Fiscal Year 2022-23 Needs- Based Plan & Budget

Fiscal Year

2022-23 Needs-

Based Plan &

Budget

Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania

Office of Children, Youth

and Families

NEEDS-BASED PLAN AND BUDGET

NARRATIVE TEMPLATE

OCYF NBPB Narrative Template

FY 2022-23

Budget Narrative Template

The following pages provide a template for counties to use to complete the narrative portion of

the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-23 Needs-Based Plan and Budget (NBPB). All narrative pieces

should be included in this template; no additional narrative is necessary. Detailed instructions

for completing each section are in the NBPB Bulletin, Instructions & Appendices. As a

reminder, this is a public document; using the names of children, families, office staff, and Office

of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) staff within the narrative is inappropriate.

The budget narrative is limited to a MAXIMUM of 50 pages, excluding charts and

the Assurances in 5-1a. and the CWIS data sharing agreement in 5-1b. Avoid

duplication within the narrative by referencing other responses as needed.

All text must be in either 11-point Arial or 12-point Times New Roman font, and all

margins (bottom, top, left, and right) must be 1 inch.

Any submissions that exceed the maximum number of pages will not be accepted.

Note: On the following page, once the county inserts its name in the gray shaded text, headers

throughout the document will automatically populate with the county name. Enter the county

name by clicking on the gray shaded area and typing in the name.

OCYF NBPB Narrative Template

FY 2022-23

Philadelphia

NBPB

FYs 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23

Version Control

Original Submission Date:

Version 2 Submission Date:

Version 3 Submission Date:

Version 4 Submission Date:

Throughout this document “DHS” and “the Department” refer to Philadelphia Department

of Human Services.

Section 1: NBPB Development

1-1: Executive Summary

 Respond to the following questions.

The City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS) maintains a clear vision of

fewer children and families becoming involved with the child welfare and juvenile justice

systems and of families receiving support to live together safely in their own communities.

We continue to rightsize its child welfare and juvenile justice system to ensure the best fit

and best quality service for children, youth, and families. DHS remains laser focused on

strengthening programming for children, youth, and families through productive partnerships

with stakeholders and the use of advanced technology. DHS continues to strive to achieve

the goals of Improving Outcomes for Children (IOC), which are the guiding principles behind

Philadelphia’s delivery of child welfare, child abuse prevention, and juvenile justice services.

We believe that a community-based approach to service delivery continues to have a

positive impact on child and family safety and well-being. The community-based approach of

IOC has enabled DHS to make significant progress on our vision of rightsizing. The four

goals of IOC are aligned to make this vision a reality. They are as follows:

o More children and youth are safely in their own homes and communities.

o More children and youth are reunified more quickly or achieve other permanency.

o Congregate care is reduced.

o Child, youth, and family functioning is improved.

Philadelphia DHS is also committed to addressing the disproportionate placement of African

American children and youth in out of home care and involvement with the juvenile justice

system.

❑ Identify challenges experienced by the County Children and Youth Agency (CCYA) and

Juvenile Probation Office (JPO) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the national COVID-19 pandemic crisis evolved, DHS worked diligently with providers

and stakeholders to reactivate and maintain core operations while promoting the safety and

well-being of children and youth as well as DHS staff. The Pennsylvania Courts halted all

but essential functions and video conferencing or telephonic contacts were permitted in lieu

of face-to-face contacts, when possible.

Subsequently, Philadelphia DHS mobilized and equipped staff to work remotely to ensure

the safety and well-being of children using advanced technology. Equipment was assigned

and issued to staff and also distributed to families and older youth, active with DHS, on an

as-needed basis. DHS’s Performance Management and Technology Division provided

system-wide IT support to staff who were using technology to perform their jobs in new

ways.

During the pandemic, DHS’s Hotline experienced a reduction in call activity as most

mandated reporting organizations, i.e. schools, daycares and health centers, were closed or

working at limited capacity. Calls to Hotline decreased by over 40% during March and April

of 2020, and while reports began to increase, they remained roughly 20% lower during the

rest of 2020. DHS published COVID-19 guidance, resources, and policies on its website,

making these documents available to families and external stakeholders.

DHS managed numerous challenges as we worked diligently to maintain essential services

for children, youth, and families. Challenges included but were not limited to the following:

purchasing additional IT equipment within an overwhelmed market; allocating hundreds of

work hours for IT technical assistance and consultation to staff and management;

developing rotating schedules for essential staff; acquiring ample supplies and

disseminating Personal Protection Equipment; providing consistent updated information to

internal and external stakeholders; and daily/weekly consultation with the Philadelphia

Health Department to get the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 impact. In FY22,

DHS facilitated a system-wide After-Action Review. This process involved interviewing

internal and external stakeholders, including families and youth, to ascertain strengths and

challenges of DHS’s response to the pandemic. Findings revealed a number of systemic

strengths, including good safety measures for staff, the mobilization of IT equipment for the

remote workforce, and communication and resource-connection strategies for staff and

families. However, staff also reported the impact of delayed court proceedings and the

inability of parents to have in-person and extended visits on permanency outcomes. In

response, DHS used administrative orders to expedite reunifications for children ahead of

their scheduled court date.

The biggest challenge for the Philadelphia County JPO during the pandemic remained

completing contacts with youth on supervision and their families. The JPO was not able to

obtain work cell phones or portable electronic devices to assist with virtual contacts; instead,

youth and families received phone calls. Additional challenges included utilization of some

of the juvenile justice system’s community-based services such as the newly developed

Community Intervention Center Evening Reporting Center (ERC) and the Aftercare ERC.

Philadelphia County will be requesting funding for portable electronic devices for use by

JPOs and for licenses for virtual meeting platforms. The added ability to see a youth at

home while working from a remote location (home, office, residential facility) during a

pandemic would aid in providing adequate supervision. It will allow JPOs and family to

virtually visit youth in congregate care facilities when in-person visits are not permitted.

Additionally, this technology will allow for higher levels of proficiency and oversight beyond

the pandemic affording the staff opportunities to connect with youth and families timelier. It

would also allow families to virtually visit youth placed at a distance from Philadelphia, with

the JPOs assistance, when the family does not have the means to make an in-person visit.

Finally, portable electronic devices would facilitate holding virtual staff meetings, as well as

meetings with local and state stakeholders.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Office of Children and Families (OCF)-

Prevention worked in close partnership with the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) to

ensure families were supported with social and economic resources to sustain the

household while maintaining student academic engagement.

Specifically, OCF-Prevention witnessed families who had lost jobs and their ability to

maintain their household. Families’ stress was further exacerbated by serving as their

child/ren’s lead educator amidst an extremely untraditional and unprecedented student

learning environment.

With the support of the SDP and Truancy Case Managers, OCF-Prevention conducted

many home visits to put eyes in the home to ensure stability. Connection to food, social

services, and technical assistance related to internet access were activities that took center

stage in supporting families early in the pandemic.

As the pandemic evolved, OCF experienced human capital shortages due to COVID-related

leave and burnout while simultaneously experiencing an extraordinarily high demand for

family and student services. The Prevention Division of OCF was creative in deploying

existing personnel to ensure they had resources to prevent burnout while operationalizing a

human capital recruitment plan during the pandemic.

❑ Identify the top three successes and challenges (excluding COVID-19) realized by the

CCYA since its most recent NBPB submission.

The City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services’ top three successes for child

welfare are:

1. Safely reducing the number of children and youth in placement: From June 2020 to June

2021, the number of children in dependent placement declined by 12%. Moreover, since

June 2017, the total number of children in placement has declined by 1,772 children,

which reflects a 29%% decrease. This positive indicator has occurred alongside the

Department’s strategic shifts in Front-end Operations (Hotline and Investigations) and

Prevention Services, as well as an increased focus on permanency, which are

associated with a reduction in the number of children in out-of-home placement.

2. Family Engagement Initiative (FEI) Phased Implementation: DHS continues to enhance

programing and strengthen partnerships with stakeholders in efforts to further improve

our success in reducing the need to place children. In FY2021-22, DHS is seeking to

expand its investment in the Interdisciplinary Representation for Parents (IRP) initiative

through Philadelphia Community Legal Services. IRP provides an interdisciplinary team

for parents consisting of an attorney, social worker, and peer parent advocate. This

approach supports FEI.

FEI is a statewide collaboration between the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania

Courts and Child Welfare to enhance meaningful family involvement in the child welfare

system (CWS). The premise is that meaningful family involvement increases the

likelihood that children will safely remain in their homes or will be placed with kin if out of

home placement is necessary. FEI represents a change or paradigm shift in

Investigations and Case Management. The three major components of FEI are: 1)

Enhanced Family Finding; 2) Crisis/ Rapid Response Family Meetings; and 3) Enhanced

Legal Representation. DHS will work to extend elements of the FEI model for juvenile

delinquent youth which include youth crossover population. FEI is also aligned with the

goals of the Family First Prevention Service act with regard to preventing out of home

placement and qualitative programming. DHS will be seeking financial support to expand

the FEI model across the system particularly at points of decision making for delinquent

youth.

3. Eliminating Disproportionality in Out of Home Placements Task Force: Using the

research and evidence, the Department collaborates with partner City agencies to

design interventions focused on eliminating the disproportionate placements of African

American children and youth in particular, due to allegations of neglect, juvenile justice

contact as well as other socio-economic factors.

Last year, the Department in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania and Casey

Family Programs, embarked upon a three phase Entry Rate and Disproportionality Study

looking at how race and implicit bias contributed to out of home placement. Three

Phases:

• Phase One – Set of Quantitative Analyses of select entry cohorts of children

reported to DHS. Child Analysis; Front-End Diversion; and Neighborhood level

Hotline Analysis.

• Phase Two – Qualitative analyses of interview data among staff and families

known to DHS.

• Phase Three – National Scan of Best Practices

Next steps to this work include: City-Wide Poverty Alleviation; Training for Mandated,

Supporters; Policy Assessments; Family First Prevention Services Act; Ongoing

Research; and a Cross Departmental Helpline.

4. Aligning prevention resources: DHS has been able to ensure services for families most

at risk of child welfare involvement by directing Hotline referrals without existing safety

threats, but with a high level of risk, to targeted Prevention programs. Prevention

services are also now implemented during an investigation to mitigate risk and divert

families to community-based programming when appropriate. DHS continues to

enhance the Prevention service continuum with the addition of diversionary programs

such as Family Empowerment Centers for high risk families. Of all children screened

out of formal DHS services by Hotline and investigation staff, only 8% were

subsequently accepted for service two years after their initial report.

To prepare for the implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act, DHS

conducted program studies of the following diversionary prevention programs: Family

Empowerment Services, Family Empowerment Centers, and Rapid Service Response.

DHS found that families who received Family Empowerment Center services showed

significant improvement in family functioning, as measured by the FAST assessment,

after receipt of services. However, despite improvement, financial resources remained

the most pressing concern among families per the FAST assessment. Rapid Service

Response (RSR) services were associated with a reduced likelihood of being accepted

for formal DHS services up to nine months after the families’ Hotline Report, whereas

the lighter touch case management services did not demonstrate any significant impact.

This finding suggests that prevention services that address concrete needs, such as

RSR, may be more effective than services with only light touch case management.

DHS is seeking financial support for another successful targeted Prevention program

that addresses concrete needs, Rapid Rehousing for Reunification to help families

achieve timely permanency and prevent re-entry. This program is for families who are

projected to be reunifying with their children in six months or less, but face delay

because they lack safe and affordable housing. While there are slots for 20 families,

Rapid Rehousing served 24 families over the last fiscal year. Considering the

socioeconomic condition of low-income families in Philadelphia and the financial stress

brought on by the COVID 19 pandemic, this program is critical in meeting an essential

need.

Finally, DHS continues to request additional investments to support truancy case

management and Out-of-School Time services, both of which are in partnership with the

School District of Philadelphia (SDP). The goal of these programs is to support school

attendance in SDP-run schools. DHS and SDP have partnered on an analysis to

establish baseline data for DHS youth who are in the district. Additional funding will be

allocated to existing providers who have the highest number of DHS children and youth

in their designated schools. The need for truancy support and Out-of-School Time

programming will be heightened during the post-pandemic period to ensure children and

youth remain engaged in school communities.

The City of Philadelphia Department of Human Services top child welfare challenges are:

1. Safe and timely reunification or other permanency: DHS continues to face challenges in

achieving safe, timely permanency for children and families. In order to address these

challenges, DHS has elected to participate in the statewide Family Engagement initiative

(FEI) sponsored by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. The Family

Engagement Initiative involves a partnership with Philadelphia Family Court to enhance

meaningful involvement for families involved in the child welfare system. The primary

focus of this work is to keep children safely in their homes or place them with kin if out-

of-home placement is necessary. By improving family finding efforts, conducting

crisis/rapid response family meetings, and enhancing legal representation, DHS

anticipates that more children will be maintained in their own homes or placed with kin

rather than in a congregate care facility. FEI implementation is underway with the

projection of full implementation by December 2021. DHS is making adjustments to the

practice as needed and continually assessing progress by using a multiple phase

implementation approach.

So that the services to achieve safe and timely reunification are relevant to families’ lived

experiences, DHS is seeking funding for the development of a Parent Advisory Council

as well as a Youth Advisory Council empowering persons with lived experience to

provide feedback and guidance on policy development, practice implementation,

program monitoring and evaluation. These advisory boards will not be limited to FEI but

instead will be sustained and supported as subject matter experts to guide child welfare

practices across the system. This forum will provide parents the opportunity to influence

specific services and programs designed to keep children safe and families together. We

are committed to be responsive to the needs of families expressed by their lived

experiences and perspectives.

2. Building an array of programs to further decrease use of congregate care: Although DHS

has been successful in reducing the use of congregate care, in order to extend safe

reduction of congregate care use to children and youth with complex needs, DHS must

build and enhance an array of services and linkage opportunities that support the needs

of these children and youth in the community. In order to avoid the use of congregate

care and to help youth step down to less restrictive settings, it is imperative that access

to supportive and structured environments is available. To this end, DHS is requesting

funding for professional foster parents who are trained to support the needs of youth with

complex behavioral health needs and/or sexual reactive behaviors. DHS has already

invested in planning for this model and anticipates implementation in the first quarter of

calendar year 2022. Additionally, the model will be extended to juvenile delinquent youth

and supplement support for emergency placements, as appropriate. Additionally, DHS is

moving forward with creating a Behavioral Health Assessment Unit to assist with 1)

planning for families for with complex needs; 2) assessing the behavioral health needs of

youth; and 3) creating linkages to community programs to either prevent placement or

safely transition youth out of congregate care.

We are also working closely with colleagues at Community Behavioral Health to ensure

that appropriate supports are in place for youth and their families. Finally, DHS is

requesting additional support in evaluating and accessing evidence-based programing to

support reduction of placement and reduce recidivism of delinquency. The following

EBPs have been identified and are aligned with goals and expectations of Family First

Prevention Service act: Effective Black Parenting, Healthy Families of America,

Motivational interviewing. The program, Parent Child Interaction (PIC), is also being

considered.

3. Improving older youth services: Each year approximately 250-300 older youth age out of

placement without a permanent family resource; for FY2020-21, of the 310 youth aging

out, 172 youth have a permanent residence, 139 youth have a source of income

support, and 194 youth have a life connection. We have made some progress in this

area; however, we must do more to eradicate older youth homelessness and family

disengagement. To positively impact this outcome, streamlining older youth services is

necessary and providing sufficient resources to pursue permanency and independence

is critical. To that end, DHS is moving forward with posting to fill the position of Older

Youth Services Director, as well as building greater capacity, to lead our practice focus

on pursuing permanency and sustained independence for older youth. Another critical

new service request is funding for peer support partners for youth to assist with

navigating the child welfare system and to increase mentoring opportunities for older

youth. DHS is also requesting continued support for programs such as Lifeset (formerly

YV Lifeset) and mobile Achieving Independence Center so that DHS can ensure that all

youth in the system have access to ongoing support, pathways to independence and

life-long connections. DHS is requesting that PA DHS extend the age for funding

housing subsidies from age 21 to age 24 in an effort to provide critical stable housing

supports during the young adult years. This would expand eligibility to approximately

2,500 additional youth. Finally, DHS continues to request additional funding for Work

Ready slots and associated supports to facilitate successful applications in order to help

youth with career readiness and access to skills and connections that will promote

economic independence. In the past year, the program received roughly 20,000

applications for 8,000 funded slots, though the majority of youth did not complete the

application process and were thus ineligible to participate. Funding is needed to both

increase the number of opportunities for young people and to increase the supports

offered to ensure youth are able to complete the necessary steps to participate.

❑ Summarize additional information, including findings, related to the CCYAs annual

inspection and Quality Services Review (QSR)/Child Family Service Review (CFSR)

findings that will impact the county’s planning and resource needs for FYs 2021-22 and

2022-23.

In the FY21 Annual State Evaluation (ASE), the Department of Human Services, Southeast

Regional Office of Children, Youth, and Families randomly selected and reviewed 30 cases

and 252 personnel records. Only seven citations were issued for missing or late

documents, and DHS’ full license was renewed. Recommendations from the ASE included

the establishment of a process to better monitor the completion of required trainings for all

staff within the Community Umbrella Agencies.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the CFSR that was scheduled for August 2020 was

postponed to August 2021. However, findings from the 2019 CFSR suggested that DHS

prioritize work in four key areas: Workforce (e.g., reducing caseload sizes, revising

supervisory training series, reducing paperwork); Engagement (e.g., Family Engagement

Initiative); Investigations and Assessments (e.g., revising GPS thresholds and improved

safety and risk assessments); Planning and Monitoring (e.g., providing enhanced technical

assistance related to permanency and revising complex case review processes).

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, DHS did not conduct a QSR during FY21. As COVID-19

restrictions are lifted, DHS plans to align future QSRs with the ASE.

Given the reality of systemic disproportionality, DHS continues to be actively involved in a

research project with the University of Pennsylvania. The purpose of this project is to use

data to understand how disproportionality is manifested within DHS as well as research best

practices to address disproportionality and disparity.

As detailed throughout this document and most particularly in the Program Improvement

Strategies section, Philadelphia DHS is focused on increasing family engagement, timely

reunification and other permanencies, and transition planning for older youth that leads to

both permanency and sustained independence. The Family Team Conference process and

policy has been revised to improve quality family participation by ensuring that parents and

youth have an active voice in the process. The Family Team Conference staff has been

reconfigured to support the Crisis Rapid Response Family Meeting component of

Philadelphia DHS’ implementation of the Family Engagement Initiative. This work combined

with additional resources to support targeted services will assist with increasing permanency

for children and youth in the child welfare system.

❑ Identify the top three successes and challenges (excluding COVID-19) realized by JPO

since its most recent NBPB submission.

Philadelphia’s top three successes for juvenile justice are:

1. Implementation of Juvenile Justice Systems Enhancement Strategies (JJSES) initiatives:

Philadelphia County has been focused on improving the implementation of several

initiatives under the four stages of JJSES. Philadelphia County created a Youth Level of

Service unit to complete all the initial YLS. Identifying the risk and needs of youth in the

early stages has allowed for structured decision making at critical junctures in the

juvenile justice system. In calendar year 2020/21, 2,512 YLS assessments were

completed. Forty-nine percent (49%) of the juvenile population was found to be at a low

level of risk to reoffend, 42% at a moderate risk to reoffend, 9% at a high risk to reoffend

and less than 1% were at a very high risk to reoffend. This has allowed the system to

become less reliant on congregate care & secure detention by directing those low and

moderate risk youth to less restrictive forms of remandment e.g. community-based

options.

The Case Plan and Graduated Response Approach functions on the idea that receiving

incentives along with interventions will have a positive impact on a youth’s length of

probation supervision. In 2020, the Graduated Response was implemented in all the

court rooms. The JPO focused on completing case plans with youth virtually and on the

phone. Many youth completed short and long-term goals that assisted in their

successful discharge of probation supervision.

2. Reduction in delinquent residential placements: There has been a 69% reduction in the

number of youth in delinquent residential placement within the last four years.

Approximately 250 youth were discharged from delinquent congregate care during

FY21. For calendar year 2020, 43% of youth received a successful discharge and 9%

received a neutral discharge.

Community-based options are an important factor in the Philadelphia County’s lessening

reliance on residential placements. In August 2020, the Aftercare Evening Reporting

Center (ERC) became operational; it supports high-risk youth returning from residential

placements. The Aftercare ERC has served 44 youth since its opening while on a hybrid

schedule; 3-days in-person and 2-days virtual. In addition, the Community Intervention

Center ERC also became operational in August of 2020. This program is a prescriptive

intervention that was developed for youth on deferred adjudication status that are on the

cusp of adjudication for probationary non-compliance. This program has served 29-

youth while on hybrid schedule; 3-days in-person and 2-days virtual. Having these

additional community-based options has increased the opportunities for youth to also

participate in DHS-DJJS’ Community Service and Restitution program. The JPO

monitored through community service agencies the completion of 7,995 hours of

community service and restitution. Overall, the JPO and DHS-DJJS are continually

improving the quality of community-based programming.

Additionally, DHS is making an investment in enhancing the service continuum with

primary prevention service through the creation of Community Evening Activity Centers

for youth who have violated curfew. DHS is planning for three community-based sites to

be established in FY 2022 and three additional sites in FY 2023. The centers are being

strategically located in the city and the purpose of this intervention is to provide

opportunities of Positive Youth Development (PYD) activities and prevent youth from

entering and the Juvenile Justice System.

3. Intensive Prevention Services (IPS): This service diverts youth from the Juvenile Justice

System by helping youth learn how to resolve conflict peacefully and by identifying

barriers to success at home and school. In calendar year 2020, 322 youth were diverted

to Intensive Prevention Services through the School Police Diversion Program.

Although the number of youth diverted through the School Police Diversion Program for

the 2020-21 school year are not yet available, it is anticipated that these numbers will be

quite low as most Philadelphia School District high school students were fully remote

during the past school year. A new IPS location will be established by September 2021.

This site will serve the Southwest Philadelphia area. This location will fill a void for

community based and serve as another resource for the aforementioned School Police

Diversion Program. In addition, this resource will also serve as a preventative program to

offset juvenile gun violence in this Gun Violence Initiative (GVI) pinpoint area.

The top three challenges for the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice system are:

1. Continue safe decline of youth in placement: Juvenile Probation and DHS’s Division of

Juvenile Justice Services (DJJS) continue to work towards the safe diversion of youth in

placement. To this end, probation is focusing on ensuring that placement and the

discharge from placement is individualized to the youth by being related to the youth’s

top needs as identified by the Youth Level of Service. Gun violence mitigation has

proven to be challenging, given the dearth of appropriate and targeted gun violence

community-based resources. As a result of the prolific rise in gun violence in

Philadelphia a new model of preventative community-based gun violence mitigation

resources must be developed to meet this challenge. DHS is making further investments

in primary prevention programing. This includes city-wide departmental collaboration for

the Community Evening Reporting Centers. DHS is seeking additional funding from PA

DHS to help with research, planning, and evidence-based program implementation to

address the increase in youth gun violence in the city of Philadelphia. DHS-DJJS and

the JPO are conducting on-going discussions concerning the development of evidence-

based gun violence mitigation models and other potential preventative resources to

employ in the community. As of the writing of this narrative, there has been more than

1,000 shooting victims reported so far this year (many of them are youth and young

adults) and city data now shows more than 10,000 people were wounded or killed by

gunfire since January 1, 2015.

2. Improving services through monitoring, accountability, and utilization: DJJS is striving for

a greater capacity to ensure services are evidence-based and have the requisite

efficacy. An increased monitoring capacity for DJJS is necessary to adequately provide

programmatic oversight, thus ensuring the quality of the services to JJS youth.

Historically, this has been a struggle for DJJS. DJJS works collaboratively with the

Philadelphia Juvenile Probation Office (JPO) to provide consistent practice that aligns

the needs of delinquent youth with quality programming to promote timely discharge

from the juvenile justice system. DJJS requires greater capacity to collect and analyze

data across departments in order to modify interventions and match youth to appropriate

programs. DJJS has successfully established a Memorandum of Understanding with

Philadelphia Probation, Juvenile courts and other stakeholder permitting the sharing of

data. This will be helpful in effective service linkage and coordination. DJJS will need

additional funding to support the work in making data informed decisions to reduce the

delinquent youth population and to enhance programming. Additionally, despite JPO

and DJJS’ efforts, there are a number of prevention diversionary programs that are

underutilized. Some of the underutilizations is due to the COVID-19 pandemic however

lack of data collection, coordination, and messaging are also contributors. More work is

needed on the area of data analysis and community-based service linkages to prevent

youth from entering and/or penetrating the juvenile delinquent system.

3. Supporting innovative staff recruitment and retention: Recruitment and retention of staff

at the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center (PJJSC) is a challenge, given that

the number of youth remanded to the Center can change quickly. In addition, the

individual needs of the youth often require a higher staff ratio. These issues demand

innovative approaches to staff recruitment and retention i.e. Behavioral based interviews

and new hires mentoring program. We are asking for additional support to create a

targeted approach to ensure adequate staffing levels at the Center. DJJS has

established a task force charged with assessing the Department’s onboarding processes

and making recommendations for improvement. Special emphasis is placed on

recruiting the best candidates and providing supports to promote retention. DJJS is

experiencing a significantly high rate of employee turnover, this is particularly true with

direct line staff i.e. Detention Youth Counselors. The turnover rate is compounded by the

number of staff who are injured on duty that results in having staff on extended medical

leave. Evidence Based recruitment and retention strategies are needed, not only, to help

with enhancing staffing capacity but to offer professional development opportunities to

help with maintaining safe practice for residents and staff.

❑ Summarize any additional areas, including efforts related to the Juvenile Justice System

Enhancement Strategy (JJSES) and the data and trends related to the Youth Level of

Service (YLS) domains and risk levels impacting the county’s planning and resource needs

for FYs 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Philadelphia County continues to make significant strides in its juvenile justice reform efforts,

driven largely by Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Justice System Enhancement Strategies (JJSES)

and its commitment to the eight core strategies of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives

Initiative (JDAI). The four stages of JJSES implementation are fluid, and currently,

Philadelphia is operating in stages two, three, and four of JJSES. Philadelphia County was

provided funding by the state in the FY2020-21 Needs Based Plan and Budget and will be

requesting similar funding for FY2022-23 now that the entire Juvenile Probation Office staff

has been trained on Graduated Response and it is being implemented in all court rooms.

In alignment with stage three of JJSES, Philadelphia County sent four (4) staff to be trained

by the Evidence Based Prevention and Intervention Support (EPIS) at the beginning of 2020

on the Standardized Protocol Evaluation Program (SPEP). SPEP is a validated data driven

rating system that evaluates a services’ effectiveness of reducing recidivism. The SPEP is

also a program evaluation tool that aligns service delivery to evidence-based performance

improvement process. SPEP is based on the four main factors most strongly related to

recidivism reduction: (1) youth risk level and aggressive/violent history, (2) program

philosophy and type, (3) quality of service, and (4) amount of service. The staff will be

conducting SPEPs through FY 2021-22 and on an ongoing basis.

The Department of Human Services continued its commitment to the Juvenile Detention

Alternative Initiative (JDAI) by focusing on safely reducing reliance on secure confinement.

Task Forces made up of key stakeholders regularly meet to discuss certain focus areas

such as objective decision-making, special detention populations, and data-driven decisions.

Successful task force collaborations have resulted in the following tangible policy reforms: 1)

The implementation and ongoing evaluation of the Detention Risk Assessment Instrument

(DRAI) which objectively screens all newly arrested youth to determine who can be safely

supervised in the community. 2) The continued success of the pre-adjudicatory Evening

Reporting Center (ERC) to serve as an alternative to detention. 3) The ongoing progress of

the DHS’s first post-adjudicatory ERC to serve as a community-based alternative to

placement. Due to the Post-ERC’s success with preventing youth from going to residential

placement, the development of a Community Intervention Center ERC and an Aftercare

ERC were proposed in 2019 and developed in early 2020. In 2020 the CIC was able to

provide services to 29 youth. The AERC was able to provide services to 44 youth

respectively. 4) Our continued partnership with the Philadelphia Police Department to

implement the School Police Diversion Program that diverts youth with minor offenses in the

school environment to Intensive Prevention Services (IPS) to avoid formal penetration of the

system. Three Hundred and twenty-two (322) youth were diverted by the School Police

Diversion Program in 2020. DHS and the JPO will be hiring a full-time coordinator for the

Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) work in the summer of 2021. The JDAI role

and expanded capacity in this area is paramount in understanding the data and using it to

inform decisions. As DHS-DJJS works to extend evidence-based practices and further

reduce the congregate care population data specific to the fidelity of the DRAI; profile of

youth; program efficacy and recidivism are critical in resource allocation and youth

placement. DHS-DJJS needs to build greater capacity and expertise in this area and would

benefit from a team of subject matter experts to work in conjunction with the JDAI.

DHS is requesting funding to support programs such as Intensive Prevention Services (IPS),

expansion of the Youth Aid Panel and a restorative justice program, all of which are

designed to offer a youth the opportunity to avoid placement. An IPS Request for Proposal

(RFP) has been developed and put forth for the Southwest Philadelphia corridor. A provider

was selected to establish a footprint in Southwest Philadelphia where there is minimum to

no coverage for IPS services. It is currently served by the Bridge who currently covers all

West Philadelphia. By establishing IPS in SW Philadelphia we will undergird and collaborate

with the Philadelphia Gun Violence Initiative (GVI), a city initiative to combat gun violence.

The requisite desired outcome is two-fold, first, give DHS-DJJS’ ability to be able to take

advantage of the GVI’s data collection in this targeted area and it’s analysis regarding youth

gun violence and secondly, prevent formal penetration of youth ages 13-18 into the

delinquent system. While, preventing and reducing juvenile arrest and recidivism in this

specific corridor. This expansion is budgeted at $789,104 with a targeted anticipated start

date of September 1, 2021. In addition, in FY2021 DHS-DJJS’ Community Service and

Restitution program has entered into a strategic partnership with the Office of Policy and

Strategic Initiatives for Criminal Justice and Public Safety under the umbrella of the City’s

Gun Violence Initiative (GVI) to assist in the mitigation of gun violence by way of youth

engaging in City-wide clean-ups in GVI pin-point areas inclusive of SW Philadelphia that has

been identified by the Philadelphia Police Department.

DHS is requesting funding in the following areas to support its efforts in achieving its goals:

o Continued funding to support Graduated Response incentives.

o Funding to expand the success of the Pre and Post-adjudicatory Evening Reporting

Centers an additional twenty (20) slots each.

o Continued funding to support the two additional Evening Reporting Centers created. One

geared towards youth coming home from congregate care. This aftercare ERC supports

high risk youth returning to the community from residential placements. The recidivism

data for this cohort is still being collected and analyzed. The second ERC that has been

developed for youth on deferred adjudication status on the verge of adjudication due to

non-compliance. This center will provide evidence-based practices in the attempt to get

the youth back in compliance with court ordered conditions and prevent adjudication.

o Funding for community-based Gun violence prevention program(s) for youth ages 13-18

in the amount of $100,000 to insert evidence-based programming into the eight (8) IPS

programs.

o Funding to assist with supplemental evidenced based and community-based programs

that target juvenile offenders of violent crimes and/or gun violence. Programs will be

preventive as well as court stipulated and include intensive case management.

o Funding to assist with the development of Community Evening Reporting Centers that

will enhance the service continuum with primary prevention programming.

o Funding to support greater capacity to collect, analyze and use data to customize

program and interventions that promote qualitative services and timely youth discharges.

o Funding for additional Global Positioning System units to further support alternatives to

detention and placement to increase utilization to include allowing medium and high-risk

youth to remain safely in their communities rather than in placement or detention in

addition to the youth who have traditionally been assigned to GPS.

o Funding is required in the amount of ($210,000) to support the dedicated Restitution

Fund that supports youth and offers an opportunity for them to resolve outstanding

restitution obligations that serve as a barrier to closing their probation cases by

performing community service which is paid for on an hourly basis through the fund. This

money is then used to pay the youth’s restitution obligations. In addition, in FY2021 the

Community Service and Restitution initiative has entered into a strategic partnership with

the Office of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for Criminal Justice and Public Safety under

the umbrella of the City’s Gun Violence Initiative (GVI) to assist in the mitigation of gun

violence by way of youth engaging in City-wide clean-ups in GVI pin-point areas that

have been identified by the Philadelphia Police Department.

• In FY2018/19, there were 10,426 workhours completed in community service in,

earning $104,264.21 toward restitution. FY2019-20 Community Service and

Restitution numbers were skewed significantly due to the onset and on-going of

COVID-19 beginning in the third quarter of FY 2020. We anticipated the numbers

would continue to be skewed in FY20-2021. All community service activities were

halted in the fourth quarter of FY2019-20 and no youth credits were earned towards

restitution since March 18, 2020. However, in September 2020 virtual and hybrid

community service began. In FY2021 this only constituted 25% of the manhours and

revenue earned from FY2018/19 & 20 respectively.

o Funding for a JDAI coordinator and two data analysts. There is still a need for a full-time

JDAI Coordinator as one was hired for FY2021 but only part-time from March 2021

through August 2021. We continue to have a need for a data analyst as our current

analyst is on loan from DHS’ IT department.

o Funding for GPS units this is representative of a fifteen percent (15%) increase or

$193,242.05. There were 1,786 youth monitored in 2020. However,1,001 of those youth

were placed at a per diem rate of $7.15 as an alternative to secure detention. Thus

realizing a $9,378,519.15 savings of secure juvenile detention costs.

o Funding for 150 portable electronic devices.

• Philadelphia DHS is requesting funding by the state to purchase portable electronic

devices. This is a direct support to the JPO. JPOs would be able to complete the

Youth Level of Service (YLS), Case Plan and Graduated Response documentation

while in the field with the youth and family. Portable devices are essential for

Philadelphia County now more than ever especially since the COVID-19 pandemic as

per the CDC will likely morph into what is known as an endemic disease. To

adequately combat the various strains of COVID-19 booster vaccines are currently in

development. This suggests that the projected endemic will have the same or similar

paralyzing effect on the JPO’s ability to complete their work as the initial pandemic

itself.

• Inclusive of funding for licenses to obtain virtual meeting platform applications.

o Funding in the amount of $100,000 which represents a 40% expansion of an existing

anger management program (A Better Way) to assist in combating gun violence in

Philadelphia. This program would be co-located in the existing IPS programs inclusive

of the newly expanded SW Philadelphia location.

o Funding in the amount of $100,000 for expanded engagement with JPO regarding

Shared Case Responsibility youth impacted by this provision and creating alternate

placement i.e. delinquent resource homes. Our rationale is to improve on quality and

continuity of services across our service continuum, maintain compliance with

FFPSA guidelines, promote family engagement at every system entry point, and

reduce the population of youth in out-of-home care.

o Funding to expand FEI elements of practice to support juvenile delinquent youth by

enhancing and supporting connection with kin and preventing penetration of the

delinquent system. This support will also supplement resources to promote reduction of

congregate care.

 REMINDER: This is intended to be a high-level description of county strengths, challenges

and forward direction. Specific details regarding practice and resource needs will be

captured in other sections of the budget submission.

1-2: Determination of Need through Collaboration Efforts

 Respond to the following questions.

❑ Summarize activities related to active engagement of staff, consumers, communities, and

stakeholders in determining how best to provide services that meet the identified needs of

children, youth and families in the county. Describe the county’s used of data analysis with

the stakeholders toward the identification of practice improvement areas. Counties must

utilize a Data Analysis Team as described in the NBPB Bulletin Guidelines, Section 2-4:

Program Improvement Strategies. The Data Analysis Team membership should be reflective

of the entities identified. Identify any challenges to collaboration and efforts toward

improvement. Counties do NOT need to identify activities with EACH entity highlighted in

the instruction guidelines but provide an overview of activities and process by which input

has been gathered and utilized in the planning process. Address engagement of the courts

and service providers separately (see next two questions).

The Department continues to hold Monthly Child Welfare Operations (CWO) Collaborative

meetings, which includes both DHS and Community Umbrella Agency (CUA) operations.

The purpose is to provide staff on different levels an opportunity to become informed and

trained on practice changes, to discuss the implementation of practice, to identify gaps in

practice and services, and to develop solutions to address the gaps, all with consistent

messaging. Monthly CWO meetings include monthly joint Supervisors’ meetings, monthly

joint Social Work Administrator and CUA Case Management Directors meetings, and

monthly DHS and CUA Directors meetings. DHS has staff from its DHS University assigned

to all ten CUAs to support their transfer of learning on practice.

During the COVID-19 operations, all meetings were held virtually and will continue in that

same format.

DHS, through its Division of Performance Management and Technology (PMT), has in place

several efforts to engage with our CUAs, using data to discuss practice and service

challenges and develop solutions to improve practice. Some of these meetings include:

o Closing the Loops meetings (every six months) to discuss CUA scorecards and

improvement strategies.

o Quality Assurance meetings (every quarter), in which data integrity issues are discussed

with CUA staff and Practice Specialists.

o PMT CUA visits, in which a multidisciplinary team of PMT workers visit CUAs to discuss

Philadelphia Family Data System and Reporting needs.

o AFCARS reconciliation calls in which we discuss discrepancies and missing AFCARS

data (every quarter).

o Performance-Based Contracting Meetings (quarterly) to discuss PBC implementation

progress, among others.

The Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI) brings together resource parents, youth, biological

parents, CUAs, provider agencies, attorneys, and staff across several DHS divisions and is

an integral part of the Department’s broader efforts to strengthen the foster care system and

retain resource parents. DHS continues to place a great emphasis on QPI, as our quarterly

meetings have continued throughout the pandemic. However, we took some time to be

strategic about how we would move the mission and work of QPI forward through virtual

platforms. We aim to present relevant and high-level resources to our resource parent

partners and child welfare staff during our quarterly meetings. At present, QPI’s internal

workgroups (Communication and info-sharing, Training, and Building Relationships) are

pressing forward with projects aimed at filling the gaps in our current child-welfare services

delivery, connecting Resource & Bio Parents, enhancing resource parent training system-

wide, and of course, elevating the integral voices of our resource parent partners. Finally, QPI

is exploring the QPI Champions Program, which would ensure meaningful participation from each of

our CUA agencies to amplify the work we are doing within our system.

The Commissioner and her Executive team historically meet quarterly with child and parent

advocates to discuss systemic issues related to case planning, reunification and other

permanencies. Due to the COVID-19, these meetings have occurred by-weekly and in some

instances, there are subgroups who are meeting weekly. The purpose of these meetings is

to continuously assess service delivery and make determinations for program and allocation

adjustment to respond to the needs of children, youth and families during the pandemic.

The DHS Commissioner and other members of her cabinet meet quarterly with the Child

Welfare Oversight Board. These meetings will continue virtually throughout the pandemic.

This Board consists of experts in the field of child welfare, juvenile justice, medical

professionals, academics, advocates and people with lived experience.

Commissioner Ali and Deputy Mayor for the Philadelphia Office of Children and Families

Figueroa participated in the Youth Residential Taskforce and now are implementing

recommendations. The Taskforce consisted of a group of stakeholders including advocates,

City government partners and City Council with the charge to conduct a system wide

assessment of congregate care placement service type to determine quality of care youth,

cross system collaboration, educational programming, and overall effectiveness in

supporting positive outcomes for youth. The work of the Taskforce has been completed and

efforts have culminated with the creation of a system enhancement report that includes

cross system recommendations. An implementation subgroup consisting of representation

of DHS, CBH, DBHIDS, Philadelphia School District and Managing Director Office have

continued the work of the Taskforce and are actively implementing viable

recommendations. An annual report on system’s progress is currently pending and will be

made public after final approvals.

As standard practice for the past three years, in preparation for the Needs Based Plan and

Budget, DHS Executives met with advocates from the Defenders Association, Juvenile Law

Center, Community Legal Services, the Support Center for Child Advocates, CUA

leadership and the District Attorney's Office to collaborate on ideas and suggestions

designed to achieve the four goals of IOC.

The Department’s Division of Juvenile Justice Services (DJJS) continues to collaborate with

Juvenile Probation, the Defender Association, District Attorney’s Office, School District,

PADHS, and other stakeholders in the ongoing implementation of several core strategies of

the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI). Ongoing implementation of JDAI and

JJSES help inform decisions about service needs and resources. We continue to meet and

discuss strategies to support our work as it relates to JDAI. In preparation for the Needs

Based Plan Budget, DHS engaged in planning discussions with internal and external

stakeholders to determine needs of youth, identify best practices and gaps in services.

Stakeholders included but not limited to the following: Juvenile Probation, District Attorney’s

office, Community Legal services, Defender Association, Support Center for Child

Advocates, and Community Umbrella Agency leadership.

DHS’ Director of Court and Community Services and the Deputy Chief of Juvenile Probation

co-chair monthly Court and Community Services Planning Group meetings.

The DHS-DJJS leadership team will reconvene bi-weekly Youth Review Meetings which

include participation by line JPOs, DHS CWO representatives, Defender Association, the

District Attorneys’ Office, CBH, and others. The Department of Human Services and the

Juvenile Probation Office along with various stakeholders utilize this meeting to support the

JPO and Child Welfare Operations (CWO of DHS) with viable strategies to move youth who

have high end needs from secure detention at the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services

Center (PJJSC). The goal is to target specific populations, such as cross-over youth; youth

with severe mental and behavioral health needs; and older youth with high rates of

recidivism. Historically, there has been limited resources to support these populations and

promote comprehensive case planning.

Additionally, DHS-DJJS participates in the citywide collaborative work group facilitated by

the Philadelphia office of Policy and Strategic Initiative for Criminal Justice and Public

Safety. The work of this group is centered on identifying gaps in services for crime

prevention and leveraging resources to reduce crime, particularly gun violence in the city.

DHS actively participates in the Systems of Care work being led by the City’s Department of

Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbilities (DBHIDS), Office of Addiction Services (OAS).

A service need was identified through this partnership and “Engaging Males of Color”

(EMOC) was developed and implemented to assist with mentoring our youth who have

mental and emotional needs via support from the behavioral health treatment system.

EMOC continues to provide monthly wellness sessions to the youth in custody at the

Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center (PJJSC).

Philadelphia’s Juvenile Probation Office Management team is involved in several

collaborations and committee meetings throughout the county and the state of

Pennsylvania. Statewide committees include the Juvenile Court Judge’s Commission

(JCJC) Technology Committee, Graduated Response, Regional Planning Committee, the

Pennsylvania Justice Network, and the Pennsylvania System of Care Collaboration. JPO

Management Team members continue to participate yearly with the 100-Day Challenge, a

City program which prevents young adult homelessness, Youth Fatality Review, Re-entry

Programming for youth returning from residential care, and the Juvenile Detention

Alternative Initiative (JDAI), which includes subcommittees for Disproportionate Minority

Contact and Victim and Community Support. Ongoing collaboration includes the

STOP/Domestic Violence Law Enforcement Collaboration, the Violent Injury Collaboration,

the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership, and regular meetings with Philadelphia Police.

Collaboration with these various partners allow staff to be informed about the different

resources in the community. It also allows for sharing of information which is key in providing

quality case management to and for youth.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, DHS in partnership with its contracted on-site

medical team from Corizon Health Services and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP),

and in consultation with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, created and

implemented COVID-19 mitigation practice protocols for the PJJSC. Testing for all youth

remanded to the PJJSC is included in the mitigation protocols. The testing commenced on

5/20/2020. As of Thursday, July 20, 2021 the total number of youth tested is 1,757

residents, with 68 positives. This equates to a 3.9% positivity rate within this population.

This is far below CDC recommended rate nationally. Additionally, we are awaiting the

results for four new admissions and three re-tests. These plans have continued to evolve

and are updated as new issues and information arise.

❑ Summarize activities related to active engagement of contracted service

providers in identifying service level trends, strengths and gaps in service arrays

and corresponding resource needs. Identify any challenges to collaboration and

efforts toward improvement in the engagement of service providers in the NBPB

process.

The Department continues to meet with contracted providers, including foster

care providers, congregate care providers, Supervised Independent Living (SIL)

providers, and prevention providers to identify strengths, gaps, and challenges to

service delivery. The most recent meetings with contracted providers included

CUA leadership to strengthen the relationship between the contracted providers

and CUAs. Additionally, DHS engaged providers in discussion soliciting feedback

and provided opportunities for technical assistance in preparation for the Family

First Prevention Service Act implementation. For the upcoming fiscal year, the

Department will continue to have meetings with CUA and contracted providers to

promote a further integrated child welfare system.

DHS University, in collaboration with the Office of Children and Families (OCF)-

Performance Management and Technology (PMT), continues to participate in

quarterly provider convenings for Congregate Care & Foster Care Providers and

receives feedback on competency, practice and training needs of providers.

One of Philadelphia County’s juvenile justice system’s most significant strengths

is the relationships Philadelphia DHS has built with the Philadelphia District

Attorney’s Office, the Philadelphia Public Defenders Office, School District of

Philadelphia, Family Court/Juvenile Probation Office, the Office of Policy and

Strategic Initiatives for Criminal Justice and Public Safety, and the Philadelphia

Police Department. DHS will continue to nurture these partnerships as we work

collaboratively to identify and meet the needs of our most vulnerable populations

of youth. Additionally, Philadelphia County participates in the Juvenile Detention

Alternative Initiative which emphasizes community engagement, data-driven

decisions, graduated response, and alternatives to detention.

The Office of Children and Families has continued and will continue to engage its

contracted service providers in the following ways:

1. Bi-weekly and/or monthly meetings to discuss progress toward negotiated

goals, issues related to service delivery, and discussions around trends or

factors that may influence the need for expansion.

2. Contracted service providers are required to engage their clients to ensure

satisfaction, identify service gaps, and ensure that services are meeting the

needs of the communities.

❑ Summarize activities related to active engagement of the courts in the NBPB

process, specifically identification of strengths and gaps in service arrays and

corresponding resource needs. Identify any challenges to collaboration and

efforts toward improved engagement with the courts.

The Commissioner and senior members of her leadership team meet with the

Administrative Judge, Supervising Judge of Family Court, Chief of Juvenile

Probation, and Court Administration to address systemic issues, provider

concerns, and develop ideas to improve the system. Additionally, senior

members of Court leadership and Juvenile Probation routinely meet with DHS

leadership from DJJS to assess needs related to youth in the delinquent system,

monitor population census at the PJJSC, and identify strategies to secure

alternative placement options for youth. These needs are articulated in the

Program Improvement Strategy Section under Outcome #1 and #3. Finally, the

Commissioner and some senior members of her leadership team routinely meet

with the Courts regarding the Family Engagement Initiative implementation.

DHS University continues to incorporate Court Week, a collaboration between

DHS, the city of Philadelphia Law Department, and the Court, to support newly

hired CUA and DHS staff in gaining familiarity with the court process and

hearings.

❑ Identify any strengths and challenges engaging and coordinating with law enforcement on

Multi-Disciplinary Investigative Teams (MDIT) and in joint investigations of child abuse.

The Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Philadelphia Police

Department (PPD) Special Victims Unit have collaborated for many years on investigations

of Child Abuse and during this time have built a very solid relationship. In August 2013, DHS

Specialty Investigations and the PPD Special Victims, along with the Philadelphia Children’s

Alliance (PCA), co-located to one facility and is known as the Philadelphia Safety

Collaborative (PSC). In order to formalize interagency relationships for the multi-disciplinary

investigative partners, a Memorandum of Agreement was written. As participants in the child

abuse response system, the multi-disciplinary investigative partners agreed to implement,

adhere to, and enforce collaboratively developed procedures. There is a daily morning

meeting where cases are referred for Forensic Interviewing, medical and/or victim services,

etc. Case review occurs monthly. PCA will facilitate regular Program Committee meetings to

review the operations at PSC, to develop and revise protocols, improve MDT

functioning, and address systems issues. All involved agencies agree to designate

supervisory level professionals to participate in Program Committee and to attend meetings.

1-3 Program and Resource Implications

 Do not address the initiatives in Section 1-3 unless requested below; address any

resource needs related to all initiatives by identifying and addressing within the

ADJUSTMENT TO EXPENDITURE request.

1-3c. Service Array

Please respond to the following questions regarding the county’s current service array and

identification of gap areas that will be addressed through the plan:

 Through the data analysis and stakeholder discussions in the development of the plan,

identify any strengths in existent resources and service array available to address the

needs of the children, youth and families served. Include information on any specific

populations determined to be under served or disproportionately served through the

analysis.

The Department’s leaders recognize that families of color are disproportionally

represented in formal, non-voluntary involvement in the child welfare system. As

reported in the data analysis section later in this document, regarding race and ethnicity,

83% of children receiving dependent services were either Black or Hispanic, whereas

94% of youth receiving delinquent services were either Black or Hispanic.

Black

children are moved in placement more frequently and have higher re-entry rates.

DHS has engaged in an Entry Rate & Disproportionality Study, a partnership between

DHS, the University of Pennsylvania, and Casey Family Programs to better understand

and address ethno-racial disparities and disproportionality among children entering out-

of-home care. As part of this study, DHS analyzed factors describing children reported to

the Hotline during the first three quarters of calendar year 2018. Of the 29,500 children

in the study, 93% were diverted; 5% received an in-home service only; 2% entered

placement. Children of color were over-represented among all reports to the DHS

Hotline. Specifically, 66% of children reported to DHS were Black, whereas only 42% of

Philadelphia’s population of children were Black. Once reported to the Hotline, this

disproportionality did not substantially change at key decision points for the child’s first

Data obtained from Dependent Children Demographics Report and Delinquent Children Demographics

Report, both run on July 7, 2021.

service, such as the decision to pursue out-of-home placement. Key findings also

indicate that most cases across all service types had reports and allegations related to

neglect; nearly four in five Hotline reports were General Protective Service (GPS)

reports, highlighting the prevalence of neglect-related concerns and effects of poverty in

our system.

During FY21, the University of Pennsylvania began the second phase of the study which

included roughly 400 surveys and over 100 interviews with caseworkers, families of

origin, and resource parents. Although data collection is currently wrapping up and

analyses are not yet fully complete, findings from this large-scale effort to better

understand and incorporate stakeholder voice in system improvement will be used to

inform strategic efforts to reduce disproportionate child welfare involvement among

children of color. In particular, DHS will incorporate emerging themes from caregiver

interviews related to contributors to out-of-home placement, such as racism, poverty,

unemployment, and chronic health issues, as well as strengths that could contribute to

positive change, such as community human resources and new city resources or

services. Building on the insights gleaned from families in this study, DHS will seek to

mitigate systemic issues that hinder family well-being and to build on what is working

well.

In response to these emerging findings, DHS developed a City-wide Cross-Agency

Disproportionality Workgroup, whose purpose is as follows: “Using the research and

evidence, our goal is to pull resources together with partner City agencies to design

bold, collaborative interventions focused on preventing out of home placement,

specifically for African-American children and youth, due to neglect allegations, juvenile

justice contact, and/or socio-economic factors.” The Workgroup has representatives

from the City’s Health & Human Services Cluster (Housing, Behavioral Health, Public

Health, Economic Opportunities), the School District of Philadelphia, and the Children’s

Hospital of Philadelphia. The key strategies of the workgroup are to better address

poverty and resource needs through a Support Line, modify mandated reporter training

to address implicit bias and better train reporters to distinguish between safety and

poverty, assess and change policies that may contribute to disproportionate child welfare

involvement, and leverage federal funding through the Family First Prevention Services

Act for more robust prevention services.

Philadelphia County’s strengths in meeting the needs of children, youth, and families

include the resources and practices below:

Restructured Hotline Processes

In late 2017, the Department restructured its Hotline with an emphasis and focus on

Secondary Screen-outs and Safe Diversion. Overall staffing was increased, our Hotline

Guided Decision-Making procedures were revised, and staff re-trained. Specific units

(Case Assigners and Field Screen units) were also created to implement safe diversion

at the point of initial intake. Since these initiatives began, there has been improved

screening of referrals and more efficient report assignment. The data show that since the

restructure, there have been fewer reports accepted for investigation and more families

safely diverted to Prevention. Specifically, in FY2020-21, 45% of referrals were accepted

for investigation compared to 64% in FY2016-17. Hotline has screened out more than

half of reports received in every full fiscal year since the restructure. Better in-region

expertise and less reliance on overtime have been added benefits.

Diversion Case Management

In 2019, building on the success of diversion at the Hotline, DHS initiated mandatory use

of Diversion Case Management (i.e. Rapid Service Response, Family Empowerment

Services, CAPTA) in the Investigations Divisions. For all reports Accepted for

Investigation with an initial/preliminary Safety Assessment decision of Safe with a Plan,

Diversion Case Management services are accessed to work with the family alongside

the investigation. The paradigm shift gives focus to the Department’s efforts to rightsize

with the intent of mitigating identified safety concerns and threats during the time-limited

investigation process. Community-based Family Empowerment Centers were created to

allow families to receive diversion services in a single location in the community. The

data show that since this practice has been implemented, there have been fewer cases

accepted for services and more families safely diverted to Prevention services.

Specifically, in FY2020-21, 11% of cases investigated were accepted for service

compared to 17% in FY2016-17. Of cases screened out by Hotline and investigation

staff, fewer than one in ten were accepted for service up to two years later. Added

benefits have also included lower caseloads for ongoing Case Management.

Rapid Permanency Review

In 2016, the Department adopted the Rapid Permanency Review (RPR) to rightsize its

permanencies. RPR is a system improvement tool designed by Casey Family Programs

to achieve timely permanency for children who have been in care for over two years.

Philadelphia RPRs identify where children and youth experience delays in permanency

and seek to address these obstacles. The goal is to promote a smoother, quicker path to

a safe and permanent home for all of Philadelphia's children and youth in out of home

care.

The most recent RPR process was completed in 2020. There were 1,290 children

identified as eligible for the RPR, and 795 of those children still remain in placement and

are being tracked for targeted permanency efforts as of July 1, 2021. Of the 795

children still in placement, 44% had the goal of reunification (n=348), 40% had the goal

of adoption (n=320), and 16% had the goal of Permanent Legal Custody (PLC) (n=127).

With regard to reunification, the largest age group included children ages 0 to 5 (33%),

while the largest age group for children with the goal of adoption was 6 to 9 years olds

(36%). Contrastingly, youth ages 14 to 17 made up the largest age group for those with

the goal of PLC (41%).

The three most common barriers to reunification were: parent not participating in the

services, the lack of or concern about housing, and unaddressed safety concerns.

Related to adoption, the most common barriers identified included: missing or expired

documentation, placement disruption, and incomplete family or child profile over 6

months. Lastly, with regards to PLC, the three most common barriers were: missing or

expired documentation, child not in agreement with the goal, and family profile

incomplete over 6 months. These findings support the need for improved family

engagement strategies, concrete resources, and more targeted permanency supports

and resources for children, youth, and families.

Rapid Permanency Reviews (RPRs) has transitioned from project management

oversight by DHS University (DHSU) to a sustainability plan whereby it will be embedded

into the infrastructures of our Child Welfare Operations as a method to look at barriers to

permanency and identify strategies that will address bottlenecks within practice.

DHSU will continue support and provide technical assistance of RPR as it relates to

gaps in practice, while maintaining the fidelity of the RPR model.

Rapid Re-housing

Another successful targeted Prevention program continues to be the Rapid Re-housing

for Reunification. This program is for families who are projected to be reunifying with

their children in six months or less, but face delay because they lack safe and affordable

housing. This program helps families achieve timely permanency with a goal of

preventing re-entry. Since its inception in 2018, this program has served 40 families.

Reduction in Congregate Care

From FY 2016-17 to FY 2020-21, there was a 69% decrease in the number of youth

receiving dependent residential services (e.g., institution-level) and a 52% decrease in

the number of youth placed in dependent community residential settings (e.g., group

home level). Further, Philadelphia remains well below the state (13%) and national

averages (10.3%) with just 7.5% of children and youth in out-of-home placement

residing in congregate care settings.

With the implementation of FEI, the Department has put measure in place where

meaningful family involvement can occur, which we hope will increase the likelihood of

children remaining in their own homes or will be placed with family or kin if out-of-home

placement is necessary.

The Department upon its rollout of the Family First Prevention Services Act, looks to

incorporate nationally recognized Evidenced Based Programs to be used in the home

environment to help promote and encourage understanding and healing where out-of-

home placement is not used as a solution as well as timely reunification and other

permanency.

Regarding Juvenile Justice Services, in stakeholder discussions, development and

utilization of Philadelphia county’s community-based options has been recognized

repeatedly as a strength of the system. The availability of these options mitigates the

county’s need for and dependence on congregate detention options. The availability of

community-based options has allowed the juvenile justice system to reduce the use of

congregate settings during the COVID-19 pandemic by giving judges alternatives to

these settings. Advantages to community-based options include greater family

cohesiveness and participation in interventions; the ability for youth on probation to

participate in the DHS Community Service and Restitution initiative to perform service

that can translate to dollars through the initiative to pay restitution fines and allow their

cases to be closed. These, in turn, help to prevent recidivism and greater penetration

into the juvenile justice system. Studies have shown that youth are more receptive to

interventions rendered in a community-based setting and have far better outcomes as a

result. Additionally, the longer a youth is on probation due to their inability to satisfy

these court imposed financial responsibilities, the greater the probability of committing a

technical violation of their probation which can result in a deeper penetration of the

juvenile justice system.

Notwithstanding DHS-DJJS and JPO’s success in reducing congregate care and offering

diversionary programming, disproportionality remains a critical problem. DHS, in

collaboration with University of Penn and other local stakeholders, will conduct a further

study and analysis of youth specifically in the juvenile delinquent system to understand

the pervasiveness of disproportionality regarding ethno-racial and sexual orientation

disparities. DHS-DJJS will need support to sustain this work and create interventions to

address disparate outcomes for youth concerning arrests, court dispositions, length of

placement, and quality of treatment.

The Office of Children and Families (OCF)-Prevention services include:

o Truancy Support services.

o Out-of-School Time programming.

o Youth Employment services.

o Education Support programming.

OCF routinely analyzes data to identify the needs of its population. Reviewed data

includes population density, levels of poverty, areas of need, and overall socio-economic

status. OCF works closely with the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) to determine

schools that need the most support. Once schools are identified and agreed upon,

resources are aligned.

This process is conducted annually. The strength of this process is determined by

ensuring equitable services within schools with the most need. By assessing the needs

of families and students in high-need schools, OCF and SDP can address social-health

and economic determinants affecting our populations.

 Identify service array challenges and describe the county’s efforts to collaboratively

address any service gaps. Identify key areas in which technical assistance may be

needed.

To tackle the challenges to the child welfare system and meet our goals, Philadelphia

DHS needs first to strengthen case management services and empower families to

achieve the goals they have set in the service plan. Then DHS must ensure that case

management staff and families have the resources needed to achieve the families’

goals.

Transfer of Learning and Technical Assistance

The Department’s DHS University supports strong case management skill through

brown bag sessions, trainings, and case consultation.

Family Team Conferencing revision

DHS has revised the Family Team Conferencing policy and procedures to clarify roles

between CUA CM, DHS Investigations Staff & DHS Teaming Staff; support development

of a Single Case Plan that is more directly focused on the needs of the children, youth

and families, including safety, permanency and well-being; develop objectives that are

targeted to mitigating the issues that led to placement, or quickly achieving permanency;

and hold families accountable for meeting objectives.

Services to achieve safe and timely reunification or other permanency

DHS has identified a need for an expanded array of services to meet the continued

challenges in achieving timely permanency for children and families. In order to address

the challenges, DHS is seeking to expand Family Finding, enhance the quality of

representation for parents in dependency proceedings, and establish peer support

partners for parents and children in the system.

Services to support the further decrease in congregate care

As DHS continues to reduce the number of youth in congregate care, those who are

placed in these settings have more complex, challenging needs. DHS must build an

array of services and linkage opportunities to support children and youth with complex

needs in the community. To support this strategy, DHS is moving forward in FY 2022

with meeting with the city Office of Human Resources regarding city-wide posting for

positions. The target date for posting the positions is January 1, 2022. This unit will

assist with 1) planning for families for with complex needs; 2) assessing the behavioral

health needs of youth; and 3) creating linkages to community programs to either prevent

placement or safely transition youth out of congregate care. Additionally, DHS is re-

requesting funding for professional foster parents who are trained to support the needs

of youth with complex behavioral health needs and/or sexual reactive behaviors. Finally,

DHS is requesting increased funding for Family Finding to bring additional focus to

finding permanency for older youth, and kinship resources for youth in congregate care

settings.

Services to improve older youth outcomes:

In order to positively impact this outcome, streamlining older youth services is necessary

and providing sufficient resources to pursue permanency and independence is critical.

To that end, DHS will fill the position of Older Youth Services Director to lead and

coordinate our practice focus on pursuing permanency and sustained independence for

older youth.

To support the efforts of the Older Youth Services Director, DHS is requesting funding to

fill Older Youth Liaison positions at DHS to support the Community Umbrella

Agencies (CUA).

• The Liaisons would work in collaboration with the Older Youth Services Director and

be charged with supporting CUA case managers as they plan for older youth

permanency and independence.

• Liaisons would provide on-site support and expertise related to the core areas of

best practices for older youth including engagement and information about available

resources.

• Liaisons will monitor the case management activities to ensure that all older youth

are receiving a standard, equitable level of planning and resource connections, both

at the case management and DHS-contracted provider agency level.

Another critical service request is funding for peer support partners for youth to assist

with navigating the child welfare system and to increase mentoring opportunities for

older youth. DHS is also requesting continued support for programs such as Lifeset

(formerly YV Lifeset) and mobile Achieving Independence Center so that DHS can

ensure that all youth in the system have access to ongoing support, pathways to

independence and life-long connections. DHS is requesting that PA DHS extend the age

for funding housing subsidies from 21 to 24 to provide critical stable housing supports.

Services to support youth with emergency mental health needs:

The Department’s Community Umbrella Agencies revealed, in preparation for this year’s

Needs Based Plan and Budget submission, they considered the greatest unmet service

need to be the inability to make an emergency appointment for children and youth with

mental health needs.

Regarding Juvenile Justice Services, data analysis has been an ongoing challenge for

the County. So, most of the current information about strengths and challenges in

existing resources and service array come from regular stakeholder discussions. The

County recently addressed the need for data analysis by hiring a data analysis

professional in during FY21. During the past fiscal year, the Juvenile Justice Services

data analysis staff completed a number of important projects that have provided useful

information to City systems. These projects include the 24

Precinct Mapping Project,

the Evening Reporting Center Monthly Report, and a Memorandum of Understanding to

share data between DHS and Juvenile Probation. This analyst is also overseeing a

number of projects that are in process, including a Juvenile Justice Community Program

Evaluation, GPS Data Analysis Project, and State Detention Facilities Visit Report.

At this time, there is a major gap in Intensive Prevention Services (IPS) in SouthWest

Philadelphia. This service area has been identified by the Philadelphia Police

Department as an area that falls under their Operation Pinpoint Initiative, part of the City

of Philadelphia’s Gun Violence Initiative (G.V.I) aimed at mitigating gun violence.

Currently, an RFP is awaiting final approval for release to acquire a potential provider to

serve as the IPS Provider for the Southwest Philadelphia corridor. The IPS Provider that

serves West Philadelphia is currently attempting to also cover the SouthWest

Philadelphia corridor without much success. Once an established IPS provider is

contracted and dedicated to the SW Philadelphia corridor. The requisite desired

outcome is two-fold, first DHS-DJJS’ ability to be able to take advantage of the GVI’s

data collection and analysis regarding youth gun violence and secondly, prevent formal

penetration of youth ages 13-18 into the delinquent system. While, preventing and

reducing juvenile arrest and recidivism in this specific corridor. This expansion is is

under an approved budget of $789,104 with a targeted anticipated start date of

September 1, 2021.

As of December 21, 2021 (FY 2021-22), the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of

2018/Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act will require that youth who are

being charged as adults no longer be held in adult jails. DHS has begun to discuss

internally and with the JPO, the DA’s Office-(Juvenile Unit), and the Courts as to how

this change can be implemented. This is a fluid and ever evolving situation with

continued discussions schedule at the end FY2021 (June 2021) through early FY2022

(July 2021) respectively. Currently, the Department is exploring additional resources

which would allow us to reduce the current population at the Philadelphia Juvenile

Justice Services Center (PJJSC). A reduced population at the PJJSC would allow the

youth charged as adults to reside at the PJJSC without being in contact with youth

alleged to be delinquent/non-adjudicated or already adjudicated delinquent. Some of the

resources to maintain a lower census at the PJJSC that are being considered or are

underway, include re-establishing community-based detention services (CBDS) which is

in the process of coming on-line with an anticipated start date of September 1, 2021 as a

15 bed male CBDS. Another strategy is developing other community-based resources

as alternatives to detention, such as expanding the Pre-ERC to 20 slots; inclusive of

male and female. These approaches are in-line with the Department’s Juvenile

Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI). To support these needs, DHS is requesting

funding to support the establishment of CBDS, the expansion of both the Pre and Post

ERC programming and funding for evidenced-based programming to be delivered at the

PJJSC for the residents we will receive with longer lengths of stay and high-end needs

as related to the Juvenile Reform Act of 2018 that goes into effect December 1, 2021.

Additionally, DHS-DJJS will need funding to obtain specialized training for staff. The

youth who will potentially transfer to the PJJSC are being charged with violent and

extremely aggressive acts. They will require a different level of engagement that is

beyond the skill set of DJJS’s current staff. That effective date of December 1, 2021 for

the Juvenile Reform Act is a $18,000 per day increase at the PJJSC in order to absorb

an estimated (30) high-end needs youth population that were once under the purview of

the County’s adult prison system.

OCF has not identified any challenges. The partnership between OCF and the School

District of Philadelphia is strong and has proven that systems that have been aligned in

recent years have supported continuous planning and collaboratively identifying service

needs.

1-3d. Overtime Rules

Please respond to the following questions regarding the county’s general plan to address the

federal and/or state rule:

 If impacted by the new rule(s), briefly describe the CCYAs planned response; including

any plans to evaluate and potentially realign workloads, compensate additional overtime,

raise workers’ salaries, and limit overtime by hiring additional staff.

DHS was not impacted by the new rules that took effect on January 2020. The City of

Philadelphia’s Office of Human Resources reviewed all position titles below the new

threshold, and they are categorized correctly as FLSA covered. In addition, many of the

FLSA exempt titles above the threshold receive OT up to a certain pay range under the

Civil Service regulations. Beyond that designated range, they may receive compensatory

time as a public employer. Overtime is managed by each division head based on

budgetary constraints.

 Describe the county’s efforts to obtain and evaluate estimates from private providers

regarding the impact from the proposed rule(s) on their program costs.

Philadelphia County is reaching out once again to contracted providers through a survey

to determine who falls under the overtime rules. The estimated impact is being evaluated

and will be included as part of Philadelphia’s Needs Based Plan and Budget FY 2021-22

Base Adjustments.

 As of the date of this writing, provide the names of private providers who will be

receiving an increase in their contracted rate of service for FY 2022-23 because of the

new rule(s).

The City’s living wage is $13.75. No contract is approved if a salary is listed below that

amount. For congregate care providers, the per diem rates include $18 per hour for

front line staff.

 To assist in development of a resource request tied to the new rule, please use the

italicized questions as a guide when developing an ADJUSTMENT TO EXPENDITURE

related to CCYA employees. For an ADJUSTMENT TO EXPENDITURE related to

private providers, please provide any supporting documentation from the provider that

addresses the same or similar questions. Follow the instructions in the “Electronic

Submission” section of the Bulletin to submit supporting documentation:

• How many CCYA employees will be affected by this change in regulation?

• Approximately how many hours per week will need to be compensated that were

not previously? At what rate(s)?

• Is there a way to reduce or eliminate the need for overtime hours without

affecting current operations?

• Are the overtime hours worked now due to vacancies? If so, could additional

staffing reduce or eliminate the need?

• What analysis was completed to determine the direction of the agency’s

response to the new rule?

1-3e. Proposed Minimum Wage Increase

Please respond to the following questions regarding the county’s general plan to address the

proposed minimum wage increase:

 If impacted by the proposal, briefly describe the CCYA’s planned response.

Employees of DHS will not be impacted by the proposed minimum wage increase. Civil

Service employees are compensated pursuant to Collective Bargaining Agreements.

 Describe the county’s efforts to obtain and evaluate estimates from private providers

regarding the impact from the proposal.

As with the new Overtime Rule, Philadelphia County is surveying contracted providers.

The estimated impact is being evaluated and will be included as part of Philadelphia’s

Needs Based Plan and Budget FY 2021-22 Base Adjustments.

1-3f. Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)

For new CCYAs interested in joining the CQI effort during calendar year 2022, answer the

questions found below. Interested CCYAs will receive a follow-up communication requesting

the county complete a self-assessment to help the state evaluate the CCYAs level of readiness

to participate in the CQI effort. The CCYA can submit the self-assessment to OCYF later.

 Briefly describe the CCYA’s interest in joining the statewide CQI effort.

Philadelphia DHS is currently a CQI county.

❑ What is the tentative month the CCYA would be interested in conducting a QSR

in 2022 if approved to join the CQI effort? Please note if you are interested in in-

person or virtual reviews.

If the CCYA is not a current CQI county and is not interested in joining the CQI efforts,

describe the agency’s efforts to address quality service delivery.

Philadelphia DHS is currently a CQI county.

For CQI counties who planned to hold a QSR in calendar year 2020 but needed to defer

due to COVID-19, provide the month and calendar year the CCYA is considering for their next

QSR. Please note if you are interested in in-person or virtual reviews.

Philadelphia DHS had tentatively planned to have a QSR in November or December of calendar

year 2020 in alignment with the annual licensing inspection. Philadelphia DHS is postponing the

QSR until FY2021-22 due to COVID-19.

1-3l. Family First Prevention Services Act

Title IV-E Prevention Services Program

❑ Describe how the CCYA currently determines children and youth are at imminent risk of

placement in foster care absent effective preventative services (i.e., does the CCYA use an

assessment tool to inform this determination or does each caseworker make this decision

independent of an assessment tool). This determination is currently documented on the

Family Service Plan and/or petitions to the court.

Currently, the Safety Assessment Worksheet and Pennsylvania Risk Assessment are

currently the primary tools utilized by Philadelphia DHS Social Work Service Managers

(SWSM) to determine whether children and youth are at imminent risk of placement in foster

care absent effective preventative services. The SWSM gathers information from all relevant

parties and uses the Safety Assessment to determine whether there are any safety threats

and the extent of the caregiver of origin’s protective capacities and the PA Risk Assessment

tool to determine the level of risk of future abuse or neglect. The SWSM makes a decision

based on an analysis of safety and risk indicators outlined in the tools. Findings are

discussed with and reviewed by the SWSM’s supervisor before rendering a final decision.

Before a child can be placed, the decisions and the attempts to develop a safety plan are

reviewed by a Social Work Administrator who has the final decision as to whether DHS

seeks an Order of Protective Custody to place a child in out of home care. In addition,

legal review by an assistant city solicitor is held to ensure the situation meets the legal

requirement for removal. The SWSM documents the analysis process and safety and risk

decisions on the tools. The process and outcome are also documented in a case-specific

structured progress note, investigations disposition summary, and referral for prevention or

in-home CUA services.

Upon DHS’ implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act, DHS will

incorporate nationally-recognized Evidenced Based Programs to be used to help promote

positive outcomes for children and encourage a greater understanding of protective

capacities for purposes of preventing out-of-home placements and promoting family

stabilization.

❑ Describe the CCYAs assessment process to determine the needs of the children, youth and

families being served and the selection of appropriate services to meet those needs.

To determine the needs of the children, youth, and families being served by Philadelphia

DHS, general case practice efforts are utilized. The assessment process consists of

information gathered during safety and risk assessment, discussions with all family and

household members, observations during home visits, and other forms of collateral contacts

or assessments deemed necessary to make a comprehensive recommendation.

After the Accept for Service decision has been made, the assigned case manager

participates in a Family Team Conference to develop a Single Case Plan with the family that

identifies services that would address and enhance the protective capacities identified as

diminished or absent.

During the Family Team Conference, the extent of the caregiver of origin’s protective

capacities is reviewed along with factors on the risk assessment and the family’s strengths

and supports. This discussion informs the team as to the type, level, and intensity of

services needed and assists with the selection of services that are appropriate for the

family's needs. Family Team Conferences ensure that goals, objectives, and actions are

identified and supervisory review ensures that these are included in a Single Case Plan that

would focus on the reduction of future risk, enhancement of the caregiver of origin’s

protective capacities, reduction of threats and increased safety for the child or youth within

the home of origin.

❑ Describe the CCYAs engagement with community-based service providers regarding the

selection and implementation of EBPs, regardless of their allowability under the Title IV-E

Prevention Program.

Over the past fiscal year, Philadelphia DHS has continued to take strategic steps to prepare

for the implementation of EBPs in response to the Family First Prevention Services Act

(FFPSA). We continue to expand our work to study our mandated and non-mandate

programs that exemplify quality service and improve outcomes for children and families

receiving child welfare services.

With our continued partnership with Mathematica, our System Enhancement and Research

& Data Analytics Units successfully engaged with internal and external stakeholders,

including community-based service through our annual provider convening and targeted

conversations.

Additionally, Philadelphia DHS will undertake a global provider readiness analysis to

determine what implementation and infrastructure support our provider community requires

to sustain and scale our EBP utilization strategy during the upcoming fiscal year.

In the Spring of 2019, DHS released a Request for Proposals and selected Mathematica as

our research partner to expand the work of its Research & Evaluation Team to study

programs that exemplify quality service and lead to improved outcomes for children and

families receiving child welfare services. Mathematica has produced deliverables such as

conducting a number of trainings, producing an in-depth program description memo and

logic models for our CUA in-home services and major diversionary prevention programs,

producing a memo outlining reporting considerations for successful implementation,

reviewing the Effective Black Parenting Program to allow the state to seek Family First

reimbursement, and coaching and mentoring staff to use data to prepare for implementation.

Looking forward to year three in FY22, DHS will continue the partnership with Mathematica

through four key strategies. First, Mathematica will support DHS to use data and findings

from FY21 to improve the current CUA in-home and diversionary prevention service array.

Next Mathematica will provide coaching to core teams across DHS to provide support for

evidence-based program implementation and evaluation. Third, Mathematica will support

DHS in developing a data cleaning strategy to ensure the use of high- quality data. And

fourth, Mathematica will continue providing training and capacity building across teams.

These strategies will position DHS for successful implementation during FY22.

❑ Describe the CCYAs efforts to monitor EBP programs (regardless of their allowability under

the Title IV-E Prevention Program) for fidelity to the model, collect outcome data, and

analyze the data for the purpose of determining improvements to the current practice.

Through DHS’ partnership with Mathematica, DHS has built a solid foundation for EBP

monitoring in the coming year. During year one, DHS learned about system facilitators and

barriers to EBP implementation, and in year two, DHS did a deep dive into better

understanding the array of non-placement services and how DHS might best implement

evidence-based practices with these populations. In year three, DHS will work

collaboratively across teams to improve the current non-placement service array while

implementing new evidence-based practices to improve outcomes for children and families

with an eye toward reporting requirements and data quality and accuracy. The capacity-

building that Mathematica has done with DHS positions the County to monitor EBP

programs. Additionally, to support this new body of work, DHS is seeking funding for

Implementation Science Teams to oversee and support EBP implementation.

To support the implementation of new EBP’s, DHS is requesting funding to support the

development of EBP Implementation Teams, each of which consist of people who support

the implementation, sustainability, scale-up, and ongoing evaluation of EBPs so that they

are implemented to fidelity and intended outcomes are realized. The proposed

Implementation Team will also help to identify and address common barriers to family

engagement with evidence-based practices.

To support the implementation of new EBPs in FY’22, DHS is seeking funding to make use

of Implementation Science Teams, each of which consist of 3-5 people who support the

implementation, sustainability, scale-up, and ongoing evaluation of EBPs so that they are

implemented to fidelity and intended outcomes are realized. The National Implementation

Research Network (NIRN; https://nirn.fpg.unc.edu) recommends that jurisdictions use

Implementation Teams that are “actively involved on a daily basis with implementation

efforts devoted to assuring the full and effective uses of the effective innovations.”

According to NIRN, the use of full-time Implementation Science Teams increases the degree

to which jurisdictions adhere to the fidelity of a model and decrease the amount of time to

adherence. Specifically, one study found that among sites that used Implementation

Science Teams, 80% met criteria for fidelity compared to only 14% of sites who did not use

Implementation Science Teams, and the time to fidelity was reduced from 7 years to 3.6

years among sites that used Implementation Science Teams (Fixsen, Blasé, Timbers, &

Wolf, 2001).

❑ Describe how the CCYA will verify Title IV-E Prevention funds are the payer of last resort for

allowable Title IV-E Prevention Services.

To ensure that IV-E prevention funds are the payer of last resort, Philadelphia DHS will not

encumber any IV-E funds on prevention contracts. Only after the IV-E prevention revenue

has been received will an expenditure transfer take place and those expenses will be

allocated to IV-E prevention accordingly.

❑ Describe any other anticipated practice and/or fiscal impact of this provision or requests for

technical assistance.

Philadelphia County’s existing practices are largely aligned with the Family First Prevention

Services Act. The County has selected an outside contractor to assist in selecting new

EBPs from the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse for implementation while

evaluating those from the County’s existing service array for inclusion. However, given the

high threshold for inclusion in the Clearinghouse, Philadelphia County will continue to

develop and implement programs for their impact on diverting children and youth from care

rather than purely for their ability to receive federal reimbursement.

In the upcoming fiscal year, Philadelphia County anticipates support will be needed to

address the costs of developing workforce and provider capacity for delivering Family

Prevention Services that meet the evidence-based thresholds. Training for staff on foster

care candidacy & prevention planning, and the need for prevention workers. Philadelphia-

DHS will anticipate a need to evaluate necessary technical changes and costs associated

with collecting data required for annual report by OCYF.

❑ CCYAs may be considering engaging private providers or other human service agencies in

the determination of eligible children and/or delivery of services under the Title IV-E

Prevention Services Program as a diversion to formal child welfare involvement. To assist

OCYF in determining the feasibility of this approach on a county-by-county basis, share

whether this in an option the CCYA is considering and, if so, include a high-level description

that addresses how the requirements under the program will be met. Be sure to address (at

a minimum):

• The role of the CCYA and the role of the other agency;

• What infrastructure supports exist to enable data sharing and accurate billing

(considering the payer of last resort requirement);

• What assessment processes will be utilized by the other agency to determine

eligibility of the child for services (i.e., that the child is at serious risk of placement

in foster care or a pregnant, expecting or parenting youth in foster care);

• What assessment processes will be utilized by the other agency to determine the

needs of the child and select the appropriate Title IV-E Prevention Service;

• Who is responsible for completion of the prevention plan;

• How safety of the child and the effectiveness of the service in mitigating the risk

to placement in foster care will be periodically assessed while the child is

receiving services; and

• The circumstances under which the child will be referred to the CCYA for

additional services.

Based on current OCYF guidance, county staff will maintain the responsibility for

determining who is a candidate for foster care. DHS has not yet considered alternative

processes. Further internal discussion will depend on OCYF’s final guidance regarding Title

IV-E Prevention Services Innovation Zone Strategy.

Congregate care funding limitation

❑ Describe the CCYA’s engagement with the courts and legal staff regarding this provision.

DHS and the Court are working to prepare for the implementation of FFPSA. As described

below, we are working to build an array of community-based options to use in lieu of

placement, as well as increasing our focus on Family Finding. As DHS begins to develop

and grow an array of evidence-based prevention programs, the Court will be briefed on the

types of programs and when it is best for them to be used so that they will become a well-

used part of the continuum of services. Additionally, DHS has made significant investments

in the Family Engagement Initiative (FEI) implementation. The FEI model supports FFPSA

through an emphasis on preventing out-of-home placements and expanding family supports

and connections for youth. DHS is working, in conjunction with family court, to advance

cross system training and collaboration to support successful implementation and system

integration.

❑ Describe the engagement with JPO regarding Shared Case Responsibility youth impacted

by this provision.

The JPO developed a probation unit specifically for youth involved in Crossover Court. JPOs

along with DHS partners attend all Joint Assessment Meetings (JAM) for shared case

responsibility youth. JAMs allow for every provider working with families to share plans

developed for each youth and the supports offered to the families. Further, an executive

Youth Review Meeting is held bi-monthly to triage shared case responsibility youth involved

in Crossover Court. These efforts are made to prevent a dependent youth from being

adjudicated delinquent and further penetrating the Juvenile Justice System. In calendar year

2020, there were 154 youth involved in Crossover Court and of that number 130 or 84%

were successfully discharged. Of the 130 successfully discharged, 106 or 69% were not

adjudicated by the system which is the primary goal of the Crossover Court. These youth

were all on deferred status throughout their time on probation supervision and therefore-

diverting these youth from obtaining an adjudication on their record.

DHS-DJJS will extend our analysis of our shared case responsibility data with the JPO

to inform the understanding of who receives delinquent prevention services, which types

of services are used most often, and how families have engaged with delinquent

prevention services over time. Knowing the demographics and number of youth

receiving delinquent prevention services in their home can help us make informed

decisions about the types of evidence-based programming services to contract for and

provide. Understanding the service needs and services currently available to our shared

case management population will inform decisions, increase supports and improve their

stabilization, and thus, further penetrating the Juvenile Justice System.

Additionally, through our Family First planning, we continue to further our understanding

of how the implementation of services or programs in our delinquent service continuum

understands, recognizes, and responds to the effects of all types of traumas and in

accordance with recognized principles of a trauma-informed approach to address

trauma's consequences and facilitate healing. Our continued rationale is to improve on

quality and continuity of services across our service continuum, maintain compliance

with FFPSA guidelines, promote family engagement at every system entry point, and

reduce the population of youth in out-of-home care.

As we move forward, we identified a unique opportunity to expand the Family

Engagement Initiative (FEI) framework into our delinquent prevention/diversion service

continuum. DHS will use CWO’s expertise in FEI implementation and leverage existing

partnerships to expand the family engagement model to delinquent youth and to use the

24/72-hour Crisis Rapid Response Family Meetings, from the FEI model, for JJS youth

as a vehicle to rapidly bring the youth's family and network to the table to discuss the

emergent concern (i.e., youth being detained). Additionally, this will help to deepen the

collaboration between DHS-JJS, JPO and delinquency courts.

❑ Describe the engagement with placement service providers regarding the voluntary option to

become certified as a specialized setting.

DHS engaged the providers in an informational session regarding the specialized

certification. The purposes of the meeting were to discuss the FFPSA requirements; solicit

feedback from providers; provided technical assistance and to assess provider readiness for

special certification.

❑ Describe any practice changes being implemented at the county level to ensure that

congregate care placement is appropriate based on the child or youth’s needs. For

example, is agency leadership being involved in decisions regarding congregate care

placement.

Since 2012, DHS has used the Commissioner's approval process to divert youth from

congregate care. Prior to placement in any dependent congregate care facility, the

Commissioner’s designated team must review the youth's history, including prior placement

and services, to determine if all least restrictive options have been safely exhausted. This

process has helped to significantly decrease the percentage of youth in congregate care

from 22% in 2012 to 9% in 2019 and now just 7.5% in 2021.

As part of the move toward improved practice, DHS continues to work with the Law

Department and other partners towards the reduction in the use of congregate care and

toward timely, safe, and appropriate discharges from congregate care. Cases will be

reviewed to determine if community-based resources can help reduce the length of stay for

youth in congregate care.

A central component of the Family Engagement Initiative (FEI) in Philadelphia is enhanced

and aggressive family finding. The Law Department plays a crucial role in advocating in

court that family resources be employed in the first instance to avoid placement in

congregate or any other form of care and, in the second instance, in arguing that youth in

congregate be discharged to appropriate family members. More generally, the Law

Department advocates in Court to aggressively promote the goal of reunification to

discharge youth from congregate care back to their home of origin. If this is not possible,

the Law Department advocates for children to move to a less restrictive form of care at the

earliest possible moment. If agreements can be reached between court dates,

administrative orders are pursued to effectuate reunification and/or placement in less

restrictive settings.

❑ Describe any other anticipated practice and/or fiscal impact of this provision or requests for

technical assistance.

Philadelphia County’s current practices have been focused on reducing congregate care

use and placing children and youth in family-based settings for several years and are

aligned with the congregate care funding limitation. Philadelphia has significantly reduced

use of congregate care and the number of both dependent and delinquent youth in these

settings is at an all-time low. As of June 30, 2021, 89% of youth in dependent placement live

in a family-based setting. Of the youth in these family settings, 57% are placed with kin. As

of June 30, 2021, just 104 youth were placed in delinquent congregate care placement,

compared to over 600 four years ago. Despite these successes, work continues to be done

to reduce the residential placement population even further.

1-3o. Title IV-E Reimbursement for Legal Representation Costs for Children and Parents in

Dependency Proceedings

❑ Is there interest by the county agency financially responsible for legal representation

costs for parents in dependency proceedings in developing an MOU with the CCYA to

draw down Title IV-E funds?

Yes. As in last year’s submission, Philadelphia County is interested in pursuing this and

is planning for this opportunity.

❑ If yes, what change(s) will be made to improve the quality of legal

representation in dependency proceedings?

DHS has committed to the implementation of the Family Engagement

Initiative, a statewide program, that requires enhanced legal representation

for families who are involved with our system. We have implemented the first

phase of this initiative in Philadelphia and we need additional support to bring

this program to scale. DHS currently provides funding to Philadelphia

Community Legal Services to augment legal representation in dependency

court. Additionally, Community Legal Services is willing to partner with DHS

to provide training and build greater capacity for private and court appointed

attorneys to ensure best practice in providing legal representation to

vulnerable children and families. DHS is requesting additional funding to

expand Community Legal Services involvement. In addition, DHS has is

making a greater investment in the Multidisciplinary team model that supports

families in family court through enhanced support in social work practices and

peer advocacy. The Department will support expansion of the social worker-

peer support/parent advocate to cases assigned by the court to independent

attorneys and legal offices. This model is designed to increase rates of

permanency and extended family involvement.

1-3s. Assessing Complex Cases and Youth Waiting for Appropriate Placement

Please respond to the following questions regarding your county’s local processes related to

assessing service level needs for complex case children and youth:

 What is the cross-agency process developed in your county to support children and youth

when the needs identified require the expertise of multiple systems? Please include

information related identification of partner agencies who are a part of the county’s

integrated children’s service planning team, the referral process and identification of team

leads.

Philadelphia DHS utilizes Executive Reviews facilitated by Operations Directors and or

Deputy Commissioners to convene multi-disciplinary parties together to review and discuss

any barriers to placements. From this meeting actions steps are developed to include

responsible parties and expected dates for completion. Additionally, the Central Referral

Unit (CRU) has begun facilitating multi-disciplinary meetings which include the youth who

when appropriate contributes vital information to support placement efforts. Partners that

make-up our multi-disciplinary team include Nursing, Psychology, Education, CBH etc.

 How has the county have engaged systems outside of the county human services system,

including for example the education and physical health systems, in this cross-agency

planning process.

These partners are included in our multi-disciplinary teams and planning.

1-3u. Family Reunification Services

 What are the current services and activities provided to support family reunification

efforts?

Efforts to support reunification include new case reviews that happen at all of our

Community Umbrella Agencies to determine the needs based on the reason the family was

accepted for service. There are specific actions steps that are provided at these reviews

and monitored throughout the life of the case. Additionally for our existing cases we utilize

Rapid Permanency Reviews and Administrative Agreements to aid us in identifying barriers

to reunification and develop action steps as well as to identify those cases that are ready for

finalization but may have a few task to complete and or need the agreement of all parties to

reunify and close the case.

 What were the total costs of services and activities to provide family reunification

services in SFY 2020-21?

The total costs for FY 2020-21 are $3,179,289.

Section 2: General Indicators

2-1: County Fiscal Background

❑ Indicate whether the county was over or underspent in the Actual Year and reasons why.

To be included with final submission.

❑ Is over or underspending anticipated in the Implementation Year? Explain why.

To be included with final submission.

❑ Address any changes or important trends that will be highlighted as a resource need

through an ADJUSTMENT TO EXPENDITURE submission.

To be included with final submission.

 PLEASE NOTE: Capture any highlights here that are not addressed in the

Program Improvement Strategies narrative (Section 2-4)

Immediate Expansion of Diversionary Prevention Programming

Philadelphia DHS will integrate the evidence-based diversionary prevention program

Effective Black Parenting (EBPP). EBPP provides direct intervention to the parents and

caregivers of Black children and adolescents at risk of child maltreatment or placement

outside the home. Philadelphia’s DHS intends to implement this program to serve

families with children (aged 0 to 18 years) who are involved with the following: in-home

Community Umbrella Agency (CUA) services, the Prevention Parenting Diversionary

Program, Older Pregnant & Parenting Youth in placement, Dependent/Delinquent Cross-

Over youth, or youth with Adoption/PLC permanency disruption. EBPP is needed in

Philadelphia to help address disparities in DHS reporting and involvement by supporting

Black parents and strengthening Black families.

Philadelphia DHS seeks to expand the evidence-based diversionary prevention program

Healthy Families of America (HFA). HFA is a home-visiting program designed to

promote child well-being and prevent child maltreatment by supporting families facing

trauma, intimate partner violence, mental health issues, and/or substance abuse. DHS

considers the expansion of HFA to be crucial to addressing the overrepresentation of

very young children failing to be diverted from DHS involvement and entering care. DHS

intends to expand HFA to include families accepted for service who receive CUA in-

home services. HFA can serve as a resource for city-wide entities developing Plans of

Safe Care, which is an initiative to provide prevention services to mothers with

substance-affected infants.

Future Expansion of Evidence Based Programming

Philadelphia DHS is requesting funding to support efforts to implement Motivational

Interviewing to support our practice enhancement strategy. Philadelphia DHS has

identified motivational interviewing as a case management tool to strength practice skills

and competency of direct service staff in the follow areas: Engagement, Assessment,

Intervention and Enhanced Family Resilience. As a central aspect of the practice model,

MI will equip direct service caseworkers with a proven service to enhance partnering

with families to set goals within the child specific reunification or prevention plan, crafts

strategies and goals, make a plan to reach those goals, and boost motivation and

internal resolve to follow-through.

Motivational Interviewing (MI)- is an established evidenced based client-centered

treatment approach that targets the development and enhancement of intrinsic

motivation to change problem behaviors. Because MI’s foundation is rooted in strengths-

based, solution-focused treatment modality, it is best integrated as a practice standard

for direct service staff to increase positive outcomes for children and families.

2-2a. Intake Investigations

Insert the Intake Investigations Chart (Chart 1).

2-2a. Ongoing Services

Insert the Ongoing Services Chart (Chart 2).

2-2a. JPO Services

Insert the JPO Services Chart (Chart 3).

2-2b. Adoption Assistance

Insert the Adoption Assistance Chart (Chart 4).

2-2c. Subsidized Permanent Legal Custody (SPLC)

Insert the SPLC Chart (Chart 5).

2-2d. Out-of-Home Placements: County Selected Indicator

Insert charts related to out-of-home placements where trends are highlighted (Charts 6-22).

Click to Paste Chart

2-2d. Out-of-Home Placements: County Selected Indicator

Insert charts related to out-of-home placements where trends are highlighted (Charts 6-22).

Click to Paste Chart

2-2d. Out-of-Home Placements: County Selected Indicator

Insert charts related to out-of-home placements where trends are highlighted (Charts 6-22).

Click to Paste Chart

2-2d. Out-of-Home Placements: County Selected Indicator

Insert charts related to out-of-home placements where trends are highlighted (Charts 6-22).

Click to Paste Chart

2-2d. Out-of-Home Placements: County Selected Indicator

Insert charts related to out-of-home placements where trends are highlighted (Charts 6-22).

Click to Paste Chart

2-2e. Aging Out

Insert the Aging Out Chart (Chart 23).

Click to Paste Chart

2-2f. General Indicators

Insert the complete table from the General Indicators tab. No narrative is required in this section.

2-2: General Indicators

County Number:

Class:

Note: % Change and CAGR are calculated using the oldest reported figure (not 0) and the most recent fiscal year.

2-2a. Service Trends

FY FY FY FY

Indicator 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 % Change CAGR

Intake Investigations

Children 27,499 22,990 20,690 17,764 17,707 -35.6% -10.4%

Family 20,613 17,741 16,121 13,846 13,515 -34.4% -10.0%

Ongoing Services

Children 16,819 19,487 17,645 14,020 12,340 -26.6% -7.4%

Family 8,025 10,401 9,477 7,859 7,056 -12.1% -3.2%

Children Placed 8,650 8,775 8,344 7,248 6,439 -25.6% -7.1%

JPO Services

Total Children 3,637 3,478 3,018 2,389 1,968 -45.9% -14.2%

Community Based Placement 257 168 97 58 37 -85.6% -38.4%

Institutional Placements 2,568 2,488 2,143 1,657 1,310 -49.0% -15.5%

2-2b. Adoption Assistance

FY FY FY FY FY

Indicator 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 % Change CAGR

Adoption Assistance

Receiving Care, First Day 5,166 5,366 5,785 6,405 6,644 28.6% 6.5%

Assistance Added 559 717 935 617 370 -33.8% -9.8%

Assistance Ended 359 298 315 378 360 0.3% 0.1%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 1,914,709 2,007,855 2,206,810 2,412,212 2,425,924 26.7% 6.1%

2-2c. SPLC

FY FY FY FY FY

Indicator 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 % Change CAGR

Subsidized Permanent Legal Custodianship

Receiving Care, First Day 1,200 1,080 985 951 874 -27.2% -7.6%

Assistance Added 159 143 154 114 172 8.2% 2.0%

Assistance Ended 279 238 188 191 180 -35.5% -10.4%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 414,599 374,021 353,762 343,671 313,879 -24.3% -6.7%

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2-2d. Placement Data

FY FY FY FY FY

Indicator 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 % Change CAGR

Traditional Foster Care (non-kinship) - Dependent

Receiving Care, First Day 2,308 2,269 2,245 2,043 1,914 -17.1% -4.6%

Assistance Added 2,238 1,515 1,361 1,114 865 -61.3% -21.2%

Assistance Ended 2,277 1,539 1,563 1,243 1,088 -52.2% -16.9%

Total DOC 859,328 834,029 785,621 721,817 655,417 -23.7% -6.5%

Traditional Foster Care (non-kinship) - Delinquent

Receiving Care, First Day 3 4 2 2 1 -66.7% -24.0%

Assistance Added 18 6 1 0 0 -100.0% -100.0%

Assistance Ended 17 8 1 1 0 -100.0% -100.0%

Total DOC 2,435 1,017 779 368 365 -85.0% -37.8%

Reimbursed Kinship Care - Dependent

Receiving Care, First Day 2,865 2,942 2,944 2,742 2,587 -9.7% -2.5%

Assistance Added 1,979 1,380 1,311 911 816 -58.8% -19.9%

Assistance Ended 1,902 1,378 1,513 1,066 1,153 -39.4% -11.8%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 1,038,153 1,073,700 1,022,136 949,229 890,218 -14.2% -3.8%

Reimbursed Kinship Care - Delinquent

Receiving Care, First Day 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Assistance Added 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Assistance Ended 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Foster Family Care - Dependent (Total of 2 above)

Receiving Care, First Day 5,173 5,211 5,189 4,785 4,501 -13.0% -3.4%

Assistance Added 4,217 2,895 2,672 2,025 1,681 -60.1% -20.5%

Assistance Ended 4,179 2,917 3,076 2,309 2,241 -46.4% -14.4%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 1,897,481 1,907,729 1,807,757 1,671,046 1,545,635 -18.5% -5.0%

Foster Family Care - Delinquent (Total of 2 above)

Receiving Care, First Day

3 4 2 2 1 -66.7% -24.0%

Assistance Added

18 6 1 0 0 -100.0% -100.0%

Assistance Ended

17 8 1 1 0 -100.0% -100.0%

Total Days of Care (DOC)

2,435 1,017 779 368 365 -85.0% -37.8%

Non-reimbursed Kinship Care - Dependent

Receiving Care, First Day 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Assistance Added 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Assistance Ended 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Non-reimbursed Kinship Care - Delinquent

Receiving Care, First Day 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Assistance Added 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Assistance Ended 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Alternative Treatment Dependent

Receiving Care, First Day 33 28 30 31 13 -60.6% -20.8%

Assistance Added 48 63 72 45 26 -45.8% -14.2%

Assistance Ended 53 61 71 63 24 -54.7% -18.0%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 9,343 13,072 14,144 9,245 5,118 -45.2% -14.0%

Alternative Treatment Delinquent

Receiving Care, First Day 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Assistance Added 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Assistance Ended 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% 0.0%

Dependent Community Residential

Receiving Care, First Day 395 400 360 274 216 -45.3% -14.0%

Assistance Added 685 565 548 421 320 -53.3% -17.3%

Assistance Ended 680 605 634 479 345 -49.3% -15.6%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 142,538 139,283 113,285 94,135 77,447 -45.7% -14.1%

Delinquent Community Residential

Receiving Care, First Day 90 61 38 22 10 -88.9% -42.3%

Assistance Added 136 80 41 20 16 -88.2% -41.4%

Assistance Ended 165 103 57 32 22 -86.7% -39.6%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 28,270 16,850 9,443 6,319 1,931 -93.2% -48.9%

Supervised Independent Living Dependent

Receiving Care, First Day 136 162 183 218 171 25.7% 5.9%

Assistance Added 105 100 127 67 77 -26.7% -7.5%

Assistance Ended 79 79 92 114 96 21.5% 5.0%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 54,797 61,757 72,733 66,874 54,768 -0.1% 0.0%

Supervised Independent Living Delinquent

Receiving Care, First Day 29 13 6 10 5 -82.8% -35.6%

Assistance Added 29 12 15 6 8 -72.4% -27.5%

Assistance Ended 45 19 11 11 11 -75.6% -29.7%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 7,932 3,228 2,239 2,733 1,660 -79.1% -32.4%

Juvenile Detention

Receiving Care, First Day 115 139 117 141 148 28.7% 6.5%

Assistance Added 1,994 1,914 1,682 1,358 1,088 -45.4% -14.1%

Assistance Ended 1,970 1,936 1,658 1,351 1,080 -45.2% -14.0%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 46,279 50,115 43,518 54,350 48,005 3.7% 0.9%

Dependent Residential Services

Receiving Care, First Day 414 355 303 254 165 -60.1% -20.5%

Assistance Added 732 343 324 251 179 -75.5% -29.7%

Assistance Ended 791 395 373 340 227 -71.3% -26.8%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 151,954 119,061 102,218 77,995 57,361 -62.3% -21.6%

Delinquent Residential Services

Receiving Care, First Day 620 410 328 110 56 -91.0% -45.2%

Assistance Added 1,136 425 234 169 68 -94.0% -50.5%

Assistance Ended 1,346 507 452 223 105 -92.2% -47.2%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 189,791 136,225 86,259 41,422 12,682 -93.3% -49.2%

Secure Residential (Except YDC)

Receiving Care, First Day 57 55 56 11 4 -93.0% -48.5%

Assistance Added 70 87 67 1 10 -85.7% -38.5%

Assistance Ended 72 86 112 8 8 -88.9% -42.3%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 15,634 21,517 18,877 1,068 1,743 -88.9% -42.2%

Youth Detention Center / Youth Forestry Camps

Receiving Care, First Day 113 111 126 109 65 -42.5% -12.9%

Assistance Added 155 172 165 130 136 -12.3% -3.2%

Assistance Ended 157 157 182 174 125 -20.4% -5.5%

Total Days of Care (DOC) 44,627 50,615 41,816 34,546 28,216 -36.8% -10.8%

2-2e. Aging Out Data

FY FY FY FY FY

Indicator 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 % Change CAGR

Aging Out

Number of Children Aging Out 270 284 313 293 310 14.8% 3.5%

Have Permanent Residence 125 186 182 167 172 37.6% 8.3%

Have Source of Income Support 93 161 149 148 139 49.5% 10.6%

Have Life Connection 137 134 213 191 194 41.6% 9.1%

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2-2g. through 2-2i. Charts

 NOTE: The section is optional and applies to CCYAs and/or JPOs.

 NOTE: If inserting charts, identify the data source and parameters and include only one

chart per page.

❑ Insert up to three additional charts that capture the drivers of county services and

supports the county’s resource request. For example, these charts may be related to

prevention or diversion activities or may be specific to areas or demographics that are

driving influences on county resources and practices.

❑ Counties may use data charts as provided by PCG or any other county data available.

County specific charts outside of PCG data charts must clearly identify the source of the

data.

The following 3 charts show the continuing need to build prevention services to manage

the number of families screened out from the Hotline, the continuing decrease in

placement numbers and the corresponding need to build a support system in the

community, and the continuing need to increase timeliness to permanency. The source

for the data is the Philadelphia electronic case management system.

Hotline Decisions

Total Children with Placement Services

Timeliness to Permanency

Chart Analysis for 2-2a. through 2-2i.

 NOTE: These questions apply to both the CCYA and JPO.

❑ Discuss any child welfare and juvenile justice service trends and describe factors

contributing to the trends noted in the previous charts.

Service Trends

The number of children accepted for intake investigations decreased by 36% from FY 2016-

17 to FY 2020-21, nearly all of this change occurred in the 4 years prior to this fiscal year.

Specifically, from FY 2016-17 to FY 2019-20, the number of children accepted for intake

investigation dropped by 35% to 17,764 and then remained relatively steady in FY 2020-21

at 17,707. The number of families accepted for intake investigations has had a similar trend,

decreasing by 34% from FY 2016-17 to FY 2020-21 (to 13,515) but only by 2% between FY

2019-20 and FY 2020-21.

Following an increase between FY 2016-17 and FY 2017-18, the number of children and

families receiving ongoing services has been declining. Overall, the number of children

served has decreased by 27% and the number of families served has decreased by 12%

from FY 2016-17 to FY 2020-21. The number of children placed has also decreased

between FY 2016-17 and FY 2020-21 by 26%.

There are several important contextual factors to consider during the period of FY 2014-15

to FY 2018-19. Calendar year 2015 was the first full year that all the CUAs were operational.

Also, numerous changes were enacted to the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) in

2015, which coincided with a large influx of CPS and GPS reports to DHS’ Hotline. From FY

2014-15 to FY 2017-18, the total number of Hotline reports increased by more than 40%.

This influx in Hotline reports may be reflected in the increases of children and families

receiving investigations and ongoing services. In response, DHS instituted specialized Field

Screening Units and bolstered its Prevention Service portfolio to safely divert children and

families from formal system involvement at the front end. Rapid Permanency Reviews

(RPRs) were conducted for children in placement for more than two years to identify and

address barriers to permanency. Since implementing these initiatives, the number of

children and families receiving investigations and ongoing services has begun to decrease.

Specifically, between FY2017-18 and FY2020-21, total Hotline reports have decreased by

22%.

DHS has continued to close more cases than it has accepted for service; there were nearly

400 more cases closed than accepted for service in FY 2020-21. Additionally, there was an

8% decrease in the number of children receiving in-home services from June 2020 to June

2021. There were 20% fewer youth receiving in-home non-safety services, but 11% more

youth receiving in-home safety services on June 30, 2021 compared to June 30, 2020.

There were 2,387 youth open for in-home services on June 30, 2021--14% fewer in-home

youth than there were on December 31, 2019. There were 1,133 cases open for in-home

services on June 30, 2021--11% fewer in-home cases than there were on December 31,

2019.

The total number of youth in dependent placement declined by 12% from June 30, 2020 to

June 30, 2021.

The number of youth receiving JPO services has steadily declined from 3,637 youth in FY

2016-17 to 1,968 youth in FY 2020-21, representing an overall decrease of 46%. The

number of children in community-based and institutional placements has also steadily

declined during this period, decreasing by 86% and 49%, respectively.

Adoption Assistance and Subsidized Permanent Legal Custody (PLC)

The number of children receiving adoption assistance on the first day of the fiscal year has

increased between FY 2016-17 and FY 2020-21 by 29% from 5,166 to 6,644 children. Total

days of care for children receiving adoption assistance has increased by 27% over the same

period. The number of children with a subsidized permanent legal custodianship in place

has consistently decreased over time, with an overall decrease of 27% from FY 2016-17 to

FY 2020-21; the total days of care decreased by 24% in this time period. Between FY 2019-

20 and FY 2020-21, there was an 8% decrease in the number receiving care (to 874) and a

9% decrease in the total days of care (to 313,879).

Placement Data

Between FY 2016-17 and FY 2020-21, the number of dependent children and youth

receiving dependent family foster care decreased overall by 13%, comprising a 17% decline

in traditional (non-kinship) foster care and a 10% decrease in kinship care. That non-kinship

care has declined at a higher rate than has kinship care is consistent with DHS’ goal to

place more children with family and kin rather than with unfamiliar caregivers.

From FY 2016-17 to FY 2020-21, there was a 60% decrease in the number of youth

receiving dependent residential services (e.g., institution-level) and a 62% decrease in the

total days of care. During this same time, there has been a 45% decrease in the number of

youths placed in dependent community residential settings (e.g., group home level), and a

46% decrease in the total days of care during this period.

From FY 2016-17 to FY 2020-21, there was an 89% decrease in the number of youth placed

in delinquent community residential settings and a 91% decrease in youth receiving

delinquent residential services. During this same time, the total days of care for youth in

delinquent community residential settings and receiving delinquent residential services each

decreased by 93%. These decreases coincide with DHS’s goal to reduce the use of

congregate care for both dependent and delinquent youth committed to DHS.

Between FY2016-17 and FY 2020-21, placements in dependent Supervised Independent

Living (SIL) settings have increased by 26%; total days of care did not change in this

interval. Placements in delinquent SILs have decreased by 83%; total days of care

decreased by 79%. Over the past five fiscal years, total days of care for youth receiving

dependent alternative treatment has been reduced by 45%. Assistance added and

assistance ended each have decreased by roughly 50% in this timeframe.

Aging Out Youth

The number of youths aging out of care increased by 15% from FY 2016-17 to FY 2020-21.

The number of youths aging out with a permanent residence increased by 38% from FY

2016-17 to FY 2020-21, and a greater proportion of youth now have this support (46% had a

permanent residence in FY 2016-17 compared to 55% in FY 2020-21). Over the last five

years, the number of youth with a source of income increased by 50%; 34% had a source of

income support in FY 2016-17 compared to 45% in FY 2020-21. The number of youth who

aged out with a life connection also increased, by 42% between FY 2016-17 and FY 2020-

21. Similarly, the proportion of youth who had a life connection increased: from 51% in FY

2016-17 to 63% in FY 2020-21.

Through both qualitative and quantitative inquiry, DHS continues to focus effort on improving

its understanding of risk and protective factors associated with youth aging out of care. In

late FY 2018-19, DHS conducted focus groups with youth to better understand their

perspectives related to the transition process out of care, available supports and resources,

and their recommendations to improve the transition process. Findings affirmed the need for

both concrete, tangible supports as well as supportive relationships with helpful adults. For

youth who age out of care, DHS continues to invest in programs such as the Achieving

Independence Center and LifeSet (formerly YV LifeSet) to provide holistic support.

To better understand systemic strengths and gaps for best practices to support older youth

in Philadelphia across critical domains, DHS conducted a qualitative study in FY21 using

document reviews and key informant interviews. Findings revealed a need for more expert

guidance, coaching, and support for case managers to promote best practice and quality

case management for older youth (e.g., engagement practices, earlier planning, supports

across critical domains). Additionally, services that provide support across education,

employment, housing, health care, and social relationships are vitally important. In

response to these findings, DHS seeks to continue funding across a number of important

programs and services already in place and requests additional funding to support improved

case management, youth engagement, and planning.

In the Program Improvement Strategies section of our narrative, we are requesting several

interventions, including investing in peer support partners, mentorship opportunities and

mobile independent living services, to help achieve permanency and independence for

youth in the child welfare system. We are also requesting Older Youth Services Liaisons

placed at the CUAs to support best practices and quality case management for older youth.

❑ Describe what changes in agency priorities or programs, if any, have contributed to changes

in the number of children and youth served or in care and/or the rate at which children are

discharged from care.

The Philadelphia Department of Human Services has, over the last several years,

implemented changes in priorities and programs that have contributed to the decrease in the

number of children and youth served or in care and/or the rate at which children are

discharged from care. These changes are consistent with the four goals of IOC and are

laser-focused on rightsizing all areas of the system. Practice changes have included the roll

out of Field Screening Units in the Hotline, Administrative review and approval of placement,

rightsizing congregate care, use of SWAN permanency supportive services, and the CUA

Scorecard – Closing the Loop meetings. Additionally, DHS Prevention services are more

targeted and used to support the safe diversion of families from the Hotline or during

investigations through mitigating the existence of safety threats.

Below please find descriptions of other strategies used:

o Rapid Permanency Review process:

Rapid Permanency Review (RPR) is a tool that was developed in partnership between

Casey Family Programs and the Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS) to

identify case specific and system barriers that prevent children from obtaining

permanency. See Section 1-3c Service Array for additional details.

o Efforts to Increase Use of Kinship Care and Family Finding:

DHS continues to be successful with identifying kin for placement when out-of-home

care is needed. Over half of the children and youth placed in a family setting are placed

with kin. Despite our successes with placing children and youth with kin, the Department

continues to work to increase our efforts to ensure that Family Finding is completed for

any child or youth who is not placed in a kinship care setting. For many years, the

Department had only one contracted provider responsible for Family Finding, Turning

Points for Children, which did not have the capacity to meet the full need resulting in

waiting lists for Family Finding. The Department identified another Family Finding

provider, A Second Chance, in September 2019 and both providers are currently doing

Family Finding for DHS. Additionally, DHS is requesting increased funding for Family

Finding services for FY 2021-22 to expand the capacity of the providers to increase

focus on identifying permanency resources for older youth, and kinship resources for

youth in congregate care.

OCF-Prevention’s programs support stable kinship care placements. Availability of Out

of School Time (OST) can help potential and current kinship caregivers feel like they

have support for their role. OST programs connect families to afterschool and summer

programs that support working caregivers, benefit children’s academic, social and

personal development, and help children stay safe and avoid high-risk behaviors. OCF-

Prevention’s Education Support Center (ESC) supports kinship care through its Best

Interest Determination (BID) processes and interagency teamings. ESC assesses

current and needed resources at the time of child placement and supports educational

stability when children and youth enter out of home care.

o Reduce CUA CM caseloads:

Beginning at the front end of DHS operations, the Hotline, Investigations, and Prevention

Divisions are fully focused on ensuring only those cases with identified safety threats are

accepted for service. The practice has assisted with the reduction of CUA caseloads.

Caseloads remained steady throughout the pandemic and through the end of FY20-21

despite fluctuations in staffing, and delays in permanency related to pandemic mitigation

efforts. This has resulted in fewer referrals to CUAs for case management services.

Additionally, DHS continues to work with the CUAs to implement strategies that support

the reduction in CUA Case Management assigned cases. These strategies include

guided case reviews of all new cases assigned to our CUAs once determined that on-

going formal case management services are needed to reunify families and close the

case safely. CUAs utilize monthly reports provided by our Performance Management

and Technology division (PMT) to monitor and implement guided reviews for all cases

that have been opened for one year or more and remain open after the case has been

closed either at the bar of the court or because the case achieved safe closure status.

Family Team Conferences (FTC) continue to be the process utilized to review progress

relating to the Single Case Plan goals and objectives and guides the next steps that will

support timely reunification and or safe case closure. CUA and DHS Leadership will

continue to monitor and review these cases and provide direction regarding safe case

closure. DHS will continue to provide technical assistance by way of DHS Practice

Coaches and Senior Learning Specialists as well as any needed data in order to ensure

cases are consistently monitored.

Juvenile Justice Services:

As mentioned in the Executive Summary, DHS will be supporting the supervision of youth

receiving in-home delinquent services, JPO contact with youth during the pandemic and

other emergencies which limit visitation, and family involvement with youth placed at a

distance by requesting funding for portable electronic devices and licenses for virtual

meeting platforms for the Juvenile Probation Office. Each of these factors can affect whether

a youth interventions can make a difference and keep youth from penetrating further into the

juvenile justice system.

The Juvenile Justice System Enhancement Strategy (JJSES), the Juvenile Detention

Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), and other strategies have had an impact on risk, responsivity,

and overall recidivism. Diversionary programs on the front end, adequate reintegration on

the back end, in conjunction with the use of assessments at critical junctures, and

development of a graduated response approach, as part of the JJSES model, have

contributed to fewer youth being placed and more being referred to community-based

programming.

o Community-Based Probation:

Community-Based Probation is the first intervention for juveniles who have been

arrested and deemed ineligible for diversion and preventative services. In 2020, petitions

filed decreased by 10%, from 2,094 in 2019 to 1,995 in 2020. This decrease correlates

with the decrease in community-based supervision cases though may not be the only

reason for the decrease. There are numerous factors that could contribute to this

decrease, such as diversionary efforts, enhanced supervision utilizing promising

practices and evidence-based solutions, and more accountability placed on service

agencies that provide supports and care for youth.

o Youth Level of Service:

Initial YLS assessments are conducted prior to adjudicatory hearings. Identifying the risk

and needs of youth in the early stages has allowed for structured decision making at

critical junctures in the juvenile justice system. In calendar year 2020, 2,512 YLS

assessments were completed. Forty-nine percent (49%) of the juvenile population was

found to be at a low level of risk to reoffend, 42% at a moderate risk to reoffend, 9% at a

high risk to reoffend and less than 1% were at a very high risk to reoffend.

o Pennsylvania Detention Risk Assessment Instrument (PaDRAI):

In 2020, There were 159 youth involved in Crossover Court and of that number 130 or

82% were successfully discharged. Of the 130 successfully discharged, 87 or 67% were

not adjudicated by the system which is the primary goal of the Crossover Court. The

Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), has been using the PaDRAI since

August 2013 to implement the JDAI core strategy of objective decision-making

processes and reducing subjective decision making which results in less youth being

held in secure detention. The design and implementation of the PaDRAI provides an

objective admissions tool, has resulted in a fairer and more consistent admissions policy,

and is aligned with the Balanced and Restorative Justice principles as well as the JJSES

for Pennsylvania.

o Global Positioning System Unit:

The JPO’s Global Positioning System (GPS) Unit provides appropriate youth an

alternative to secure detention or placement while allowing them the opportunity to

remain safely in their communities. The GPS Unit monitors youth who are court-ordered

as an alternative to detention or placement; youth who are involved in specific programs

such as the ERCs or Juvenile Treatment Court; youth released on court-ordered Home

Passes; and certain high-risk youth who have transitioned from residential facilities and

returned to their communities. In 2020, 1001 or 56% of the 1,786 youth monitored by

the unit were placed on GPS as an alternative to secure detention, which not only

allowed youth to live in the community, but also saved the juvenile justice system secure

detention costs. These youth would have otherwise been held at the Philadelphia

Juvenile Justice Services Center (PJJSC) at a per diem rate of $600 with an average

length of stay of between 17.5 to 19 days in 2020, if it were not for the GPS option.

o Post-Adjudicatory Evening Reporting Center (ERC):

The ERC is directly aligned with Balanced and Restorative Justice Principles of

community safety through GPS monitoring and prevention of re-arrest, accountability

through required attendance, and competency development through extensive

programming. The Evening Reporting Centers have been a great success for juvenile

justice services in Philadelphia. The success of the pre-adjudicatory Evening Reporting

Center (Pre-ERC) led to delinquency judges specifically requesting an Evening

Reporting Center for adjudicated youth (Post-ERC). The Post-ERC is a community-

based supervision program for adjudicated male youth on probation struggling to comply

with probation rules who need a highly structured “last chance” intervention before

placement. In addition to addressing BARJ principles, the Post-ERC aligns with the

Probation Department’s current reform initiatives such as the JDAI. There are other

initiatives as well that include the philosophy of Graduated Response, which utilizes

incentives (both tangible and non-tangible) to increase compliance with court-ordered

conditions and implements sanctions for non-compliance.

o Data-informed decisions:

A very important priority for the Juvenile justice system, as stated in the Executive

Summary, is to have quality data, information sharing, and appropriate statistical

analysis for all stakeholders across the system because data-informed decisions are a

core component of JDAI. This work will continue to drive our decision-making and help

target intervention for youth.

o Interim Probation/Deferred Adjudication:

When appropriate, the Court and the JPO have been making use of interim probation or

deferred adjudication in order to offer treatment to youth who have been arrested while

preventing further penetration into the juvenile justice system and avoiding the negative

consequences of an adjudication.

o Youth Aid Panel:

For over a decade, DHS has supported the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (DAO)

in the creation and implementation of diversion programs for youth. DHS has continually

helped the DAO fund juvenile diversion and continues to support the DAO’s efforts to

grow and expand diversion for Philadelphia youth. Currently, the DAO is expanding

Youth Aid Panels (YAP). Changes to diversion have been designed to increase youth

accountability and victim restoration, community safety and youth redemption. DHS

supports these efforts.

The following policy changes have been implemented and will require additional resources

for panels to address youth who fall under the expanded eligibility criteria:

• A youth with a prior contact will no longer be automatically excluded provided the

youth is not on active supervision.

• Subsequent arrest while in diversion will not automatically reroute a young person to

court – an individualized determination for all cases will be made as to whether

diversion programming using a graduated response model can be utilized.

• All cases are reviewed for diversion eligibility regardless of whether a young person is

held in secure detention after arrest or released to the community.

So far, year-to-year, YAP serves between 12-15% of all juvenile cases. Below are the

number of youth served in diversion as well as proposed numbers for the coming years.

For FY2019, 230 youth completed their YAP diversion contracts and 85% of youth

remained arrest free for six months following their contract. For FY2020, 246 youth

completed their diversion contracts and 83% of youth remained arrest free for six

months following their contract. For FY2021, 232 youth have been accepted into

diversion, 175 youth completed their diversion contracts, and 94% of youth have

remained arrest free since the start of FY21.

Proposed 

Diversion

(Citywide) 

FY 2017 

FY 2018 

FY 2019 

FY2020 

FY2021 

FY2022 

Youth

Served 

292 

224 

236 

246 

232 

450 

o Restorative Justice

The Department lends its full support to the District Attorney’s Office (DAO) efforts with

respect to the Restorative Justice Project. The Restorative Justice Project at Impact

Justice has partnered with the DAO to implement a youth restorative justice diversion

program (RJD) for serious offenses with identifiable victims; these are offenses that have

previously not been diverted in Philadelphia’s juvenile justice system. Impact Justice is a

nationally recognized organization that specializes in training and technical support for

RJD programs. They are currently assisting District Attorney’s Offices and other system

actors in 10 jurisdictions across the United States in developing and implementing an

RJD Program.

RJD is a victim-centered diversion program in which a young person accused of

harming another will undertake a process by which the young person repairs harm to: (i)

the person harmed, (ii) the youth’s family/caregiver, (iii) the youth’s community, and (iv)

the youth themselves. The DAO, along with Impact Justice, selected a community-based

organization, the Youth Arts and Self-Empowerment Project (YASP) to facilitate the

restorative justice process. YASP is a community-based organization with a proven

record of effectively engaging with young people and helping them to become their best

selves. YASP is also well-connected with community resources and is expanding and

scaling their organization to meet the needs of an RJD program. As part of

implementation, in 2020, YASP completed an intensive 6-month training period with

Impact Justice and then received ongoing training and technical support from Impact

Justice. Training was extensive, and included Restorative Community Conferencing,

Implicit Bias, Conflict Transformation and Harm Circles, and Data Collection and

Management.

In calendar year 2021, it is projected that 25 youth will be diverted to Restorative Justice

diversion. In calendar year 2022, that number will double to 50 youth and in 2023 the

number will increase to 150. We anticipate scaling the program each year to increase

capacity on a yearly basis.

Initial funding for RJD has been secured through private grants through Impact Justice.

Springpoint Foundation has committed $50,000 in seed funding and Impact Justice has

received a private donation of $244,958 to fund a training, scaling and technical

assistance period from July 1, 2020 through December 31, 2021. These initial private

investments will be used for one-time training and scaling costs and will allow up to 25

referrals for calendar year 2021. However, sustainability funding will be required to

increase the number of youth diverted to RJD for FY2022. It should be noted that these

are youth charged with offenses that would otherwise lead to secure placement or

extended probation and supervision services.

Attached to this budget narrative is document titled Restorative Justice Diversion

Overview & Elements which provides further details regarding RJD. Also attached is an

evaluation report, written by Impact Justice’s Restorative Justice Project, which explores

an established RJD program in California through a provider named Community Works

West. Community Works West partners with the Alameda County District Attorney’s

Office to implement RJD, and through this partnership they currently divert over 100

youth charged with serious offenses away from the court system. This program has seen

promising results as outlined in the attached report.

❑ Provide a description of children/youth placed in congregate care settings.

As the Department continues to reduce use of congregate care, the youth placed in these

setting have more complex needs. Youth who require congregate placement have been

exposed to varied and sometimes sustained forms of abuse and maltreatment. Some will

experience significant emotional and behavioral health challenges as a result of, or

exacerbated by, the circumstances that led to placement. Young people identified for this

level of service exhibit a variety of specialized behavioral health needs that may include, but

are not limited to, behaviors associated with acute or complex trauma (including

simultaneous or sequential exposure to various forms of child maltreatment, including

physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, exposure to domestic violence, etc.),

severe emotional dysregulation, aggression, impaired judgment, poor impulse control,

depressed and/or anxious mood, impaired social functioning, substance use, as well as

involvement with the juvenile justice system. Not all youth with emotional or behavioral

health needs require congregate placement. However, factors that contribute to this

determination include the frequency, intensity, severity and duration of the behaviors, as

well as the history and efficacy of available placement options or behavioral health services.

 Consider the children and youth who have the following characteristics, by race, age,

and gender:

• Intellectual disability or autism;

• A behavioral health impairment;

• A physical disability;

• Involvement with JPO; and

• Identify as LGBTQ.

❑ Identify the service and treatment needs of the youth counted above with as much specificity

as possible.

In addition to the description of youth outlined above, the youth who are placed in

congregate care settings require behavioral health services. If the youth is placed in a

community-based group home, they receive behavioral health services in the community.

Youth who are placed in an Institutional or Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility,

receive their behavioral health services on-site at their placement.

 The below questions may assist in development of a response:

• What are the service and treatment needs?

• Why can those services and treatment needs not be met in the community?

• What barriers exist to accessing service and treatment needs in the community?

❑ Please describe the county’s process related to congregate care placement decisions.

The Department continues to utilize two main processes to determine the appropriateness

of congregate care placement for youth. The first is the Level of Care (LOC) Assessment

and the second is the Commissioner’s Approval Process.

The LOC Assessment is a structured decision-making tool that is completed by DHS’s

Central Referral Unit (CRU) for all children and youth who require placement. The LOC tool

consists of 17 domains that focus on areas such physical and behavioral health, education,

risk behaviors, trauma, culture, family, peer relations, delinquent activity, level of function, to

name a few. The CRU Social Work Services Manager (SWSM) conducts a review of referral

material as well as an interview with the assigned DHS SWSM or CUA Case Manager. The

CRU SWSM completes the tool with information gathered and a level of care determination

is made.

The second process is the Commissioner’s Approval Process, overseen by the

Commissioner’s Congregate Care Team (CCCT). Every time there is a recommendation for

a youth to be placed in a congregate care setting, the CRU SWSM forwards a summary

email to the CCCT which includes the current circumstances, presenting issues, placement

history, and applied interventions such as the use of Placement Stability Conferences.

Based on all the information presented, the CCCT determines whether to approve or deny

the congregate care placement. For court-ordered placements, if the team wishes to pursue

a lower level of care, the team consults with the Law Department which files relevant

motions with the Court, if appropriate. The CCCT’s decision is emailed to the CRU and the

CRU completes referrals accordingly.

Step-Up and Step-Down processes are outlined in the IOC CUA Practice Guidelines as well

as in the CRU’s policy and require review by the Commissioner’s Approval Process

whenever a step up from resource home care or step down from an institutional level of care

results in a recommendation for congregate care.

Youth are involved in the decision-making as it relates to identifying potential kinship

caregivers, given that youth are more successful when they are placed in family-based

settings. The Department’s goal is to exhaust kinship care options and foster care options,

prior to placing a youth in a congregate care facility. Youth have the opportunity to provide

input as to whether to be placed in a congregate care setting during their interview process

for placement, as well as by way of pre-placement interviews at the congregate care facility.

The ongoing review of youth who are placed in congregate care settings is completed by the

CUA Case Management Director to determine whether there is a continued need for

congregate care placement.

 The below questions may assist in development of a response:

• What policies are in place to guide decision making?

• Who oversees and is part of the decision?

• Are youth involved in the decision-making? If so, how?

• How is the decision reviewed?

❑ Describe any practice changes that will be implemented to ensure that the congregate care

funding limitation in FFPSA will not result in dependent children entering the juvenile justice

system.

At the County level, no practice changes are needed. Placement decisions are based on a

youth’s needs and best interests. Availability of reimbursement is not a factor in placement

decisions. Philadelphia County is already committed to keeping youth out of the juvenile

justice system as evidence by the significant decrease in Philadelphia’s delinquent

population over the past fiscal year. The Philadelphia Juvenile Justice System is committed

to supporting a sustained array of community-based resources and diversion programs to

keep youth out of the system.

❑ How has the county adjusted staff ratios and/or resource allocations (both financial and

staffing, including vacancies, hiring, turnover, etc.) in response to a change in the population

of children and youth needing out-of-home care? Is the county’s current resource allocation

appropriate to address projected needs?

With respect to staffing, DHS continues to focus on recruitment and retention for both Social

Work Services Managers and Youth Detention Counselors to ensure continuity of services.

To expedite filling vacant positions, DHS has increased the number of hires per class and

the frequency of the classes. At the time of this NBB writing the PJJSC has a dearth of

YDCs. Specifically, at a minimum sixty-(60) are needed to provide the PJJSC with a full

complement of staff. Specifically, DHS is working with area universities to create linkages

and pipelines for employment. DHS University (DHSU) made new connections with colleges

and universities such as Alvernia University & Community College of Philadelphia; we are

also exploring further partnerships with local Historical Black Colleges and Universities, as

well as LaSalle University and Peirce Colleges expanded to create linkages and pipelines

from college graduation to city employment. DHSU continues to participate in Job Fairs at

the local colleges and universities.

Lastly, DHSU leads an On-Boarding Task Force with representatives from all divisions

across DHS/CUA. The Onboarding Task Force aims to assess current practices and trends

in each area to ultimately enhance the staffing complement of the system to continue to

ensure the permanency, safety and well-being of Philadelphia’s children, youth, and

families. The following are areas of concentration:

1) Recruitment:

2) Onboarding

3) Staff Retention

4) Succession Planning

The Employee Education Program is one of the Department’s ongoing methods supporting

retention with staff identified as Social Work Service Managers and Program Analysts. The

program encourages internal leadership growth and professional development through this

program via collaboration with the Child Welfare Leadership (CWEL) Program under

University of Pittsburgh. There are currently 27 approved slots for this EEP/CWEL

collaborative program with intentions of expanding the opportunities for non-CWEL

professional staff opportunities.

With respect to whether the county’s current resource allocation is appropriate to address

projected needs, Philadelphia County has identified the need for additional resources to

further assist in reducing use of congregate care, achieving timely permanency, preventing

placement moves and re-entries in order to achieve the goals of Improving Outcomes for

Children. Below please find examples of the DHS investment strategy to rightsize our

placement population. Particularly, we have dedicated resources to recruiting resource

parents to serve specialized populations and increase family engagement with a focus

towards working to permanency.

o Resource Parent Recruitment Strategy

The Department continues to increase our capacity to recruit, certify, and retain skilled

resource parents who are willing to co-parent our growing population of youth with

medical and or behavioral health needs, youth who are LGBTQ+, and youth who are a

part of large sibling groups. We use various forms of social media (#fosteringphilly) and

marketing materials. Goals for the upcoming year include continuing to utilize our

marketing and recruitment strategies from the previous fiscal year, develop skill-based

series for parenting teens, develop a centralized resource parent application form to

maintain the application in one central location, which would allow for easy transfer

amongst agencies. In response to the current pandemic, our efforts to recruit have been

expanded to radio and digital platforms which we will continue during the upcoming fiscal

year.

o Resource Development

In May 2019, the Department awarded Specialized Behavioral Health contracts to three

new providers to expand the number of resource homes for children and youth with

behavioral health needs. Additionally, DHS is planning to expand Specialized Behavioral

Health resource homes. This expansion was initiated by revising the contract scopes of

services for the purposes of clarifying role and responsibilities. The rate was also re-

evaluated to consider special needs of youth and adjusted to support placement stability.

CWO has increased infrastructure to support resource development and recruitment

efforts for providers. Professional resource parents will be added to the continuum of

resource homes to meet the needs of youth who experience multiple placement

disruptions.

DHS will continue to support our current providers’ efforts to build positive trauma

awareness skills in existing and newly certified resource parents. The Department will

develop tools that will support providers to create and implement recruitment strategies

that will cultivate safe homes for youth in which they can address and heal from their

trauma while acquiring normal child and youth development skills.

o Revise Family Team Conference Process

Roll out of a revised Family Team Conference Process that is laser focused on

permanency for children and youth in care; and aligned with FEI.

DHS has completed enhancements to the Family Team Conference (FTC) process

including policy and protocol revisions during the last fiscal year. Rollout of the revised

process will occur now that policy and protocol revisions have been completed.

Additionally, the Conference Tool that is used to document participants and goals and

objectives developed during the conference was revised to be consistent with the

Department’s efforts to achieve timely reunification as well as increase parent, child, and

youth participation. Efforts to provide ample time for goals and objectives to be achieved

will be supported by transitioning from holding conferences every 90 days to every six

months after the Initial Conference. In response to COVID-19, face-to-face FTCs have

moved to a virtual and telephonic platform. This has provided parents the opportunity to

participate and not have to worry about transportation to and from a designated location.

It has provided a safe space to discuss and strategize how the family will be Reunified

which supports the principles of FTC’s.

o Performance Based Contracting

Performance Based Contracting (PBC) with CUAs is a system-level strategy designed to

incentivize timely permanency, high-quality practice, adherence to local, state, and

federal policies, and positive outcomes for youth. CUAs can receive program re-

investment funds for youth achieving timely permanency and maintaining a stable

permanency. To date CUA and DHS have tracked permanency and stability for PBC

eligible youth beginning in FY19.

o Quality Visitation Review Expansion

The Quality Visitation Review teams conduct interviews with families and caregivers to

ensure that quality practice is occurring and is consistent with case record

documentation. During FY21, this work was expanded to launch the Family and

Youth Voice project, whereby a standardized, evidence-informed mixed-methods tool is

used to collect information directly from youth and birth parents about their lived

experiences with the child welfare system. Information obtained directly from youth and

parents is then analyzed and used to inform system change and interventions. Since

February 2021, a total of 54 parent voice interviews were completed. This work reflects

DHS’ vision to have family voices captured in evaluation processes. Feedback from

parents represent an important perspective that is critical to enhancing family

engagement systematically.

As Philadelphia’s rightsizing strategies continue to succeed, the children, youth and

families who do enter the system and enter foster care have more complex, often cross-

systems, needs. As a result, to work towards keeping these children and youth in their

communities and in least restrictive settings, Philadelphia DHS is planning the following

strategies:

o Professional Resource Parents

Philadelphia DHS will write and issue a RFP to identify foster care providers who are

able to recruit professional resource parents willing to have children and youth placed in

their care who exhibit sexually reactive behaviors as a result of being victims of sexual

abuse, as well as for youth with other complex behavioral health needs. The goal will be

to find stable, least restrictive placements for these youth, reduce the number of youth

who are stepped up to congregate care settings, and decrease the length of stay for

shared-case youth held at the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center who are

exhibiting sexually reactive behaviors.

The Department believes that children and youth that have been victimized sexually as a

result of another’s actions have a right to be in a stable, safe, nurturing environment that

will support healing and coping skills in response to the trauma. Professional Resource

homes would support the department’s efforts to provide a least restrictive placement for

these youth as opposed to a congregate or delinquent placement. The department will

develop and issue an RFP to identify providers with an expertise for specialized

resource parenting at the community-based level.

o Behavioral Health Assessment Unit

Philadelphia DHS wants to expand the capacity to perform comprehensive assessments

of children, youth, and their families with behavioral health, substance abuse, cognitive

limitations, or intellectual disabilities in order to identify appropriate interventions,

planning, and services to address their complex needs. The ultimate goal is to prevent

placement, particularly in congregate care, and help identify community resources for

youth who could exit congregate care with the right supports.

Currently, Philadelphia DHS utilizes the expertise of one CBH Director who completes

home visits with DHS Investigation and CUA Case Management staff. In addition to

completing home visits, the CBH Director also participates in Family Team Conferences

and Interagency Meetings, testifies in Court, and provides training to CUA staff on

behavioral health, trauma, substance abuse, and ID services and to resource parents

and providers to increase their knowledge of children, youth, and families with behavioral

health needs. Clinical consultation is also provided to the Philadelphia Department of

Human Services Hotline, Intake, DHS’s Psychology Unit, DHS’s Nursing Unit, and

Family Court.

Although this expertise is invaluable, it simply isn't adequate to address the

significant numbers of children, youth, and families that present with behavioral health,

substance abuse, and intellectual disability needs. Therefore, Philadelphia DHS would

like to increase the capacity and address this increasing need. DHS is moving forward in

FY 2022 with meeting with the city Office of Human Resources regarding city-wide

posting for positions. The target date for posting the positions is January 1, 2022.

o Monitoring

The Department has made significant changes to the quality of monitoring for providers.

This has required more staff to ensure that DHS can conduct more frequent and

thorough evaluations. Additionally, DHS created new tools to measure both quality and

compliance for congregate care and foster care providers. We are also moving toward

incorporating youths’ and resource parents’ voices into our evaluation process using the

Family and Youth Voice project discussed above.

o Implementation Science Teams

To support the implementation of new Evidence-Based Practices, DHS will make use of

Implementation Science Teams, each of which consist of 3-5 people who support the

implementation, sustainability, scale-up, and ongoing evaluation of EBPs so that they

are implemented to fidelity and intended outcomes are realized. As summarized by the

National Implementation Research Network (NIRN; https://nirn.fpg.unc.edu),

Implementation Science Teams are specifically equipped to bridge the gap between

research and practice. Implementation Science Teams require a specific and learned

skillset. Unlike general case managers, implementation scientists utilize improvement

cycles to problem-solve barriers that arise during implementation. Staff supporting the

implementation of EBPs often face barriers such as lack of training, inadequate

communication, and low buy-in. Implementation Science Teams, however, are skilled at

employing improvement cycle frameworks, including Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycles.

Through the utilization of such frameworks, Implementation Science Teams are able to

identify challenges faced and carry out strategies to address them while simultaneously

centering equity.

o Grant Officer

DHS is seeking funding to hire a Grants Officer to support in the identification,

development, and writing of grant proposals to foundations and government agencies in

order to obtain funding to support strategic initiatives across DHS that are not otherwise

funded. In addition to being responsible for writing, developing, and implementing grant

proposals, the Grant Officer will be responsible for post-award compliance, including the

coordination of reporting and communication with funding agencies as necessary. The

Grant Officer will also liaison across City- and State-wide stakeholder groups involved

with the development of grant applications and the administration of projects and

proposals. The Grant Officer will research new funding opportunities available through

local, state, and federal agencies, as well as through private and corporate foundations.

Such a position will afford DHS additional funding and growth opportunities to support

strategic initiatives and priorities that benefit the children and families it serves.

o Infrastructure investment

In order to support the Department’s efforts to rightsize our system through the

strategies presented in the Program Improvement Strategy section, DHS is investing in

enhancing infrastructure, specifically recruitment, training, retention, and physical space

(including room for simulation training). Please see 3-1c Complement for detail regarding

recruitment, training and retention, and physical space and technology needs related to

onboarding new hires. In addition, City of Philadelphia Public Property is exploring

solutions to DHS’ physical space needs.

With respect to Juvenile Justice resource allocations, a Community Based Detention Service

(CBDS) resource will come online in September 2021. This will be a 15-bed community-

based detention service for juvenile males. This is an option for diversion from secure

detention which, in addition to using the least restrictive, appropriate setting, will enable

youth who come under the Juvenile Justice Reform Act to be detained at the PJJSC.

Philadelphia County does not currently have the resources to meet the needs of the

Juvenile Justice Reform Act. DHS will need community-based detention resources to be

able to detain alleged or adjudicated delinquents in order to ensure that there is sufficient

space at the PJJSC to detain youth who are charged as adults with crimes. DHS will also

need to have evidenced-based programming to be delivered at the PJJSC for residents we

will receive with longer lengths of stay and high-end needs. DHS will need to develop and

issue RFPs in order to be ready by the effective date of December 21, 2021. DHS is

requesting funding to develop community-based detention services for alleged or

adjudicated delinquent youth as well as funding for evidenced-based programming to be

delivered to youth at the PJJSC who are charged with crimes as adults. DJJS will also need

additional funding for specialized training to support Direct File Youth at the facility for

extended stays.

2-3a Population Flow

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2-3b Permanency in 12 Months (Entry)

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This indicator reports on the percentage of children and youth who enter care in a 12-month

period and discharged to permanency within 12 months of entering care. The national

performance standard is 40.5%. A higher performance of the measure is desirable in this

indicator.

❑ Does the county meet or exceed the national performance standard?

No. Philadelphia 12-month permanency rate for this cohort ending on March 31

, 2020 is

17.5%, which is lower than the national standard.

2-3c. Permanency in 12 Months (in care 12-23 months)

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This indicator measures the percent of children and youth in care continuously between 12 and

23 months that discharged within 12 months of the first day in care. The national performance

standard is 43.6%. A higher percentage is desirable in this indicator.

❑ Does the county meet or exceed the national performance standard?

No. Philadelphia 12-month permanency rate for this cohort ending on March 31

, 2021 is

19.6%, which is lower than the national standard.

2-3d Permanency in 12 Months (in care 24 Months)

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This indicator measures the percent of children who had been in care continuously for 24

months or more discharged to permanency within 12 months of the first day in care. The

national performance standard is 30.3%. A higher percentage is desirable in this indicator.

❑ Does the county meet or exceed the national performance standard?

No. Philadelphia 12-month permanency rate for this cohort ending on March 31

, 2021 is 25.7%,

which is lower than the national standard.

2-3e Placement Stability (Moves/1000 days in care)

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This indicator measures the rate of placement moves per 1,000 days of foster care for children

and youth who enter care. The national performance standard is 4.12 moves. A lower number

of moves is desirable in this indicator.

❑ Does the county have less placement moves than the national performance standard?

Yes. Philadelphia’s rate of placement moves for this cohort ending on March 31st, 2021, is

3.17. A lower number is better, and Philadelphia’s rate of placement moves is slightly lower

than the national standard.

2-3f Re-entry (in 12 Months)

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This indicator measures the percent of children and youth who re-enter care within 12 months of

discharge to reunification, live with a relative, or guardianship. The national performance

standard is 8.3%. A lower percentage is desirable in this indicator.

❑ Is the county’s re-entry rate less than the national performance standard?

No. Philadelphia 12-month re-entry rate for this cohort ending on March 31

, 2019 is 10.7%,

which is higher than the national standard.

2-4 Program Improvement Strategies

Utilizing the analysis of practice performance, service levels and service trends, counties must

identify areas for practice enhancement and strategies for outcome improvement. For FY 2022-

23, counties will fully evaluate their performance in achieving permanency and stability for

children and youth who enter placement. The analysis of current practices and services toward

meeting the national performance standard for timeliness to permanence, re-entry and stability

in placement will identify areas in which targeted program improvement is warranted. This

analysis will also help to identify areas of technical assistance needed at the county level to

address challenges identified. In addition, the areas of technical assistance identified on the

county level across all counties in the commonwealth will help to identify areas that need

addressed through a statewide focus. As part of the analysis, counties should take a holistic

view of the data available to them, including information in the data packages provided, county-

specific data, general indicators, etc.

As part of the data packages, counties were also provided data regarding:

• re-entry and reunification for dependent children and youth only (no SCR);

• children whose placement stay was 30 days or less;

• the number of children entering foster care for the first time who were in previous

adoptions; and

• removal reasons for children and youth in placement.

Counties that do not meet or exceed national performance standard must identify

program improvement strategies based on their analysis. It is recognized that all

counties have a continual focus on improving practice toward improved outcomes for

the children, youth and families serviced; as such, counties that meet/exceed the

national performance standards are not exempt from this section and must identify their

program improvement strategies. Based on the county analysis of the data presented in

2-2a through 2-2i and 2-3a through 2-3f, as well as other county data reviewed, counties

should also consider other areas in which program improvement strategies have been

identified. The following questions and steps outlined below will assist counties in

identifying priority outcomes and identification of practice improvement strategies.

1. DATA ANALYSIS TEAM MEMBERS

List the members of the data analysis team supporting the agency’s efforts to make

data-informed decisions, including the development of program improvement strategies:

Housed in its Division of Performance Management and Technology (PMT), DHS’ Data

Analytics Unit (DAU) is comprised of over 25 staff that collectively support the agency by

mining and analyzing administrative data, supporting the data needs for operations,

designing and implementing research studies, and conducting program and system-level

evaluations. Data analysis team leaders include:

Liza M. Rodriguez, Chief, Office of Families and Children Performance and

Technology

Ana Ramos-Hernandez, Operations Director

Brittan Hallar, Operations Director

Charlene I. Monroe, Senior Director

Allison Thompson, Senior Research Officer

Katie Englander, Data Analytics Officer

Andrew Howe, Project Manager, Data Warehouse.

The information produced by DHS’s Data Analytics Unit is regularly shared, vetted, and

used by a number of internal and external stakeholders, including DHS’ Executive

Cabinet and Child Welfare Oversight Board. DHS’s Commissioner leads the Executive

Cabinet, which is comprised of the Divisional Deputy Commissioners, Operations

Directors as well as the Directors of Policy and Planning, Communications, and DHS

University. Members of DHS’s Child Welfare Oversight Board (CWOB) include, but are

not limited to directors, leaders, and professors from several of the City’s hospitals,

universities, law centers, and non-profit organizations. The CWOB is charged with

reviewing and assessing DHS’s implementation of Improving Outcomes for Children and

other system reform efforts. Both the CWOB and DHS’s Executive Cabinet rely on the

reports, studies, and data provided by DAU to guide and assess system improvement

strategies and to inform and advise on the development of the Needs Based Budget.

Main sources of data that are produced include the Quarterly Indicators Report, the

Weekly Indicators Report, and the CUA Scorecard.

2. ANALYSIS

The analysis phase consists of two iterative steps: data analysis and root cause

analysis. Initial data analysis can begin the root cause analysis process and the root

cause analysis process often requires additional data analysis as one continues to seek

more information about why a problem exists.

DATA ANALYSIS

In addition to utilizing the analysis of the national performance standard for timeliness to

permanence, re-entry and stability in placement, the county should consider conducting

additional analysis to define problems to be addressed.

The county may consider conducting analysis to determine if children and youth who do

not achieve permanency in 12 months, do not have placement stability (less than four

moves), and do not re-enter care differ from those who DO. The following questions

should be considered in this analysis.

❑ Are there any distinctions in age, gender, race, disabilities, etc.?

The following information was derived using the analyses conducted by HZA for

Philadelphia county. Specifically, DHS asked: Of the children who enter care in a

12-month period, what percentage discharged to permanency within 12 months

of entering care and did this percentage vary by age, gender, and race/ethnicity?

Age: Between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020, younger children aged 0-5 less

frequently achieved permanency within 12 months of entry compared with

children aged 6-12 and 13-17. For this cohort, 13.3% of children aged 0-5

achieved permanency; 16.4% of children aged 6-12 achieved permanency; and

23.2% of children aged 13-17 achieved permanency. These trends were not

consistent for children who remained in care beyond 12 months. Among children

who were in care continuously for 12-23 months as of 3/31/21, children aged 0-5

more frequently achieved permanency within 12 months compared to children

aged 6-12 and children aged 13-17 (22.8% vs. 15.6% and 19.1%, respectively).

Gender: Between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020, children who identified as

male achieved permanency within 12 months of entry at a rate similar to children

identified as female (17.5% vs. 17.6%, respectively). For children who remained

in care beyond 12 months, male children achieved permanency slightly less

frequently than female children. Among children who were in care continuously

for 12-23 months on 3/31/21, 19.0% of male children achieved permanency

within 12 months compared to 20.1% of female children.

Race/Ethnicity: Between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020, children who

identified as Latinx or Black more frequently achieved permanency than children

who identified as White (17.4% vs. 18.6% vs. 11.1% respectively). These trends

did not remain consistent for children who were in care beyond 12 months.

Among children who were in care continuously for 12-23 months on 3/31/21, only

17.7% of Black children achieved permanency within 12 months, compared with

21.6% of Latinx children and 25.8% of White children.

Placement Stability

The following information was derived using the analyses conducted by HZA for

Philadelphia county. Overall, the most recent analyses indicate that the rate of

placement moves per 1,000 days of foster care was 3.17 for all children who

entered foster care between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 in Philadelphia

County. This rate is lower than the national standard of 4.12 placement moves

per 1,000 days of foster care. Below, data is presented for this cohort of children

who entered foster care between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021 by their

demographic characteristics.

Age: On average, the youngest children experienced fewer placement moves

and greater placement stability compared to older children. Children aged 0-1

experienced 2.14 moves per 1,000 days of foster care compared to 3.08 moves

for children aged 2-5; 2.86 moves for children aged 6-9; 2.97 moves for children

aged 10-12; 4.21 moves for children aged 13-15; and 4.57 moves for children

aged 16-17.

Gender: Male and female children experienced a similar number of placement

moves (3.23 vs. 3.12 per 1,000 days of foster care, respectively), and the

Data obtained from HZA data package_06.29.21

number of placement moves has fluctuated over time for both male and female

children. There is not a clear trend suggesting that placement stability differs by

gender.

Race/Ethnicity: Black and Hispanic children on average experienced more

placement moves than White children (3.15 and 3.24 vs. 2.38 moves per 1,000

days, respectively). However, the distribution of placement moves by

race/ethnicity has fluctuated over time.

Re-entry to Care

The following information was derived using the analyses conducted by HZA for

Philadelphia County. The most recent analyses indicate that the re-entry rate for

Philadelphia County was 10.7%, representing a decrease of 1.0 percentage point

since 2016. Philadelphia’s re-entry rate is slightly lower than the rest of the region

(11.08%), similar to the rest of the state (10.60%), and higher than the national

standard of 8.3%. The most recent re-entry rate for Philadelphia County was

calculated using the following criteria: Of all children who discharged to

permanency within 12 months of entering care between April 1, 2018 and March

31, 2019, what percentage re-entered care within 12 months? Below, data is

presented for this cohort of children who entered foster care between April 1,

2018 and March 31, 2019 by their demographic characteristics.

Age: Re-entry rates by age group have fluctuated over the past few years. For

this most recent cohort, children entering foster care at age 12 or younger

experienced varied rates of re-entry on average compared to the overall County

rate of 10.7%, ranging from 6.4% (ages 0-1) to 13.8% (ages 2-5). Children

entering at ages 13-15 had a re-entry rate of 17.5%. However, older teenagers

aged 16-17 entering care had a re-entry rate of 7.8%, below the average County

rate.

Gender: Male children in this cohort had a lower re-entry rate than female

children (i.e., 9.56% vs. 12.03%, respectively). Rates of re-entry fluctuated over

time for both male and female children. There is not a clear trend suggesting that

re-entry rates differ by gender.

Race/Ethnicity: For this cohort, Black children on average experienced higher

re-entry rates than Hispanic children (13.07% vs. 9.17%). Comparison data were

not available for White children.

❑ Are there differences in family structure, family constellation or other family

system variables (for example, level of family conflict, parental mental health &

substance use)?

DHS presently does not have access to accurate, aggregate-level, administrative

data to explore differences in permanency based on level of family conflict,

parental mental health, and substance abuse. Behavioral health data is housed

in the City’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbilities

(DBHIDS).

Data obtained from HZA data package_06.29.21

❑ Are there differences in the services and supports provided to the child/youth,

family, foster family or placement facility?

The distribution of children and youth by gender is similar among those receiving

dependent in-home and placement services. For both dependent in-home and

placement services, roughly half of the children identify as male and half as

female. However, older youth more frequently receive dependent placement

services than in-home services. For in-home services, just over a third (37%) of

the children are aged five and under; about a quarter (26%) are aged six-ten;

roughly 35% are aged 11-17; and only 1% are 18 or older. Comparatively, for

children in dependent placement, just over a third (36%) are aged five and under;

23% are aged six-ten; about a third (31%) are aged 11-17, and 11% are aged 18

or older.

The demographic composition of children and youth differs based on their receipt

of dependent services and supports compared to delinquent services and

supports. Point-in-time data from June 30, 2021 indicates that the proportion of

male and female children receiving dependent services was similar (i.e., 52%

female, 48% male), whereas 92% of youth receiving delinquent services

identified as male and only 8% identified as female. In terms of age, the majority

of children receiving dependent services were aged ten or younger (60%),

whereas 81% receiving delinquent services were aged 16 or older. Regarding

race and ethnicity, 83% of children receiving dependent services identified as

either Black (65%) or Hispanic (18%), whereas 94% of youth receiving

delinquent services identified as either Black (82%) or Hispanic (12%).

❑ Are there differences in the removal reasons for entry into placement?

As reported in last year’s submission, Philadelphia DHS has continued to work to

improve the accuracy of data entry for removal reasons for entry into placement.

The removal reason is often conflated with the reasons for placement changes.

Once data accuracy is improved, analyses can be conducted to examine

differences in removal reasons for entry into placement.

❑ Are there differences in the initial placement type?

For dependent children accepted for service in Quarter 3 of the past fiscal year,

slightly less than two-thirds received in-home services as their first service. 23%

of children received family foster care or kinship care as their first service, and

6% of youth received congregate care as their first service (A portion of youth

either received an “other” service, such as SIL, day treatment, mother/baby or did

not have a service identified in DHS’s data system during the first 30 days after

the child was accepted for service.)

Data obtained from Dependent Children Demographics Report run on July 7, 2021

Data obtained from Dependent Children Demographics Report and Delinquent Children Demographics

Report, both run on July 7, 2021.

Data obtained from CWO Frontend Reports_2019

DHS’s Entry Rate & Disproportionality Study examined data among 29,539

children with new reports to the DHS Hotline between January 1 – August 31,

2018. These study data have not been updated since the initial examination.

Race/Ethnicity: Of the children included in this study and reported to DHS’s

Hotline during this time period, 12% identified as White, 66% identified as Black,

17% identified as Hispanic, and 5% identified as Other. The proportion of ethno-

racial identities observed among children reported to the Hotline was similar

among children who entered kinship care, foster care, and congregate care as a

first service. In other words, among children reported to the Hotline as well as

subgroups of children entering kinship care, foster care, and congregate care,

12-13% identified as White, 64-67% identified as Black, 15-18% identified as

Hispanic, and 4-6% identified as Other.

Gender: The proportion of children identified as female and male was fairly

evenly split among all children reported to DHS’ Hotline and among children

entering kinship care, foster care, and congregate care as a first service.

Age: Among children who entered out-of-home placement, young children were

more frequently placed in a family setting, whereas teenagers were more

frequently placed in congregate care settings. Of the children included in this

study and reported to DHS’s Hotline during this time period, roughly one-third

(34%) were aged 0-5, nearly half (46%) were aged 6-13, and one-fifth (20%)

were aged 14 or older. However, of the children who entered kinship care as a

first placement, over half (52%) were aged 0-5, one-third (33%) were aged 6-13,

and 15% were aged 14 or older. Of the children who entered foster care as a first

placement, 58% were aged 0-5, 37% were aged 6-13, and only 5% were aged

14 or older. Of the youth who entered congregate care as a first placement, none

were aged 0-5, 19% were aged 6-13, and 82% were aged 14 or older.

Results from this analysis can serve as the starting point for root cause analysis though

the team will engage in additional data analysis as the root cause analysis progresses

and the team seeks further understanding of why a problem exists.

ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS

The team will need to use a systematic approach to identify root causes and develop an

approach to respond to them. There are various root cause analysis techniques to

support the team’s efforts. The “5 Whys” is a technique used in the analysis phase of

the Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology

whereby repeatedly asking “why” allows the users to differentiate symptoms from the

root cause of a problem. The “5 Whys” can be used individually or as a part of the

fishbone (also known as the cause and effect or Ishikawa) diagram. The fishbone

diagram helps users explore all potential or real causes that result in a single defect or

failure. The technique(s) selected is up to the team.

❑ Counties should describe how their analysis process progressed, including what

data was reviewed, how the data was analyzed, and resulting findings as well as

the identified root causes.

DHS has engaged in multiple root-cause analysis strategies (including the use of

cohort analysis) over the past three years to understand key system challenges

and design program improvement efforts. These include an external evaluation of

the Improving Outcomes for Children (IOC) system transformation; the

development of in-depth quarterly public reports on key system indicators to track

progress on IOC goals; substantially building research, evaluation, and data

analytics capacity at DHS; and partnering with national child welfare experts,

such as Casey Family Programs, to augment and support data-informed strategy

development at the Executive Leadership level and across DHS. Additionally,

DHS is in the process of conducting a three-phased Entry Rate &

Disproportionality Study in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania and

Casey Family Programs to better understand and address ethno-racial disparities

and disproportionality among children entering out-of-home care.

The root-causes of child welfare system challenges are multiple and complex.

By engaging in a multi-pronged research, evaluation, and leadership

development approach, as described above, DHS has been able to identify and

understand key performance “pain points” in the system, and design and invest

in program improvement strategies specifically aligned to address these

challenges. For example, our multi-pronged approach has helped us to identify

timeliness to permanency as a key pain point. Even though our permanency

numbers continue to grow every year, timeliness to permanency is a system

challenge. To address this challenge, DHS has designed and invested in

coordinated strategies with our Community Umbrella Agencies – such as the

CUA Scorecard, Rapid Permanency Reviews, Performance-Based Contracting,

and caseload reduction of City Solicitors – to improve timeliness to permanency

and align our outcomes with federal standards.

DHS has also identified the disproportionate reporting of Black children to the

Hotline as another system “pain point” in need of strategic attention. In response

to this need, DHS launched the Cross-Agency Disproportionality Workgroup with

a stated goal “to pull resources together with partner City agencies to design

bold, collaborative interventions to reduce out-of-home placement, specifically for

African-American children and youth due to neglect allegations and/or socio-

economic factors.” Drawing from the Entry Rate & Disproportionality Study

findings, the Workgroup identified a number of strategies aimed at reducing the

disproportionate reporting of Black children to the Hotline. Specifically, the

workgroup is pursuing the use of prioritized service slots across Health and

Human Services for children and families residing in areas of the City with the

highest rates of Hotline reports. The Workgroup is also working collaboratively

with the Department of Public Health to expand the use of a Support Line to

more effectively ameliorate poverty as an alternative to the DHS safety Hotline.

The Cross-Agency Disproportionality Workgroup is led by executive leadership

from Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services (DHS) and Office of Children

and Families (OCF) and meets monthly. The Workgroup has representation

from all major City child- and family-serving systems, including Philadelphia’s

Department of Public Health (PDPH), Department of Behavioral Health and

Intellectual Disabilities (DBHIDS), Office of Homeless Services (OHS),

Community Empowerment Opportunity (CEO), the School District

of Philadelphia, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Together, these

departments and organizations support Philadelphia children and families to

access quality health care, education, social and behavioral health supports,

economic stability, and housing. These entities oversee the City’s health centers

and public health initiatives, early childhood education programming and

supports, employment opportunities and workforce development, maternal and

child health/home visiting programs, the public school system, the City’s major

children’s hospital, and homeless/housing programs and supports. This

partnership framework is well-established and represents a shared vision to

address social determinants of health across a robust continuum of community-

based networks of support within Philadelphia.

In the coming fiscal year, DHS will continue to explore additional root-cause

analysis strategies in partnership with Casey Family Programs, CUAs, and

OCYF to further strengthen our ability to pinpoint key areas for program

improvement.

3. PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES AND ACTION STEPS TO BE

IMPLEMENTED AND MONITORED:

Copy and complete the table below as needed to describe the strategies the county will

implement to achieve each desired outcome related to the root causes identified above.

Provide rationale for how each strategy will contribute to the achievement of each

outcome. Several strategies may be identified for each outcome. Communication with

staff and partners should be considered critical action steps, as should the analysis of

county and provider capacities in implementing change.

Outcome # 1: Keeping more children and youth in their own homes and communities

Related performance measures, if applicable:

Strategy:

Ensure that only families needing child welfare and juvenile

justice involvement are accepted for investigation or penetrating

the juvenile justice system; engage children youth and families in

targeted prevention programs designed to divert families from

entering into the child welfare system and juvenile justice

system; and utilize practices and resources/programs to assist

older youth and families in exiting the systems.

Action Steps with

Timeframes (may be

several):

• Train new DHS Social Work Services Managers in Hotline

Guided Decision Making when they are assigned to the

Hotline (ongoing).

• Provide Transfer of Learning Activities for DHS Social Work

Services Managers in Hotline Guided Decision Making to

ensure fidelity to the model (ongoing).

• Build sustainability for the above actions into the Hotline.

• Continue use of Field Screening units to safely divert families

reported to the Hotline from being accepted for investigation.

• Continue with quality assurance process to ensure that

reports are being screened out appropriately.

• Social Work Administrators must review any family who has

had two previous screen-outs within the past year.

• Social Work Administrators review a sample of screen-outs

monthly.

• DHSU will train all new hires and ongoing staff in Family

Engagement Initiative (FEI) in January 2022

• DHSU will lead all FEI consultations calls for 3 months as

each CUA is rolled out and transition from the AOPC.

• Formalize policy that requires investigation staff to refer case

to prevention programs when a preliminary safety threat is

identified with the goal of mitigating the threat during the

investigation.

• Increase the capacity of prevention providers to engage and

serve families during the investigation process.

• Family Empowerment Centers will continue to serve families

diverted from the Hotline and to support families during the

investigation process.

• Increase truancy allocation to hire additional truancy case

managers and supervisors as well as additional funds to

offset the costs of PPE, IT infrastructure and emergency

funds to address the engagement of kids and youth in

schools as we have seen huge designment due to the

pandemic as well as to address the additional

economic/resource needs of families to support their

household during a pandemic.

• Increase the capacity of the county’s education support

center to allow the hiring of 5 education liaisons to support

kids and youth in the county’s care on their educational

needs.

• Continue CAPTA funding to support families with newborns

exposed to substances.

• Extend financial support for older youth housing to age 24 to

assist youth who age out of the system with sustained

housing support into adulthood.

• Maintain Rapid Rehousing Program at 20 families per year in

housing programs that allow for timely reunification.

• Continue and expand research to develop evidenced-based

programs in the prevention arena designed to prevent

placement and support reunification and reduction of

congregate care.

• Increase resources for Out-of-School Time programs to fund

additional case management supports for youth. OCF has

seen that in addition to having youth development staff as the

lead for these services, it must integrate case managers to

support families post-pandemic. There has been an observed

increase in the number of families coming into programs

requesting support with resource navigation around social-

behavioral and economic systems. Youth development staff

are equipped to serve child needs, but additional case

management supports are needed to address the more

intensive needs being observed.

• Increase resources for Work-Ready jobs in the community to

assist youth with developing job readiness skills and

connections to the community.

• In support of our SDP and DBHIDS partners and the

children, youth, and families they serve, continue to support

the non-medically necessary costs of the Support Team for

Education Partnership.

• Expand the use of the Youth Aid Panel (and associated

services) for youth arrested in with the goal of avoiding the

filing of a delinquency petition.

• Develop and fund a Restorative Justice Program designed to

offer alternatives to adjudication/placement. Restorative

Justice seeks to hold the person who has done harm

accountable, give their victims a voice, and together develop

a plan to promote healing and reconciliation for all involved.

Participation in a Restorative Justice process is voluntary and

encouraged to participate by all parties.

• Expand the use of Intensive Prevention Services in the SW

Philadelphia corridor in order to mitigate the gun violence in

that area in accordance and in partnership with the GVI task

force.

• Increase by two the number of and use of Evening Reporting

Centers (ERC) to assist with diverting youth from entering

placement. Populations to include youth on interim probation

and youth returning from placement.

• Expand the existing Pre- and Post-ERCs to 20 slots each.

• Support youth in the juvenile justice system required to pay

restitution to victims by offering community service options in

exchange for payment of the restitution.

• Creation of a position in JJS to work in collaboration with the

Court for the purpose of using data to help define need for

types and array of programs.

• Acquire 150 portable electronic devices (tablet, laptop,etc.) to

facilitate conducting virtual visits with youth and families via

platforms that allow for videoconferencing.

• Acquire additional (50) GPS devices as alternative to secure

detention increases for lower offending youth in an ancillary

effort to create room/space within the PJJSC.

• Anticipated ramp-up 9/1/2021 of 15-bed CBDS specifically

for males.

• Develop and issue RFP for a community -based gun violence

prevention program for JJS involved youth.

• Develop and issue RFP for a community -based evidence

based program that offers Cognitive Behavior Training JJS

involved youth.

Indicators/Benchmarks

(how progress will be

measured):

• All Hotline SWSMs retrained on Hotline Guided Decision

Making.

• Town Hall Meetings and Section Meetings in the Hotline on

Transfer of Learning activities for Hotline Guided Decision

Making.

• Sustainability for Hotline Guided Decision Making training

and transfer of learning activities built into the DHS Hotline.

• Continue to ensure sample of screened out reports are

reviewed for quality decision-making and tracking of families

to see if they are re-reported or later accepted for service.

• The FECs will continue to accept referrals and meet

performance standards.

• Increase the family engagement of truancy providers and

decrease the number of truancy referrals sent to Regional

Truancy Court.

• Increased engagement of families in the CAPTA program

who successfully complete the service and do not re-enter

the system.

• Increase the engagement of the county’s children and youth

in educational systems.

• Providers enroll youth in Out-of-School Time (OST) slots with

the goal of increasing family engagement and providing

support that successfully keeps them out of the formal

welfare system.

• Increase the number of youth enrolled in WorkReady jobs.

• Increase in the number of youth who age out with successful

permanency and/or housing stability in the community.

• More youth involved in Youth Aid Panels and decrease in

petition filing.

• More youth diverted from the system in lieu of arrest.

• Reduction in the number of youth adjudicated delinquent and

placed in congregate care.

• More restitution obligations satisfied.

• Facilitation of workflow during times of pandemic and other

potential crisis. Maintaining familial contact for youth who are

in congregate care settings.

• More alleged and adjudicated youth detained in community-

based detention services.

Evidence of Completion:

Successful completion of above indicators including more

children and youth residing in the own homes or with kin in their

communities, reunifying families in housing, continued success

of FEC sites, and increasing enrollment in Truancy Prevention

Services, Out-of-School Time (OST) services, and youth

workforce opportunities.

Resources Needed

(financial, staff, technical

assistance, etc.):

• Maintain funding for Truancy Case Managers and operating

costs (IT infrastructure and emergency fund assistance for

families).

• Funding expanded for rapid rehousing slots to serve 5-10

additional families per year. (25 - 30 families).

• Increase funding for Out-of-School Time (OST) case

management component.

• Increase funding for Work-Ready slots to allow more work

opportunities for youth.

• Funding to increase the age of housing supports for Older

Youth to age 24.

• Funding for Youth Aid panels (associated services),

restorative justice program, increased intensive prevention

services, two additional Evening Reporting Centers (ERC),

and expansion of existing ERCs to 20 slots each.

• Funding for victim restitution through the use of community

service options for youth.

• Funding for a position to be filled in JJS to work in

collaboration with the Court to be able to use data to help

define need for types and array of programs.

• Funding for 150 portable electronic devices and licenses for

virtual meeting platforms.

• Funding for global positioning devices (GPS).

• Funding for sustainable community-based detention services.

• Funding for a community -based gun violence prevention

program for JJS involved youth.

• Funding for a community-based evidence-based program

that offers Cognitive Behavior Training JJS involved youth.

Current Status:

• All of the above programs are in progress or in the planning

stages. For positions, they would need to be posted and job

description developed for the Older Youth Director and JJS

Data position, as well as the new Out-of-School Time (OST)

case management positions.

• Hotline leadership receives a list of screened-out reports to

review on a monthly basis. In 2021, Hotline began to receive

a targeted list of screened-out Hotline reports with young

children that did not go through the secondary screen out

process.

• Sustainability for Hotline Guided Decision Making training

and transfer of learning activities have been built into the

DHS Hotline. (completed)

• Two FECs continue to be open and are meeting performance

standards.

• Each quarter, the key performance indicators for CAPTA,

FES, FEC, and RSR are reported, such as referrals, initial

engagement rate, voluntary service rate, ongoing

engagement rate, service linkage completion rate, and the

Family Advocacy and Support Tool (FAST) assessment

completion rate (for FEC only). Each year, an annual

performance indicator report is released with the quarterly

indicators aggregated. Additionally, the FEC family

functioning improvement indicator and diversion rate of all

programs are included in the annual report.

Monitoring Plan:

Monitoring is accomplished through regular site visits and

technical assistance. When site visits are not possible (i.e., due

to pandemic restrictions), staff conduct virtual site visits and

videoconferences. Administrative data related to enrollment,

engagement, and service uptake are collected through online

databases and monitored on a quarterly basis.

Diversionary prevention provider agencies are required to

complete information in a centralized database during the data

collection process and administer the FAST assessment in a

secure web-based survey tool, Qualtrics. PMT accesses the

information and reports on the indicators on a weekly, monthly,

and quarterly basis. In addition, PMT conducts yearly

performance reviews of all DHS providers to monitor and

evaluate providers’ compliance with program standards. PMT is

utilizing the current provider evaluation tool and key program

performance indicators to establish scoring mechanisms and will

create an annual performance evaluation report in the next fiscal

year.

Outcome # 2: Increase in Timely Reunifications and other Permanency (including CFSR

indicators not met or exceeded by Phila DHS related to timeliness to permanency)

Related performance measures, if applicable:

Strategy:

Increase Family Engagement and Improve Practice to achieve

an in increase in timely reunification and other permanencies

Action Steps with

Timeframes (may be

several):

• Roll out of a revised Family Team Conference Process that

is laser focused on permanency for youth in care; and

aligned with FEI

- Increase participation of families at the conferences.

- Full roll out of revised process in December 2021.

• Completion of Rapid Permanency Reviews for children in

placement for more than two years. (ongoing)

• Build sustainability of Rapid Permanency Review process

into the system, with DHSU retaining a consulting and

technical assistance role.

• Full implementation of Performance Based Contracting

(PBC) with CUAs which is designed to incentivize timely

permanency and maintain stability for all PBC eligible

youth entering out of home placement since FY19.

- Establish a goal (based on previous CUA performance)

for CUAs to help children reach timely permanency and

ensure stability.

- Engage CUAs on a quarterly basis to ensure that they

have updated data on their permanency and stability

benchmarks for each cohort.

• Expand quality visitation review to incorporate an additional

layer of measurement of accountability to ensure consisted

engagement of biological families. (ongoing)

• Increase focus on identifying permanency resources for

older youth including family finding and timely and

increased focus on creating meaningful and timely

discharge plans.

• Issue a RFP to identify foster care providers who are able

to recruit professional resource parents for children and

youth who exhibit sexually reactive behaviors and other

complex behavior health needs.

• Continue to streamline procedure and practice to reduce

the amount of time between termination of parental rights

and finalization.

• Explore use of Parent-Child Visitation Houses to support

parents in practicing important parenting skills like bathing

children, cooking for and feeding them, and safe nap/sleep

practices.

• Contract for new model for quality parent representation in

dependency proceedings that uses a staff attorney, social

worker and parent peer worker. Expand this model to

include cases represented by independent attorneys. All

consistent with the Enhanced Legal Representation

component of FEI.

• To increase timely reunification and other permanency

indicators Philadelphia DHS embraced the Administrative

Office of the Pennsylvania Court’s Family Engagement

Initiative (FEI) which began in Philadelphia in February of

2020 and looks to complete phased implementation by

December 2021.

• To best meet the needs of FEI, Philadelphia County needs

to hire additional attorneys which would directly help to

reduce the average caseload per attorney. This will

provide more time for attorneys to meet and or exceed the

expectations of FEI and come closer in line with

recommended caseload averages. The components of

FEI are (1) enhanced Family Finding, (2) Rapid and Crisis

Response meetings to prevent placement or where

placement is necessary, to place children with relatives

and (3) enhanced representation for parents.

Indicators/Benchmarks (how

progress will be measured):

• Increase the number of youth who are reunified.

• Increase the number of youth reunified within 12 months of

placement.

• Decrease reentry into care after reunification.

• Decrease placement moves so that

reunification/permanency can happen in a timelier manner.

• Increase the number of youth adopted or awarded.

permanent legal custody within 24 months.

• Shorten time between termination of parental rights and

finalization.

• Increase the family engagement scores in the CUA

scorecard.

• Increase use of kin.

• Increase in the number of timely and focused transition

plans for older youth.

• Increase the number of resource parents who are able to

care for youth with sexually reactive behaviors and other

complex needs.

• Decrease the number of youth re-entering care after

reunification.

• Reduce the average caseload for each attorney by 20%

Evidence of Completion:

• Increase in the total number of reunification and other

permanencies with improvement in the timeliness as

dictated by CFSR measures.

• Decrease in the total number of re-entries youth

experience after reunification, adoption and permanent

legal custody.

Resources Needed

(financial, staff, technical

assistance, etc.):

• Continued funding for Parent/Child Visitation Houses.

• Funding for a specialized rate to cover an enhanced

administrative and maintenance rate for resource parents

for youth with sexually reactive behaviors and other

complex needs.

• Funding to hire Older Youth Liaisons at DHS to support

CUAs.

• Funding for new model for parent representation and

expansion to cases represented by independent attorneys.

• Philadelphia Family Court has established a new

courtroom (4D) which has required a redeployment of DHS

attorneys to address FEI.

- Funding to hire a managing attorney (Divisional

Deputy) for supervision of the attorneys who represent

DHS in Philadelphia Family Court’s new courtroom

dedicated to Family Engagement Initiative cases,

Courtroom 4D.

- Funding to hire 6 additional Assistant City Solicitors so

that each core dependent courtroom team will return to

its best practice operational standard of 6 attorneys

(currently the teams have been diminished only reflect

5 attorneys per team) per team. The reduction of

attorneys in each courtroom greatly and adversely

impact achieving a greater rate of permanency.

Current Status:

• Revisions made to family team conferencing policy and

protocol; internal and external presentations of the revised

FTC model have been completed; staff have been re-

trained regarding roles and responsibilities. All consistent

with FEI.

• FEI has been expanded into four of the core dependency

court rooms and will take effect in the remaining two by

December 13, 2001.

• FEI phased implementation is expected to be completed

December 2021.

• PMT is currently monitoring four cohorts under the new

PBC model which include all PBC eligible youth who have

entered care since FY19.

- Children who meet the timeliness and stability

requirements in all cohorts are being tracked to identify

CUAs eligible for program reinvestment funds.

- To date one CUA has met the PBC T1 benchmark and

will receive a program reinvestment

• The project scope for PBC has been incorporated into all

ten CUA contracts.

• PMT developed and implemented business rules related to

PBC.

• An additional attorney is being added to the Law

Department’s PJJSC team.

• Expanded quality visitation review to incorporate an

additional layer of measurement of accountability to ensure

consisted engagement of biological families. (ongoing)

• Launched the Parent Youth Voice Tool project, whereby a

team of Social Work Service Managers (SWSM) use an

evidence-informed, mixed-methods tool to systematically

collect information about family engagement directly from

youth and birth parents. Findings are used to inform

system improvement strategies.

Monitoring Plan:

PMT monitors and reports out on the benchmarks.

• Every quarter PMT sends reports to CUAs about the

number of children eligible for program reinvestment for

timeliness and stability. The CUAs reconcile the list if there

are any issues or missing information.

• At the end of each fiscal year, a final list is generated and

reconciled with the CUAs prior to the calculation for the

reinvestment.

• After all the numbers are reconciled, the results of the

benchmarks are communicated to each CUA.

• Program reinvestments for CUAs who exceed PBC

benchmarks and who have attained a mark of “competent”

or above on the overall CUA scorecard and the practice

domains will receive a program reinvestment allocated by

Finance.

Outcome #3: Reduction in the Use of Congregate Care

Related performance measures, if applicable:

Strategy:

Decrease the number of youth in congregate care by controlling

the number of youth entering care and working to ensure timely

discharge from congregate care settings.

Action Steps with

Timeframes (may be

several):

• Continue use of the Commissioner’s Approval Process.

• Increase referrals for Family Finding for youth placed in

Congregate Care.

• Process Accurint searches to identify relatives for family-

based placement.

• Increase resource parent recruitment efforts to identify

homes for youth with specialized behavioral health needs,

who identify as LGBTQ GNC, and with physical health needs.

• Increase recruitment efforts for resource parents willing to

have only one child or youth in their home at any one time to

comply with court orders requiring only one youth in a

resource home.

• Identify foster care providers who are able to recruit and

retain professional resource parents willing to have children

and youth placed in their care who exhibit sexually reactive

behaviors as a result of being victims of sexual abuse, as

well as for youth with other complex behavioral health needs.

• Begin congregate care reviews to identify and create timely

discharge plans from congregate care.

• Partner with the behavioral health system to ensure

necessary behavioral health services to stabilize family-

based placements.

• Use of Behavioral Health Assessment Unit to prevent

placement in congregate care and help identify community

resources for youth who could exit congregate care with the

right supports.

• Conduct scheduled reviews of youth who are already placed

in congregate care to reunify them with family or step them

down to kinship care or foster care.

• Increase monitoring of congregate care providers that had a

high number of serious incidents/service concerns to bi-

annually. (ongoing)

• Continue pursuing survey opportunities for youth to

incorporate their voices into quality improvement strategies

and practice development. (ongoing)

• Continue use of assessment instruments such as the Youth

Level of Service and the Pennsylvania Detention Risk

Assessment Instrument to inform JPO’s recommendations to

Court regarding level of supervision, program, and length of

stay for youth who have contact with the juvenile justice

system.

• Increase availability of community-based delinquent

placement settings. (See outcome #1.)

• Increase by two the number of and use of Evening Reporting

Centers to assist with diverting youth from entering

placement. Populations to include would be youth on interim

probation and youth returning from placement.

• Acquire additional (TBD) GPS devices as alternative to

secure detention increases for lower offending youth in an

ancillary effort to create room/space within the PJJSC.

• Anticipated ramp-up (9/1/2021) of 15-bed CBDS specifically

for males w/the ability to expand to a 20-bed resource.

Indicators/Benchmarks

(how progress will be

measured):

• Decrease in the proportion of youth in congregate care.

• Decrease in the number of youth entering care.

• Increase in the proportion of youth exiting congregate care.

• Increase in the proportion of youth in kinship care.

• Increase in the number of monitoring evaluations per

congregate care provider if provider had a high number of

service concerns (ongoing)

• Increase in the total number of resource families willing to

accept older youth with specialized needs.

Evidence of Completion:

Proportionally fewer youth in congregate care.

Resources Needed

(financial, staff, technical

assistance, etc.):

• Additional funding for family finding and continued funds for

Accurint.

• Continued funding for resource family recruitment.

• Funding for provider to support resource homes with

professional foster parents.

• Continued funding for Behavioral Health Assessment Unit at

DHS.

Current Status:

• Commissioner’s approval process currently being used for all

dependent congregate care requests.

• Family finding and Accurint are being used and emphasis will

be made to increase use of these services. RFP was issued

to expand Family Finding and another provider was

identified.

• Resource parent recruitment is ongoing.

• Plans are still in process for development of civil service job

descriptions for the Behavioral Health Assessment Unit.

• Annual monitoring is occurring for congregate care providers

with follow up visits for providers that had a high number of

service concerns. (ongoing)

• From FY2016-17 to FY2020-21, there has been a 69%

decrease in the number of youth receiving institutional-level

congregate care services and a 52% decrease in the number

of youth placed in dependent group homes. Additionally, at

7.5% of dependent youth in placement in congregate care,

Philadelphia remains well below the state (13%) and national

(10.3%) averages.

Monitoring Plan:

• Regular routine reports on the number of youth in congregate

care.

• Increased monitoring and adherence to the policy of CUA

directors reviewing exits from congregate care.

• Continued evaluation of providers (ongoing)—moved to a

biannual basis for providers with a high number of service

concerns.

• Continued review of case files to ensure the utilization of

Family Finding and Accurint.

Outcome #4: Improved child and family functioning and well-being

Related performance measures, if applicable:

Strategy:

Increase child and family well-being by supporting parents,

children, and youth through the traumatic experience of child

removals from home and by supporting educational needs of

children in care.

Action Steps with

Timeframes (may be

several):

• Fund and develop program of peer support partners for older

youth in the system to assist with the trauma of out-of-home

placement and pathways to independence.

• Fund and develop program of parent support workers to help

parents involved in the system navigate the placement and

court process.

• Fund transportation service to address time between removal

from home and reroute of school bus or other transportation

alternative from the school district.

• Continue full implementation of LifeSet (formerly YV LifeSet)

program to reach youth not engaged in Achieving

Independence Center independent living activities to help

ensure that older youth who are aging out of care can

establish a supportive connection, education, employment,

housing and basic independent living skills.

• Continued support of the Achieving Independence Center to

improve outcomes for older youth, including maintaining new

mentoring program, housing counselor position, and mobile

AIC team.

• Continued support of Healthy Families America which

provides in home services for families currently pregnant or

with a child younger than four (4) months old; DHS-involved

families can enroll children that are up to one (1) year old.

Programming promotes positive parenting practices, health

child growth, and strengthening parent-child relationships.

• Expand mental health first aid training to biological and

resource parents, foster care providers, and congregate care

providers.

• Provide additional training to DHS and CUA staff regarding

support the education needs of children and youth in the

system.

• Add additional trainers for youth mental health first aid.

• Create youth and parent advisory boards to serve as

advisors to DHS Commissioner and cabinet regarding

changes in agency-wide policy.

• Examine statistical validity of current wellbeing data and

identify additional wellbeing data indicators as needed (in

progress).

• Identify evidenced-based programming to be provided at the

PJJSC for youth charged with crimes as adults with longer

lengths of stay and higher-end needs and issue an RFP for

the programming.

Indicators/Benchmarks

(how progress will be

measured):

• Number of peer support partners hired for parents and youth.

• AIC numbers of youth served.

• AIC Mentoring – number of mentors recruited and matches.

• AIC Housing – number of youth engaged in housing stability

planning.

• Provide transportation support to youth to avoid missing

school during the time between placement and transportation

alternatives provided by the School District of Philadelphia.

Evidence of Completion:

• Matches between peers and parents/youth.

• Improved outcomes for youth involved in AIC and LifeSet.

• Contract competitively bid, provider selected and youth

transported to school.

• Youth charged with crimes as adults, detained at the PJJSC,

receiving evidence-based programming.

Resources Needed

(financial, staff, technical

assistance, etc.):

• Funding for contracts to hire a provider to support and train

peer mentors.

• Funding for transportation contact.

• Continue funding for LifeSet program to engage youth city

wide who would benefit from the program.

• Funding for mentoring specialist, housing counselor and staff

for mobile AIC.

• Funding for trainers for Youth Mental Health First Aid and

recertification.

• DHSU will need 14 additional trainers for mental health first

aid training: six for adults, six for youth, and eight for teens.

• Funding to support needs of parent and youth advisory

boards.

• Funding for evidence-based programming at the PJJSC for

youth detained at the PJJSC who are charged with crimes as

adults.

Current Status:

• Information has been solicited from parents and children

around the need for peer support. Working with Casey

Family Programs to learn how other jurisdictions have

implemented peer support programs.

• The Achieving Independence Center hired a mentoring

specialist, housing counselor, and began the mobile AIC

model this fiscal year FY19/20. Philadelphia DHS wishes to

continue this work to ensure that older youth have lasting

adult and housing connections.

• LifeSet (formerly YVLifset) implementation continues to

compliment the site-based approach at the Achieving

Independence Center. When the AIC loses contact with a

youth, LifeSet is utilized to make outreach and provide

mobile services, particularly for youth that are older and that

have behavioral health needs.

• AIC has served 725 youth from July 2020-May 2021. The

Mentoring program has made 10 matches and 54 mentors

have been recruited. There are currently 15 active matches

that were matched in the previous FY and this FY and still

engaged. The AIC Housing Coordinator worked with 141

youth for housing concerns, connections and referrals.

• LifeSet (formerly YVLifeSet) served 217 youth in fiscal year

FY21. There have been 72 successful discharges, with a

remaining amount of participants still being served.

In addition:

- Housing (90% increase) - 90% of the participants who

were homeless (street living, couch-surfing, no identified

place to stay) at enrollment, have now gained suitable

and stable housing.

- Education (64% increase) - 64% have either graduated

high school or entered in a post-secondary educational

plan.

- Employment (87% increase) – 87% of the participants

who were unemployed at enrollment have gained and

maintain employment while in the program.

- Life Skills (100% increase) – 100% of participants have

been assessed in treatment planning and have shown

an increase of life skills.

- Mental Health (85% increase) – 85% of participants who

have displayed mental health challenges at enrollment or

while being services have engaged in mental health

treatment.

- Permanency (100% increase) – 100% of participants

who did not have a permanent connection or support

have gain a permanent connection or support as evident

in completion of the YVLS permanency pacts completed

prior to discharge.

• In FY21, PMT completed a project to identify how major well-

being constructs are captured in DHS data. Specifically, the

project aimed to: (1) identify core constructs and

operationalized measures of family well-being, (2) identify

how these constructs are currently collected in DHS data,

and (3) evaluate how valid and reliable current measures of

well-being are. Key findings included the following:

- Community/environmental level measures of family well-

being are not often collected in DHS data.

- More data are collected for child well-being than for

parent well-being.

• Further analyses are needed to ensure the valid and reliable

measurement of well-being data.

• Evidenced-based programming to be provided at the PJJSC

for youth charged with crimes as adults with longer lengths of

stay and higher-end needs is in process. DHS-JJS is

reaching out to the prisons, our medical and educational

teams to coordinate the necessary alignment in anticipation

of the influx of State Rd. youth.

Monitoring Plan:

• PMT will monitor.

Outcome #5: Create and maintain sufficient infrastructure needed to achieve Outcomes 1-4

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Related performance measures, if applicable:

Strategy:

• Ensure sufficient quality staffing through improved screening

process and retention efforts, training, space and IT supports

to manage the child welfare and juvenile justice system

efficiently through the following approaches.

• Improve candidate selection at both the Civil Service exam

and during the interview process.

• Implement incentive program for new hires.

• Solicit feedback at all levels to determine areas that require

improvement.

• Provide tools and services to support remote work, wellness,

and employee recognition.

• Ensure sufficient infrastructure to support innovative system-

level programmatic growth and development.

Action Steps with

Timeframes (may be

several):

• Continue with recruitment and retention efforts across the

agency and through all divisions by increased marketing,

collaboration with City of Phila Central Office of Human

Resources for job posting and updates job specifications and

building relationships with universities & colleges to create

pipelines for employment.

• Collaborate with Office of Human Resources to revise job

specifications and Civil Service exams to better screen

candidates. (ongoing)

• Collaborate with operating divisions on behavioral based

assessment tool. Target start is August 2021.

• Solicit feedback from new hires and their chain of command

to inform the onboarding process. (ongoing)

• Continue conducting stay interviews of high performing staff

who have been with the department for at least 5 years.

• Continue frequent classes for new DHS Social Work

Services Managers and CUA case managers.

• Fund positions at the PJJSC to ensure adequate staffing

levels to ensure child safety. (ongoing)

• Build an additional simulation room to train new DHS and

CUA staff. The addition of new rooms would allow the City to

increase the number of staff trained at one time from 24 to

48.

• Hire additional staff to support the training needs for new

CUA case managers and DHS Social Work Service

Managers

• Enhance technological ability for training by modernizing

training rooms with smart boards, recording devices.

• Engage a staff consultant to assist with developing a blocking

and restacking plan of workspace at the One Parkway

building due to the fact that staff in the same program areas

are situated in fragmented locations and there are small

pockets of underutilized vacant spaces.

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• Purchase more modern usable open furniture to use in large

open spaces and move away from cubicles because the

existing cubicles are outdated and are no longer

manufactured.

• Continue to enhance network infrastructure and implement

network assessment recommendations which will enhance

security features. (ongoing)

• Migrated ECMS into a new platform and developed the

system to meet CWIS requirements. (completed)

• Continue to build and modernize the DHS case management

system. (ongoing)

• Hire an implementation science team to support EBP

implementation and monitoring.

• Hire a Grants Officer to support grant application

submissions and development opportunities.

• Purchase software/apps to support working remotely

• Purchase tools/service to support wellness

• Expand Employee Recognition to include team recognition

as well as provide “toolkit” to supervisors for instant

recognition

• Work with the Office of Human Resources Office to update

the Hiring Bonus Civil Service Regulation.

• Hire additional HR staff to support hiring efforts.

Indicators/Benchmarks

(how progress will be

measured):

• Increase in staff recruitment and retention.

• Fewer vacancies.

• Increase in talent pool and retention.

• Engaged new hires and supervisors.

• Improvement in performance evaluation ratings.

• Decrease in rejections during probation.

• Increase in the number of training rooms and staff to train.

• Increase in the quality of trainings and staff satisfaction and

understanding.

• Increased morale and productivity due to appropriate

workspace.

• Increased ability to safely manage and capture information

and data in the IT system. (ongoing).

• Increase in the utilization of Evidence-Based Practices

• Increased funding opportunities to support DHS strategic

initiatives

Evidence of Completion:

• Reduction of turnover in the first year of employment.

• More staff completing trainings: 85% DHS and CUA staff per

year.

• Continued safe use of the IT system.

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• Increased quality staffing practices rating via CUA Scorecard;

as of FY20Q3, all CUAs had a satisfactory or above rating on

the Scorecard, an improvement from previous years

• Increased quality staffing practices rating via Intake

Scorecard; as of FY20Q3, Intake teams had improved their

scores compared to baseline data.

Resources Needed

(financial, staff, technical

assistance, etc.):

• Funding for training, positions, space and IT systems.

• Funding for positions at the PJJSC to ensure adequate

staffing levels to ensure child safety.

• Funding for tools and services to support remote work,

wellness, and employee recognition.

• Funding needed to post on colleges/universities platform to

post city job postings. Funded needed for brochures, promo

materials, transportation to college/universities to conduct job

fairs and presentations.

• Funding for training positions: DHSU will need 1 Program

Analyst Supervisor, 1 Program Analyst, 1 Secretary, 1

administrator, 3 Supervisors

• Funding for incentives for Youth Leadership Academy.

• Funding for:

- Web Camera(s) - for live simulation and observations of

client/SW interactions and engagement, to aid staff in

the transfer of knowledge and foster discussions.

- Audio support - microphones/intercoms/speakers - to aid

in the delivery of sound and volume control.

- SDI/USB Cards.

- Extensions/Cables.

- Wall mounts.

• Funding for Implementation Science Teams.

• Funding for Grant Officer.

Current Status:

• Recruitment and retention efforts are ongoing.

• Solicit feedback from new hire have started and will be

presented to Executive Cabinet in July 2020. (completed)

• Solicit feedback from new hire chain of command will begin

in July 2020. (completed)

• Stay interviews with staff with 5+ years began in August 2020

and is ongoing.

• IT work is ongoing.

• CUA and Intake Scorecard work is ongoing.

• DHSU made new connections and expanded existing

collaborations with colleges and universities for recruitment.

• Collaboration with DHS/A&M & City of Philadelphia Office of

Human Resources to post Social Work & Youth Study Center

job announcements twice per year to align with graduation

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seasons. This was included in the hiring plan for FY22

Q1/Q2.

• DHSU leads an On-Boarding Task Force with

representatives from all divisions across DHS/CUA. The

Onboarding Task Force aims to assess current practices and trends

in each area to ultimately enhance the staffing complement of the

system to continue to ensure the permanency, safety and well-being

of Philadelphia’s children, youth, and families. The following are

areas of concentration: Recruitment, On-boarding, Staff Retention

and Succession Planning

• DHSU has expanded beyond Training and technical

assistance. DHSU currently provides Training, TA,

Professional Development and Organizational Effectiveness

which includes leading projects and conducting

organizational assessments on culture and climate that

impacts of the safety, permanency and well-being of children

and youth.

• Engaging a staff consultant to assist with developing a

blocking and restacking plan and purchasing more modern

usable open furniture to use in large open spaces and move

away from cubicles was delayed by COVID and did not occur

in FY 21, but we plan to do this in FY 22.

Monitoring Plan:

• These items will be monitored by Executive Cabinet and

reported out regularly during meetings.

Outcome #6: Eliminate the Disproportionate Out-of-Home placement of African American

children and youth.

Related performance measures, if applicable:

Strategy:

Design Interventions focused on Eliminating the Disproportionate

Out of Home placements of African American children and youth.

Action Steps with

Timeframes (may be

several):

• Three Phase Entry Rate and Disproportionality Study to

examine ethno-racial disparities and disproportionality

associated with children entering out of home care to inform

targeted efforts to reduce Philadelphia’s rate of entry to out of

home care: FY2022Q2

• Training for Mandated Reporters: FY2022Q4

• Develop a Cross Departmental Helpline: FY2022Q4

• Policy Assessment: FY2022Q4

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Indicators/Benchmarks

(how progress will be

measured):

• Less Neglect referrals called in to the Department’s Hotline.

• More City system-wide accountability to address the socio-

economic factors that are often perceived to be neglect.

• The Family Empowerment Centers will continue to accept

referrals and meet performance standards.

• More African American youth diverted from the juvenile

justice system in lieu of arrest.

• Reduction in the number of African American youth

adjudicated delinquent and placed in congregate care.

Evidence of Completion:

Less African American children and youth being placed out of

their homes of origins due to neglect, juvenile justice contact,

and other socio-economic factors.

Resources Needed

(financial, staff, technical

assistance, etc.):

The Department will need to contribute to staffing the Cross-

Departmental Helpline as well as resources as part of the

Department’s Mandated Reporter Training efforts.

Current Status:

Phases Three and Four of the Entry Rate and Disproportionality

Study are close to completion. Mandated Reporter Training is

underway with the School District of Philadelphia; and will be

starting within the FY2022 with Medical and Behavioral Health

Providers. The Department of Public Health has taken the lead

on the Cross Departmental Help Line. The Help Line should also

be up and running within the FY2022. Casey Family Programs

and the Center for the Study of Social Policy have begun the

Policy Assessment Review process and have working closely

with the Department’s Policy and Planning Team.

Monitoring Plan:

The Department has Cross Department Disproportionality

Workgroup in place whose work is develop strategies that will

help to eliminate disproportionality and disparities as well as

create equity within the African American communities City of

Philadelphia. The Workgroup will also monitor develop

strategies.

For Program Improvement Areas that were identified in the FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22 NBPB

Submissions, please review them and incorporate the ones that fit with one or more of the

outcomes identified above. For those that do not fit, complete a new template section(s). This

approach encourages development of a single plan which encompasses all your improvement

efforts.

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Section 3: Administration

3-1a. Employee Benefit Detail

❑ Submit a detailed description of the county’s employee benefit package for FY 2020-21.

Include a description of each benefit included in the package and the methodology for

calculating benefit costs.

Non-Uniformed Employees

The following fringe benefit costs for non-uniformed employees are effective as of July 1, 2020,

and should be added to all FY 2021 costs which are chargeable to other city agencies, other

governmental agencies and outside organizations:

Municipal Pensions

(Percentage of Employee's Pension Wages)

Plan

Employee Classification

Normal

Cost

Unfunded

Liability

Total

Exempt & Non-Rep employees and D.C.

Local 2186 members hired on or after

1/8/1987 and before 10/2/1992

3.845%

10.292%

14.137%

All D.C. 33 members & D.C. 47 Local

2187 members hired before 10/2/1992;

and all other non-uniformed employees

hired, or before 1/8/1987

7.646%

612.949%

620.595%

All non-uniformed employees hired after

10/1/1992

3.845%

10.292%

14.137%

Employee hired after 1/1/2012; D.C. 47

members hired after 3/5/2014; Civil

service non-rep employees hired after

5/14/2014; D.C 33 members other than

guards hired after 9/2014; Exempt, hired

after 11/11/2014

1.601%

-0.073%

1.528%

Stacked Hybrid Plan

D.C. 33 and Correctional Officers hired

after 8/20/2016.

D.C. 47/ Exempts /Non-Reps hired after

12/31/2018.

Compensation used in calculating

benefits is capped at $65,000, annually

on a calendar year basis

3.134%

0.015

3.149%

Plan is optional for all employees.

Employee Disability

Cost per

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Employee

Per Month

Worker's Compensation $ 131.15

Regulation 32 Disability $ 0.64

Social Security / Medicare

Social Security

Medicare

Calendar Year Earnings Covered

Gross Earnings not to exceed $137,700 Gross

Earnings not to exceed $142,800

Unlimited Gross Earnings

Effective Period

07/01/20-

12/31/2001/01/21-

06/30/21

07/01/20-12/31/20

01/01/21-06/30/21

Percentage

6.20%

1.45%

Group Life Insurance

All full time employees except those hired as emergency, seasonal or temporary help.

Cost per

Employee

Employee Classification Coverage Per Month

D.C. 33 (except Local 159 B) $25,000 $ 3.92

D.C. 33 Correctional Officer Classes of Local 159B 25,000 3.92

D.C. 47 25,000 3.92

Exempt & Non-Rep employees

Municipal 20,000 3.13

Employee Health Plans

These plans are available to all non-uniformed employees except emergency,

seasonal, temporary and part time employees.

Employee Classification

D.C. 33

D.C. 47

Cost Per

Employee

Per Month

$ 1,194.00

$ 1,100.00

Exempt & Non-Rep Personnel

in City Administered Plans:

Single

Single + one

Family

Keystone HMO

$ 601.23

$1119.02

$1758.56

Personal Choice PPO

553.73

1031.55

1620.63

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Dental PPO

36.29

67.14

105.24

Dental HMO

16.90

33.37

60.70

Optical

3.24

5.82

8.25

Prescription Plan

216.56

400.64

628.04

Based on self-insured conventional rates for calendar year 2020.

Based on fully insured premium rates for calendar year 2020.

Unemployment Compensation

Employee Classification Cost Per Employee Per Month

All non-uniformed employees

$14.0

Group Legal Services

Employee Classification Cost Per Employee Per Month

D.C. 33 $15.00

D.C. 33 Correctional Officers 12.00

D.C. 47 15.00

3-1b. Organizational Changes

❑ Note any changes to the county’s organizational chart.

There have been no changes to the county’s organization chart since the last submission. The

Policy Development and System Enhancement division, under the leadership of Deputy

Commissioner Gary D. Williams, has added and begun to staff “Innovative Practices” which will

identify best practices within child welfare and create frameworks for optimal implementation

and service integration consistent with statutes and State and federal guidelines.

3-1c. Complement

❑ Describe what steps the agency is taking to promote the hiring of staff regardless of whether

staff are hired to fill vacancies or for newly created positions.

DHS Human Resources meets twice a year with divisions to plan for all their hiring,

classification, and exam needs. These plans are submitted to the City of Philadelphia Office

of Human Resources with whom DHS HR works to ensure eligible lists are established with

sufficient candidates. The HR Office also meets regularly with each division on a monthly

basis to review staffing needs and provide updates. Much of HR’s focus continues to be on

hiring for the Social Work Services Managers and Youth Detention Counselor positions as

these two groups make up the majority of the Department’s vacancies. DHS Human

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Resources meets twice a year with divisions to plan for all their hiring, classification, and

exam needs. These plans are submitted to the City of Philadelphia Office of Human

Resources with whom DHS HR works to ensure eligible lists are established with sufficient

candidates. The HR Office also meets regularly with each division on a monthly basis to

review staffing needs and provide updates. Much of HR’s focus continues to be on hiring for

the Social Work Services Managers and Youth Detention Counselor positions as these two

groups make up the majority of the Department’s vacancies. DHS is currently implementing

an aggressive onboarding plan to fill social work and Youth Detention Counselor vacancies.

An onboarding taskforce has been created to help identify and implement strategies to

streamline and expedite hiring of new staff. Strategies include but not limited to the

following: sign on bonuses for new hires; group block appointments for background

clearances; collaboration with local universities to expand pool of candidates; new hire

mentor programs; behavioral interviews and simulated training.

Progressive recruitment efforts are underway as of this writing. Collaborations with local

Historically Black Colleges and Universities are being solidified to bolster staffing at the

Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center. Special waivers and a sign-on bonus

structure are being vetted by DHS’ Human Resources.

DHSU partnered with the CWEB Coordinators from the University of Pittsburgh and

conducted joint virtual presentations to CWEB undergraduate social work schools in the

Philadelphia area. As a result of our recruitment efforts, Philadelphia DHS currently has six

students representing three CWEB affiliated universities fulfilling their CWEB internship

requirements for the 2021-2022 school year.

Social Work Trainee examinations will be posted twice a year during graduation seasons.

Additionally, the CUAs are laser focused on recruitment and retention efforts for case

managers. Due to a high number of case manager departures in recent months, CUAs are

continuing to work on their recruitment and hiring strategies. To support this effort, and to

ensure that children and families do not experience a gap in services, DHS is requesting

additional funding to support more frequent trainings and larger class size. Specifically, DHS

is requesting funding for additional training rooms for the foundations training and funding

for positions to train the new hires. Due to the need to use a simulation room for this

training, class sizes have been reduced from 60 to 24 participants at one time. DHS is

looking to increase training capacity to 48 participants by building an additional simulation

room.

❑ Describe the agency’s strategies to address recruitment and retention concerns.

To improve the talent pool for mission critical positions, HR will collaborate with the Office of

Human Resources to update the Civil Service job specifications and job announcements to

capture candidates who possess the competencies needed to be successful in the jobs. To

further determine the right fit for the jobs and organization, HR will collaborate with operating

divisions on updating the interview process to include a behavioral based assessment.

As it relates to retention, HR will conduct interviews at all levels to determine improvement

areas for new hires. Interviews have already started with new hires and will be expanded to

their chain of command. This information was presented to Executive Cabinet and DHSU’s

Onboarding Taskforce. Retaining quality talent requires feedback from the source itself.

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Interviews will be conducted with high performing employees with at least five years of

service with the organization. Information collected from these interviews will be shared with

Executive Cabinet with recommendations. This is an ongoing effort.

1. DHSU leads a collaborative On-Boarding Task force that includes Child Welfare

Operations (CWO), Juvenile Justice Services (JJS), Communications, Prevention, PMT

and HR to plan and implement city-wide requirement strategies to increase the staffing

complement. This work will include internal and external stakeholders and will be

conducted over a 6 - 12 month period. The goal is to increase staff complement for

CWO and JJS by 30% over the next two fiscal years.

2. DHSU will work with DHS HR and the City of Philadelphia’s Central Personnel to review

and enhance the current onboarding process for new hires by assessing gaps,

messaging, and creating opportunities to introduce a safety culture and trauma-informed

practice earlier.

3. DHSU will continue its expansion of Philadelphia Child Welfare Leadership Academy

(CWLA) across all levels within the system to include emerging leaders within DHS’s

entire workforce including all position levels. DHSU is looking to implement a Directors’

CWLA as well as a Youth Leadership Academy. This Youth Leadership Academy will

serve committed and/or formerly committed Older Youth ages 16 – 21yrs. to support in

transition to adulthood. This Youth Leadership Academy will enhance their leadership to

succeed in adulthood.

4. Continuing the Supervising for Excellence training for CWO supervisors, administrators

and Directors to enhance practice and address professional development needs.

5. To enhance infrastructure to support increased numbers of new hires through creating

additional classroom and simulation room space and increasing use of training

technology such as smartboards, headsets, cameras, microphones, technology goggles

and software that will be used as virtual simulation and alternative training platforms like

WebEx Training.

6. Continued partnership with the Child Welfare Educational Leadership Program (CWEL) -

the Employee Education Program to support retention and internal growth of leadership

for DHS staff in obtaining their master’s degree. Once obtained, staff are eligible to apply

for the supervisor’s test.