Mental Health and the Dependency Court Workgroup Reports
2025 State Roundtable Report
The Mental Health Workgroup report, recommendations, and tools were unanimously approved at the 2025 Pennsylvania State Roundtable. During its second year, the workgroup continued its extensive collaboration efforts regarding mental health and explored several national and statewide best practices and programs. Data regarding individual county practices and services related to mental health priorities and programs was collected during Leadership Roundtable meetings in the Fall of 2024 and Spring of 2025. Additionally, the youth perspective was gathered from former and current dependent youth on a variety of mental health-related issues.
Four subcommittees were created and focused on the following topics in relation to mental health: Statewide Education for Dependency Professionals, Local Children’s Roundtable (LCRT), Statewide Mental Health Data, and Family and Kin Support and Connections. The subcommittees developed several helpful tools. A virtual educational session titled Mental Health and Its Intersection with Dependency Courts will provide an overview of mental health’s impact on the dependency system and the role that attorneys and administrators have in supporting mental health changes. A Local Children’s Roundtable Guide: Strengthening the Availability and Delivery of Mental Health Services and Treatment for Children and Families in the Dependency System was created to assist counties in utilizing the LCRT to improve systemic collaboration on mental health issues for dependent children. A document titled, Mental Health Data Considerations for Counties, was designed to guide what data to collect and how to use that data to inform budget planning, enhance services, conduct a services gaps analysis, and prepare for court. In its report, the MHWG stressed the importance of strong and supportive relationships and the positive impact they can have on children’s and parents’ mental wellness and overall resiliency.
Throughout the next year, the MHWG will continue exploring mental health and its intersection with dependency through education and collaboration. Additionally, the workgroup will follow the progress of counties piloting the Local Children’s Roundtable Guide: Strengthening the Availability and Delivery of Mental Health Services and Treatment for Children and Families in the Dependency System to explore its efficacy.
2024 State Roundtable Report
At the 2024 State Roundtable, the Mental Health Workgroup presented its first report. The Workgroup spent its first year examining the impact of mental health on the dependency system, and children and families. The Workgroup also spent several months educating itself by inviting experts in mental health to monthly meetings. After several months of examining the issue, both nationally and statewide, the Mental Health Workgroup submitted its first year recommendations. This report outlines those recommendations. In addition, this report provides a summary of the education received by experts, national data, and resources developed by the Workgroup. The developed resources include two tools to help guide professionals working with individuals experiencing mental health issues: Steps to Understanding Mental Health Needs and A Guide to Rightsizing Mental Health Services and Programs. The State Roundtable unanimously approved the Workgroup’s recommendations and gave approval to continue its efforts. Mental health is a complex issue with many moving parts, and our work has just begun to scratch the surface.
To view the report, click the picture to the right.
