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Family Services
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Director: |
Patricia Riehl |
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Assistant Director: |
Jen Harmon |
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Phone: 570-724-5766 |
Hours: 8:00 - 4:00 |
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Family Services opens doorways for Tioga County residents to prevention-based, family-centered services. Some services are offered through contracts with private providers. Others are provided by the Tioga County Department of Human Services in various locations throughout the county. Most services are provided free of charge or on a sliding fee scale, based on income guidelines. |
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Case Management:
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| At Family Services, every caseworker is trained in all three Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare human service categories---mental health, mental retardation, and children and youth. Pennsylvania Department of Health regulations require an additional D&A caseworker in Family Services to work in conjunction with the integrated delivery methods of this department. In every case, the Family Services department strives to link families to all the services they need through one caseworker. By focusing on the family as a unit, the caseworker is able to offer appropriate, preventive services to each member of the household. The caseworker makes home visits to the family at least once a month to ensure that needs are being met. |
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Common Application Form (CAF)
A simplified, Common Application Form (CAF) helps the Service Planning unit assess client needs quickly and efficiently. A CAF can be completed over the telephone or at any office of the Tioga County Department of Human Services.
Service Planning
The Service Planning unit reviews each CAF to determine if and what services are needed. Clients eligible for services are initially assigned a caseworker from this unit. Established clients - those requiring on-going services are transferred to case management in the geographic Patch unit nearest their home.
Patch
DHS’s system of human service delivery divides the county into three geographic Patch regions that mirror the three school districts, with a casework unit assigned to serve each one. Each casework unit consists of one supervisor and four to five caseworkers. The Patch unit professionals work with local schools, churches and area organizations in their region to help build community support networks for the families who live there. |
| Protective Services: |
| Protective Services works to safeguard children from abuse and serious neglect and implement the Child Protective Services Law. Assistance includes parental instruction and education, protective and preventive social counseling, emergency homemaker services, emergency shelter placement, emergency medical services and self-help groups. |
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Temporary Placement Services: |
| Temporary Placement Services provide supportive interim placement for children, birth to 18, removed from their own homes due to abuse or neglect. The program provides intensive services for families in an effort to ease the conditions that necessitated removal of the child(ren) from their homes. If family reunification is not possible, a permanent alternative home for the child(ren) is found. |
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| Emergency Placement Services: |
| Emergency Placement Services are initiated when time does not allow for the use of planned, Temporary Placement Services. Provided are up to 30 days of residential care and supervision for children, birth to 18, whose immediate safety is threatened unless they are removed from the home; those who present a danger to themselves or others by remaining in the home; and those who would run away if left in the home. |
| Early Intervention: |
| Early Intervention provides free, developmental screenings for children, birth to three years old. The program also offers a variety of supportive services for children and their families, including developmental evaluations, physical, occupational and speech therapy, vision and hearing screenings, family education and social work services. |
| Adoption Services: |
| A licensed Family Services’ caseworker helps families to adopt children who have either been born in Tioga County, are available for adoption through a statewide adoption network, or are from other parts of the United States or the world. In many cases, adoption services provided by DHS are free. Special needs children include: 1) a child over the age of five; 2) members of a sibling group; 3) a child of a minority race; and/or 4) a child who has a physical or emotional condition diagnosed by a doctor. |
| Family Group: |
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Family Group Decision Making is a strengths based-solution focused process available to families receiving children and youth case management. It provides an opportunity for families to have a meeting with relatives and close friends to become a more active support group for the family.
The meeting is a non-confrontational discussion that emphasizes the strengths and the concerns for the family as well as empowering them to create their own plan of how they, along with their support network, will resolve the problems they are facing. Families as well as their support network come up with actions that they are willing to complete that will address the concerns of the Agency. Family members are more willing to hold each other accountable for making sure they are following through with the plan because they were involved in the decision making process. This process also allows families to move quicker through the system to case closure because they are aware of the Agency’s concerns and more empowered to make the necessary changes. |
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1873 Shumway Hill Road
Wellsboro, PA 16901
Phone: 570-724-5766 | |
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