Resources on Engaging Families, Including New PA Juvenile Probation Officer Curriculum
Increasingly, Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice systems are adopting family engagement approaches long used by Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities systems. This is good news for families and their children because a partnership approach improves relationships among systems and families, as well as outcomes for the children involved. Pennsylvania continues to lead the nation in [...] Read More »
Spring Training Events for Families on Accessing Insurance, Support, and IEPs
Below is a listing of spring trainings in Pennsylvania that provide much needed information and support to families at no cost! Take part and bring a friend. Accessing Insurance What: Medical Assistance, Waivers and Affordable Care Act Workshops, Using Public Insurance to Get Service and Supports You Need, David Gates, Exq., Managing Attorney- Harrisburg, PA [...] Read More »
National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day
May 9 is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. Below is a recent post from the blog of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) about the day and activities marking it. Written By: Pamela S. Hyde, J.D., SAMHSA Administrator For the past seven years SAMHSA’s National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day (Awareness Day) has [...] Read More »
Scholarship for Alternative Education & Delinquency Studies Doctorate
Doctoral Scholarships are available to support students who want to obtain a Ph.D. in Special Education with an emphasis on academics and mental health issues of students in alternative schools. The program is called Project LEADERS (Leaders in Exceptionalities Alternative and Delinquency-related Environments through Research and Scholarship). Funding is through the U.S. Department of Education, [...] Read More »
Juvenile Justice Research Shows Strengths Based Interventions Yield Best Results
The National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) released its newest research summary, “The Truth about Consequences: Studies Point Towards Sparing Use of Formal Juvenile Justice System Processing and Incarceration.” This NJJN Factsheet reviews recent studies on the juvenile just system showing that formal system processing doesn’t reduce delinquency and that incarceration is ineffective–get tough approaches actually [...] Read More »
PA Supreme Court Rules all Youth Under 14 Must Have Attorneys for Juvenile Justice Process
Effective March 1, 2012, all youth under the age of 14 are required to have legal counsel at all delinquency proceedings. The new rules, as amended in the Rules of Juvenile Court Procedure, allow a youth to waive his or her right to an attorney in very limited circumstances, and then only if the court [...] Read More »
Juvenile Sex Offenses Fall Under New PA Legislation
Act 111 of 2011 brings Pennsylvania into compliance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) provisions of the federal Adam Walsh Act Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (AWA). Act 111 becomes effective on December 21, 2012 and covers both adults and children age 14 and older who are found by a [...] Read More »
Children’s Residential Treatment Reform in PA
From the PA Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) February 2012 Newsletter The PA Department of Public Welfare (DPW) has been working to decrease the use of children’s residential treatment facilities across Pennsylvania. (The Mental Health Association in PA supports these efforts.) Although cost is certainly a factor, DPW is committed to quality effective [...] Read More »
Updates on PA Positive School Climate Efforts (PBIS)
From the PA Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) February 2012 Newsletter How can we promote the academic, social, and emotional well-being of all Pennsylvania’s students? Research shows Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) enables schools to create and sustain positive safe school climates for students and staff. Schools adopting PBIS go through very [...] Read More »
PA’s New Task Force on Child Protection
As a response to the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal, Governor Corbett and the PA Senate and House leaders have convened a Task Force to help strengthen state laws and ensure that every Pennsylvania child receives the protection from harm they deserve. More than 60 organizations, including the Mental Health Association in Pennsylvania, have joined together [...] Read More »
About Us
The Children's News is a program of the Mental Health Association in Pennsylvania (MHAPA) and its affiliates across the state. We provide information for families on children's mental health issues in Pennsylvania – including advocacy efforts, events, and policies – and offer families the opportunity to share information on these issues with us.
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