With the safety of young people in institutions becoming a more prevalent issue than ever before, Philadelphia City Council decided to take a step forward in understanding the issue.
The city council met with the Committee on Children and Youth on April 8 to discuss what the future of safety for young people and the establishment of an independent Youth Services Ombudsperson office would look like.
With the creation of an Ombudsperson office would allow the city to have several officials charged with independent investigations of complaints like maladministration or a specific violation of rights.
“This is not a Philadelphia specific issue, as we learned with the Delaware County Juvenile Justice Center,” Chairperson Helen Gym said. “But we have to take responsibility for our children.”
Through the first round of witnesses through the meeting, two youths as well as a mother, Geneva Williams, discussing the abuse they witnessed either themselves or in Ms. Williams case, her daughter.
Often when young people go into a facility, be it group home, foster home, or juvenile detention center, they are under the control of those in charge. Through testimonies witnesses explained that they were not taken care of and oftentimes abused mentally or emotionally throughout their time.
In Ms. Williams case, her daughter chose to run away 56 times, including as far away as Texas, simply to escape her situation, but her treatment never seemed to help her.
“This institution is making a dollar off of our children,” Ms. Williams said. “My daughters’ goals and objectives didn’t change for six months, how is that possible? And [counselors] have her 24 hours a day? But because you’re getting money from the city of Philadelphia and she’s always in Texas, you’re getting away with it.”
Currently, on a state level most victim advocacy goes toward domestic abuse cases, while the youth of Philadelphia are largely ignored.
Kimberly Ali, Commissioner for the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, also presented, putting her support behind the creation of the Youth Services Ombudsperson office for the city.
Councilman Kenyatta Johnson cited that only after investigative reporting, did the issue come more the forefront regarding youth protection. While the numbers of youth in these institutions are steadily lowering, the need for protection is still evident, as cited by the testifying panels at the meeting.