Report examines Pennsylvania congregate care settings for teens

By Danielle Smith – Producer 

Jun 15, 2026

A new report found Pennsylvania’s congregate care settings may be the best option for some young people with serious behavioral health challenges, even as the state works to reduce those placements in favor of community-based care.

In the report, 75% of surveyed providers said youth tried an average of four to six services before being placed in congregate care.

Jackie Libonate, director of children’s behavioral health for the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services, said the report recognizes some youth need congregate care to build the skills necessary to transition successfully back into the community.

“It provides therapy within the congregate care setting,” Libonate explained. “It’s kind of an all-in-one package deal. They provide individual family therapy, group therapy. They take them out to any medical appointments that might need to be facilitated when the kids are in that placement.”

Libonate pointed out the report recommends regular funding increases for congregate care providers to keep pace with rising costs. It also calls for better technology to reduce workforce burdens and improved discharge planning. She added stronger involvement from family members and guardians during transitions can help youth maintain the skills they developed in congregate care.

Rebecca Van der Groef, CEO of Hoffman Homes, said low reimbursement rates continue to strain providers. She noted insurance companies pay less per child per day than the actual cost of care, making it harder to recruit and retain qualified staff. Hoffman Homes is losing more than $3 million a year compared with the cost of providing care, Van der Groef added.

“We’re having to try to find other ways to compensate for that gap in revenue,” Van der Groef stressed. “Which is also becoming increasingly challenging when we are in competition with for-profit companies in the area to hire our staff and to be able to maintain them when we can’t pay them what I feel is an appropriate and livable wage.”

Hoffman Homes provides a range of mental and behavioral health services on its Littlestown campus. Its largest program serves youth in residential psychiatric care.

Van der Groef underscored one of the biggest challenges is the growing complexity of youth behaviors and trauma cases.

“The risk of suicide for the youth in our program has been elevated,” Van der Groef observed. “A lot of the youth that come to us are now coming directly from an inpatient hospital stay, and more than half of them have attempted suicide at least one time.”

The report called for more investment in community-based services to help youth transition home and avoid extended stays in congregate care. Providers said discharge decisions should be based on individual needs, not funding timelines, and better coordination across systems could improve outcomes.

Read here.