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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    Prevention programming has been a long-standing priority in Pennsylvania.

    Family First is just one more tool to enhance and promote Pennsylvania’s work to strengthen and preserve families. Pennsylvania's focus continues to be on services that can prevent abuse and neglect; however, prevention services do more than prevent an incident from occurring. Prevention services also strengthen family units, increase protective capacities of parents/caregivers, encourage family engagement and empowerment, increase kinship and community support, and provide community resources to avoid initial or future child welfare involvement. Pennsylvania's focus continues to be the implementation of prevention services that best fit the needs of the community, children, and families they serve regardless of the funding.

    While Pennsylvania has an existing array of prevention services that is expansive and funded in different ways (that will remain), Family First Prevention Services that include trauma-informed evidence-based programs that are rated on the Federal Clearinghouse are eligible for additional funding. These include:

    • Mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment services provided by a qualified clinician.
    • In-home, parent skill-based programs, which include parenting skills training, parent education and individual and family counseling.
    • Pregnant, expecting, and parenting youth in care

    The OCYF five-year prevention plan was approved on August 15, 2023 and is effective October 1st, 2021 thorough October 1st, 2026. The Evidenced Based Programs (EBPs) below were approved in OCYF’s five-year prevention plan as eligible for reimbursement with Federal Title IV-E funds. Questions about Pennsylvania’s five-year prevention plan can submitted through the Pennsylvania Specific Family First Questions form.

    EBPCategoryRating

    Population

    (Ages in Years)

    Functional Family Therapy

    Mental Health

    Well-Supported

    10-17

    Healthy Families America

    In-Home Parent Skills

    Well-Supported

    0-7

    Homebuilders

    In-Home Parent Skills

    Well-Supported

    0-17

    Incredible Years - Toddler

    Mental Health

    Promising

    0-3

    Incredible Years – School Age

    Mental Health

    Promising

    6-12

    Multisystemic Therapy

    Mental Health and Substance Use

    Well-Supported

    10-17

    Nurse Family Partners

    In-Home Parent Skills

    Well-Supported

    0-9

    Parents as Teachers

    In-Home Parent Skills

    Well-Supported

    0-9

    Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) Level 4 Standard

    Mental Health

    Promising

    0-12

    It is Pennsylvania's goal to continuously expand prevention services available and the number of families served under Family First funding. OCYF will continue to work with stakeholders to identify, plan for, and implement more evidence-based programs under Family First.

    If you or someone you know can benefit from a prevention services, please call 211 be connected to a program.

    The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS), which is in part comprised of the Office of Children, Youth, and Families (OCYF) complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.