The Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) engages clients and others who interact with DHS programs in a variety of ways: regular roundtables/cabinets (e.g., Children’s Cabinet); town halls and community forums; social media (e.g., Facebook and LinkedIn); and the Director’s Action Line (DAL). In 2018, DHS expanded its public engagement strategy to include SMS text messaging (texting), a tool that is convenient for recipients and allows DHS to scale up communication with clients and other Allegheny County residents.

How does DHS use text outreach? 

DHS uses text outreach in a variety of ways, including collecting feedback after a service touchpoint, increasing program engagement, recruiting for paid research opportunities, and providing timely alerts. Text messaging has allowed DHS to connect clients to resources at scale, and to solicit feedback from clients who would likely never otherwise have the time or opportunity to share their feedback.

What data is available?

The data brief provides more information about the communication strategy and descriptive analytics from 2018 to 2022. The interactive dashboard, which is updated daily, allows users to drill down to individual text campaigns to understand the purpose, the number of messages sent, and the demographics of people who were contacted.

Terms and Conditions

This service is used by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services to send you notifications about publicly funded services. You can cancel this service at any time. Just text “STOP” to 987987. After you send the message “STOP” to us, we will send you a reply message to confirm that you have been unsubscribed. After this, you will no longer receive messages from us. If you want to join again, just text “START” to 987987, and we will start sending messages to you again. If at any time you forget what keywords are supported, just text “HELP” to 987987 After you send the message “HELP” to us, we will respond with information about the program. Message frequency varies. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. As always, Message and Data Rates May Apply for any messages sent to you from us and to us from you. If you have any questions about your text plan or data plan, it is best to contact your wireless provider. For all questions about the services provided by this short code, you can contact us at DHS-Research@alleghenycounty.us

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What is this dashboard about?

The Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) partnered with Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) to launch a transportation assistance program called Allegheny Go. This program offers half-price PRT rides for county residents ages 12 to 64 who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and do not receive any other transit fare discounts. 

Allegheny Go builds on the success of the Allegheny County Discounted Fares Pilot Program, which ran from November 2022 through June 2024.  

This dashboard describes the application process and reports on application statistics and participant demographics.  

How is this dashboard being used?

DHS has set a goal of enrolling 15,000 participants in Allegheny Go. This dashboard tracks progress towards that goal. Staff monitor how many applications are received, how many are eligible, and make sure eligible participants receive their discounts.  

Allegheny County Department of Human Services developed these dashboards to provide information to the community about violence trends in Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh.

What is this dashboard about?

The dashboard contains information about all homicides in the county and city (as reported by the county’s medical examiner) and contains a link to the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police’s dashboard showing shootings within the City of Pittsburgh. The dashboard shows trends in homicides, including trends in demographic data for victims and trends in homicide locations. The dashboard also shows information on human service, physical and behavioral health, income supports and justice involvement for the victims prior to their death.

What data is available?

Data on homicides is available through the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office. It is available from 2007-present and is updated monthly. Data on program involvement (including prior justice involvement) comes from Allegheny County’s data warehouse, which integrates information from more than 20 distinct sources. Read more about the county’s data warehouse here.

What is the Community Need Index?

The Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) conducts a Community Need Index (CNI) to identify specific areas that are in greater need, and face larger socioeconomic barriers, relative to others. The newest version of the CNI index ranks neighborhoods by need level by looking at:

• The percentage of families who live below the poverty line
• The percentage of unemployed or unattached males
• The percentage of those aged 25 and up without at least a Bachelor’s degree
• The percentage of single parent households
• The percentage of households without internet access
• Rate of homicide per 100,000 residents
• Rate of fatal overdoses per 100,000 residents

The researchers used a census tract level to break up the region and assess needs. Census tracts are static, relatively small subdivisions of a county.

How can I view the findings?

An interactive map allows users to view and extract data from the 2024 CNI (which uses 2022 five-year data estimates and totals). The new report focuses on all of Allegheny County, examines changes in need over time, and places emphasis on the connection between race and community need. Earlier reports are linked below.

What are the takeaways?

• In Allegheny County, we continue to find the highest levels of need in specific sections of the City of Pittsburgh (Hill District, South Hilltop, parts of the West End, Upper East End neighborhoods, Upper Northside) as well as census tracts outside the City of Pittsburgh (Mon Valley, sections of the Allegheny County River Valley, sections of Penn Hills, sections of Wilkinsburg, Stowe-Rocks).
• There are vast discrepancies between the lowest need communities, which have an average poverty rate of 2%, and the highest need communities, where the average poverty rate is 38%.
• With few exceptions, census tract-level community need is persistent over time.
• Only about one-third of Allegheny County’s Black residents live in lower-need communities. For every other racial and ethnic group in the County, the majority of residents live in lower need communities. Black communities in Allegheny County have disproportionately high levels of need, as do a number of racially mixed communities. 
• Poverty status alone does not account for where various racial and ethnic groups tend to live by level of need; poor Black and Latino families are more likely than other poor families to live in higher need communities. Even Black families above the poverty line are many times more likely than their Asian, White and Latino peers above the poverty line to live in higher need communities.

How is this report used?

The geographic dimensions of community need can help inform many aspects of DHS’s strategic planning and resource allocation decisions, such as decisions on where to locate Family Centers or new after-school programs.

Where can I go for more information?

For more information, you can read previous reports below. Or you can reach out to DHS-Research@alleghenycounty.us with any questions.

 

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Previous reports in this series 

• 2018 update (all county)
  • 2018 Storymap
• 2014 update (suburbs)
• 2012 update (suburbs)
• 2000-2009 (suburbs)
• 2000-2012 (city)

Previous datasets in this series

• 2018 (all county)
• 2014 (suburbs)
• 2000-2012 (city)

This dashboard shows trends in the number of people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness.

What is this dashboard about?

This dashboard displays: 1) the number of people who were active in an emergency shelter program per night dating back to January 2022, as well as basic demographic information on race, gender, and age; and 2) the number of people known to be experiencing unsheltered homelessness based on their engagement with street outreach teams dating back to September 2021. 

What data is available?

Emergency shelter data comes from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and is updated daily. Unsheltered homeless data is updated weekly. Before September 1, 2024 the data came from a document used to facilitate coordination between local street outreach teams; data after September 1, 2024 comes from HMIS, as teams have standardized and expanded data entry in HMIS. 

Those active in local domestic violence emergency shelters are not represented in this dashboard, as domestic violence emergency shelters do not report usage in HMIS. These shelters have the capacity to serve approximately 100 clients per day.

What is this dashboard about?

This dashboard displays information about the SeniorLine, a resource where individuals can receive information about services and programs for older adults in Allegheny County. SeniorLine care managers typically discuss:

• Senior center activities
• Care management
• Support for caregivers
• In-home services
• Transportation assistance
• Assistance with medication management
• Utility assistance 
• Property tax and rent rebate assistance

SeniorLine Care Managers are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm at 412-350-5460.

What data is available?

The dashboard includes detailed information about SeniorLine interactions and communications, including call times, context, outcomes, and users. Typical callers are individuals 60 years of age or older, their families and caregivers, and other sources of support. Most individuals live within Allegheny County but there are some calls concerning people living outside of the county.

The dashboard is updated at the end of every month.

What is this dashboard about?

These interactive dashboards contain information about Landlord/Tenant cases filed in Allegheny County in magisterial district courts from 2012 to the present. Users can see information about the number of cases filed over time, what happens to those cases as they proceed through the courts, how long it takes for cases to proceed through the courts, costs and case outcomes. The data do not record whether an eviction took place (e.g., tenant moved, tenant was ejected) at the end of the case.  The data used for these dashboards are updated daily.

How is this dashboard being used?

With the lifting of the eviction moratorium and phasing out of the emergency rental assistance program, landlord/tenant filings have increased back to pre-COVID levels.  The county is using this information to help target investments that help mediate these conflicts in the hopes of reducing the number of people who ultimately get evicted. 

What are Child Fatalities and Near-Fatalities?

The County is required by state law to review each death or near-death of a child and use the information to improve practice and systems. The 2008 Act 33 Amendment to the Child Protective Services law requires state and local reviews of all child fatalities and near-fatalities that result from suspected child abuse.

What can the dashboard tell us?

This dashboard and series of reports describes findings and outcomes from child fatality/near-fatality (CFNF) reviews. Information about the incidents–including victim and perpetrator demographics, cause of death/injury and families’ prior involvement with the child welfare system–is available in these reports as well as case practice and system reforms enacted to reduce the likelihood of future child abuse-related incidents.

Trouble viewing the dashboard below? You can view it directly here.

How is this information being used?

In addition to the state required reporting of child fatalities and near-fatalities, DHS has used the information to make recommendations to prevent these tragedies in the future. These recommendations include:

• Improved collaboration with medical physicians
• Upstream prevention and intervention services
• Integration of the child welfare system and the substance use treatment system
• Community and firearm violence reduction
• Applying safety science to child protection

In depth explanations of these recommendations can be found in the “current documents” section above.

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Previous reports

• 2018
• 2017
• 2016
• 2014-2015
• 2013
• 2012
• 2011
• 2009-2010

What are Older Adult Protective Services?

This program provides services to vulnerable adults who are at risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation. Through a telephone hotline, residents can report allegations of harm to an older adult. Staff collect information about the allegation, investigate the situation, and, if allegations are substantiated, work with the individual on a care plan.

What data is available?

A related analytics report describes our findings. The dashboard below provides an overview of how allegations are made, investigated, and substantiated. It also provides information on:

• Number of calls to the protective services hotline
• How many allegations were investigated
• How many investigations were substantiated
• Demographics of alleged victims

The dashboard is updated yearly, when new data is available.

Trouble viewing the dashboard? You can view it directly here.

The Emergency Rental Assistance Program offers financial assistance for people struggling to pay rent or utilities due to COVID-19. These dashboards track data about the program, those who have applied, and those who have received funds.

Trouble viewing the dashboard? You can view it directly here.

What information about overdose deaths is available?

How is this data used?

Data on victims and potential risk factors can help County government and other stakeholders implement evidence-based strategies to address the ongoing opioid epidemic. The reports, maps and dataset are provided in an effort to inform and stimulate discussion about substance use treatment and prevention.

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Related materials

Previous reports about accidental overdose

• 2015-2016 data
• 2008-2014 data

Dataset

• Overdose deaths by Allegheny County municipality: 2008-2014

Maps

• Cumulative County Overdose Deaths: 2008-2017 (interactive heat map)
• County Overdose Deaths: 2015-2016 (static heat map)
• By Pittsburgh City Council District: 2015-2016, 2008-2014
• By Allegheny County Council District: 2008-2014
• By Allegheny County Municipality: 2015-2016, 2008-2014
• By Pittsburgh Neighborhood: 2015-2016

The dashboard below provides information about Allegheny County Jail population management, including the daily jail population, population in alternative housing, bookings and releases, and lengths of stay. Data is available from 2018 to the present and is updated daily.

Trouble viewing the dashboard? You can view it directly here.

The dashboard below provides an overview of Allegheny County child welfare out-of-home placements from 2010 through 2021. Data describe yearly point-in-time counts of children in placement (“PIT” tab), characteristics of children in placement, what types of placements were used, how long children stayed there, where they went after their placement ended (also known as exits) and how many returned to the child welfare system after returning home (also known as re-entries). The dashboard is updated annually when a full year of data becomes available.

A related report provides analysis of placement trends over the past decade.

Trouble viewing the dashboard? You can view it directly here.

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Related materials

• Report: Child Welfare Placement Dynamics, 2008-2017 data
• Brief overview of findings: 2008-2017 data

The dashboard below provides information about the change in Allegheny County residents’ use of human services and other public services. Data includes homeless shelter usage, calls to child welfare and calls to the SeniorLine.  The dashboard also includes key performance indicators in the county’s criminal justice system.

 

Trouble viewing the dashboard? You can view it directly here.

 

The dashboard below displays information about Allegheny County suicides since 2002. View trends in yearly suicides, demographics of people who died by suicide, and locations within the county. The data is updated monthly.

A related data brief is also available.

Problems viewing the dashboard? You can view it directly here.

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Related materials

• Data brief: 2008-2017 data