Keystone State News Connection

November 29, 2021

Emily Scott

CAMP HILL, Pa. – Pennsylvania’s child welfare and behavioral health services are in crisis, with a worker shortage exacerbated by the pandemic, a new report reveals.

Between low wages and emotionally demanding work, advocates say real solutions are needed to ensure these agencies are able to help at-risk children.

The Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth & Family Services’ report includes a survey into the struggles facing many child-serving behavioral health providers.

Of the 51 agencies that responded, one in four said it has more than 30 vacant positions. Council President and CEO Terry Clark said the shortage has a ripple effect.

“Whether it’s individual therapy, whether it’s a child coming into a particular residential treatment facility, and they don’t have staff, they’re waiting somewhere,” said Clark. “As a result, we’re seeing kids that aren’t getting their needs met. They’re not able to start to address some of the underlying causes of their trauma.”

More than half of respondents said they were forced to delay expanding programs as a result of being understaffed. The report recommends allowing providers to receive the maximum allowable reimbursement rate from the state for their services.

Nancy Kukovich is president and CEO of Adelphoi, which offers behavioral health care for children and teens, including 14 group homes in the state.

She said the company has 30 to 40 current job openings, even after raising the starting pay to $18 an hour. Kukovich said one recommendation from the report she sees as critical is student loan forgiveness.

“It just kills me that I am hiring people to work at Adelphoi, I expect them to have college educations,” said Kukovich. “And yet, I’m not paying them enough for them to send their kids to college. I mean, that’s just on its face wrong.”

The report also recommends providers compile data from exit interviews to learn more about why staff members leave, and develop plans based on the results to recruit and retain employees.

(File Photo of Chippewa Wine and Spirits Store taken by Jimi Miller)
Monday, November 29, 2021 at 7:22 AM
Harrisburg – In celebration of Cyber Monday, one of the busiest online shopping days of the year, FWGS.com will offer a 10% discount on online orders placed between 12:00 AM and 11:59 PM EST Monday, November 29.

The 10% discount is applied to online orders before tax and shipping charges and excludes special order items, Limited-Release Lottery items, wine futures, clearance items, and licensee purchases. The offer applies to items currently in e-commerce inventory, while supplies last. All other terms and conditions for purchases made on FWGS.com apply.

In addition to the 10% discount, FWGS.com orders over $99 are eligible to receive free shipping to any non-store address in Pennsylvania. An adult 21 years of age or older must be present at delivery to show a valid ID. FWGS.com offers a flat shipping fee of $12 for up to three bottles and $2 for each additional bottle on orders $99 and under for delivery to store and non-store addresses in Pennsylvania.

FWGS.com offers consumers access to an extensive product selection, including its most popular items found in stores across Pennsylvania, as well as hundreds of Premium Collection and Chairman’s Selection® items, and the convenience of direct delivery.

The PLCB regulates the distribution of beverage alcohol in Pennsylvania, operates 600 wine and spirits stores statewide, and licenses 20,000 alcohol producers, retailers, and handlers. The PLCB also works to reduce and prevent dangerous and underage drinking through partnerships with schools, community groups, and licensees. Taxes and store profits – totaling nearly $18.7 billion since the agency’s inception – are returned to Pennsylvania’s General Fund, which finances Pennsylvania’s schools, health and human services programs, law enforcement, and public safety initiatives, among other important public services. The PLCB also provides financial support for the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, other state agencies, and local municipalities across the state. For more information about the PLCB, visit lcb.pa.gov.

The featured photo above shows a street view of the crowd at Light Up Night.

Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio, published November 26, 2022 – 11:30 P.M.

(Beaver, PA) Cold air and snow flurries made a perfect atmosphere for the 2021 Beaver Light Up Night. The event kicked off at 5 pm Friday night and featured a parade, performances by local artists, visits to Santa, Zambelli fireworks,  and an appearance by Beaver County Radio. The annual event made a stunning return after a year hiatus and drew a large crowd from around the county. The lights in Beaver kick off a festive holiday season for Beaver County. See photos from the event below:

Harrisburg, PA – Acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid announced today that all 67 counties have completed the recount of the Commonwealth Court race and the recount results confirm the original unofficial election results, with Lori A. Dumas winning the second open seat on the court.

“I want to thank the counties for their hard work. They have had a very busy couple of weeks counting the ballots from the Nov. 2 election, immediately followed by the recount of this race,” Secretary Degraffenreid said. “The recount results prove the accuracy and integrity of our election system.”

The recount results are as follows:

• Stacy Marie Wallace (R) – 1,355,445 (26.56 percent)
• Lori A. Dumas (D) – 1,297,253 (25.42 percent)
• Drew Crompton (R) – 1,274,899 (24.98 percent)
• David Lee Spurgeon (D) – 1,175,974 (23.04 percent)

The original unofficial returns when the recount was ordered showed the following results:

• Stacy Marie Wallace (R) – 1,352,365 (26.61 percent)
• Lori A. Dumas (D) – 1,288,936 (25.36 percent)
• Drew Crompton (R) – 1,272,132 (25.03 percent)
• David Lee Spurgeon (D) – 1,168,314 (22.99 percent)

Dumas and Crompton, the second- and third-place finishers respectively, had vote totals within the one-half of one percent margin that triggers a mandatory recount under state law.

Secretary Degraffenreid ordered the recount on Nov. 11. Counties completed their work Tuesday and submitted the recount results to the Department of State by the deadline of noon today.

The department estimates that the recount cost at least $1.3 million of taxpayer funds.

This is the fifth time the automatic recount provision under Act 97 of 2004 has been triggered and the third time a recount has been carried out.

The first recount was conducted in the Superior Court race in November 2009, where nine candidates were competing for four vacancies. In that election, there was a difference of 3,330 votes between the fourth- and sixth-place candidates, and a margin of 2,006 votes between the fourth- and fifth-place finishers. The recount affirmed the initial results.

The second recount was ordered in May 2011 in the Democratic primary contest for a seat on the Commonwealth Court, when the margin between the two candidates was 2,116 votes. The recount affirmed the initial results.

A recount in the 2010 Democratic primary race for lieutenant governor was averted when the trailing candidate waived his right to a recount. In 2017, three candidates for Superior Court, all of whose vote totals fell within the recount margin, waived their right to a recount. And in 2019, the third-place finisher in the race for two open seats on the Superior Court waived her right to a recount.

The Commonwealth Court is an intermediate appellate court that primarily handles matters involving state and local governments. It also acts as a trial court when lawsuits are filed against the Commonwealth.

Since the counties conducted a full recount of a statewide race, counties will not be asked to do a risk-limiting audit of the 2021 municipal election.

Unofficial returns for the Nov. 2 election and for the recount can be found at electionreturns.pa.gov.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Coast Guard surface and air units combined efforts to locate and rescue 12 migrants from a disabled 18-foot skiff in waters southeast of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The rescued migrants reportedly were traveling with two other migrant vessels, when their vessel became disabled and separated from the group.

“Thanks to the quick response and great coordination between fellow partner agencies, our watchstanders and Coast Guard responding units, all 12 lives were saved in this case,” said Chief Petty Officer Luis Cabrera, Boat Forces Detachment St. Thomas chief supervisor. “Despite the successful rescue, we cannot lose sight of the dangers associated with illegal migrant voyages. These voyages most often take place aboard grossly overloaded vessels with little or no lifesaving equipment.  For anyone considering taking part in an illegal voyage, don’t take to the sea! The risk is just not worth it and not doing so could just save your life.”

Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan received a call at 4:53 a.m. Thursday from a 911 Emergency Service operator, who relayed a report from local police that multiple agencies had apprehended 30 migrants, mostly Venezuelan nationals, from two vessels that made landfall at Bolongo Bay in St. Thomas.  The apprehended migrants reported there was a third migrant vessel disabled and adrift, approximately 20 miles southeast of St. Thomas.

Coast Guard watchstanders directed the launch of a MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Borinquen and two 33-foot Special Purpose Craft – Law Enforcement from Boat Forces Detachment St. Thomas to search for and rescue any survivors.  Approximately four hours later, the crew of the Coast Guard helicopter located the disabled vessel with the migrants safely onboard and vectored-in the Coast Guard boat crews to their position.  The migrant survivors, 10 men and two women, were safely embarked aboard the Coast Guard vessel and transported to St. Thomas.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — While many workers deemed essential in their respective states have already received pandemic hazard pay or hero pay, there are thousands more still waiting for the same financial pat-on-the-back. Many work in places like Connecticut, Minnesota and cities around the country that are still trying to figure out whether and how to distribute funds to what’s become a huge pool of heroes. In Connecticut, state lawmakers in June set aside $22.5 million in federal pandemic funds for essential state employees and members of the Connecticut National Guard. But so far, no checks have been cut. Meanwhile, there’s a push to reward even more people with the money.

The video of Ahmaud Arbery’s shotgun death was a shocking piece of evidence that suddenly brought the Black man’s killing into the national consciousness. But the murder convictions of the three white men may have been secured by their own words to investigators the day of the shooting. Greg McMichael told police the Black man “was trapped like a rat” and he told Arbery: “Stop, or I’ll blow your … head off!” Statements like that allowed prosecutors to give context to the short video that didn’t show the entire shooting and had little of the five minutes that the men chased Arbery.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — For decades, the tiny Marshall Islands has been a stalwart American ally. Its location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has made it a key strategic outpost for the U.S. military. But that loyalty is being tested amid a dispute with Washington over the terms of its “Compact of Free Association” agreement, which expires soon. The U.S. is refusing to engage the Marshallese on claims for environmental and health damage caused by dozens of nuclear tests it carried out in the 1940s and 1950s. The dispute has some U.S. lawmakers worried that China might be willing to step into the breach, adding to a bruising competition for geopolitical dominance between the two superpowers.

NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — President Joe Biden is wishing Americans a happy and closer-to-normal Thanksgiving. It was the second Thanksgiving celebrated in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic. The president and first lady Jill Biden visited a Coast Guard station on Nantucket Island to extend Thanksgiving greetings virtually to service members around the world and chat with Coast Guard personnel. They also released a holiday greeting to Americans in a video recorded before their trip to Nantucket for the holiday. The Bidens also called in to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which resumed in full.