April 18, 2025 Minutes

Human Services Advisory Commission - Meeting Minutes

Meeting: April 18, 2025

In Attendance: Stacey Casteel, Ernest Cienfuegos-Baca, Stephanie Foos, Stephanie Gausch, Andrea Hernandez, Enita Kearns-Hout, Lynette Peppler, David Reyes Jr., Gillian Smith, and Adam Turk

Absent: Stanley Graffis, Jodi Hartmann, and Kelly Martinez

In Attendance: Tami Grant, Julie Witkowski, Karin Crandall, and Lesley Cobb

Recording Secretary: Lesley Cobb

Welcome

The meeting was called to order at 8:16 a.m.

Presentation

Program Officer, Andrea Hernandez, presented on The Weld Trust. She provided the Commission with the Weld Trust 2023 Annual Report and explained that the 2024 Annual Report will be released soon. Andrea shared the history and purpose of the organization.

Introductions

Review of Minutes from January 17, 2025

Motion to approve the minutes was made by Adam Turk and seconded by Enita Kearns-Hout. The minutes were unanimously approved.

Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Financial Report

John Kruse from the Weld County Department of Human Services Fiscal Office presented the CSBG Financial Report. The budget and expenditures for both 2024 and 2025 were reviewed.

Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Annual Report

Karin Crandall presented the CSBG Annual Report.

Strategic Plan Update

Kyle Ewertz gave an update on the new Strategic plan and spoke about how Human Services is currently working on establishing goals. He stated that many of the Strategic Plan goals will be centered around improving hiring, communications, and relationships with community partners. Right now, DHS Leadership is working to put these goals and definitions in a report that will hopefully be presented at the next HSAC meeting.

Contracted Services Update

Lesley Cobb provided an update regarding DHS contracted services for the 1st quarter of 2025.

Division Audits/Evaluations/Reports

Reagan Maldonado reported on the AAA Ombudsman program. She explained what the Ombudsman program is and how they are advocates for those who live in Assisted Living. Reagan indicated that they recently had an onsite Ombudsman evaluation, and they did very well with many strengths mentioned by the evaluators.

Department Updates

Kyle Ewertz spoke to members about the updates that have been made to the Department of Human Service’s website. He shared that the site was originally division focused and that it is now service focused to help clients navigate to what they are needing. Kyle also indicated that the updates were presented to the community and good feedback was received regarding making the website more user friendly when accessed through cell phones and for those who speak other languages.

Community Updates

Community updates were received from:

  • Stacey Casteel
  • Ernest Cienfuegos-Baca
  • Karin Crandall
  • Stephanie Gausch
  • Enita Kearns-Hout
  • Lynette Peppler via Gillian Smith
  • David Reyes Jr.

Meeting Adjourned

Meeting adjourned at 10:18 a.m.

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