Members of the Domestic Relations Association of Pennsylvania (DRAP) enjoyed some wine tasting (top) and dancing (above) at Grovedale Winery in Wyalusing on the first evening of a three-day conference that included seminars and workshops on a variety of important topics.
By Rick Hiduk
Bradford County played host to this year’s Western Domestic Relations Association of Pennsylvania (DRAP) Conference. From June 7 to 9, members from one end of the Commonwealth to the other descended on the Towanda area to take part in a series of informative workshops that addressed issues common to them.
Most of the work sessions were conducted at the Towanda Country Club in Wysox Township and included discussions on judiciary and enforcement issues with President Judge Maureen Beirne, Bureau of Child Support Enforcement director Robert Patrick, Supervised Bail Officer Todd Carr, Bradford County Chief Deputy David Hart, and Bradford County Commissioner Daryl Miller.
Additional information was provided by representatives from PACSETI, a Penn State University Initiative that provides training and classes for child support workers, and State Child Support Services from New York State.
Bradford County Domestic Relations Office (DRO) Director Vonda Huffman related that she found a panel discussion on the county’s supervised bail program to be especially interesting. “That shed a little bit of light onto how we handle enforcement of people who are not complying with orders in this county,” she stated.
DRO Assistant Director Chris Dunham agreed. “We also had representatives from the career link office present what they call a Central Work Program. It is geared to people who were incarcerated and helping with barriers that they face, including transportation, housing, and putting together a resumes.
“It’s actually for anybody who has a barrier,” Huffman said of the fairly new initiative.
According to Dunham, 24 counties were represented at the conference and 111 people were registered as participants, including DRO’s staff of 10. The conference has taken place for at least 30 years and was last co-hosted by Bradford County and Tioga County about 25 years ago.
“We got a lot of good feedback,” Huffman remarked. “A lot of those people had never been to our area. We keep getting emails from people saying they didn’t know how beautiful it is here and how much history we have here.”
“They really liked the agenda and the special events that we had,” Dunham added. “Several people commented that it was one of the best Western DRAP Conferences that we ever had.
In addition to the important issues covered during the work sessions, DRAP members had several opportunities to network with each other and have a little fun.
On June 7, some DRAP members joined Bradford County officials at the Towanda Country Club for a charity golf tournament to support the David Christiansen Memorial Scholarship Fund, honoring a former director from Erie County.
“Our fund has been dwindling each year,” Huffman related. “Chris and I thought, ‘We were at the country club with this great golf course.’” Fifty-two golfers participated, and $2,300 was raised toward the scholarship fund.
That evening, DRAP members traveled by bus to Grovedale Winery in Wyalusing, where they were treated to wine tastings, a sumptuous buffet prepared by Old School BBQ (above), and dance music by DJ Retro Rick (below).
“They really loved Grovedale Winery and the Country Club too,” said Huffman.
Submitted Photos:
Key coordinators of and participants in the Western DRAP Conference included (above, from left) Ken Levitsky, Bradford County Domestic Relations Office attorney and Sullivan/Wyoming Counties IV-D attorney; John Thompson, Bradford County IV-D attorney; Jared Davis, Bradford County Enforcement Officer; President Judge Maureen Beirne, Bradford County Court of Common Pleas; Judge Evan Williams III, Bradford County Court of Common Pleas; Vonda Huffman, Bradford County DRO Director, Chris Dunham; Bradford County DRO Assistant Director; and Todd Carr, Supervised Bail Officer.
Bradford County DRO staff members with Judge Maureen Beirne include (from left) Kadi Jayne, Roxanne Bishop, Stephanie Talley, Erika Severson, Tammy Christensen, Chris Dunham, Kenny Foss, Vonda Huffman, Jared Davis, and Heather Briggs.