News Release
Contact: Greene County Commissioners
724-852-5210
sapenich@co.greene.pa.us
Greene County CYS receives Plan of Safe Care Grant
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WAYNESBURG – Greene County Commissioners announce receipt of a Greene County Children & Youth Agency Plan of Safe Care (PoSC) grant totaling $45,000. The purpose of the grant is to address concerns related to Substance Affected Infants (SAI) and families.
Each year, thousands of infants born in Pennsylvania have prenatal exposure to substances, including alcohol. These exposures have present, short-term and long-term impacts that plague the children and families, including coexposure (e.g., opioids and benzodiazepines).
Commissioner Betsy McClure is pleased with receiving this federal grant opportunity and stated, “I feel that the funding will be utilized to bridge a gap in meeting the needs of substance affected infants and their families”.
The application process for these federal funds required the creation of numerous documents and an individualized plan of action that Greene County would use to address the concerns, education and services providing for SAI and their families. Contained within the plan were (3) target areas to address these concerns:
1. Identify increased understanding of the community member providers/support officials regarding the expectations and roles in relationship to PoSC.
2. Facilitate PoSC meetings with parents, caregivers, family members and appropriate community supporters and providers.
3. Greene County Children and Youth Agency (GCCYA) will identify and assist the families in meeting the basic needs to alleviate financial stressors and remove barriers towards their participation in and fulfillment of the services necessary for the PoSC.
Mark Starostanko, MSW- Administrator of GCCYA states, “As the GCCYA embarks on the use of these federally funded dollars, each expected outcome provides an opportunity for us and other providers to create a collaborative approach to meet the needs of Substance Affected Infants and their families. This collaborative approach provides linkage of services as unified building blocks and support networks for the children and families to restore a caring, nurturing approach towards assisting families. These funds will promote the ongoing collaborative efforts of the community service providers to address the epidemic within the County of Greene.”
Starostanko further states, “GCCYA utilization of the (PoSC) Grant will create a fiscally responsible approach to meeting the needs of families and children within the County.”
It is always the goal of the GCCYA to provide innovative solutions to resolve concerns within an intact family structure in the county, while understanding the needs of the children and families. GCCYA strives to provide education, create a support network, and assist families in meeting basic needs of children and alleviating financial stressors/or barriers that would exclude the parents in participation of the solutions.
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