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Proclamation honoring Marc Cherna for receiving the Casey Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Child Welfare Leadership.
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WHEREAS, Casey Family Programs is the nation’s largest operating foundation focused solely on safely reducing the need for foster care and building “Communities of Hope” for vulnerable children and families across America; and
WHEREAS, Allegheny County Department of Human Services Director, Marc Cherna, accepted the Casey Family Programs Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Child Welfare Leadership at the foundation’s annual meeting on January 15-16, 2014. Although the agency often recognizes exceptional leaders in child welfare, this is the first time they have presented a “Lifetime Achievement Award;” and
WHEREAS, Casey Family Programs acknowledged several factors leading to Director Cherna’s selection, including demonstrated leadership which has worked to achieve improved outcomes in areas such as foster care, permanency and reunification; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Cherna came to Allegheny County in February 1996 as a result of a national search to take charge of Children and Youth Services, now the Office of Children, Youth and Families, and immediately implemented system-wide changes, challenging the staff to achieve higher levels of excellence resulting in better permanency outcomes for children and their families; and
WHEREAS, his innovative practice and leadership abilities have won Mr. Cherna prestigious awards from numerous child welfare and civil organizations, including national recognition, and we are pleased to recognize his most recent accomplishment;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Allegheny County Council does hereby congratulate Director Marc Cherna as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Child Welfare Leadership from Casey Family Programs. Mr. Cherna’s leadership and the department’s impact on this community and its citizens serve as an inspiration to us al...
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