We have the latest now on changes that are coming to Blair County’s Office of Children, Youth, and Family Services…
This after the Department of Human Services revoked its license to operate in a first of its kind ruling in our state.
Zac what are we learning about the future of these services
Commissioners here in Blair County say there will be no immediate changes to the current day to day operations for Children and Youth Services, but they did say they filed an appeal and are looking forward to working with the state to develop a long term plan to improve their operations.
On Monday, the State Department of Human Services sent out a release stating that it revoked the licence for Blair County Children, Youth, and Family Services.
They say this is due to the county’s fourth and final provisional licence expiring. According to the release, the six-month license was first given to Blair County in 2022 following multiple violations, including a large backlog of reports.
“It’s been a long road as everybody knows but we’re really looking forward to working through the details of what they would like to see in the settlement and what will work for the county to make sure that we’re providing the best services we can.”
At the Commissioner’s meeting on Tuesday, Burke said they have already been seeing improvements, especially in their staff.
“We have come up from our low point of 5 caseworkers to I believe 14 fulltime and 4 parttime plus 5 temporary parttime who are from other counties who have come in specifically to help with the overdue cases.”
Burke also says that they have gone ten weeks without a late child protective services outcome, which she says is a big improvement from where they were.
