RESPOND is an intensive treatment program designed to serve youth whose multiple needs (intellectual disability and significant behavioral challenges) are not able to be met through DHS’s current array of services. RESPOND operates on a collaborative model that integrates effective clinical treatment with principles of psychiatric rehabilitation, applied behavior analysis and community support programs. This report was prepared in order to examine – through evaluation of program data, interviews with caregivers and professional supports, and analysis of service and cost data – whether the program’s goals are being achieved.
Starting Early Together, a program of Allegheny County’s System of Care Initiative, was designed to serve children under six with serious emotional disturbances, and their families, in four high-need Allegheny County communities. The program combined service coordination with formal family supports, and was intended to transform the mental health system for children and families and its relationship to early intervention, child welfare, child care and family support. Focus groups were held to determine the strengths of the program as well as any service gaps. The results of the focus groups, and related recommendations, are included in this report.
This analysis uses summary violations and criminal convictions to compare recidivism rates of graduates of the Allegheny County Mental Health Court, which was established in 2001 to address the needs of people with mental illness and/or substance use disorders in judicial proceedings.
This report describes the more than 100 quality improvement activities and initiatives taking place throughout DHS, using the Council on Accreditation’s (COA) Performance and Quality Improvement standards to frame the discussion of how DHS currently manages quality improvement. It discusses best practice approaches and provides benchmarking information about what organizations similar to DHS are doing, and was used to inform the development of DHS’s Quality Improvement unit.
Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs in the Office of Community Planning Development
Family Support Center staff are required to meet hourly training goals each year, in addition to maintaining certifications for specific positions. This training is primarily provided by the University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Child Development. Focus groups were held to collect feedback about the training and to identify ways in which training could better support FSC staff. This report describes the evaluation process, the findings and suggestions for future trainings.
This profile of the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Homewood (and subsequent Addendum) was compiled by DHS to assess demographic changes and examine quality of life issues-poverty, education, health care-in Homewood and in the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County to accurately assess the community’s assets and needs.
This study documents the service paths of African American and white children following referral to Allegheny County child welfare services, to identify and examine the factors related to service disparities.
DHS surveyed providers and DHS staff on behalf of the Immigrants and Internationals Advisory Council to identify the need for limited English proficiency services in the community and assess DHS’s ability to meet those needs. Results of the survey are included in this report.
DHS examined a cohort of homeless individuals to describe the demographic composition and service utilization of the county’s homeless population, as well as to quantify the costs associated with their care.
Homeless individuals in Allegheny County frequently consume public resources and contribute to a measurable and sizable public expense; the consumption of mental health services by the homeless has the most impact on the overall costs calculated in this study; and there is a small high-end user population that has expenses beyond what would be typically anticipated. These high-end users access more behavioral health services and are incarcerated more frequently than the general homeless population; the number of individuals in this high-end user group (<100) is manageable for targeted services; and the costs associated with their care are sizable enough to offer opportunities for savings.
DHS, Duquesne University School of Education and the Homeless Children’s Education Fund
In this analysis, DHS examined the issue of home foreclosures in Allegheny County.