Episode 14: Navigating Pennsylvania’s Child Welfare System And Issues Of Child Maltreatment

Summary: This month marks the beginning of the third season of this podcast! We're kicking things off by exploring the opportunities and challenges of Pennsylvania's child welfare system. For the past several years, there has been an ongoing partnership between Penn State researchers and government partners to change the Commonwealth's county-based child welfare system through legislative and policy actions. We spoke to Jennie Noll, Ph.D. (https://hhd.psu.edu/contact/jennie-noll), Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and the Director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network (https://www.solutionsnetwork.psu.edu/) at Penn State University, and Brian Bornman, Esq. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-bornman-9b914615/), Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Children and Youth Administrators Association (http://www.pcya.org/Pages/default.aspx), about their collaborative process, the challenges of navigating a stressed bureaucratic system, and what the future holds for resolving issues of child welfare and maltreatment. Episode Resources and Notes * Brian mentions several horrific cases of child abuse that made headlines in Pennsylvania, including the Danieal Kelly case in Philadelphia (https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25970609), the Grace Packer case (https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/5-years-after-grace-packers-murder-changes-still-needed-to-protect-foster-kids/2705990/), and the Jerry Sandusky case (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_State_child_sex_abuse_scandal). (Please note that these links include severe graphic descriptions of child abuse and violence.) The transcript for this episode is available here (https://evidence2impact.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Evidence-to-Impact-Podcast-Child-Welfare.pdf).