Counties - Dauphin County

DAUPHIN COUNTY

The county seat of Dauphin County is Harrisburg. Dauphin County is located along the eastern bank of the Susquehanna River in South Central Pennsylvania. The southern half of the County is situated in the Kittatinny Valley; the northern half is located at the base of the Blue Mountains of the Appalachian Range. Dauphin County is organized as a Third Class County.

In Dauphin County, the Human Services Director’s Office serves as an administrative hub for directing centralized planning for County Human Services agencies and direct human services. The Human Services’ Departments of Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, Children and Youth, and the Area Agency on Aging are under the auspices of the Human Services Director’s Office.

    Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities Program

  • Mission

    The Dauphin County MH/ID Program provides funding and administrative oversight for various services in our community for persons with mental disabilities and for children with special needs or developmental disabilities. Our mission is to assure that these services are of the highest quality possible, are cost-effective, and are readily available to all who need them.

    Vision

    Every person with a mental disability and every child with special needs and/or developmental disabilities will have a network of family, friends, advocates, and supportive services to provide assistance in living a full and productive life in our community.

    Values

    The Dauphin County MH/ID Program will develop a continuum of services that assures that:
    1. All persons, including consumers, family members, and treatment providers, are treated with honesty, dignity, and respect.
    2. Service providers work in partnership with our consumers and other providers to assure consistency and coordination of services.
    3. Service providers share in the responsibility for positive results from services and supports, and they undertake active measures to facilitate consumer success.
    4. Services are developed to meet consumers’ identified needs and are readily accessible and available.
    5. Services are delivered in a manner that improves consumers’ life satisfaction and promotes the consumers’ independence.
    6. Consumers maintain control of their lives and exercise choice in the services and supports that they receive.
    7. Consumers are encouraged to use natural supports in their communities and to exercise their rights to participate fully in their communities.
    8. The health and safety of consumers is promoted and protected, and individuals’ rights are abridged only to protect the health and safety of the consumer or the community.
    9. Funds are utilized as efficiently and equitably as possible.
    10. Consumers’ individual, family, and cultural experiences, values, and preferences are respected and used in service planning.

    Mental illness affects the way a person thinks, feels, interacts and behaves. Individuals experiencing a mental health problem have a wide range of services available to them in Dauphin County. These services include:
    1. Crisis Intervention
    2. Case Managements Services
    3. Outpatient Services
    4. Partial Hospitalization Services
    5. Inpatient Care
    6. Consultation and Education Services
    7. Vocation Rehabilitation
    8. Social Rehabilitation
    9. Community Residential Services
    10. Information and Referral

    Information on Mental Health Services/Intellectual Disabilities can be obtained by calling (717) 780-7050.

        
    SCA Overview

  • Dauphin County drug & alcohol services are provided by Dauphin County Department of Drug and Alcohol Services. The Department serves as the Single County Authority (SCA) for Dauphin County, responsible for the planning, coordination, and administration of local alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention, intervention and treatment services.

    The mission of the Dauphin County Department of Drug and Alcohol Services is to serve those affected with substance abuse problems by providing high quality prevention, intervention and treatment services in Dauphin County. To accomplish this mission, the Department will utilize a variety of subcontracted providers to fulfill the continuum of care in the areas of treatment, prevention and intervention.

    Treatment services are accessible through the “No Wrong Door Policy” in that any citizen of Dauphin County may access a free drug and alcohol screening and assessment at the SCA as well as any contracted drug and alcohol treatment provider in the county. The level of treatment services available are:

    1. Adult and Adolescent Outpatient
    2. Adult Methadone Maintenance Outpatient
    3. Adult and Adolescent Intensive Outpatient
    4. Adult Partial Hospitalization
    5. Adult Halfway House
    6. Adult and Adolescent Non Hospital based Detoxification
    7. Adult and Adolescent Hospital Based Detoxification
    8. Adult and Adolescent Non Hospital based Inpatient
    9. Adult Hospital based Inpatient
    10. Women with Children Inpatient treatment
    11. Specialized services for people with HIV
    12. Latino Outpatient and Inpatient Services
    13. Buprenorphine Coordination
    14. Preferential services to pregnant women and injection drug users

    It is the Department’s practice to ensure the provision of drug and alcohol treatment, prevention, education, and intervention services to the citizens of Dauphin County in an efficient, cost-effective, and high quality manner. Within its office, the Department is comprised of three units: (1) administrative, fiscal, and contracting; (2) case management; (3) prevention The Department contracts with over 45 treatment, intervention and prevention providers in and outside of the County to assure the delivery of comprehensive services to its citizens. Additional services are:

    • Transitional Living for recovering women and women with children
    • Outcomes based Preventions services
    • Student Assistance Program Liaison services provided in Elementary, Middle and High Schools in all Dauphin County School Districts
    • Support Groups for adults and adolescents for drug and alcohol or tobacco
    • Case Management, Resource Coordination and Intensive Case Management including specialized case management for pregnant women and women with children
    • Training Institute for professionals in the drug and alcohol field as well as to the general public
    • HIV/AIDS Outreach
    • Resource Center which provides drug and alcohol material, films, tapes, etc.
    • Injection Drug Use Outreach
    • Recovery Support services


    Board of Commissioners

  • Chairman
       Jeffrey T. Haste
    Vice-Chairman
       Michael H.W. Pries
    Secretary
       George P. Hartwick, III

    General Information*

  • Population
    1970223,834
    1980232,317
    1990237,813
    2000251,798
    2010268,100
    % change 1970 to 200012.49%
    % change 1990 to 20005.9%
    % change 2000 to 20106.5%
    Age (Years)-2010 Census
    < 56.6%
    6 - 1822.9%
    > 6513.9%
    Employment/Unemployment
    Unemployment Rate
    19954.0%
    19973.5%
    20002.9%
    20108.2%
    Civilian Labor Force
    1990126,031
    2000128,611
    2010134,069

* Information from United States Census Bureau, 2010
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