Pennsylvania’s child dependency system shall:

  • Recognize and promote the physical, emotional, social and educational well-being of each child.
  • Inspire hope, growth and change in each child by identifying his or her strengths.
  • Recognize that each child is unique, and provide services tailored to his or her unique strengths and needs.
  • Provide opportunities for each child to develop individual talents and skills.
  • Provide opportunities for each child to build self-confidence and self-esteem.
  • Empower every child to develop a sense of individual responsibility and accountability for his or her actions.
  • Identify and engage an adult with whom a child can develop a reliable, sustaining and meaningful life-connection.
  • Ensure that siblings are placed together unless there is a compelling reason not to provide such placement.
  • Implement a visitation schedule including siblings, parents and kin that meets the developmental needs of each child. Understand frequent, quality visitation is a key to successful family reunification.
  • Seek and strengthen informal and formal community resources for children and families.
  • Ensure that early assessment is made of each child’s cognitive development and, where possible, include family members in any recommended treatment.
  • Encourage a child’s interaction with peers in order to foster healthy social development.
  • Strengthen an older child’s ability to live independently as he or she transitions into adulthood by providing supportive services such as education, life skills training, prevention services and employment and housing education.