In 2010 a Pre-Service educational DVD was developed by the State Roundtable’s Legal Representation Workgroup. The Pre-Service DVD was required for all new GALs if the county wished to receive federal Child Abuse Prevention & Treatment Act (CAPTA) reimbursement for GAL services through their county Children & Youth Needs Based Plan & Budget.   

To improve upon this tool and provide a learning opportunity for all attorneys, the Office of Children & Families in the Courts has developed an online educational module entitled Core One: An Attorney’s Introduction to Pennsylvania’s Dependency System. This module was created exclusively for GALs, Child Counsel, Parent Attorneys, and Agency Solicitors. This online module replaces the original Pre-Service DVD and now serves as the GAL CAPTA requirement noted above. This online module also serves as a pre-requisite for any advanced attorney education developed by the Office of Children & Families in the Courts. While the initial Core I education in 2011 also satisfies as a pre-requisite to future sessions, the online module provides updated laws, rules, and best practices incorporated into dependency cases over the past ten years.