About
Licensing and oversight
The rules a residential home for children in Pennsylvania lives by, in plain words.
Licensing
Pre-licensed: application under review with the PA Department of Human Services, Office of Children, Youth and Families.
Once the certificate is issued, the home will be overseen by the PA Department of Human Services, Office of Children, Youth and Families, Northeast Regional Office, under 55 Pa. Code Chapter 3800.
Who works here
- Seven employees: a director, a lead child care worker who is the child care supervisor, four child care workers and one relief worker.
- An awake worker on site every hour of every day, in three eight-hour shifts.
- A child care supervisor on site or by phone whenever the girls are home.
- Three background checks for every staff member, contracted worker, intern and volunteer before any contact with the girls: Pennsylvania State Police, the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Certification, and an FBI fingerprint check.
- A health statement from a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant for every staff member, renewed every two years, and a physical and TB screening before starting.
- Orientation before any contact with the girls, 30 hours of training before working alone, and 40 hours of training every year after the first.
When something is wrong
A girl or her family can raise a grievance with any staff member, in writing or out loud, without fear of retaliation. We acknowledge it within 24 hours, look into it within five business days, and answer in writing within ten. She can appeal to the owner.
At any time, and without asking anyone's permission, she can call her caseworker, her lawyer or guardian ad litem, ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313, or the DHS Office of Children, Youth and Families Northeast Regional Office. Those numbers are posted in the house.
Records and privacy
Each girl's record is kept locked when no one is with it, held for at least four years after she leaves, and shared only as the law allows.
We never publish a photograph, a name or a story of any girl who lives here, on this site or anywhere else.