The McKean County Collaborative Board
Board Sponsored Projects
Family Centers
There are five Family Centers in McKean County. They are funded through the Pennsylvania
Family Center grant and other state and federal grants. Our local United Ways, Human
Service Development Funds, Children and Youth Services, and various donations also
help fund the Family Centers. The Family Centers work holistically with children,
youth and families and offer services that include home visits for families with
young children, early childhood developmental screenings, parent workshops, parent-child
activity groups, fatherhood services, after school activities for children under
third grade, and family activity nights. The five Family Centers in McKean County
are located in Bradford, Kane, Otto-Eldred, Port Allegany and Smethport.
McKean County Big Brothers Big Sisters
The Big Brothers Big Sisters of McKean County is a program dedicated to serving
children ages 6-12 in the community through mentoring relationships with a quality
adult volunteer. These adult mentors help children increase their self-esteem and
reach their highest potential. Matches complete community service projects in order
to give back to the community. When funding is available, Education
Mentoring allows adult volunteers or high school volunteers to mentor young people
needing tutoring support as well as a caring relationship.
McKean County Dental Clinic
A dental treatment office initially funded with a Department of Health Challenge
Grant and matched locally with funding from the Blaisdell Foundation and Highmark
Blue Cross Blue Shield opened in September 2002. Today, it is self sustaining and
targets approximately
17,053 low-income children and adults in McKean County. Recipients of Medicaid,
CHIP, the uninsured and underinsured now have access to dental care through this
program operated by the Bradford Regional Medical Center and staffed with
dentists, hygienists and assistants.
McKean County Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program
Funds provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health are contracted to the Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Services, Inc. for the development of local tobacco projects. The
objectives of the program are to increase the involvement of youth and schools in
tobacco use prevention activities, and to coordinate prevention, education and
cessation activities.
Communities That Care Assessment and Planning
Every other year, McKean County completes a Communities That Care assessment and
planning process. This process is endorsed by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime
and Delinquency and is designed to help communities understand what places youth
most at risk. Pennsylvania Youth Surveying (PAYS), is a survey conducted every two
years on all 6,8,10, and 12th graders in all school districts to determine their
attitudes and practices toward alcohol, drugs and antisocial behavior. Once this
assessment is completed, community task forces prioritize what places youth most
at risk and plan strategies to help address the identified risks. Funds to pay for
the surveying come from various grants available to help support this work.
Bradford PROSPER Project
PROSPER is a collaborative, school-based drug prevention project funded by the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, and sponsored by the Pennsylvania State University. The
project aims to prevent and delay the onset of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use
and strengthen resilience in Bradford middle school youth and their families through
the implementation of two programs—the Strengthening Families Program and the All
Stars Project. The Strengthening Families Program (SFP) is a model family skill-building
curriculum designed for parents and youth ages 10-14. It helps prevent teen substance
abuse and other behavior problems, strengthen parenting skills and build family
strengths. The All Stars Program is a model school-based curriculum designed to
reduce substance use in 11-14 year olds. It is a highly interactive program involving
23 lessons integrated into regular classroom health instruction. In addition, PROSPER
aims to create a sustainable infrastructure for implementation of high-quality programming
through a collaboration between Penn State Cooperative Extension, the local public
schools, community organizations involved with prevention and youth development,
and Penn State University-based prevention scientists. Penn State Cooperative Extension
in McKean County serves as the lead agency for PROSPER.
McKean County Strengthening Families Program Initiative
Funding from Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency funds the Strengthening
Families Program in all school districts in McKean County. The Strengthening Families
Program is a 7-week workshop series for fifth and sixth graders and their parents.
Through the program, parents and children are taught individual skills, then are
brought together to work on improving family communication. The goal of the program
is to delay the onset of substance use in youth and to study the use of “evidence-based”
prevention programs that help youth avoid alcohol and drug use. The Guidance Center
operates the program in partnership with community facilitators, area school districts
and Penn State Cooperative Extension. Check out the
website.