News

September 14, 2020

Hello Baby: A New Website for Parents in Allegheny County

For many new parents, particularly those with limited resources and support, welcoming a child to the family can be both a joy and a challenge. That’s why the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) created Hello Baby, a voluntary program for any Allegheny County family with a newborn or young child.

What is Hello Baby?

Hello Baby is a voluntary program for parents of new babies that is designed to strengthen families; improve children’s outcomes; and maximize child and family well-being, safety, and security.

Every new mother in Allegheny County will receive information about Hello Baby and may receive an initial visit from a nurse to talk about the program in more detail. Information will be available at primary birthing hospitals, obstetrician/gynecologist offices, and pediatric practices, and will be mailed to new mothers as a postcard.

Hello Baby will reach families with moderate to high levels of need through the existing network of Family Centers. However, any family can request services from a Family Center through the Hello Baby website, 2.1.1 warmline, or texting service. All services are voluntary.

Featured Information

The Hello Baby website was created for parents to quickly and easily find local resources and information on the following topics:

To learn more and view the full range of services, visit the Hello Baby website.

More Information

Hello Baby is a collaborative effort among family-focused organizations in Allegheny County including Allegheny County DHS, Health Department, Healthy Start, Family Centers, NurturePA, and the United Way of Southwestern PA. For more information, visit the DHS website or view answers to frequently asked questions.

News

October 17, 2019

SharedSource Pennsylvania Launches Revamped Website

In October 2019, SharedSource Pennsylvania launched its revamped website, featuring a new layout and at least 74 new resources!

About

SharedSource Pennsylvania is “a partnership of Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC), Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC), Trying Together, and Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC). The alliance promotes shared learning, efficient use of resources and quality improvement in ECE programs across the Commonwealth.”

New Resources

During the launch, SharedSource Pennsylvania highlighted a list of some of its newest resources. With 30 available in Spanish, the resources cover topics including:

    • admin tools;
    • family handbooks;
    • budget planning and preparation;
    • understanding, building, and using business credit;
    • budget tools,
    • marketing your program,
    • family tours,
    • and phone best practices.

Visit the website to see the full list.

More Information

To learn more about SharedSource Pennsylvania, visit their website.

News

October 17, 2018

Trying Together Updates Privacy Policy

Today, Trying Together released their updated Privacy Policy. This update was guided, in part, by the recent announcement that Facebook “will begin offering businesses a first-party cookie option with the Facebook pixel.” With this change, Trying Together works to remain proactive in letting their users know about and understand how this may affect their daily usage.

Although internet browsers have been using cookies since the 1990s, internet tracking has remained a hot subject in the conversation digital privacy and security. This is no surprise as cookies themselves store specific pieces of a user’s information such as usernames, passwords, web histories, and more. However, when it comes to understanding the varying types and uses of cookies, the average American citizen may not be up to speed.

What Are Cookies?

In addition to a delicious snack, the term “cookies” is used to refer to small packages of data that are stored on our computers. These packages, or files, contain specific pieces of data in an attempt to better personalize the user’s experience. This data may consist of information such as entered usernames, saved passwords, entered addresses, and more. It’s because of these packets that users can remain logged into social media sites between uses, create “shopping carts” on online purchasing sites, and receive personalized ads based on your own shopping preferences. However, when considering internet privacy and security, it’s important to look deeper into what types of cookies are in place, which parties have access to cookies, and how each party utilizes that data.

First-Party and Third-Party Cookies

First-party cookies, as mentioned in the recent Facebook announcement, are packets of information collected by the website you are visiting. For example, if someone uses the Trying Together page and enters their name and email, cookies may pick up that information and store it just in case the user may need to insert that information on that website again in the future. These types of cookies are allowed in every web browser by default and enable features such as creating a “shopping cart” and staying logged into a social platform between uses. In general, websites utilize these cookies to increase ease of access or to curate website traffic analytics, however additional features may be included as well.

Third-party cookies, however, are packages of information that are collected by a domain that is not the website the user is visiting. One of the primary uses of third-party cookies is to track browsing history to detect trends, generally represented through benefits such as personalized ads or recommendations. In relation to affecting a user’s day-to-day usage, third-party cookies play a very small role. These cookies are also enabled by default.

As a consideration, all cookies are public, regardless of their type. It is best to monitor what type of information you are providing and to read through each website’s privacy statements to see how that data may be utilized.

Cookie Concerns

Concerns surrounding cookie use typically include topics related to privacy and security. For privacy, one concern is that because websites store packages of data and website usage, third-parties such as advertisers, users, and even government agencies can gain access to that information if given permission. For security, a major concern is security holes in browsers that may enable malicious parties to gain access to sensitive information such as credit card information, emails, and passwords. Both of these concerns hold weight and users should be proactive in looking into and understanding how their data is being utilized by the websites they are frequenting.

Disabling Cookies

If all of this talk about cookies and data storage is making you antsy, no need to worry. Users can disable both types of cookies at any time by changing their browser settings. Simply click on the “Help” menu or “Help Center” in your browser settings to learn how to adjust your tracking settings and cookie preferences. On mobile devices, this can be done by editing your “Privacy” settings through your browser.

Keep in mind that disabling cookies may impact your ability to interact with a website. While disabling third-party cookies hardly impacts a user’s daily usage, disabling first-party cookies may affect website functions such as login credentials, purchasing ability, and general efficiency.

How Does Trying Together Utilize Cookies and Data?

As a brief overview, Trying Together utilizes cookies and collected data to provide customized content, contact users, fulfill orders, and more. We use various technologies such as cookies, web beacons, and pixel tags to store limited information when users interact with our site and emails. As an example, information may include non-personal data such as a mobile device identifier or MAC address, browser type, device model, and more. It may also include elements of service usage such as date and time of access, page visits, duration of visits, and others. On occasion, more personal information may be stored such as name, username, demographic information, and other publicly-observed data.

To learn more about how Trying Together collects and utilizes user data, read our Privacy Policy.

Questions

If you have any questions or concerns regarding Trying Together’s privacy policy or data storage, please contact: info@tryingtogether.org