Parents of a 6-year-old girl were arrested after state police say they abused, starved, and locked her up in a dog crate. Jacob Weight Jr. and Mimi Frost were arrested Tuesday morning. The two are charged with unlawful restraint of a minor, aggravated assault and child neglect as well as several other charges. This all […]
PA Newsmakers: Youth Mental Health Crisis, Social Media, and Family Digital Wellness
Justin Donofrio, Prevention Services Manager for the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance, joined host Terry Madonna to discuss the youth mental health crisis, social media & mental health, and family digital wellness. https://www.newsmakerstv.com/shows/energy-prices-30-by-30-and-youth-mental-health.html From PA Newsmakers, February 4, 2024
Family Digital Wellness: Updates on Social Media Legislation & Lawsuit
2023 was the year that powerful tech companies and their platforms began to be held responsible for their roles in the ongoing youth mental health crisis. Across the country, state attorneys general and school districts filed lawsuits against Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram), ByteDance (parent company of TikTok) and Snap, Inc. which operates […]
Centre Daily Times: Is your child old enough to start babysitting? Here’s how it works in Pennsylvania
Babysitting is becoming increasingly common across the U.S. as busy parents try to find care arrangements for their children. A 2019 study from the National Center for Education Statistics, for example, found roughly 59% of children ages 5 and younger and not yet enrolled in kindergarten were in at least one nonparental care arrangement each […]
WHP: PA officials work to address racial disparities in Child Welfare
Nationwide and in Pennsylvania, there are racial disparities in the child welfare system, meaning kids and families of different races or ethnicities could have different experiences in the system. A 2021 Racial Equity report from DHS says, “Black children represent 35 percent of Pennsylvania’s foster care population, despite accounting for just 13 percent of children […]
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LehighValleyNews.com Grandparents raising grandkids: ‘Unless you live it, you don’t know it’
It’s estimated that more than 100,000 grandparents now are raising their grandchildren in Pennsylvania, according to a statewide organization working to get more resources for those people in the new year. “The grandparents get nothing,” Beth, a 71-year-old grandmother from northeast Pennsylvania who raised one grandson and now is raising another. She asked that her […]
WHP Harrisburg: New bill helping to strengthen kinship providers program in PA
In Iris Mummert’s case we told you about how court documents indicated her foster mother wanted to have more of a voice throughout hearings. Three years after Mummert was killed by her biological mother, a newly signed law is working to take a step in the right direction to hear from family members in court […]
WHP Harrisburg: A new Pennsylvania law brings more rights to kinship caregivers in the child welfare system
A newly signed law is working to take a step in the right direction to hear from family members in court hearings about what could be in the child’s best interest. The law is giving more rights specifically to what’s called kinship caregivers. Kinship providers or caregivers are essentially foster parents, but one the child […]
Fighting Child Abuse & Neglect: 2023 in Review
Fighting Child Abuse & Neglect: 2023 in Review It’s hard to believe another year is winding down, and that we’re just days away from 2024. For the team at Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance, the mission for 2023 was the same as every year: provide education, support, and training programs to make Pennsylvania safe for children. […]
