PCCYFS REPORT: 2022 Public Policy Priorities

PRESS RELEASE: Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth & Family Services (PCCYFS) recently announced their policy platform, at a time when child and family stabilization and well-being are at the forefront of Pennsylvania’s needs. As Pennsylvania’s premier children, youth, and family services organization, PCCYFS plays a vital role in influencing policy for the health of the child serving system. The priorities are: 1) a well-funded children’s services system, 2) workforce development, and 3) affordable access to liability insurance.

“Our members need the resources to perform at the quality that our communities deserve,” said PCCYFS President and CEO, Terry L. Clark. “No one understands the unique challenges that children and family service providers face better than PCCYFS. We are committed to these priorities to help members deliver impactful services to Pennsylvanians who need them most.”

The priorities propose targeted, actionable steps to improve the overall health of the child-serving provider community in Pennsylvania:

1. A well-funded children’s service system: Solutions include adequate rates and allocations to fully fund providers at their cost of care, incl(uding increases during particularly challenging times such as the pandemic or budget impasses, and a special focus on the Family First Prevention Services Act and its unique funding needs.
2. Workforce development: Recognizing the crisis state of workforce recruitment and retention in child and family services, PCCYFS outlines a series of principles and areas for staffing flexibilities to support providers’ abilities to weather these difficulties.
3. Affordable access to liability insurance: Despite the army of pressures that are bearing down on providers’ ability to access liability insurance, PCCYFS has identified practical solutions such as eliminating unfair risk shifting and reforms to county contracts, to help support providers retain adequate protection for their distinct, challenging work.