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Tag: Department of Human Services

News

November 27, 2024

DHS Releases ECE Professional Development Organizations Request for Applications

Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services has released its Early Care and Education Professional Development Organizations Request for Applications (RFA).

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The RFA’s intention is to identify Early Care and Education (ECE) Professional Development Organizations with the purpose of:

  • Coordinating and facilitating access to credit-bearing, stackable, and portable coursework and credentials for the ECE workforce through a mixed delivery model consisting of face-to-face, cohort or online methods
  • Coordinating with and supporting the Early Learning Resource Centers in improving the quality of ECE programs

The solicitation due date is Wednesday, Jan. 22.

For more details, visit the eMarketplace website, where visitors can find the pre-application conference webinar, answers to applicant questions, and deadlines.

News

November 19, 2024

DHS Child Care Facility Regulations Now Available in English and Spanish

Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services (DHS) is now providing its regulations for operating a child care facility in both English and Spanish.

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Each of the regulations that pertain to the operation of a child care facility can be viewed on the DHS website. The website also includes a brief description of each regulation and provides a hyperlink to the regulation.

Information on the child care regulations website includes:

  • Various regulations
  • What to expect during a family child care site inspection
  • Webinar on launching the new certification tool

For more information, visit the DHS website.

News

September 17, 2024

Childhood Begins at Home Releases Brief on Medicaid Financing of Home Visiting Services

The Childhood Begins at Home campaign has released a new brief that examines the opportunity of Medicaid financing of home visiting services to reach more Pennsylvania families.

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Voluntary home visiting programs employ nurses to support promoting the development and well-being of children and their families. The programs serve families that disproportionately face barriers to health – such as those living in poverty.

“A Closer Look at Medicaid and Home Visiting in Pennsylvania” notes that 66% of Pennsylvania households receiving home visiting services through the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program were at or below 100% of federal poverty guidelines.

This illustrates that many families already receiving home visits are eligible for Medicaid. It also shows there is an unmet need for many enrolled in Medicaid who do not have access to visits.

The study found that:

  • Approximately 45% of Pennsylvania children under age 6 are enrolled in Medicaid; this includes nearly 239,000 infants and toddlers (birth to age three) and 126,000 children ages four to five;
  • About 34% of all births in Pennsylvania are financed by Medicaid.

Despite MIECHV being reauthorized with additional federal funding opportunities following a 2021 financing report as well as an increase of $15 million increase in Pennsylvania’s 2022-23 state budget, home visiting in the state still only reaches about 7% of eligible families. 

Recommendations

Recommendations for the state’s Department of Human Services in the brief include:

  • Improve coordination between DHS’s offices that oversee home visiting
  • Improve data collection and transparency
  • Clarify the amount of funding supporting the home visiting program within DHS’ capitation line
  • Communicate financing rules around MIECHV, Medicaid, and other federal or state sources to maximize the reach of available funding for home visiting programs

For more information, read Childhood Begins at Home’s brief.

News

July 23, 2024

Report: Hundreds of Thousands Suffer from Food Insecurity in Allegheny County

More than 140,000 people in Allegheny County are struggling with food insecurity, which is defined as a lack of access to adequate food that prevents individuals from leading a healthy life, according to a report by Feeding America.

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According to the report, food insecurity is associated with numerous social and health outcomes and is considered a critical public health issue. Key drivers of food insecurity include unemployment, poverty, and income shocks – or, a sudden decrease in a household’s income – which can prevent adequate access to food.

A total of 142,190 Allegheny County residents – or 11.4% – were found to struggle with food insecurity, according to the report. Additionally, 44% of county residents were found to be above the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) threshold, while 56% were below the threshold of 200%.

The report’s map includes estimated food insecurity by race and ethnicity for select populations and places. The report’s methodology and data are also available.

More Details

More information on SNAP can be found on the state’s Department of Human Services website. Residents can apply online at COMPASS, via phone at 1-800-692-7462, or at a local county assistance office, which can be found online.

Those applying for assistance will need to provide their name, birthday, address, gross income, and Social Security number.

Also, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh are offering food programs to provide free meals for children while they are out of school this summer.

The Homewood Early Learning Hub & Family Center operates a walk-in food distribution program every Monday.

News

July 10, 2024

PA Launches ELS Website to Replace Management Systems Used by State Agencies

Pennsylvania has launched a new website dedicated to the Enterprise Licensing System (ELS) project.

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The goal of this project is to implement a single ELS that addresses licensing and certification needs, as well as incident and complaint management, across the following state agencies:

  • Department of Human Services (DHS)
  • Department of Health (DOH)
  • Department of Aging (PDA)
  • Department of Drug & Alcohol Program (DDAP)

The ELS will be rolled out by state program offices over the next two years. Stakeholders in impacted program areas will be notified when the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is scheduled for rollout, ensuring they have enough time to prepare.

ELS will enable staff to manage and process licensing, permitting, registration, certification, and related inspection or survey activities from initial application through issuance. They will also enable staff to offer extensive reporting capabilities. Additionally, the ELS will be used to record, review, investigate, and analyze incidents and complaints.

ELS Project Aims

The project’s aims are to:

  • Increase collaboration and communication across agencies
  • Improve scheduling of licensing, permitting, registration/certification inspections, surveys, and timely issuance of licenses/permits/registrations/certifications and renewals
  • Streamline business processes, including electronic sharing and storing of documents and pre-populated forms and templates
  • Reduce maintenance and operations costs from multiple systems to one system

The ELS will provide a standardized enterprise-wide solution that is configurable and can provide a limited degree of configurability by each agency to meet specific needs.

To receive website and project updates, subscribe to the ELS ListServ or visit the website.

News

June 10, 2024

DHS Renews Early Learning Resource Center’s Contract for Operation

The state’s Department of Human Services has renewed its five-year contract with Allegheny County to operate the Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC).

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The ELRC’s renewal comes with $39 million in funding over five years to staff and operate the center. ELRC 5 supports quality child care and administers the publicly-funded child care subsidy.

During the first five years of the grant, DHS administered more than $200 million in child care subsidies. It also provided $120 million in stimulus funding to support Allegheny County’s child care provider network during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ELRCs assist families in locating child care, determine eligibility for the child care subsidy, and provide other resource and referral services in the community. The centers also provide coaching and support to the child care provider network to improve and sustain high quality.

Allegheny County was first awarded the contract for the ELRC Region 5 in 2018, which was the first time that the state opened it up for a bid. The county’s DHS partners with Trying Together and The Alliance for Infants and Toddlers to operate ELRC services.

“Access to quality child care makes such an important impact on both the parent and the enrolled child,” said Becky Czekaj-Dengler, ELRC Region 5’s director. “During our first five years, we saw significant increases in both the percentage of eligible children living in low-income households taking advantage of the child care subsidy as well as the percentage of those same children attending the highest-quality child care settings. We appreciate the opportunity to build on that success.”

Dalton added that DHS recognizes that a lack of affordable child care prevents parents and caregivers from finding and maintaining employment, accessing physical and behavioral health support, finding stable housing, and meeting basic needs. In response, DHS has increased access to crisis child care, hired resource navigators to connect families accessing child care to other resources in the county, and established a rapid response team to support child care providers and families with children at risk of being suspended or expelled from care.

To learn more about Early Learning Resource Center 5, visit the center’s website.

News

April 9, 2024

State Releases Meaningful Family Engagement Tool Kit

The state Department of Human Services Office of Children, Youth, and Families (OCYF) has released a collection of resources to strengthen engagement in child welfare. 

The Pennsylvania Meaningful Family Engagement Toolkit is a web-based resource that was developed through statewide quality improvement efforts. It was designed to improve safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes for children, youth, and families served by the state’s child welfare system. The toolkit includes resources for a variety of topics.

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Meaningful engagement in child welfare, as defined by OCYF, is an active, ongoing, and genuine curiosity about an individual’s history, perspectives, challenges, and accomplishments. It involves the proactive partnership between caseworkers and families to increase safety for children by using inquiry to identify service needs and available supports and to work together to define achievable goals.

The objective is to develop family plans, address challenges, achieve goals, form new connections, and strengthen existing supports. This involves ensuring that families have an active role by empowering them to make joint decisions to ensure a child’s safety, permanency, and well-being.

Topics covered in the toolkit include:

  • Cultural awareness and responsiveness
  • Engagement models and strategies
  • Engagement of incarcerated parents
  • Engagement of out-of-state parents
  • Engaging youth
  • Father engagement
  • Leadership
  • Legal
  • Parenting resources
  • Teaming with extended family and kin

The toolkit’s development was guided by data and information gathered through the state’s Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) efforts. These were designed to evaluate and improve how the state’s Child Welfare Practice Model is demonstrated at the system level and through daily practice behaviors and skills of professionals.

The OCYF said data provided evidence of the benefits of strong engagement behaviors and skills. However, it also drew attention to populations needing additional support for engagement, such as fathers and incarcerated or out-of-state parents.

Explore the Pennsylvania Meaningful Family Engagement Toolkit online.

News

April 1, 2024

DHS Warns of Potential SNAP Scam

The state Department of Human Services (DHS) is warning state residents of a potential scam targeting individuals who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

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The SNAP benefits scam involves a social media post directing individuals to an offer for emergency SNAP benefits. It provides a link to a website, where it obtains their personal information, said DHS Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh.

The scam, primarily found on Facebook, includes a link to a Google form, beginning with a “sites.google.com” address. It implies that SNAP recipients may be eligible for $750 in emergency benefits if they fill out personal payment information.

The post also states that there is an application deadline. However, SNAP benefits never include such a deadline.

“DHS will never ask for personal information on Facebook, on a Google site, in an unsolicited email, text message, or phone call,” Arkoosh said in a news release. “If someone is claiming to be from or affiliated with the department and they are asking you for your personal information, it is a scam.”

DHS will send informational texts and phone calls to recipients of SNAP, Medicaid, and other benefits from the number 1-833-648-1964. However, these messages and calls will not include:

  • Details from a person’s benefits, such as the amount of SNAP they are authorized to receive
  • A request for specific personal information
  • Links to unofficial sites; most DHS texts will direct people to dhs.pa.gov, COMPASS, or a site ending in .gov or .org.

Reporting Scams

Those who have encountered scams of this nature should call the DHS fraud tip line at 1-844-347-8477 (TIPS).

Reports can also be made to the Office of the State Inspector General’s. Residents can also contact the Public Assistance Fraud Tipline at 1-800-932-0582.

Pennsylvanians with questions about whether a call, text, or other communication is legitimate should contact DHS’s Office of Income Maintenance.

Applications for Public Assistance

Applications for public assistance programs can be securely submitted online at www.dhs.pa.gov/compass. On-site County Assistance Office (CAO) services are available if clients cannot access online services or need assistance that cannot be accessed through the COMPASS website, the MyCOMPASS PA mobile app, or by calling 1-877-395-8930.

News

July 12, 2023

DHS Requests Feedback on Corrective Action Process Resources

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) is requesting feedback from child care providers on recently developed corrective action process (CAP) resources through a new survey.

About Corrective Action Process Resources & CAP Resources Survey

In recognizing the importance of corrective action processes in human services licensing, DHS released its, “Developing a Plan of Correction,” webinar in 2019. That same year, they released a corresponding, “Plan of Correction Quick Reference Guide,” (available as a PowerPoint presentation and PDF).

The webinar aimed to assist providers with the successful development and implementation of acceptable plans of correction. The guide, consequently, was issued as a tool to assist providers with this process.

Now the department seeks to understand the efficacy of these tools. Survey results will provide needed insight and help determine additionally needed resources.

Access and Take the Survey

Utilize the following link to access and take the survey:

The survey closes Wednesday, July 26. DHS must receive all responses on or before that date.

Learn More

To learn more, visit the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) webpage.

Source

Trying Together took the information in this post directly from the Department of Human Services announcement. Some text may have been added, paraphrased, or adapted for readability and comprehension.

Related Content & Resources

News

State Departments Extend Insurance Survey Deadline, Add Spanish Option

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) have extended the deadline for child care providers to complete their survey on health insurance in the child care industry.

Entitled, “Child Care Liability Insurance Survey,” the questionnaire is aimed at improving state understanding of the insurance market, and will now close on Friday, August 4.

(Trying Together updated this article on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 to reflect the extended deadline and addition of the Spanish survey option). 

About the Child Care Liability Insurance Survey

PID and DHS have become aware of difficulties child care providers now face in securing health insurance for themselves and their employees, given the rising cost of care. Though PID previously sent out a similar survey, the limited response inhibited the department’s ability to fully understand the scope of the insurance market. Because of this, they have partnered with DHS to release the Child Care Liability Insurance Survey.

This survey will help PID and DHS understand availability and affordability of insurance and assist in determining next steps.

Responses are confidential. Also, DIP and DHS will only share general, aggregated results.

Access and Take the Survey

Utilize the links below to access and take the survey:

The survey closes on Friday, August 4. Please complete the survey on or before that date.

Learn More

To learn more, visit the Pennsylvania Key website. Please contact Caolinn Martin at caolmartin@pa.gov or Jameekia Barnett at jamebarnet@pa.gov with questions.