The death of 10-year-old Malayshia Allford in the care of her foster mother — a West Philadelphia woman who has been charged with murder and was previously accused of abusing another child — has rocked the city and spurred calls for changes to the foster care system.
On Tuesday, city leaders began officially responding to those demands.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who called 36-year-old Carprice Williams’ alleged treatment of Allford a “crisis of unimaginable proportions,” issued an executive order that calls for child welfare experts to convene and deliver a report on how the city can improve its handling of the thousands of foster cases overseen by the Philadelphia Department of Human Services and managed by a network of contractors and nonprofits.
Meanwhile, City Council members announced they had taken their own interest in investigating the circumstances that led to Allford’s death and making changes to Philadelphia’s child welfare system.
A resolution calling for hearings on the matter, introduced by Councilmember Anthony Phillips and cosponsored by Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr., calls for hearings to probe the workings of DHS and foster care contractors, particularly when it comes to accessing records that detail prior abuse allegations leveled against foster parents. That is a reference to the fact that Williams was able to foster Allford after having a 2021 abuse allegation expunged from her record.
The goal, the resolution says, is to propose safeguards that may prevent another tragedy. Read on for a summary of the mayor’s executive order and the City Council resolution.
What actions were proposed?
Mayor’s executive order: Establishes a Child Welfare Review Committee, which will be tasked with reviewing the way DHS interacts with community umbrella agencies (CUAs) — the nonprofits that contract with the city to manage foster care cases — as well as local foster care agencies.
Committee members will be asked to conduct a “comprehensive review” of issues affecting the city’s child welfare system, according to the order.
Members will review the process for placing children in foster care homes, for example, and probe how the city and state monitor such cases, the order says.
They will also examine how foster homes are licensed and consider how to best manage visitations from a child’s biological family members. And they will review the city’s criteria for contracting with certain foster care providers.
City Council resolution: Authorizes Council’s Committee on Children and Youth to hold hearings that will examine how the city keeps children in its child welfare system safe.
The hearings will explore what safeguards exist to support children placed outside the care of their biological families and how the city can engage with the concerns of a foster child’s family members during placement, according to the resolution.
They are also expected to delve into how city agencies can better coordinate with foster care providers and how to prevent abuse, neglect, and fatalities within the system.
The hearings will probe how contractors select homes for foster placement, for example, or how they assess whether a child’s relatives are eligible for possible placement within the family.
Additionally, the discussions will examine the training foster care providers receive, exploring whether they are prepared to meet the needs of children in their care. That includes training received by staff with the CUAs responsible for managing many of the city’s foster care cases.
The hearings will also focus on DHS — specifically how the city agency records and responds to instances when a foster care provider has been accused of prior abuse or neglect.
That includes examining what types of records and prior investigations providers may “lawfully access and consider during interviews, home studies, and approval decisions, including when a former [caregiver] applies to foster another child through a different provider,” the resolution says.
Who’s involved in the plans?
Mayor’s executive order: The Child Welfare Review Committee will be composed of up to 15 members who are “experts and leaders in the field of child welfare and foster care,” according to the order.
Members will be selected by the mayor from a variety of professional fields, such as childcare advocacy groups, social workers, medical and behavioral health professionals, and legal experts who specialize in child welfare and the foster care system.
Two committee chairs will be appointed by the mayor.
City Council resolution: Council’s Committee on Children and Youth will oversee the hearings. The committee is chaired by Phillips, with Councilmember Isaiah Thomas as vice chair.
The committee includes Councilmembers Kendra Brooks, Jamie Gauthier, Jim Harrity, and Rue Landau.
What are the possible outcomes?
Mayor’s executive order: The committee’s goal is to “work toward the elimination of child abuse-related fatalities, near fatalities, and injuries,” the order says.
It also aims to improve how DHS coordinates with CUAs, nonprofits, and local foster care agencies.
City Council resolution: The hearings could change how the city’s child welfare system operates.
For example, the resolution says the discussions will explore whether additional training is needed for DHS employees to assess whether a foster placement is safe, and to learn how to escalate their concerns about possible abuse to superiors.
The talks could lead to changes in how foster care providers access information about potential caregivers, how caseworkers verify that a child is safe in a foster home, and how attorneys and family members advocate on behalf of a child in a potentially dangerous situation.
And the hearings could change how agencies determine when it is safe for children to return to their original home, among other possible outcomes.
Participating Council members are also expected to consider how to publicly release information regarding these potential changes, whether they are working, and whether additional safety measures may be required.
What are the timelines?
Mayor’s executive order: Mandates that committee members submit a report on their findings to the mayor within 120 days of convening.
City Council resolution: There is no date set for hearings to begin.
After the first hearing, the resolution requires DHS to provide the Committee on Children and Youth a monthly report for a period of two years.
That document is expected to include tallies of children who are placed in kinship and foster care, reunited with a parent or guardian, or subject to a court order terminating parental rights, according to the resolution.