A new state action plan taking effect this month aims to keep more at-risk children in their homes and communities, reducing the need for foster and group home placements.
The plan is required under the federal Family First Prevention Services Act, a piece of legislation authorized under a February 2018 bipartisan budget deal that ended a government shutdown, and kept the federal government afloat. Supporters say the bill represents a historic step forward in protecting and promoting child welfare in the commonwealth, and across the nation.
The Capital-Star chatted this week with *Rachael Miller, the policy director of the advocacy group Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, about the state’s 5-year plan under the law, which took effect on Oct. 1, and its implication for Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, which administer child welfare programs.