Public Hearing: Youth Mental Health and Pennsylvania Rural Schools

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HARRISBURG - The Center for Rural Pennsylvania Board of Directors will hold a public hearing on youth mental health and Pennsylvania rural schools to highlight some of the challenges Pennsylvania rural school leaders face in addressing the growing mental health crisis among youth.

Presenters scheduled for the public hearing are:

• Dr. Dana Milakovic, Mental Wellness and Trauma Specialist - Office for Safe Schools, Pennsylvania Department of Education
• Michael D. Pennington, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency
• Dr. Bernadette Boerckel, Chief Outreach Officer, Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit
• Dr. Erich May, Superintendent, Brookville Area School District
• Michael Hopkins, President and CEO, Children's Service Center of the Wyoming Valley
• Dawn Zieger, Associate Vice President, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Geisinger Health System
• Jody McCloud Missmer, Network Administrator, Behavioral Health, YESS! School-Based Therapy Program at St. Luke's University Health Network
• Amie Allanson-Dundon, Network Director for Clinical Therapy Services, YESS! School-Based Therapy Program at St. Luke's University Health Network

The public hearing will be held at the Capitol Building, Room 8E-B, East Wing, Harrisburg, Pa. Livestream.

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania is a bipartisan, bicameral legislative agency that serves as a resource for rural policy within the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The Center works with the legislature, educators, state and federal executive branch agencies, and national, statewide, regional and local organizations to maximize resources and strategies that can better serve Pennsylvania's nearly 3.4 million rural residents.