September 2018

In this month's edition: Exploring poverty New service corps allows IL youth to engage with their community, learn career skills Kudos: Bryn Elizabeth Albee Kudos: Jaime Greenberg Kudos: Juane Tyler Photo: SUD Training & Facilitated Discussion Kudos: Medina El Kudos: Marc Cherna and Adrianne Smith Photo: SAMHSA visit This month's Neighborland question Research and Reports News articles are uploaded to the DHS website as soon as they become available. For the most up-to-date news, visit  DHS News online.

Exploring poverty On September 21, more than 55 DHS staff members and representatives from community organizations gathered at the Human Services Building for a poverty simulation designed to sensitize participants to the realities faced by low-income families .

New service corps allows IL youth to engage with their community, learn career skills Summer 2018 was an exciting time for KEYS Service Corps as they piloted 412 Youth Corps, a program designed to engage Independent Living (IL) youth and young adults with their community while also teaching soft and hard job skills .

Kudos: Bryn Elizabeth Albee Bryn Elizabeth Albee, caseworker 3 in the Mon Valley Regional Office (MVRO), was selected as the 2018 recipient of the Georgia Hernandez Award for Excellence in Child Welfare Practice .

Kudos: Jaime Greenberg The Director’s Action Line (DAL) received a phone call acknowledging Jaime Greenberg, caseworker 2, for her hard work to complete the adoption of a sibling group .

Kudos: Juane Tyler A provider recently sent an email recognizing Juane Tyler, EPSDT and billing coordinator, for her quick action to ensure a child received their medication .

Photo: SUD Training & Facilitated Discussion On September 17, representatives from DHS and the courts gathered at Duquesne University to discuss best practices for working with families with substance use disorder (SUD). The goals of the day-long training were to help participants develop a greater understanding of substance use disorder and its treatments while also facilitating inter-agency collaboration and partnerships to improve the well-being of children and their families.

Kudos: Medina El A colleague sent an email to commend Medina El, caseworker 2, for her outstanding teamwork .

Kudos: Marc Cherna and Adrianne Smith Marc Cherna, DHS director, and Adrianne Smith, assistant administrator of contracts and contract monitoring, were recognized at the Gwen’s Girls and Black Girls Equity Alliance’s Equity Summit and Award Reception .

Photo: SAMHSA visit This month, representatives from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ( SAMHSA ) were on-site to learn more about our SAMHSA-funded Community of Practice System of Care. Learn more about DHS's previous work under System of Care grants at  http://bit.ly/DHS-SOC .

This month's Neighborland question DHS has recently launched a website, built on a software platform called Neighborland, to gather community input in order to improve programs and services. This month we would like to know: What do you think is needed to better support and encourage individuals with intellectual disability and/or autism to fully participate in their communities? Add your thoughts at https://neighborland.com/alleghenycounty-oid/ .

Research and Reports A new report is featured on the DHS Research and Reports website: Collaboration Helps Hundreds of Allegheny County Students in Foster Care Remain in Their Home Schools

We welcome your story ideas, employee news and comments. If you’ve got news you’d like to see in DHS News, please contact Mark Bertolet at mark.bertolet@alleghenycounty.us or 412-350-3439.

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