The Center for Schools and Communities is committed to improving outcomes for children and families through training, technical assistance, program evaluation, research and resource development. The center’s work focuses on prevention and intervention initiatives operated by schools, organizations and agencies serving children, youth and families.
From adoption and foster care to family counseling and wilderness-based programs for at-risk youths, Diakon’s services bring children and families together, guide troubled youths to become contributing members of society, aid families in navigating all sorts of challenges and crises and help children in a variety of circumstances see their potential and reach for new goals.
Voce, which means voice, is a change agent. The agency uses its voice, and empowers others to use theirs, to create positive, lasting change in people’s lives. Voce provides consultation and training to agencies throughout the country in the areas of trauma and loss, adoption and permanency, diversity and inclusion, and individual and family well-being. Voce Solutions, a Voce subsidiary, builds on the agency’s mission by developing new technologies to benefit children and families served by human services professionals nationwide.
Parent to Parent of Pennsylvania is a network created by families for families of children and adults with special needs. We connect families in similar situations with one another so they may share experiences, offer practical information and support.
The Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange helps county children and youth agencies find adoptive families for Pennsylvania’s waiting children. PAE is a major component of Pennsylvania’s Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network, SWAN, as it serves the counties, SWAN affiliate agencies and general public and interfaces with other state and national adoption exchanges. PAE serves to connect families who want to adopt with children waiting for a permanent home. The website helps recruit and assist families who are interested in adopting or learning more about Pennsylvania’s waiting children.
Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center, CWRC, University of Pittsburgh – www.pacwrc.pitt.edu
The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center is a collaborative effort of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work and the Pennsylvania Children and Youth Administrators established to train direct service workers, supervisors, administrators and foster parents in providing social services to abused and neglected children and their families. It is a national leader in advocating for an enhanced quality of life for Pennsylvania’s children, youth, and families. In partnership with families, communities, public and private agencies, they prepare and support exceptional child welfare professionals and systems through education, research and a commitment to best practice.
Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services, PCCYFS – www.pccyfs.org
The Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services is a statewide organization of private agencies. Members are the service providers who provide the direct “hands-on” programs and supports needed to achieve and maintain permanency and safety for children and youth and stability for families. The safety and well-being of Pennsylvania’s children and their families have long been held as priorities by private agencies who share a deep commitment to keeping children safe, families strong, and communities involved. The council serves to improve the quality of life for Pennsylvania’s children, youth, and families who are at risk by supporting and promoting an accessible service delivery system within the communities of Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance, FSA – www.pa-fsa.org
The Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance protects children by teaching citizens to recognize and report child abuse and neglect and by providing information, educational materials and programs that promote positive parenting. They partnered with the American Humane Association, a nationally recognized leader in the prevention of child maltreatment, to launch the Front Porch Project® (FPP) in Pennsylvania, a community-based primary prevention initiative based on the belief that everyone can and should become more aware of how to help protect children in their own community. It provides people with the knowledge, training and encouragement they need to become involved.
Pennsylvania State Resource Family Association, PSRFA – www.psrfa.org
The Pennsylvania State Resource Family Association advocates for all those who care about children and their families. They work supportively with foster, adoptive and kinship families, and with local foster parent associations and agencies who care for the children we serve. They involve all parts of the community to improve the quality of family life in Pennsylvania and to influence child welfare policy and practice, both nationally and internationally.
The Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network, SWAN, is both a broad-based cooperative effort and a centralized information and facilitation service funded and overseen by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. SWAN includes county children and youth agencies, juvenile court judges, foster and adoptive parents, private adoption agencies, the Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange and many others, all working together on behalf of children who need permanent homes. The SWAN program serves children in the custody of county children and youth agencies. The design of the network is to support the work of county agencies in expediting permanency services. The children featured in the online photo album are some of PA’s children in need of permanency.
The Pennsylvania Youth Advisory Board is comprised of current and former substitute care youth between the ages of 16-21. Their purpose is to educate, advocate and bring about positive change in the substitute care system. YAB’s goal is to represent the voice of older youth in the system and work with others for positive change. The YAB is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Children, Youth and Families and is supported by the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Child Welfare Resource Center.
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children is a strong, effective and trusted voice to improve the health, education and well-being of children and youth in the Commonwealth. PPC is statewide, independent, non-partisan and non-profit.
Together as Adoptive Parents is dedicated to providing support and resources to Pennsylvania’s adoptive, foster and kinship families and is the host of the TAPlink website. The goal of the website is to strengthen and empower families and give them the tools they need to parent children from tough places. Resources such as respite care, tutors, therapists, support groups, post-permanency services, camps, legal service and early intervention are available. The site also provides in-depth information about subsidy and special education.
