Bow Select Board adopts updated Human Services guidelines; staff to coordinate with Concord policy

The Bow Select Board voted Sept. 9 to adopt updated Human Services guidelines, a rewrite staff said was modeled on the City of Concord’s policy. Melissa Valance, Town of Bow human services director, presented the updated document and said Concord provided its current policy (last updated 2015) for Bow to mirror where appropriate. "They sent us their current policy that was last updated in 2015," Valance said, noting staff will update Bow’s version when Concord makes future changes.

Former human services director Deb Borbeau and Valance told the board the guidelines largely align with existing RSA guidance and municipal practice. Board members asked whether any new state RSA changes required updates; staff said no substantive RSA changes were identified, only clarifications previously circulated by the municipal association.

During discussion, Tom Hennoff raised whether the human services department could help residents whose private wells show arsenic or other contaminants. Deb Borbeau said she had not managed such a case in her 25 years as director and that the town manager would be consulted if a case arose; Valance and board members said providing access to the forms in‑office is preferable because the application packet is lengthy and can change with state guidance.

A motion to adopt the policy (referred to in the meeting as the human services guidelines) was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. The board directed staff to post guidance on the town’s human services web page where feasible and to notify the public about in‑office access to assistance forms.