05/09/2024
DHS visited Tiny Tot Child Development Center to discuss the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to the child care industry through continued investments in early learning programs proposed in the 2024-25 Budget.
05/09/2024
DHS Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh recently published two opinion pieces highlighting the historic investments for intellectual disability and autism (ID/A) services and the ID/A workforce in Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2024-25 proposed budget.
05/09/2024
DHS visited Partners For Quality and talked with self-advocates, parents, employers, and direct support professionals in the ID/A and behavioral health communities about the historic ID/A investments and continued support for county behavioral health programs in Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2024-25 proposed budget.
05/01/2024
Today, the Shapiro Administration encouraged Pennsylvanians to focus on their mental health as leaders from multiple agencies marked May as Trauma and Mental Health Awareness Month. Pennsylvania is focused on expanding access to trauma-informed and healing-centered approaches so we can better respond to the needs of Commonwealth residents who have had adverse childhood or other serious, traumatic experiences to prevent and heal trauma.
04/26/2024
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh and Child Advocate Maryann McEvoy visited Selinsgrove today for a roundtable discussion to mark Child Abuse Prevention Month and highlight the innovative collaborations and work that Snyder County is doing at all levels of its county government to help support children and families and prevent child abuse.
04/24/2024
DHS and PDE celebrated the Third Annual Equity in Early Childhood Education (ECE) Champion Awards with recipients from across the Commonwealth in the Capitol Rotunda.
04/19/2024
DHS visited The Arc of Lehigh and Northampton Counties to talk with caregivers, self-advocates, and professionals in the intellectual disability and autism (ID/A) community about the historic ID/A investments in Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2024-25 proposed budget.
04/18/2024
The Governor visited BARC Development Services in Warminster to hear how his proposed budget investments would address the workforce shortage of direct support professionals and help more Pennsylvanians with ID/A receive the home and community-based services they need, when they need them.
04/11/2024
DHS is informing Pennsylvanians of a text message scam targeting individuals who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
04/02/2024
DHS reminded Pennsylvanians with low incomes who need assistance covering the cost of home heating bills to apply for LIHEAP before the end of the day on Friday, April 5, 2024.
03/27/2024
DHS visited Penn-Mar Human Services to discuss the life-changing investments in Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2024-25 proposed budget for the intellectual disability and autism (ID/A) communities.
03/26/2024
DHS and DOH visited Patients R Waiting to discuss the Shapiro Administration’s recent work to address maternal health disparities through expanded Medicaid access to doulas.
03/25/2024
DHS announced that Pennsylvania is one of nine states chosen to participate in a national series that will help states in developing, implementing, or refining health-related social needs initiatives for Medicaid populations.
03/22/2024
DHS joined a roundtable discussion about the major budget investments in home- and community-based services for Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities and autism as well as reimbursement rates for providers to enable them to increase wages for direct support professionals who provide essential care and support every day.
03/20/2024
DHS released the latest issue of the Positive Approaches Journal. This edition focuses on the aging process in those with intellectual disabilities and autism and offers resources and solutions.
03/15/2024
Harrisburg, PA – Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh today outlined the Shapiro Administration’s plans to continue distributing LIHEAP assistance grants to Pennsylvanians while the Commonwealth waits for the remaining 10 percent of federal funding for the program currently being held back by Congress.
03/12/2024
DHS is informing Pennsylvanians of a potential scam targeting individuals who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
03/05/2024
Advocates across the Commonwealth are praising Governor Shapiro's budget proposal, which sets a transformative course to eliminate waiting lists for services for adults and reduce barriers to care for thousands of Pennsylvanians over the next several years.
03/05/2024
DHS advised health care providers participating in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program on how they may continue to bill DHS directly for fee-for-service claims while Change Healthcare remains unavailable due to a cyber-attack.
02/15/2024
Advocates, caregivers, and editorial boards across the Commonwealth praised the Governor's proposed budget, which sets a transformative course to eliminate waiting lists for services for adults and reduce barriers to care for thousands of Pennsylvanians over the next several years.
02/12/2024
DHS released recommendations from its Blueprint Workgroup, an interdisciplinary group comprised of representation from state and local governments, health care, education, service providers, managed care, and family advocates.
02/09/2024
DHS informed Pennsylvanians of a potential scam targeting individuals who receive SNAP benefits wherein a recipient receives a phishing email in order to obtain their personal information.
01/30/2024
DHS visited Pittsburgh Mercy to discuss how health care has improved for unhoused individuals covered by Medicaid. Sec. Arkoosh toured a year-round, low-barrier shelter and engagement center and spent time with health care providers and their unhoused patients during street medicine rounds.
01/29/2024
DHS visited the Community College of Allegheny County to highlight their Keystone Education Yields Success (KEYS) Program and its work to make post-secondary education accessible to lower income people and build pathways to success in high-need career paths.
01/23/2024
DHS announced the launch of PA Navigate, an online tool that connects Pennsylvanians with community-based organizations, county and state agencies, and healthcare providers, for referrals to community resources that help them meet their most basic needs like food, shelter, transportation, and more.
01/23/2024
DHS announced the grantees that will administer the new Women’s Service Program, a grant intended to advance accessible and inclusive women’s health care, especially for pregnant and parenting women.
01/18/2024
Editorial Boards from PennLive and the York Dispatch praised the Shapiro Administration’s decision to opt into the Summer EBT program that extends support beyond the school year to make sure Pennsylvania’s children have food throughout the summer.
01/18/2024
DHS announced the launch of a survey to collect feedback from Medicaid enrollees about their experience completing their annual renewal.
01/17/2024
Medically vulnerable infants in Pennsylvania will have expanded access to potentially life-saving pasteurized donor human milk thanks to legislation recently passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Josh Shapiro.