Left to right: Dan Gruver, JWYC Supervisor, Danielle Haines, JWYC Case Specialist Supervisor, Todd Kline, Clarion County Children & Youth Services Director, Tony Ross, JWYC Director, & Denise Johnson, Children & Youth Services Deputy Director

In partnership with Casey Family Programs and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children launched the Porchlight Project to lead in public policy reforms that ensure all children grow up in families where their needs for safety, permanency, and well-being are met. The Porchlight Project issued its first annual “State of Child Welfare” in 2009 on how well Pennsylvania’s child welfare system is performing in meeting the needs of children and families impacted by the system. This year’s report compares data over a 5-year period and indicates that Pennsylvania has experienced positive outcomes in the past five years in its continuous efforts to improve their child welfare system by implementing family-focused child welfare strategies. It is the goal of the project to increase positive outcomes and to significantly reduce the need for foster care placement.

JusticeWorks YouthCare is pleased to announce a partnership with Clarion County to achieve these goals. In collaboration with Clarion County, the mission is to provide effective child welfare strategies, including sound research and outcome data, to eliminate child abuse and out-of-home placement for the safety, permanency, and well-being for all children involved in the child welfare system.

Clarion County Children and Youth Services will refer families to JusticeWorks who are in need of on-going support. JusticeWorks will provide our community-based case management program, ensuring the high-quality care that our county partners are accustomed to. We also assist families in connecting with community supports and resources. As in all of our programs, our goal is to provide opportunities for families to thrive independent of system involvement and ensure the safety and well-being of the youth in our care.

JusticeWorks values the partnership with Clarion County Children and Youth. We promise to be excellent stewards of care for the children and families we serve.