Articles Tagged assistance

  • Matching Reception Provides Service and Encouragement to Families

    Something special took place at the SWAN Summer Matching Reception held in conjunction with the Annual Pennsylvania Permanency Conference on June 18, 2024 at the Kalahari Resort. Coordinated by the Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange (PAE), the event was attended by more than 200 people from across the Commonwealth, including 16 families, 66 SWAN affiliate agencies, representatives from OCYF, county children and youth staff and more.

    Posted on August 23rd, 2024

  • Spotlight on Deb Seeger, Independent Living Professional Award Recipient

    Deb Seeger’s love of interacting with people and passion for helping teens led to her current position of Independent Living Coordinator at Chester County Department of Children, Youth & Families. Deb will be celebrating her 10-year anniversary this year and  attributes her longevity in the field  to multiple factors: a position that allows for a healthy work-life balance, the feeling of being valued and respected within her agency and being surrounded by “a lot of really good people,” her co-workers at the county.  Deb, in turn, expects everyone to care about the youth with whom their agency works. 

    Posted on March 1st, 2024

  • SWAN Prime Contractor Names New Leadership

    Over the past few months, a few individuals have been named to new management positions. Voce is pleased to announce that Tammy Hendrix, DSW, MSW, LCSW is now serving as the SWAN program administrator; Tinnesha English, MSW is now serving as the SWAN technical assistance program director; Kelly Weston is now serving as the RTA division manager for the SWAN central region; and Robert Brockman is now serving as the PAE division manager.

    Tammy Hendrix ...

    Posted on November 6th, 2023

  • Spring Quarterly Meetings Detail Family Matching Service

    Members of the network gathered around the state at six spring Quarterly Meetings held regionally throughout April. The morning presentation, Exploring the SWAN Family Matching Unit of Service, was presented by technical assistance staff in each of the regions.

    Posted on May 24th, 2023

  • New SWAN Program Administrator Embodies Permanency Advocacy

    Tammy Hendrix, DSW, MSW, LCSW has been named the next SWAN program administrator, succeeding Judi Damiano, who retired February 10, 2023. Tammy has served the SWAN prime contractor in various technical assistance roles since 2004 and has worked in the network since 1994. 

    Posted on April 4th, 2023

  • SWAN Winter Statewide Meeting Featured Tools, Connection

    More than 400 members of the network gathered at the Penn Stater Conference Center on January 25th and 26th for valuable training, in-person networking, and a centralized matching event. The SWAN Winter Statewide Meeting returned to in-person for the first time since 2019 after being held virtually for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Posted on February 17th, 2023

  • SWAN Program Administrator Judi Damiano Retires

    SWAN Program Administrator Judi Damiano has retired after five years overseeing SWAN programs and services and more than twenty years with the SWAN prime contractor. Judi stepped down from her role and stepped into a well-deserved retirement effective February 10, 2023.

    Posted on February 17th, 2023

  • Network Comes Together at Fall Quarterly Meetings

    For the first time since the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020, the SWAN/IL Quarterly Meetings took place in-person throughout regions of the Commonwealth, infusing a spirit of connectedness for which the network is often characterized. As Carrie Keiser, Director, Division of Programs, Office of Children, Youth and Families declared in her opening remarks, “It is SO good to be back together!”

    More than 850 attendees gathered at six regional locations and online for ...

    Posted on November 17th, 2021

  • Giving Back, Former Recipient Style

    When you hear that someone has been involved with fundraising for a foster care agency for the past six years, you may think they are a former foster youth who is now in a position to give back to those who helped them in the past. Well, Cayden Roth, who was honored with SWAN’s 2021 Youth Advocate award, is a former foster youth, but this young man ...

    Posted on November 3rd, 2021

  • Rates Changes and New Unit of Service Announced at 2021 SWAN Summer Statewide Meeting

    In her opening remarks to the network at the 2021 SWAN Summer Statewide Meeting, Carrie Keiser, Director, Division of Programs, Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF), highlighted adjustments to payment rates for SWAN units of services for service referrals made during the state fiscal year 2021-2022. The payment rates are defined in OCYF Bulletin 3350-21-02, released to the network on June 30, and archived in the SWAN Permanency Toolkit ...

    Posted on August 16th, 2021

  • Attendance Rates Increase, Connections Maintained through Virtual Events

    It’s been nearly one year since the COVID-19 pandemic brought in-person gatherings to an abrupt halt causing the network to shift standard events and meetings to a virtual format. While there are drawbacks and we miss the richness of face-to-face interactions, a silver lining has been the ability for more members to participate in network events and for connections among the network to be maintained.

    Posted on February 9th, 2021

  • Spring Administrative Updates Posted

    As efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 continue, we want to thank your continued work to support children and families across the Commonwealth. While we are not able to meet in person at the Spring SWAN/IL Quarterly Meetings, the Administrative Updates that would have been distributed at the meetings have been posted here. Take a moment to catch up with news from DHS/OCYF, the prime contractor and the IL program.

    DHS/OCYF ...

    Posted on March 27th, 2020

  • IL Retreat Promotes Connection and Permanency

    Each year, the Independent Living Project organizes a retreat for older youth, which is held in August at the University of Pittsburgh – Johnstown campus. This year, the program featured a multitude of events, including sports, crafts, cooking, and many more activities to promote teambuilding and connection for the youth who attend the event.

    Posted on September 13th, 2019