On June 10th Governor Wolf and First Lady Wolf, along with members of the Supreme Court invited approximately 73 professionals and their guest, to the Governor’s Mansion in recognition of their valuable contributions to Pennsylvania Children, in celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Pennsylvania State Roundtable Movement.
The Governor’s 130 guests included the Secretary and Deputy Secretary for DHS-OCYF and Dept of Education, judges, attorneys, and Children and Youth administrators. All were recognized for their work with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC), Office of Children and Families in the Courts (OCFC), Pennsylvania’s State Roundtable movement designed to expedite permanency for children.
Westmoreland County has been actively involved with the Children’s Roundtables since 2008.
Westmoreland County joined Pennsylvania Permanency Practice Initiative (PPI), through OCFC, in order to expedite the achievement of permanency for our children. Permanency is achieved through reunification with their parents, adoption, permanent legal custody, placement with a relative or another permanent planned living arrangement. Westmoreland County joined the PPI in 2012 and chose to focus on children entering care from 8-11 years of age, as this was the population that had spent the longest time in care. The initiative incorporates three month judicial reviews and evidence based practices for family finding and family group decision-making.
Pennsylvania’s Children’s Roundtable is chaired by the Honorable Max Baer, PA Supreme Court, and Cathy Utz, Deputy Secretary, Office of Children Youth and Families, PA Department of Human Services. The Roundtable strives to improve the collaboration between the administrative and judicial branches in the Commonwealth in order to expedite permanency for children. Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau Director, Shara Saveikis, MSW, serves as co-chair for the Legal Representation and Caseworker Retention workgroups, and is a member of the State Roundtable.
Congratulations to Director Saveikis and the staff at the Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau for this honor.