Christy Stanek
Director
Ms. Stanek joined the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts in the Office of Children and Families in the Courts (OCFC) as a Judicial Analyst in September 2011. In August 2026 Ms. Stanek was promoted to Director of OCFC. Prior to that, she had been serving as the Deputy Director for the office since 2022. Ms. Stanek previously served as OCFC lead for the State Roundtable’s Kinship Care Taskforce, led by Supreme Court Chief Justice Max Baer, and the Autism and the Dependency Courts Taskforce, led by Supreme Court Justice Kevin M. Dougherty. Ms. Stanek also led the convening, organization and presentation team for the New Dependency Judge Education Session, taking place every other year. Prior to June 2022, Ms. Stanek served as Judicial Programs Analyst in western Pennsylvania, working collaboratively to improve the child dependency system. Ms. Stanek had previously led the State Roundtable’s efforts to improve Pennsylvania’s caseworker retention, responsiveness to trauma, legal representation, transitional youth, and visitation. Ms. Stanek also led the creation of the online education module titled Core I: An Attorney’s Introduction to Pennsylvania’s Dependency System, which launched in 2022. Ms. Stanek continues to led education efforts for the Pennsylvania Conference of Trial Court Judges, Dependency Education Session and the Biennial Chief Justice Max Baer Children’s Summit. Finally, she serves on several state committees and workgroups convened by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Department of Human Services.
Before assuming her current position with the Office of Children and Families in the Courts, Ms. Stanek served as Deputy Administrator for Washington County Children and Youth Services, directly overseeing the agency’s court operations, Permanency Practice Initiative, family finding efforts, quality assurance, and internal training. Ms. Stanek managed a staff of 85 and an annual budget of $23 million. Ms. Stanek was the fifth in the state to fully implement Family Group Decision Making in a child welfare agency, an original member of the PA FGDM Leadership Team, and has done numerous presentations on FGDM, including several FGDM International Conferences.
Ms. Stanek began her career in child welfare in 1997 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and a Master’s degree in Social Work, both from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. In 2017, Ms. Stanek received the Youth Advocate Award from the Academy for Adolescent Health, Inc. Ms. Stanek is married to Dan and has three adult children, Nick, Brooke, and Paige.
Contact Info
Christy Stanek
Director
Pennsylvania Judicial Center
601 Commonwealth Avenue
Suite 1500
Harrisburg, PA 17120-0901
(412) 616-1079
Fax: (717) 231-3304