City of Philadelphia - File #: 140706

• File #: 140706
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: ADOPTED
• File created: 9/18/2014
• In control: Joint Committees on Public Safety and Public Health and Human Services
• Title: Authorizing the committees on Public Safety and Health and Human Services to conduct joint hearings to evaluate DHS Family Service Plan (FSP) policies and procedures, including the relevance of the FSP in reunification or alternative permanency planning goals for children and youth under DHS authority.
• Sponsors: Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Tasco, Councilmember Kenney, Councilmember Goode, Councilmember Greenlee, Councilmember Quiñones Sánchez, Councilmember Bass, Councilmember Neilson, Councilmember Blackwell, Councilmember Reynolds Brown, Councilmember Johnson, Councilmember Squilla, Council President Clarke, Councilmember Henon, Councilmember O'Neill

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
12/10/2014	0	Joint Committees on Public Safety and Public Health and Human Services	HEARING NOTICES SENT
12/10/2014	0	Joint Committees on Public Safety and Public Health and Human Services	HEARING HELD
12/10/2014	0	Joint Committees on Public Safety and Public Health and Human Services	RECESSED
9/18/2014	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced and Ordered Placed on This Week's Final Passage Calendar	Pass
9/18/2014	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED

Title
Authorizing the committees on Public Safety and Health and Human Services to conduct joint hearings to evaluate DHS Family Service Plan (FSP) policies and procedures, including the relevance of the FSP in reunification or alternative permanency planning goals for children and youth under DHS authority.

Body
WHEREAS, DHS has reported an increase in the number of children in out-of-home placement. In FY-15 budget hearings, Commissioner Anne Marie Ambrose reported 4,551 children in placement as of March 2014. The average length of time that a child remains in out-of-home placement is also increasing; and

WHEREAS, According to the Foster Parent Handbook 2014 published by DHS, Family Service Plans (FSPs) are objectives that parents and children must achieve in order to create a safe home environment when DHS has substantiated or indicated a report of child abuse or neglect; and

WHEREAS, The FSP meetings facilitate group decision making regarding child safety and permanency for children and families. FSP meetings are attended by DHS case managers, parents, children who are at least 14 years old, child advocates and foster parents as well as legal representatives or advocates of any party to the decision making team; and

WHEREAS, A Journey through the Philadelphia Child Welfare System (appended), illustrates that when a parent achieves the FSP objectives, his or her child is reunified with the family. A parent's failure to achieve FSP objectives may lead to the termination of parental rights. In addition, noncompliance with FSP objectives will result in continued foster care placement, adoption or permanent legal custody of the child with a different family; and

WHEREAS, Numerous parents have expressed concern that despite achieving their FSP objectives, multiple times for the same objective, reunification with their children has been prohibited by DHS. Separating parents from their children is a traumatic experience which has devastating a...