SPOTLIGHTS HUMAN SERVICES
Opening of the Family Healing Center Substance use is a primary driver of child welfare referrals in Allegheny County – a trend exacerbated by the opioid crisis and an increase in pandemic-related relapse rates. There is a critical need for family treatment services to mitigate the effects of parental substance use and to help strengthen and preserve families. While the county provides inpatient substance use disorder (SUD) treatment for parents, existing programs are exclusively for mothers, set restrictions on the number of children in accompaniment, and/or treatment duration. To address this gap in services, DHS established the Family Healing Center on June 26, 2023, with a capacity to serve eight families. The Family Healing Center is an innovative residential treatment model that supports parent treatment and recovery while preserving families and preventing the adverse effects often resulting from caregiver substance use, including home removal of children by child welfare. Located in a previously vacant school building in Mount Oliver, the Family Healing Center provides apartments and facility space for families with young children where at least one parent is in recovery. Auberle, the lead agency competitively selected by the DHS to operate the Center, offers a range of on- site supports that include: • Evidence-based substance use disorder treatment • Psychoeducation groups, life skills classes, and parenting programs
• Supportive services such as childcare and transportation • Holistic health and wellness programs • Family needs assessments, case management, and referrals to external services, as appropriate
Improving Access to High-Quality Behavioral Health Services Like many other fields, the human services sector has struggled with labor shortages and challenges in recruiting for key positions. This is especially problematic mental health and substance abuse fields, where the service need is high and minimum staffing ratios are often required to operate services.
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