DHS Funding

The services provided through the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) are made possible through more than 150 funding sources. While most are federal, state or local, important flexibility is made possible through philanthropic involvement. We also enjoy great community support. Some of the specific funding streams are acknowledged below. This is not a definitive list of funding sources. More details are available upon request to the DHS Fiscal Unit.

DHS Budget(PDF, 1MB)

DHS Funding Opportunities

In late 2012, DHS took advantage of two funding opportunities that permit greater flexibility in how we prioritize funding to support human services in Allegheny County. DHS is one of six counties in Pennsylvania to participate in a five-year federal Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Project. The project enables the department to improve the process and quality of care it provides through programmatic and system-level changes to improve outcomes for children, youth and families involved in the child welfare system. DHS was also selected as a pilot county to implement the Human Services Block Grant. The block grant brings together seven state categorical funding sources with fewer provisions associated with restrictive funding. Adapting to this new paradigm of flexible funding sources will take time, of course. However, DHS is committed to pursuing a thoughtful and informed approach to maximizing these funding opportunities.

Background County Human Services Funding Information

Produced by the Pennsylvania Association of County Human Services Administrators (an affiliation of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP)), these documents include educational material concerning the funding of human services in Pennsylvania.

Human Services Integration Fund (HSIF)

In 1997, when DHS was created by consolidating four separate departments into one unified department, a group of local foundations came together to provide flexible funding to DHS for projects that foster integration and support innovation in ways that were not possible with public sector dollars. HSIF's member foundations have contributed more than $12 million since the fund was established.

Details about HSIF and the projects made possible through its funding are available at Human Services Integration Fund.(PDF, 207KB)

Related Resources

DHS-contracted Agencies Serving Individuals and Families
Based on the data contained in the DHS Master Provider Enterprise Repository (MPER).