Sam Sivers presented a concept to form a consolidated human services department for the Town of Southborough during the Jan. 14 Youth Commission meeting, saying the proposal would group youth and family services, senior services and veteran services under a single director to improve coordination and efficiency.

The idea, Sivers said, grew from experience in health care and social services where “problems rarely occur in isolation,” and from an opportunity created by anticipated retirements at the senior center. “If we were to form, for example, a human services department that would include youth and family services, would include senior services, and for starters, at least the veterans services, which are all sort of independent operations now,” Sivers said. He added that the approach could help preserve coordination as personnel change and could reduce duplication amid projected fiscal pressures tied to a nearby school project.

The commission’s director, Sarah Micas, and other participants discussed scope and next steps. Micas said the idea is at an early stage and that she and others would continue conversations with the Council on Aging and other stakeholders. Marguerite Landry, a library trustee who volunteered to help with outreach, praised specific elements of the senior center’s work and said replicated services — such as volunteer counselors who help residents enroll in Medicare and related programs — could be adapted for other age groups. “Having therapy available at the senior center is fantastic,” Landry said, noting it as an example of combined services that could be useful across populations.

Participants noted governance and logistics questions. Sivers acknowledged the Select Board would have ultimate authority: “Technically, the Select Board,” he said when asked who could effect organizational change. He and Landry said they planned to present the idea at the Council on Aging’s next meeting and to solicit feedback from stakeholders including the senior center staff and the Select Board. Sivers said timing may hinge on the senior-center director’s retirement, which would create a transition window to design any structural change without disrupting ongoing services.

Commissioners raised operational concerns such as whether staff would be co-located, and how to protect privacy for services that require confidentiality. Some commissioners suggested a model in which departments retain individual identities while a central director coordinates shared services and grant applications. Examples cited by participants of other towns with combined models included Northborough, Westborough and Medfield, though speakers said structures vary.

Sivers and Landry described the presentation as an initial “socialization” of the idea rather than a finalized plan. They said the next steps are further stakeholder outreach — including a scheduled Council on Aging consultation — and research into models used by nearby communities, with no formal action scheduled at this meeting.