Released: September 16, 2024
Delaware County Children and Youth Services (CYS) Social Worker David Dillard has been honored with the Permanency Professional Recognition Award at the 32nd Annual Pennsylvania Permanency Conference, hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS). The award recognizes professionals who demonstrate an unwavering commitment to finding permanent homes for children in the child welfare system, through adoption, formal kinship care, or permanent legal custodianship.
The Pennsylvania Permanency Conference, held earlier this summer, brings together child welfare professionals, foster and adoptive families, kinship care providers, and other stakeholders to collaborate and share strategies to support children and families through the adoption and permanency process. The event also highlights individuals across the state who have made significant contributions to helping children find safe and stable homes.
“David is the reason many children over the years have found their ‘forever home,’” said Angelique Hiers, Director of the Delaware County Department of Human Services. “David truly deserves this recognition, and he exemplifies our mission of ensuring the safety, permanency, and well-being of the children and youth of Delaware County.”
As a caseworker in the Adoption Unit of CYS's Placement Division, Dillard is one of three caseworkers responsible for guiding children, youth, and their foster parents through the adoption finalization process. This critical phase ensures that both legal and emotional permanency is established, and involves coordinating with courts, completing legal requirements, and offering support to families as they transition into adoptive roles.
Delaware County Children and Youth Services plays a vital role in protecting children from abuse and neglect, while working to ensure that every child in its care has a permanent, timely, and legally assured plan—whether through family reunification, adoption, or legal custodianship. CYS focuses on meeting the emotional, physical, educational, and mental health needs of children, whether at home or in foster care.
“David’s work is a shining example of the dedication and compassion found within Delaware County’s CYS,” said Delaware County Council Member Christine Reuther. “His efforts, and those of his colleagues, help ensure that children in our community find the stability and love they deserve.”
Since January 1, 2024, the Placement Division of CYS has facilitated 38 adoptions—a record high since the pandemic. This achievement reflects the County’s commitment to providing permanency for children in need. Statewide, the Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN), established in 1992, has facilitated over 58,000 adoptions, with Pennsylvania averaging more than 2,000 finalized adoptions from the child welfare system each year.
There are more than 13,600 children in Pennsylvania’s out-of-home care system every six months, with nearly 3,000 of them in need of permanent, loving homes.
“Every child deserves a childhood in a loving home with a supportive family, and each of us has a vested interest in ensuring that happens,” said DHS Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh. “Through the collaborative efforts of DHS, county-level partners, foster and adoptive parents, and child welfare professionals, more than 58,000 children in Pennsylvania have found their forever homes. If you have room in your heart and home, I urge you to consider adoption.”
For more information on foster care and adoption services in Delaware County, please contact Delaware County Children and Youth Services.