Congress moves to avert partial government shutdown
By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is moving to avert one crisis while putting off another. The Senate is poised to approve legislation Thursday that would keep the federal government running into early December. The House is also expected to approve the measure following the Senate vote, preventing a partial government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins Friday. Democrats were forced to remove a suspension of the federal government’s borrowing limit from the bill at the insistence of Republicans. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warns that if the debt limit isn’t raised by Oct. 18, the country would likely face a financial crisis and economic recession.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Aliquippa, Pa.) Joseph “BOZ” Costanza died  last week, he was a former fire chief and he was remembered by council .  His funeral is private today and Mayor Dwan B. Walker will present a city flag to the family.

(West Mifflin, Pa.) Kennywood debuts its all-new Halloween event, Phantom Fall Fest this weekend. The full Play All Day, Fright All Night experience offered by Phantom Fall Fest arrives on Saturday, after a fright-filled Friday night featuring five haunted houses, four scare zones including the new Manor Estate Sale and Hellbilly Hollow, and Kennywood’s signature roller coasters and thrill rides. Visitors will enjoy not-so-spooky thrills and family-friendly fun on Saturdays and Sundays, with the Phantom’s scream team arriving on the scene as the sun goes down.

(Photo provided by AHN)

(Wexford, Pa.) It’s a big Day for AHN as the long awaited AHN Wexford will open today. The new hospital will bring comprehensive, high-quality health care closer to home for residents of communities north of Pittsburgh. Located along U.S. Route 19, the $313 million, 345,000-square-foot, full-service hospital is the single-largest new facility investment in AHN’s history. The hospital’s opening marks a significant achievement in Highmark Health’s and AHN’s multi-year strategy to improve access to high-quality, patient-centered health care services across the western Pennsylvania region. The hospital will be open to patients starting at 9AM today.

Keystone State News Connection

Emily Scott

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania implements a new, evidence-based prevention plan on Friday, to help kids at risk of out-of-home placement stay with family when possible.

The Family First Prevention Services Act, passed by Congress in 2018, moves funds away from foster care and group-home settings to focus instead on keeping families together. It requires states, including Pennsylvania, to submit a five-year plan, known as Title IV-E, in order to receive reimbursement for their prevention work.

Terry Clark, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services, said the approach is a way to help children grow up in their communities without being uprooted.

“It’s of course looking at trying to be able to help families be stronger,” Clark explained. “Strengthen those families by providing all kinds of proactive support, so that the likelihood that they’re going to be abused or neglected is really reduced. And then, of course, you don’t have to separate them from their family.”

Some evidence-based programs selected for Title IV-E include Functional Family Therapy and the Nurse-Family Partnership. The plan also includes reimbursement for kinship navigator programs, to help relatives raising children in need to access resources as they take on guardianship.

Rachael Miller, policy director at Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, said Family First has seen some unintended consequences, including limiting the programs eligible for funding. She hopes the law will allow the state to include services in non-abuse categories that sometimes lead to child-welfare placement, such as poverty.

“The law does not currently allow for federal reimbursement for programs that show promising results but might not meet the rigor of evidence-based review,” Miller pointed out. “So, expanding these types of services to be allowable for reimbursement would be beneficial for children and families that we’re serving.”

Pennsylvania’s Office of Children, Youth, and Families submitted its plans to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in August, and will implement them for the first time on Oct. 1.

(Pittsburgh) The National Aviary continues to search Pittsburgh’s Northside and surrounding communities for Kody, the Steller’s Sea Eagle. Beginning on Saturday, the Aviary launched a coordinated effort to find and bring Kody home. Animal care staff, volunteers, and even administrative staff members have been working in teams to search for Kody and respond to sightings reported by the community. Other staff members have stayed at the Aviary, caring for the other birds and animals onsite, mapping sightings, preparing snack bags for search teams, answering calls with sightings from the public, and reaching out to our community partners to help spread the word.

The Aviary said in an updated press release yesterday that they are incredibly grateful for the community’s support as they work to get Kody home safely. If you see Kody, please do not approach him. If you can keep an eye on where he is and call the National Aviary at 412-323-7235.

The National Aviary will remain closed today. The release said “We are taking this day-by-day, and hope to reopen soon.”