HERSHEY -- Northumberland County Judge Charles H. Saylor will be a representative this week at a state roundtable to approve programs assisting children involved in the legal system.

The Children's Roundtable was established recently by the state Supreme Court in an attempt to provide or improve court-related services related to children.

Goals include speeding up the appeals process on adoptions and providing children involved in the justice system with advocates and resources.

On Tuesday, Judge Saylor will join 43 regional roundtable representatives and state officials at Hershey to discuss which programs will be part of the state's focus.

Judge Saylor said he's encouraged that Supreme Court Justice Max Baer is intent on making improvements in the system by inviting state officials.

"There will be some decision-makers at the meeting," the judge said. "It's not just talk, but about getting things accomplished."

Andrea Hoffman Jelin, head of the new Office of Children and Families in the Courts, said the exchange of information from the county level to the state level is key.

"You could have a great program in Northumberland County that Montgomery County knows nothing about," she said.

Judge Saylor said the panel has a specific agenda to approve specific programs that will be encouraged across the state.

Programs up for review are family-group decision-making, court-appointed special advocates, Seeds of Hope and Family Finding.

Both Northumberland and Snyder counties provide family-group decision making programs as a way of keeping troubled youths at home with the help of family members.

Judge Saylor said Northumberland County is presently working with a group called Parent to Parent to provide lay advocates to assist juveniles involved in civil cases.

Seeds of Hope and Family Finding are offered in other counties.

Seeds of Hope assists families involved with the courts with transportation, cleaning up properties and improving home building safety. Family Finding is a program that works to locate relatives of children in the court system to determine if they can be an additional resource.

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