';
CLOSE
Children's Services

0 2282

On June 3, 2019 the Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) hosted the monthly Child Welfare Council meeting at the Child Welfare Resource Center in Mechanicsburg. The day-long session provided interactive overviews and discussion on new Title IV E funding for legal representation, a Family First Update, an OCYF update, and a review of the PA Council Charter. View/download the meeting highlights. If you have any questions, please contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp.

0 2042

The Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) would like to announce that the Pennsylvania Community on Transition State Leadership Team (SLT) has announced the date for its 2019 PA Community on Transition Conference. The conference will be held at the Penn Stater Conference Center and Hotel Wednesday, July 17 & Thursday, July 18, 2019 and brings together a diverse community of stakeholders to share information, explore resources, and gain knowledge regarding successful secondary transition practices. The conference will offer breakout sessions and activities designed for youth and young adults, networking opportunities, hands-on assistive technology exhibits, vendor displays, and resource tables. Topics covered include Transition Planning, Secondary Education, Youth and Family Engagement, Employment, and Social and Emotional Health.

Youth and Family Scholarships: A limited number of scholarships are available for family members or caregivers of a transition-aged youth or young adult with a disability, and high school youth between the ages of 16–21 accompanied by an adult (family member/caregiver). Families are encouraged to apply by completing the scholarship application online on or before June 26, 2019. The scholarship will cover the cost of a double occupancy hotel room and conference registration fee. Meals and mileage are on your own. You will be informed of your acceptance by July 1, 2019. For additional information about youth/young adult family scholarships, please contact Paula Quinn. The scholarship form can be found by visiting the PaTTAN website. If a foster or adoptive youth applies for a scholarship, please email the youth’s name and date of birth.

Contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp with any other questions.

0 2662

If I Knew Then, What I Know Now: Lessons from the PN–3 Pritzker-Funded State Grantees

Leaders from the Pritzker planning grantee states are invited to hear from state leaders who were funded earlier to create prenatal to age three policy agendas and action plans. They’ll address issues such as coalition planning and structure, policy agendas, data, and stakeholders engagement. The forum will be offered on Thursday, June 6, at 2:00 pm. Register here to participate.

NCIT Logo

Date:          Thu, Jun 6, 2019
Time:         2:00 PM EDT
Duration:   1 hour 30 minutes
Host(s):      NCIT Hub

0 1686

The Center for the Study of Social Policy is hosting a series of free summer webinars for the Prenatal (PN) to 3 community. Feel free to register or pass it along to others that might have an interest.

Webinar: Effective Strategies for Engaging the Pediatric Community, Tuesday, June 4, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET by Jill Sells, MD, FAAP, CSSP Consultant. This presentation will help early childhood community leaders more effectively engage the pediatric community in early childhood partnerships that help families connect to prenatal-to-three supports. Participants will learn about common barriers that stand in the way of partnership as well as helpful strategies to bridge early childhood and health. Register here.

Webinar: Early Relational Health: Community Level Strategies for Supporting the Psychosocial Health of Infants, Toddlers, and the Caregivers, Wednesday, June 12, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET by David Willis, MD, CSSP Senior Fellow. This presentation will define the concept of “early relational health” and help participants examine new ways to support the functional, emotional, behavioral, and psychosocial health of infants and toddlers and their primary caregivers at the community level. Register here.

Webinar: Reaching Isolated Families and Communities, Friday, July 12, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm ET by Rosemarie Allen, PhD, Institute for Racial Equity and Excellence. Participants will learn about challenges faced by socially isolated or “hard-to-reach” families and opportunities to help more families in need of access to prenatal-to-three services. Participants will also learn about strategies to mitigate implicit bias and implement culturally responsive practices. Register here.

Webinar: Building Strong Local Alliances to Support Your PN–3 Agenda, Wednesday, August 21, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm ET by George Askew, MD, FAAP, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Health, Human Services, and Education of Prince George’s County, MD and Krystal Reyes, Chief Resilience Officer, City of Tulsa, OK. This presentation provides community engagement strategies for sharing power and building allies to help advance your prenatal-to-three strategies and agenda. Register here.

Thanks for all you’re doing on behalf of babies!

Gerry Cobb, Pritzker Children’s Initiative

0 1902

On May 15, Representatives Grace Napolitano (D-CA) and John Katko (R-NY), co-chairs of the Congressional Mental Health Caucus, hosted a very important briefing in Washington, DC as part of Mental Health Awareness Month. This briefing addressed the decarceration of transition age youth with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) and mental disorders. Key presentations outlined the issue, its impact (including impact upon families), and needed solutions.

Rep. Napolitano opened with welcoming remarks, whereby she decried the plight of many children and young adults with disabilities and emphasized the need to move toward community care. Additional information about the briefing can be found here.

0 1700

The Department of Human Services (DHS) is partnering with the University of Pittsburgh Child Welfare Resource Center to recruit for the Pennsylvania Citizen Review Panels (CRPs). The CRPs are groups of volunteer citizens who examine policies, procedures, and practices of state and local agencies and make recommendations for improvement to DHS. CRPs partner with state and local children and youth agencies, relying on maintaining respectful and positive relationships with these agencies to complete their work. To learn more about Pennsylvania’s CRPs, including their mission, vision, function, and members, visit this website. Please also see the website for our recruitment video.

They are currently working to recruit additional members to all three regional panels in the Northeast, South Central, and Southwest. Brochures for each panel as well as a general CRP flyer are below. Each brochure lists the counties within each region. Information on regions can also be found on the CRP website. The recruitment period will remain open until June 15.

It is requested that you forward this information on to your contacts and/or provide the names and contact information of individuals you feel would be a good fit for the panels and are located within one of the three regions. An online application can be accessed through the “Join” page on the CRP website. Referral information can be sent to the CAPTA Program Development Specialist, Kari Coccagna, via email or at 717-795-9048.

0 3260

On May 1, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) released the 2018 Child Protective Services Annual Report. While the report indicated a decrease in the number of report investigations, the slight increase in statewide substantiated reports of child abuse underscores the impact of changes to Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law as outlined in the executive summary below.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

  • Statewide substantiated reports of child abuse increased from 1.8 per thousand children in 2017 to 1.9 per thousand children in 2018.
  • Sexual abuse remains the leading category of abuse, followed by physical abuse.
  • Parents continue to be the persons most responsible for abuse of their children.
  • Amendments to the Child Protective Services Law, effective in December 2014, continue to drive increases in substantiated reports of child abuse. These amendments increased the number of mandated reporters of child abuse and added additional persons who could be identified as perpetrators of child abuse.

RCPA and its members continue our active partnership in statewide initiatives in keeping Pennsylvania’s children safe. Contact Jim Sharp, RCPA Children’s Division Director, with questions.

0 3722

Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF)

[Announcement from DHS Secretary Miller, from letter to staff]

Good Afternoon,

After more than 30 years of dedicated service to Pennsylvania’s child welfare system, Cathy Utz resigned effective May 3. I am grateful for Cathy’s leadership and service at both the county and state level and for all of her work to strengthen Pennsylvania’s child welfare system and protect children.

Amy Grippi, OCYF’s Chief of Staff, will be the primary point of contact. I am confident that Amy will be a strong leader for OCYF during this transition.

Each of you work some of the most challenging jobs in state government. You face heartbreaking and unthinkable tragedies, provide support for children and families in difficult situations, and most importantly, do critical work to make the world a safer place for children. Thank you for all that you do every day – I am lucky and grateful to work among people who care so much for the children and families each of you work with and protect.

Thank you,

Teresa D. Miller
Secretary

RCPA wishes Cathy Utz the best and looks forward to working with Chief of Staff Grippi, and the rest of OCYF staff, in the future.

0 1998

RCPA is pleased to announce the hiring of James (Jim) Sharp as the new director for its Children’s Division. Jim brings 30 years of systems expertise to RCPA; most recently working for Merakey in several key positions, including Executive Director of Operations for Pennsylvania, Delaware, & Maryland; Executive Director of Behavioral Services and Development; and as the Regional Executive Director for NHS Northwestern Academy. Prior to his work at Merakey, Jim served as the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer at the Philadelphia Family Court Juvenile Probation, the nation’s fourth largest juvenile probation department. In his tenure as Chief P.O., he aided in the implementation of national and statewide models for violence prevention, aftercare reintegration, and juvenile drug and graduated sanctions courts.

Jim began his career as a juvenile probation officer in Montgomery County before joining George Junior Republic as Court Liaison and Admissions Director.

In addition to his bachelor’s degree from Mount Saint Mary’s University, he holds a Master of Administration, and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Shippensburg University.

Jim will begin in this position on May 13. Please join us in welcoming Jim to RCPA!

Prev1...264265266...288Next Page 265 of 288
© 2021 - Rehabilitation & Community Providers Association