HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012 April NewsletterFranklin/Fulton County MH/ID/EI
425 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg, PA 17202 “Heard Across Two Counties”
April 20, 2012, Issue 25
From the Desk of the Administrator:
Happy, April, everyone! This month, as always, is just flying by! We have been spending a lot of
time on issues related to the pending budget cuts and block grant proposal. The good news is that all
indications are that the cuts will not be anywhere near as drastic as the initial proposal has shown.
We truly appreciate all of the hard work that each of you does on a daily basis and are grateful that
you continue to remain dedicated and plug away, despite the uncertainty on our horizon! While I
am hopeful that we will all be able to celebrate the return of our budget cuts, we do still have the pos-
sibility of the block grant in front of us. Clearly, the details are far from worked out in relation to
that and there are a lot of unanswered questions. What I do know is that we have been asked to start
thinking “creatively” about how we can be more effective and efficient with our money, given the
County’s assumption that many of the rules attached to our dollars will be lifted when the money is
placed in to the block grant. So, that is where you come in. Our administrative staff have begun to
have conversations about new and creative ways to utilize our funds but we feel that you all have a
huge part in that conversation. We need to hear from you! Please send me ideas (broad or formal-
ized) about how we could utilize our MH and ID funds in new, creative ways in order to be more effi-
cient and effective. I suspect, as this process moves forward, that we may pull together some brain-
storming and planning meetings, but we aren’t there yet. What we do need are your ideas. This is
your system, too, so please tell us how you think we could use this block grant to benefit the people
who need it the most. I look forward to hearing from you!
April 22nd—28th is the Week of the Young Child
The Week of the Young Child™ is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of
Young Children (NAEYC). The purpose of the Week of the Young Child™ is to focus public attention on the needs of
young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.
In Fulton County: *PA One Book-Reading the PA One Book, Stop Snoring Bernard to children in Pre K and K in all
three School Districts. Special Guest readers include: Commissioner Cutchall, Judge Devin Horne, Judge Wendy Mellott
and Judge Tamela Bard. *Pinwheels for Prevention-Children in Pre K and K, Early Head Start, Parents As Teachers, Pre-
School Age Child Care, Head Start, TIU, School-Age Child Care decorated Pinwheels to be displayed throughout Fulton
County during Week Of the Young Child. *Painting for Prevention-Children’s art will be displayed in areas within Fulton
County. This project is designed to build public awareness of child abuse and the important role of family support pro-
grams in prevention. The theme is Early Years Are Learning Years.
In Franklin County : *Special Guest readers for the PA One Book, Stop Snoring Bernard, will include Senator Rich Al-
loway, Representatives: Todd Rock, Rob Kauffman, Dan Moul and Mark Keller. *Billboards sponsored by the Local Edu-
cation Resource and Network. *Our three billboards are posted!!! This month they are posted on Route 30 East in
Fayetteville, Route 11 South of Chambersburg, and Route 16 in Waynesboro. Next month they will be moved to Route 30
West of Chambersburg , Route 11 North of Chambersburg and Route 16 West of Greencastle.
Monthly Topics:
Mental Health
Intellectual
Disabilities
Early Intervention
Notice of Changes to DPW Website regarding the Child Abuse History Clearance Form.
There has been a recent revised the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance (CY113). The revised form is
available on the DPW website. The revised form has a new form number (CY113 (UF) 6/11). This number is locat-
ed in the bottom right hand corner of the form. In addition, the revised form is now data enterable; meaning that
information can be entered directly into the form. However, if the person completing the form does not have a li-
censed version of Adobe Acrobat Reader on their computer they will not be able to save the form on their computer
with all of the information they’ve entered onto the form. Instead, the person completing the form must print the
form immediately after entering their information. If an individual attempts to save the form after entering all of
their information onto the form, their information will be lost. Some other changes to note: 1)Form is now available
in English and Spanish with both forms being data enterable. 2) Purpose of clearance section includes more refined
options from which to choose such as: Child care services employee, Foster care, Adoption, School Employee, Em-
ployment with significant likelihood of regular contact with children, Volunteers, and DPW employment and train-
ing program participants. Instructions for completing the form are now attached to the form so when the form is
printed the instructions will print with it. The old form will be accepted until April 1, 2013.
Upcoming Meetings/Trainings:
* May is Mental Health Awareness Month
* May 3rd, 3:30—5 pm: MH/ID/EI Advisory Board Meeting—Chambersburg
* May 4th, 10 am-12 pm: ID Provider Meeting—HSB, Chambersburg
* May 11th, 10 am-12 pm: HCQU training on Diabetes at the Admin Annex
* May 15th: Contracted providers—Quarterly expenditures report due
* May 19th, 10 am-1 pm: Fulton County Kid’s Fest—Warfordsburg Elementary School
* May 28th: ALL COUNTY OFFICES CLOSED for MEMORIAL DAY
Check us out on the web: http://www.co.franklin.pa.us/Pages/