Dependency Court Judges, Children and Youth Officials Collaborate to Help Dependent Children

HARRISBURG, November 18, 2009 – On Thursday, November 19 beginning at 1p.m. in the Pittsburgh Omni William Penn, the State Supreme Court will host Pennsylvania’s First Annual Children’s Roundtable Summit where county dependency court judges, and children and youth service professionals will collaborate with national experts to develop county specific plans to help abused and neglected children. Your coverage is invited.

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille and Justices J. Michael Eakin and Max Baer, will be present. Chief Justice Castille, Allegheny County President Judge Donna Jo McDaniel, and State Court Administrator Zygmont Pines will provide opening remarks for the three-day summit. Sandy Moore, Administrator, Office of Children and Families in the Courts, and Lehigh County Common Pleas Court Judge Brian Johnson will present a Child Dependency System Mission Statement & Guiding Principles document and unveil a Dependency System Logo and new Office of Children and Families in the Court’s (OCFC) website aimed at assisting judges and legal professionals, parents and families, and children with dependency issues.

The new child dependency website can be found at www.ocfcpacourts.us.

Officials from more than 50 counties throughout the state will be participating in the summit. They will hear from national experts, including Judge Stephen Rubin, Pima County, Arizona; Judge Charles Pratt, Allen County, Indiana; Judith Silver, PhD, Pediatric Psychologist Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Larry Brown, Casey Family Programs Consultant, and Barbara Needell, PhD, Researcher, University of California at Berkeley. These experts will provide a national perspective of the work being done to help dependent children and families and share strategies used to successfully address issues similar to those facing Pennsylvania’s child dependency system.