commitment of all those who attended to combat ageism and centered the principle of aging in place. As one of the 52 Area Agencies on Aging in the Commonwealth, DHS intends to be involved in future engagements related to the 10-year plan and continue to advocate for solutions that support Allegheny County residents, 60 years of age and older, to live safe, healthy and as possible, independent lives. Rapid Response Protocol Feedback Session In partnership with the City of Pittsburgh, DHS is developing a Rapid Response protocol to establish a streamlined, cross-municipal approach to retaliation prevention immediately following a shooting, as part of the Community Violence Reduction Initiative (CVRI). The team is engaging with violence interruption teams countywide for feedback to guide the protocol’s development, which will ultimately be implemented by programs including REACH, Cure Violence teams, Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs and Neighborhood Resilience Project’s trauma response team. On October 2, 2023, the CVRI team convened over 60 stakeholders to present a first draft of the rapid response protocol and facilitate focus groups for feedback. The feedback gathered is currently being incorporated to establish a successful, impactful protocol for countywide use by all violence interruption teams. The CVRI team is currently working to finalize the protocol and create a web-based mobile application to support teams in implementing and tracking the new protocol. Local Government Case Competition The Local Government Case Competition was established in 2007 to commemorate DHS’s 10th anniversary as an integrated department in the county government. This competition serves as a platform for local graduate students
to apply classroom knowledge to real social issues and encourages consideration of public sector careers. The 2023 Case Competition, held from November 6-11, tasked students with designing innovative programs or interventions to enhance outcomes for individuals susceptible to involuntary commitment. This year, 55 students from 11 colleges and universities across the region participated, representing 16 different fields of study. The winning team proposed “Allegheny County Continuous Immigrant Support Services (ACCISS2),” aiming to improve access to mental health services for immigrant communities while reducing rates of involuntary commitments. ACCISS2 would offer telehealth and online chat services along with in-person education in community spaces, providing immigrants with essential mental and behavioral health information through culturally competent liaisons to create easy-to-understand content. DHS carefully considers proposed solutions from all the participating teams as part of its ongoing planning and program development efforts.
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