For placing agencies
How referrals work
We take referrals from county children and youth agencies first, and also from juvenile probation in dependent matters, managed care organizations and other DHS-licensed providers.
Before you send anything
Please do not send a child's name or details by e-mail before we have spoken.
Referrals
Phone: to be announced
E-mail: to be announced · Tobyhanna, PA
- Beds
- Five, in one house
- Who we serve
- Girls aged 12 through 18
- Legal status
- Dependent; voluntary placement by a county agency; non-adjudicated youth placed by a county children and youth agency
- Setting
- Non-secure. Doors are not locked against leaving.
- Overnight
- An awake worker on site every hour of every day, checking on each girl at least hourly
- Status
- Pre-licensed: application under review with the PA Department of Human Services, Office of Children, Youth and Families.
Who we can serve
All of these must be true
- A girl aged 12 through 18 at admission
- Dependent, voluntarily placed, or otherwise right for a non-secure home
- The referring agency holds custody or documented placement authority
- Her needs fall within the services on the program page
- There is a bed, and she fits safely with the girls already living here
- We have, or have a written promise of, the records we need to assess the placement
We decline a referral when she has
- Active suicidal intent, a plan, or a recent attempt that needs inpatient stabilization
- Assaultive or predatory behavior that needs a locked or more restrictive setting
- Fire-setting in the past 12 months
- Active withdrawal, or a need for medically supervised detoxification
- Acute psychosis, or a psychiatric condition that needs inpatient care
- Medical needs that call for nursing on site, or a medical condition we cannot safely support
- A pattern of running away that puts her in immediate danger a non-secure home cannot prevent
Within the girls aged 12 to 18 we serve, we never decline a referral because of race, color, religious creed, disability, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. A disability on its own is never the reason we say no; it is a reason to work out the accommodations she needs.
How a referral works
Referral
We log the referral and ask for the records listed below.
Suitability
The director decides in writing whether this home can meet her needs.
Placement assessment
We record her needs, her legal status, why placement is needed, and how we will meet those needs.
Visit
When time allows, she visits or meets us by video first, to see the house and ask her own questions.
Decision
The director accepts or declines, and tells the agency why if we decline.
Admission day
A welcome and a tour, her own bed and essentials, her rights explained and given in writing, and the house rules and schedule.
First 30 days
A health and safety assessment within 24 hours, a health examination within 15 days, and her service plan within 30 days.
What to send
- Court order or voluntary placement agreement, and proof of custody
- Social and placement history, and the reason for this referral
- The most recent psychological or psychiatric evaluation
- Current medications and the prescriber
- The latest health examination, immunizations, and dental, vision and hearing records
- School records, and any IEP or 504 plan
- Any history of suicidal or self-injurious behavior, aggression, running away, fire-setting or sexual behavior that could put her or others at risk
- Allergies and dietary needs
- Family contact and visiting arrangements, including any court-ordered limits
Emergency placements
We take an emergency placement only when there is a bed, the staffing allows it and none of the exclusions apply, and the director authorizes it personally. The suitability decision and placement assessment are completed at admission from the information available, and filled in within 72 hours.