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Tags Posts tagged with "OCYF"

OCYF

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Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

Attached please find the Office of Children, Youth, and Families (OCYF) Bulletin 3130-21-01 entitled “Appointment of Legal Counsel for a Child in Contested Termination of Parental Rights Hearing.” This bulletin provides guidance on a Supreme Court decision regarding requirements for the appointment of legal counsel for a child in a contested termination of parental rights hearing.

The requirements outlined within this bulletin are effective immediately. Questions regarding this bulletin or the requirements may be directed to your applicable OCYF regional office. Please contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp for any clarification.

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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

The Pennsylvania Office of Children, Youth, and Families (OCYF) has issued updated general guidance reflecting the Governor’s and Secretary of Health’s COVID-19 Mitigation Orders and how they will impact services offered to children, youth, and families served by counties and providers licensed by the Department of Human Services (DHS), Office of Children, Youth, and Families.

This guidance replaces the guidance previously issued on June 5, 2020 that was based on the Governor’s strategic three-phased approach (red/yellow/green) to reopen the commonwealth and ongoing mitigation efforts to limit the community spread of COVID-19.

The guidance can be found here.

These safety precautions, including social distancing and building safety protocols, shall be followed for the purpose of minimizing the spread of COVID-19:

      • In-person contact, as required by the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) for Child Protective Services (CPS) and general protective services (GPS) investigations, will continue with strict safety precautions that comply with Department of Health (DOH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance;
      • Telework is mandatory unless impossible;
      • Previously issued DOH guidance for universal precautions applies;
      • All agencies with in-person operations must follow business and building safety orders;
      • Agencies must follow the most recent orders and guidelines to include masking requirements, travel restrictions, and continued social distancing requirements; and
      • All agencies must screen employees prior to each shift, or for employees who don’t work shifts, before the employee starts work. Visitors should be screened prior to entering the building for visitation. When children return from home visits, screening protocols should be in place to assess for the need to quarantine (See the Symptom Screening Tool).

Visitation requirements for child residential facilities, child and youth agencies, foster care agencies, and adoption agencies:

      • Visitation frequency and type (in-person/virtual) will continue to be directed by the Court for Children under their jurisdiction. All in-person visitation should consider the unique needs of the child, youth, or family and follow the Governor’s orders and updated DOH protocols.

Please contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp with any questions or clarifications.

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The Office of Children, Youth, and Families (OCYF) has released a special transmittal titled “Initial and Ongoing Approval of Foster Family Homes During the COVID-19 Pandemic”. It consolidates and releases guidance to public and private children and youth social service agencies regarding the initial and ongoing approval of foster family homes during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

For further information, please visit the links below.

“Initial and Ongoing Approval of Foster Family Homes During the COVID-19 Pandemic”

Certificate of Approval

Please contact your OCYF regional office with any questions.

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Photo by Siddhant Soni on Unsplash

The Office of Children, Youth, and Families (OCYF) has released Bulletin 3130-20-04, 3140-20-03, 3150-20-01, 3170-20-01, 3350-20-03, 3490-20-07, 3680-20-03, 3700-20-03, 3800-20-05, entitled “Procedures to Request Waiver of Regulation(s).” This bulletin and the new waiver submission procedures outlined therein will be effective immediately upon release.

The purpose of this bulletin is to advise all public and private children and youth social service agencies and child residential and day treatment programs licensed by OCYF of our revised procedures for processing waiver requests relating to all regulations governing children and youth social service programs. This new waiver process streamlines and expedites the processing of waiver requests and offers flexibility when possible to meet the needs of families and individuals. Attached to this bulletin, you will also find the updated form for requesting a waiver of regulation(s).

Please be advised that any waivers submitted to OCYF for processing prior to the dissemination of this bulletin and form will continue to be processed. Any waiver request submitted as of December 2, 2020 must be submitted through the new procedure.

Questions regarding regulatory requirements or licensure for your agency should still be directed to your applicable OCYF Regional Office. Any other questions about this bulletin, procedure, or form may be directed here.

If you have questions or feedback, please contact RCPA Children’s Director Jim Sharp.

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Available here is the Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) Bulletin 3130-19-04 entitled, “Serving Child Victims of Human Trafficking (CVHT) in Pennsylvania.” The purpose of this bulletin is to inform county and state officials; public and private children, youth, and family service agencies; children’s advocacy programs; community-based domestic violence programs; rape crisis centers; and stakeholders of the federal and state statutory requirements, to ensure a multidimensional and interdisciplinary plan and approach to the identification, protection, and provision of comprehensive and coordinated services for child victims of human trafficking. This bulletin has a number of attachments, including the “Practice Guide to Serving CVHT in Pennsylvania,” which provides detailed information related to Commercial Sex Trafficking of Children, Standards of Practice for Serving CVHT, Children Who are Missing From Out-Of-Home Placement Settings, Collaboration, and Advocacy and Legal Considerations.

Questions regarding this bulletin should be directed to your OCYF Regional Office. You may also reach out to Ms. Treasure Gallagher, Human Services Program Specialist in OCYF’s Bureau of Policy, Program and Operations. If you have any further questions, please contact RCPA Children’s Division Director Jim Sharp.

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RCPA would like to congratulate Jonathan Rubin and Amy Grippi on their new positions with the Department of Human Services. We look forward to collaborating in the future, to continue improving the quality of life for our children across the Commonwealth.

(From DHS Secretary Teresa Miller)

DHS Staffing Update

I am excited to announce that Jonathan (Jon) Rubin will join the Department of Human Services as the Office of Children, Youth, and Families’ Deputy Secretary. Jon has led Bucks County’s Housing and Human Services division since 2014, overseeing the county’s child welfare agency, behavioral and developmental health programs, drug and alcohol services, mental health and developmental programs, housing services, and Area Agency on Aging.  As director, Jon has focused on creating a more integrated approach to Housing and Human Services’ work, encouraging two-generation, whole-family focuses and facilitating public-private partnerships and generative program development.

Jon started his career spending 15 years with the Bucks County Children & Youth Social Services agency, beginning as a social worker and eventually serving four years as a child protective services manager. He has also worked to strengthen the child welfare system on a state level, working at the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center, providing technical assistance and training to children and youth agencies around Pennsylvania, and later with Deloitte as a senior consultant and child welfare subject matter expert, helping implement the Child Welfare Information Solution project. Jon has also worked at the national level supporting child welfare systems across the country when he served as an Organizational Effectiveness Consultant for the American Public Human Services Association.

Jon will join DHS on November 4. At that point, Amy Grippi will transition into a new role, Child Services Executive Director, in the Secretary’s Office. This role will focus on synthesizing initiatives and priorities around child services and create a stronger bridge between OCYF and the Office of Child Development and Early Learning. Amy will be focused on strengthening services provided to children around Pennsylvania, including our work to implement the enterprise case management system and Family First, increasing the incorporation of predictive analytics and trend analyses through improved data collection, and other initiatives.

I think this new role will be an invaluable asset to help enhance and support the work done at DHS and at the county level, and I know Amy’s skills and experience will help us do more to support children and families around Pennsylvania.

I want to thank Amy for her tireless work and leadership as OCYF’s Acting Deputy Secretary over the last few months, and I am so excited to welcome Jon to the agency. I look forward to seeing the good work that DHS and OCYF will accomplish as we move forward.

Thank you,
Secretary Teresa Miller

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Research over the past twenty years has shown that certain racial and ethnic populations are overrepresented in the child welfare system. This disparate treatment and disproportionality not only affects child welfare outcomes, but also outcomes in other child serving systems like education, juvenile justice, law enforcement, and health care. Therefore, it is imperative that child welfare agencies understand the impact disproportionality has on the racial and ethnic groups they serve.

The Office of Children, Youth and Families would like to announce that the Child Welfare Resource Center (CWRC) will be hosting the Diversity Task Force’s 2019 workshop, titled “Racial Disparity, Implicit Bias and White Privilege.” The workshop flyer is available here for your convenience, which lists several training dates and locations.

This workshop will provide an overview of the historical and structural causes of racial discrimination to help participants contextualize the root causes of these disparities. The workshop will also encourage participants to recognize and develop a deeper understanding of their role as professionals to work as effectively as possible with families and children of color.

If you have questions, please contact RCPA Children’s Division Director, Jim Sharp.

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