Transforming the Culture of Philadelphia’s Child Welfare System The Power of Community Collaboration to Improve Outcomes for Children

Abstract

This paper provides an overview and analysis of the current transition of the child welfare system in the city of Philadelphia through the Department of Human Services (DHS). Only a few years ago was the city awakened to the ineffective state of the child welfare system, which led to mortal consequences and in turn incited a radical restructuring of the entire landscape of how at-risk families would receive services. DHS intends to enact this change through their Improving Outcomes for Children initiative and is appointing select organizations, which they call Community Umbrella Agencies, to become the single case management provider for a specific area of the city. This approach emphasizes the need to utilize the child’s natural community as the new system’s most potent tool and states that a community approach will increase provider accountability, decrease costs for services and improve the likelihood that children will achieve desired safety and permanency with their biological families where possible. Most importantly, it aims to ensure that no child will fall through the cracks of an ineffective system. Two organizations, the NorthEast Treatment Center and Wordsworth, are some of the CUA forerunners and have been laying the foundation for the eventual citywide transition. Their case studies, along with an analysis of the intended impact of the CUA model, provides us with insights into the future of the Philadelphia, and perhaps the national, child welfare system. A few other local CUAs are Catholic Social Services, APM and Turning Points.