Title
An Ordinance amending and supplementing the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Division 2, entitled "County Government Operations," through the creation of a new Chapter 280, entitled "Group Home Registration Program," in order to provide a uniform mechanism for establishing compliance of group home service providers with applicable local ordinances.
Body
Whereas, various providers maintain group homes within Allegheny County as a means of providing assistance to individuals who are deemed incapable of living alone or without proper supervision; and
Whereas, these group homes exist for the assistance of a wide variety of individuals, including individuals recovering from drug addiction, developmentally disabled individuals, abused or neglected youths, individuals with behavioral or emotional problems, and/or individuals with criminal records; and
Whereas, although a condition of receiving County funding for many of these group homes is compliance with all applicable ordinances, it appears that establishing such compliance is not yet subject to any uniformly administered procedure; and
Whereas, it is the judgment of Council that establishing a record of strict compliance with local ordinances is a matter of paramount importance for group homes, insofar as such facilities are often perceived by their neighbors as being subject to different enforcement criteria than regular residences with regard to those ordinances; and
Whereas, it is also the judgment of Council that creating a uniform procedure for establishing group home compliance with local ordinances is desirable insofar is it will reduce the potential for disputes between the group home owners and the municipalities in which the facilities are located, and provide the County with a means of evaluating the appropriateness of continuing contractual funding relationships with particular group home service providers, so long as such procedure does not impinge upon the ability of existin...
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