PCCYFS Press Release: PCCYFS APPLAUDS ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE INTERGOVERNMENTAL WORKING GROUP FOR CHILD SAFETY AND STABILITY, SHARES PRIORITIES

For Immediate Release                                                                                      Media Contact

January 29, 2026                                                                                 Terry L. Clark, President & CEO

terryc@pccyfs.org

717-651-1725

PCCYFS APPLAUDS ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE INTERGOVERNMENTAL WORKING GROUP FOR CHILD SAFETY AND STABILITY, SHARES PRIORITIES

(HARRISBURG, PA) The Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth & Family Services (PCCYFS) commends the interconnected approach established within the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ (DHS’) Intergovernmental Working Group for Child Safety and Stability. Such a collaborative government coalition has greater opportunities and potential to prioritize children’s initiatives and mobilize resources across agencies and departments. As the premier statewide association for child protection services, PCCYFS shared priorities with the Working Group to help inform their process with real world restrictions from the service provider perspective.

“For years, PCCYFS has pushed for a more coordinated approach across multiple children’s service areas and at all levels of government, especially as cases grow increasingly more complex,” said PCCYFS President and CEO, Terry L. Clark. “These collaborative government structures are critical in breaking down systemic silos. However, policy must also be informed by practice, which is why we shared barriers and priorities of the service providers who are managing the day-to-day work.”

PCCYFS emphasized the need to address root causes of service impediment, The priorities included: liability insurance and the solutions to overcome affordability and accessibility issues; workforce challenges, especially related to finding sufficient professionals to prescribe psychotropic medication to youth; and funding, including the reimbursement of interest on loans when incurred as a result of budget delays, the designation of children’s services as essential to continue payments during a budget impasse, and improved funding models for Statewide Adoption Network (SWAN) services.

Read the full letter here.

Access the full Press Release.

###

About PCCYFS: The Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services (PCCYFS) is the collective voice for private agencies that serve Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable children and their families. PCCYFS represents private agencies that employ more than 12,000 professionals statewide. These services include foster care/kinship care, adoption, residential treatment, behavioral health services, education, counseling, independent living/transitional living services and others. For more information, visit www.pccyfs.org.