The business of healing, not hurting, children

The death of a teen in custody outraged the city. There was disturbing video footage that silenced City Council.  And the testimonies of those who had been let down by a system meant to help them were heartbreaking.

Responding, in part, to our efforts to see long overdue reforms of Philadelphia’s child welfare, juvenile justice, and behavioral health systems that places youth in residential facilities, City Council established a Youth Residential Placement Task Force last June.

The Task Force’s report is out.

With its members representing every facet of the residential system and composed of the top experts, City and State officials, and leading child advocates, like PCCY, the mission to realign such facilities to heal, not hurt, children took a major step last week with the publication of its findings and, more importantly, its recommendations. 

“It’s hard to overstate the value of the task force’s recommendations to the mission of healing children. It speaks to the importance of bringing every stakeholder to the table to collaborate on meaningful solutions to complex issues—that’s something of a specialty of PCCY’s,” said Estelle Richman, Task Force co-chair, former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, and active Vice President of the PCCY Board of Directors.

PCCY and its Executive Director Donna Cooper (and member of the Task Force), says Richman, played an integral role in formulating an effective framework for the group’s deliberations, as well as ensuring the membership of the 27-person body were a comprehensive and diverse who’s-who of leaders.

While Philadelphia has seen a 50% decrease in the number of youth in residential placements over five years, there are still more than 850 youths in facilities today and they’re discretionally black or Hispanic (approximately 91% of children in placement).

The objectives of the task force are to continue to reduce the City’s reliance on residential placements and, where the institutions continue to operate, to improve their safety and quality.

The report outlines 19 hard fought recommendations that deal mostly with achieving those objectives. But the last three are explicitly on an issue that PCCY has insisted on including as a priority: Education.

Although placed youth have a legal right to attend the local public school unless a court orders they receive instruction on facility grounds, they are often educated in an on-grounds school. But the quality of what is offered is frequently poor and limited, operating with little accountability.

If we hope that youth will re-enter society with a healthier outlook and a more positive trajectory, their educational careers are of paramount importance. But youth often emerge from residential placements months or years behind their peers.

The Task Force recommendations include making it easier to earn transferable course credits as well as calling upon the State for greater oversight.

And now the hardest work remains: implementation. Wisely, the report concludes with a statement of urgency, reiterating the commitment of each member of the Task Force to implementing the recommendations as their “legal authority allow,” as well as a matrix of check-ins and inter-agency collaborations and a list of items to be completed in 90 days. 

Read the landmark report HERE.