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All Eyes on Governor Shapiro for Essential ID/A Funding All Eyes on Governor Shapiro for Essential ID/A Funding
All Eyes on Governor Shapiro for Essential ID/A Funding As the dust settles from the 2024 election, Pennsylvania’s leaders must now prepare for the 2025 Legislative Session and the forthcoming Fiscal Year 24/25 budget debate, as families, caregivers, and individuals in the Intellectual Disabilities and Autism (ID/A) community look to Governor Josh Shapiro to champion crucial funding needs. Last year’s budget delivered a historic funding boost for ID/A services, reflecting Governor Shapiro’s deep commitment to this essential community. However, the final enacted budget fell $93 million short of the Governor’s proposed funding—a shortfall that cont…

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by Gary Blumenthal,
News
$1.6 Million Fentanyl Arrest Of NY Man In PA: AG $1.6 Million Fentanyl Arrest Of NY Man In PA: AG
$1.6 Million Fentanyl Arrest Of NY Man In PA: AG A New York man is accused of bringing almost half a million doses of fentanyl into Pennsylvania, authorities say.  Yan Carlos Pichardo Cepeda, 27, was arrested by state agents and Allegheny County authorities and arraigned on Friday, Sept. 1, Attorney General Michelle Henry's Office said.  Pichardo Cepeda was spotted avoiding police officers and canine units when he arrived in Pittsburgh from New York, prosecutors said. He consented to a search of his backpack, where police said they found a kilogram of fentanyl. Eight more kilograms of fentanyl — or 450,000 doses — wer…

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by Mac Bullock
News
Philly Social Worker Who Lost Leg In Accident 'Determined' To Thrive, Loved Ones Say Philly Social Worker Who Lost Leg In Accident 'Determined' To Thrive, Loved Ones Say
Philly Social Worker Who Lost Leg In Accident 'Determined' To Thrive, Loved Ones Say Weeks after a car accident left her hospitalized, a longtime Philadelphia social worker is in good spirits and "determined," loved ones say.  Andrea Jackson was unloading the trunk of her car on June 14 when a driver crashed into her from behind, leaving her legs pinned between the vehicles, her friends said on GoFundMe.  "Unfortunately, Andrea had to have her left leg amputated from the knee down," wrote page organizer Loretta Weston. "She also sustained major damage to her right leg."  Though the extensive injuries have changed Jackson's life profoundly, Weston says h…

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
Tacony Pair Charged With Locking Child In Dog Cage: Police Tacony Pair Charged With Locking Child In Dog Cage: Police
Tacony Pair Charged With Locking Child In Dog Cage: Police Two adults were arrested in Philadelphia Friday, March 24 after police found a little boy locked up in a dog cage in their home.  It began on Thursday, March 23, when officers were dispatched to a home on the 4200 block of Glenview Street for reports of screaming, Philly police said in a release. They arrived to find two "partially-clothed" children "wandering around" in the backyard, crying, police wrote.  Inside, officers said they found a little boy locked up in a pet crate that had been fastened with a zip tie.  The boy was rescued from the cage and all three children&nb…

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by Mac Bullock
News
'KID JAIL': PA Juvie Rife With Sex Misconduct, Verbal Abuse, Says AG 'KID JAIL': PA Juvie Rife With Sex Misconduct, Verbal Abuse, Says AG
'KID Jail': PA Juvie Rife With Sex Misconduct, Verbal Abuse, Says AG A juvenile detention facility in Delaware County is under fire after a newly-released Grand Jury report alleged "systemic failure" that led to a "culture of unprofessionalism, violence, sexual misconduct and coverup."  In the 200-page report released Tuesday, Dec. 13, investigators with the state Attorney General's Office claim staff at the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center (DCJDC) ran the facility as a "kid jail" that treated detained youths as criminals and fostered an institutional culture "intent on punishment, not reform." DCJDC first came under review in March 2021, when Dela…

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by Mac Bullock
Police & Fire
Philadelphia Social Worker Charged in 3-Year-Old's Death: DA Philadelphia Social Worker Charged in 3-Year-Old's Death: DA
Philadelphia Social Worker Charged in 3-Year-Old's Death: DA A Philadelphia social worker faces murder charges after authorities said she failed to report the abuse of a foster child.  District Attorney Larry Krasner charged 25-year-old Jendayi Mawusi with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and child endangerment related to the July death of three-year-old Hope Jones, In a statement released Tuesday, Oct. 11. According to prosecutors, Mawusi had been assigned Jones' caseworker by the city Department of Human Services in November 2020. From then until the child's death on July 12, Mawusi was tasked with monitoring Jones' pla…

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by Mac Bullock