make any inventories of community assets, investigations of community social issues, evaluations of the availability and accessibility of health and social services and support systems, and necessary recommendations.

G. The Annual Report on Community Well-Being

CSCPBs are also required to provide an Annual Report that reports progress and challenges in implementing the CSMP (after it is created) and strengthening, safeguarding and improving community life and social well-being. CSCPBs have flexibility in what to include in their Annual Report, although they are required to use a “Community Well-Being Index” they develop in it.

H. The Community Well-Being Index

The Community Well-Being Index is an aggregate measure made up of individual measures of the physical and social well-being of all residents of a municipality. It is created by the CSCPB with input from residents for use in its Annual Report and to develop the CSMP. The CSCPB can decide what to include in its index and change and add to it as needed.

The Community Well-Being Index may include but is not restricted to measures of:

(a) The physical and mental health of residents, the quality of health care they actually receive, and their opportunity to live long and healthy lives;

(b) The quality of housing where people live and how many townspeople are homeless or have no permanent place to call home;

(c) The sense of community, belonging, and connection such as measured by participation in community events and decisions and other interactions;

(d) The ability to get around and have the mobility to earn a living and lead a full life;

(e) The quality of public education such as measured by their safety, success, community service, and parent and community participation;

(f) The degree of volunteering and other contributions by residents to the community and their neighbors;

(g) The success of youth and adults in thriving and making life transitions and avoiding dangerous and risky behaviors;

(h) The extent to which elders and residents with disabilities live in dignity, are included in community life, and avoid loneliness and isolation they don’t want;

(i) The breadth, diversity, vitality, and enjoyment of community activities, institutions, traditions, and celebrations and the extent of participation in them;

(j) The sense of shared vision and common purpose and record of pulling together;

(k) The commitment to building community for the future and ensuring that fellow residents get the care, support, and opportunities they need to succeed.

 

I. Establishment of Community Services and Care Planning Boards

I. The legislative body of any municipality may establish a community services and care planning board.

II. The community services and care planning board shall consist of no fewer than 3 and no more than 9 members who shall be residents of the municipality, and appointed in a manner as prescribed by the legislative body of the municipality.

This means all that is required to establish a CSCPB is that the Board of Selectmen or Aldermen decide on how they want to set up the CSCPB under the law (such as how many members, how and who to appoint, what meeting space and supports they will provide) - and then the majority officially vote to do so.