Therapeutic Garden Gets Grant

The now one-year-old Nimick Family Therapeutic Garden at the Children’s Institute in Squirrel Hill has picked up some additional support to add hands-on programs. The bulk of a $30,000 grant from the Kennametal Foundation will be used to fund programs where kids learn how to care for plants in the garden.

“As we use the foundation as the lead to establish this relationship with the institution, tat will allow our employees to in turn come back every year or every month and be involved as volunteers,“ said Kennametal CEO Carlos Cardoso.

The fully accessible 10,000-square-foot garden is open to the children in the neighborhood as well as the Institute’s clients. Cardoso says the garden has achieved its goal of creating a place of serenity where everyone can relax and feel good.

Infant Immunization Week April 23-30

National Immunization Week is April 23rd to the 30th this year, and the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) is taking a different approach. Guillermo Cole, spokesman for ACHD says that the target is on adults around newborn infants. "It's especially important for adults to keep their own immunizations up to date and to promote adult immunization during Infant Immunization Week." One way they are spreading awareness is by teaming up with the Allegheny County Immunization Coalition and giving new mothers gift bags in hospitals. "These gift bags will have not only useful items for a newborn but also information reminding parents of the benefits of child immunization and a voucher that's redeemable at our Health Department's Immunization Clinic for an adult family member to receive a free dose of Tdap vaccine," says Cole. Tdap is a vaccine that protects again tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, or whooping cough. Cole says that whooping cough and influenza are the most common diseases that parents pass on to their children.

DHS Encourages No Screens

Back away from the screen, and no one gets hurt. That is what the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) is trying to get children to do from April 18th to the 24th for "Screen-Free Week." Screen time includes television programs, movies, video games, Internet time, etc. Anything that involves a screen is discouraged during this week. Glenna Wilson, DHS Office of Community Service Safe Start coordinator says participating will create long and short term benefits. "If they begin to reduce the amount of [screen] time before the age of six, then it's not a definite. It's just like quitting smoking: anytime is a good time to quit." Wilson says that it's not just the content of screen media materials that negatively impacts children. She says that less time in front of a television or computer screen can prevent childhood obesity and psychological problems down the road. "It's important for parents to realize the impact that this has on children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children under two, and less than two hours a day for older children." Wilson adds that preschool children spend about 32 hours a week with screen media, and children ages 8 to 18 consider themselves to be addicted to video games. The DHS encourages children to use the time they are not spending in front of a screen with family, friends, and physical activity. Alternative activities and certificates are available online for parents to use as incentive for children to participate in Screen-Free Week.

Pgh. to Host 25th Children's Festival

The Pittsburgh International Children’s Festival will celebrate its 25th anniversary this May, bringing in acts from England, Ireland, Canada and Mali to entertain local kids.

Pam Lieberman, the Festival’s Executive Director, says the performances are meant to be educational as well as entertaining, and many teach children lessons about science, literature, geography and more.

Lieberman says to celebrate the Festival’s 25th anniversary, Alan Parkinson’s giant, colorful sculpture “Amococo” will return for the first time since 2003. Parents and kids will have the chance to walk through the inflatable structure, which is the size of a building.

“Knuffle Bunny” is a musical theater act that will also perform at the Children’s Festival. The performance is based on the kids’ book of the same name by Mo Willem.

Lieberman says in addition to six ticketed performances, there will be a number of local musical acts on the open stage, and a reading corner will feature live readings of various children’s books.

The Festival will run from May 11 through May 15 at Schenley Plaza in Oakland.

Child Welfare Workers in PA Graded A-F

A national social workers’ advocacy group has given a mixed bag of grades to Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. The study by the National Association of Social Workers looked at the education levels of child welfare workers. Overall More than 80% of caseworkers in the state meet the standards set by the Council on Accreditation even though the state has a much lower standard. The council looks for a bachelor degree in human services but Pennsylvania calls for just 12 hours of college level social service credits. Jenna Mehnert is with the executive director of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. She says eight counties, including Butler and Lebanon, have received ‘A’ grades because all social workers in those areas have bachelor degrees in human services. Meantime seven counties, including Mifflin, Somerset, and Wayne, got failing grades with about 70% of caseworkers holding human services degrees. “We are a county-based child welfare system, which means each county can set their own standards. Counties like Philadelphia have a standard of a college degree, but other counties don't,” says Mehnert. She is advocating for increased education standards for social workers.

4 Year Old Liberty Boro Boy Accidentally Shoots Self

Allegheny County Police continue to investigate the shooting death of the 4 year old son of a police officer. Authorities are still trying to determine how Gavin Thompson accessed his father's service hand gun in the family home and why it fired. Liberty Borough Police Chief Luke Riley says it appears the boy found the gun in a closet and then accidentally shot himself. The victim's father, John Thompson is a full-time police officer in Port Vue and works part-time for the Liberty Borough Police Department. He has been placed on administrative leave by both departments pending an investigation.

SIDS Education Bill Passes House and Senate

A bill that requires hospitals and nurse midwives to educate new parents on SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) has been approved by the Pennsylvania House and Senate. The bill, which is expected to be signed by Governor Ed Rendell this week, will force hospitals not currently providing new parents with SIDS education to do so.

Introduced by State Representative Lawrence Curry (D)- Montgomery/Philadelphia the bill only needs to be signed by the Governor before taking effect.

Nilima Karamchandani, Chief of the Division of Neonatalogy at West Penn Hospital, says that most hospitals already offer SIDS education but without a law there is no way of making sure that every hospital does..... "I think the nurses are being educated and the hospital personnel are already aware, they just need it formalized so it is done consistently." She also said that education varies from hospital to hospital and more requirements on what parents are told could save more lives.

Karamchandani says that some of the most frequent mistakes by parents that may contribute to SIDS death are laying infants on their stomachs, letting them sleep in a crib with a thick comforter or stuffed animals, and parents sleeping in the same bed with the child. She also said that parents can sleep in the same room as infants but not in the same bed. According to the Department of Public Health, in 2008, 85 infants in Pennsylvania died of SIDS or accidental suffocation compared to 93 in 2007. 51% of those deaths deemed "sleep related" involved the infant sleeping with others.

Retreat for Teens Transitioning from Foster Care

This year and every year, about 1,000 young people across Pennsylvania "age out" of the foster care system.
150 foster youth ages 16 to 21 are in Johnstown this week for a retreat to help them transition more smoothly to adulthood. The retreat is at the Pitt Johnstown campus and is intended to motivate participants to pursue higher education. The event is hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare, which oversees foster care in the state, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. Wendy Unger of the School for Social Work says it features educational sessions, group discussions and social activities..."we hope they come away with a sense of determination, that education is important...and being in foster care doesn't define you, you define who you are."
Unger says that youth aging out of the foster system need resources beyond age 21..."so we do a lot of support of permanent connections from the time they come into foster care to make sure they don't age out without the resources for someone to help them transition into successful adulthood."
Unger says young people in non-foster homes need support and nowadays most aren't leaving their parents' homes till they're 26. So, she says, it's important for their counterparts in foster homes to have support and resources to help them deal with their struggles with everything from auto insurance to health insurance to employment to where they're going to live.

Under state law, youth leave the foster system at age 18, or at 21 if they are in treatment or in post-secondary education. There are about 20,000 youth in foster care in Pennsylvania, about half of them are more than 14 years old.