On February 2, 2022, the Wolf Administration sent a letter to Pennsylvania’s Congressional Delegation urging them to support the extension of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) nationwide waiver authority throughout the 2022-23 school year. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Congress has given the USDA the authority to issue nationwide waivers to ensure that school feeding programs could adapt to the needs of the communities they serve amidst ever-changing learning environments and increased food assistance needs during the summer months.  

According to Feeding Pennsylvania, more than 1.5 million people in Pennsylvania, including more than 443,000 children, are at risk of hunger, and our school feeding programs play a critical role in ensuring that all our young people have the food they need to grow and thrive. 

According to Gov. Wolf, the waivers issued by USDA can serve a multitude of purposes. Examples include allowing flexibility for both schools and nonprofits as to where meals can be accessed and the opportunity to offer meals to young siblings of school aged children ​or a chance to provide continued access to afterschool meals and snacks, regardless of traditional school and activities being in session or not. 

“It is critical to meet the physical, mental, and emotional needs of learners so they can learn, grow, and achieve, and additional resources and support have never been more necessary,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Noe Ortega. “The extra flexibility these waivers can provide will help alleviate supply chain challenges, protect at-risk children, and ensure continuity of services to students, schools, and communities across the commonwealth.” 

Waivers for the 2021-22 schoolyear are set to expire on June 30, 2022, and USDA cannot provide waivers past this date without approval by Congress. This means that the summer meal options countless Pennsylvania families have relied on over the past two years will expire, leaving millions of children without consistent access to food. 

Schools and community feeding partners are already making plans for the summer and 2022-23 school year. They need to know now if they’ll have the opportunity to continue serving Pennsylvania children in the same manner or if service opportunities will be limited. 

Families currently in need of support to meet their food needs are encouraged to take advantage of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Formerly known as food stamps, SNAP supports low-income and working Pennsylvanians, allowing them to purchase produce and groceries for themselves and their family. SNAP helps more than 1.9 million Pennsylvanians, including children, people with disabilities, older adults, and working Pennsylvanians, expand purchasing power to ensure their household has enough food to avoid going hungry. SNAP is issued through a monthly payment to an electronic benefit transfer card, and benefits are based off income and household size. People can apply for SNAP online at www.compass.state.pa.us online at any time. 

More about the Wolf Administration’s efforts to improve food security across the commonwealth and options for those in need can be found at agriculture.pa.gov/foodsecurity. 

To read the press release, click here.

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute (PDAI), and the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Pennsylvania (PennCAC)  jointly announced the updated release of the Model Set of Standards for Pennsylvania’s Multidisciplinary Investigative Teams (MDITs). The standards provide counties with standardized guidance and best practices on how to investigate child abuse cases, and an accompanying webinar, “Introduction to MDITs,” which can be found on PDAI’s website.

Per the Child Protective Services Law, each county is required to form an MDIT, which is a group of professionals, convened by a district attorney, who work together in a coordinated and collaborative way to investigate child abuse cases. The goal of the MDIT is to work together during a child abuse investigation to avoid duplication of fact-finding efforts and interviews and to minimize the trauma to the child.  

The original set of Model Standards was developed in 2013, just prior to the passage of several major changes to Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law.  The revised Model Standards reflect the amendments that were made to the law and include more references to in-state resources available to assist in the development of the MDIT and its protocols in the handling of child abuse cases.  

The webinar accompanying the release of the Model Standards is designed to provide a high-level overview of what an MDIT is, the role it plays, and the duties and responsibilities each of its members perform.  It is intended to be used to introduce and educate new team members to the MDIT model and process.

“The investigation of child abuse is very much a team effort,” PCCD Executive Director Mike Pennington said.  “As such, PCCD is very thankful for PDAI’s educational efforts over the years to support these teams – particularly the development of the “Introduction to MDITs” webinar and the hosting of the multiple MDIT symposiums held across the Commonwealth.  Collectively, we believe these efforts will ultimately result in minimizing trauma to children and bringing more perpetrators of child abuse to justice.”

“The importance of professional collaboration when responding to a report of suspected child abuse cannot be overstated,” PennCAC Executive Director Chris Kirchner said.  “These resources will assist counties to create and maintain a coordinated response that puts the needs of the child first, and ensure that law enforcement, child welfare, prosecution, and medical professionals are collaborating throughout the life of a case. These Standards encourage development and use of a Children’s Advocacy Center to support a team response, which by national best practice should also include a child-friendly facility, victim advocacy, forensic interviews, therapeutic services, and case coordination. PennCAC is available to assist counties as they strive to bring an evidence-based, trauma-informed, and collaborative response to protect the children in their communities.”

Both the webinar and symposiums were financially supported through Federal Children’s Justice Act funding made available by the PA Department of Human Services (DHS).  More information about PCCD’s efforts to address child abuse can be found on its Children’s Advocacy Center Advisory Committee (CACAC) webpage.  More information about PDAI and its educational offerings can be found on the Institute’s website.  More information about PennCAC and the technical assistance it provides to MDITs and CACs throughout Pennsylvania can be found on its website as well.