Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato and Family Court Administrative Judge Kim Berkeley Clark this morning announced a video conference pilot program for proceedings in Children's Court.

Technology for the program was secured through a public-private partnership between Child Watch of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny County Children's Court, the Allegheny County Department of Human Services and other community organizations.

"This project will reduce the trauma children experience when testifying in abuse and custody cases, as well as reduce expenses and improve efficiency," said Mr. Onorato. "I want to thank the organizations involved for making this cutting-edge initiative a reality."

The use of videoconferencing in child protection and custody matters will move Allegheny County and its child welfare system to the forefront of best practices by improving court experiences for children, county officials said.

The program will enable the expansion of the scope of participation outside of the justice and corrections systems to include all cases where children will be impacted. Allegheny County's use of the technology in dependency cases will also occur at non-county sites, such as Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

"Our goal for this project is simple: to improve court proceedings and enhance participation in the court process, particularly for children who need to feel comfortable and safe," Judge Clark said. "With this project, we hope to minimize the pain of these proceedings for children."

The pilot program is being implemented at the following eight sites: Children's Court Courtroom 5059; a mobile child-friendly testimony unit; Children's Court Regional Courtroom on Pittsburgh's South Side; Shuman Juvenile Detention Center; Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh; Allegheny County Jail; and DHS' Children, Youth & Families Mon Valley and South Regional offices.

Amy Raslevich, executive director of Child Watch, said the long-term plan for the program is to expand the system to 36 sites including 13 Children's Court courtrooms; two Children's Court conference rooms; four Children's Court Regional courtrooms; five regional CYF offices; the five Allegheny County Regional Community Intensive Supervision Program Centers; three local hospitals; two mental health provider offices; and two jail /detention centers.