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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 8, 2023 03:12 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Lisa Baker and Sen. Judith L. Schwank |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Interbranch Commission on the Child Welfare System |
| The General Assembly has worked hard in recent years to further protect and improve outcomes for our vulnerable populations. But more work remains in the day-to-day operation of the child protection system. In 2017, the auditor general issued a “State of the Child” special report detailing alarming deficiencies in Pennsylvania’s child welfare system. He later developed an action plan consisting of 28 recommendations designed to provide child welfare professionals with the time they need to perform their critical work. In 2019, the inspector general announced plans to examine the Department of Human Services’ role in ensuring the safety of children who are suspected of being abused, following the torture and brutal murder of Grace Packer. More recently, the Department of Human Services investigated the Luzerne County Children and Youth Services after criminal charges were filed against its former director. While we all have read about several horrific cases of child abuse, the truth is too many children in supervised situations suffer death, serious injuries, or endure abysmal living conditions. Several community discussions have spotlighted the depth and extent of the shortcomings, but the problems have been evident for some time, reaching back across past administrations. Although the problems are documented, meaningful accountability and reform have not adequately followed. It is going to take a serious, comprehensive effort to push through further remedies that will include increased funding, added personnel, more consistent oversight, and important changes in law and regulation. To that end, we are re-introducing legislation to create the Interbranch Commission on the Child Welfare System. The commission will consist of members appointed by the Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the General Assembly, and the governor, as well as the auditor general and a deputy secretary from the Department of Human Services. Appointees will have a geographic balance as well as relevant professional experience or a personal foster care or adoption experience. A final report along with recommendations will be made within 18 months. This body is patterned after the Interbranch Commission for Juvenile Justice, which did an outstanding job of investigating the horrific circumstances of the Kids-for-Cash scandal in Luzerne County. That commission developed an extensive series of reform recommendations, the majority of which were implemented through legislation or by rule. I hope you will join me in this effort to protect those in our child welfare system and see that our taxpayer dollars are invested in efficient programs with positive outcomes. |
Introduced as SB805