Department of Human Services
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Children 0-6

Home Alone Is your child ready to be left home alone?
Solo en casa – ¿Estu listo tu hijo? 

First Steps In-Home Visitation

First Steps is a home visitation program for pregnant women and families with children up to five years of age. Services include child development screenings, parenting education, home visits, nutrition counseling, and preventive health care.

First Steps on HumanServices.net


Early Childhood Education Programs

Head Start, Early Head Start, and Pre-K Counts  provide children up to five years of age who qualify, with a comprehensive, flexible program designed to reinforce and respond to the unique strengths and needs of each individual child and family.

DHS: Making an Impact - pdf.gif Allegheny County / Pittsburgh Early Childhood Education Programs (ECEP) - The first in a new series of DHS publications that focus not on budget figures or service data but on the impact our services are having on real people. 


Early Intervention Programs 

Early Intervention provides supports and services to infants/toddlers and young children up to three years of age who have a developmental delay or are at risk for developmental delay.


System of Care Initiative Starting Early Together (SET)

A network of accessible, collaborative and comprehensive services for children, ages birth through six years, with serious emotional disturbances (SED) and their families who live in select Allegheny County communities.


Educational Supports for Homeless Children

Homeless Children's Education Fund
Educating Homeless Children in Allegheny County: An Evaluation of Families, Agencies, and Services 


HushLittleBaby.org 

Tips to soothe your infant.


Pennsylvania’s Safe Haven Law

1-866-921-SAFE (7233) www.secretsafe.org

ALL hospitals in Pennsylvania are Safe Havens. If a parent cannot properly take care of their newborn (up to 28 days old), they are permittd to take the infant to any hospital and leave him or her there, in the care of hospital staff. Parents will not have to talk to anyone. They will not get into any trouble as long as the baby is unharmed and not a victim of any crime. No one will ask any questions or make judgments.  When a baby is left at the hospital s/he is in safe hands. A doctor will examine the baby and provide any medical care. Then the local child welfare system will take custody of the baby and find him/her a loving family. For more information visit the Safe Haven web site at www.secretsafe.org or call 1-866-921-SAFE (7233).