Blair County has been chosen as one of the seven counties in Pennsylvania to help support abused and neglected children.
On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Max Baer announced a state roundtable to work on enhancing local child dependency systems, which serve abused or neglected children and their families.
Baer said that the selected counties will get state-of-the-art training from international experts, teaching them cutting-edge techniques based upon science and research.
He believes that this dedicated group will improve the character, happiness, and overall lives of our most vulnerable children.
Blair County was chosen because of its strong connection to county courts and Children and Youth agencies.
Among Blair, the six other counties chosen include Adams, Clinton, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Northampton and Union.
Counties were selected through a competitive statewide process after submitting letters of interest signed by several official endorsers. They were then chosen based on the strongest data reviews and family engagement practices.
The initiative and collaboration of the counties requires the support of all local leaders within.
Sandy Moore, the OCFC’s director, hopes that outcomes will include increased family involvement, reduced trauma to children and a reduction in the time children are separated from those who love and care about them,
The Pennsylvania State Roundtable plans to expand this initiative to other counties in 2018.
