Committee of the Whole, April 3, 2024

Thank you very much. Which is one of the things that we wanted to do to increase coordination amongst the City and between the City and residents. We have brought together the coalition of groups that we worked with to create the plan to successfully fundraise for implementation, and we received $12 million from the Forest Service last fall for implementing the Philly Tree Plan over the next five years, and with that, one of the things we're doing is creating a coalition that 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. will formalize implementation of the plan. It will streamline the communications about what we are doing, fundraising for implementation, and coordinate all activities towards implementation. We have worked with Councilmember Gilmore Richardson on improving the zoning code, and a lot of wonderful things have happened with that in the last year since it was approved. We have partnered with the Commerce Department to plant over 250 new trees along commercial corridors with Taking Care of Business ambassadors, and those ambassadors are being paid to do training to care for those trees and paid to care for those trees for two years after implementation -- after they've been planted. Excuse me. So that's an example of coordination between the City working with the community members who are living in those communities to care for trees, 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. which is another big focus of the plan, and we have also successfully increased our tree maintenance here at the City. We know, because of all the outreach we did to create the plan, that maintenance of our existing trees is a crucial trust-building activity we need to do so that we can bring more people on to plant trees in their -- on their properties. Trees can represent a burden to people with known and unknown costs, and so we want to address that directly, and there are a couple of other programs that we're excited to be implementing with partners within the City and with stakeholders to address hazardous trees on private property and caring for newly planted trees as well as mature trees. So there are a lot of amazing partners who are working together on implementing the Philly Tree Plan. I can name them, but it will probably take a really long time. Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and Fairmount Park 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Conservancy are incredible partners. The School District has been amazing, Power Corps and the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia and hundreds of community-based organizations that we are hoping to provide some of that Forest Service money to. There's over a million dollars in that budget that will be going directly to community-based organizations to implement community forestry projects in their neighborhoods.

Thank you for that. My time is up obviously.

You want to slide real quick before I call on the last person for this round, sir.

Yes, because I wanted to --

Not slide. Let me be more formal. One last comment before I turn it over to Jeffery Young.

For 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. sure. I thank you for the Tree Plan, commendations for sure. The next question I really had was around the Urban Ag plans in particular, as folks are finding that it's difficult to hold onto land to be able to do their work. And so I wanted to ask more about that. Maybe I can get it on the next round or what-have-you if you're unable to speak to that at all.

I think I would defer to either the Commissioner or maybe our Deputy Commissioner, the Director of Capital Projects for answer on the Ag Plan. I'm not sure. DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: Councilman, our specialist on the Urban Ag Plan is not here.

Understood. DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: We would rather give you a really direct and exact answer. So perhaps we can submit 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. it in writing to you.

That will work. That will work. DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: And we'll work with your office to get the exact question. And then we'll also make sure that you have a copy of the plan and whatever your specific questions are, we lay out answers for them.

Fabulous. Thank you, and thank you for your grace.

Is he available in the afternoon or he's just not available for the full day? Just wanted to ask that for the record, because we're not finished. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: Council President and Councilmember, she's not here, and I don't want to give you any inaccurate information. So if we could just get your question and we'll get the answer back to you, like Vanessa said, if that's okay. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.

Okay. That's cool. I think the question was she's not here or she's not available at all today, correct? COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: She's not here. She could be available, but she's not here.

If she could be available for our second round of questioning, that would be great. If not, just submit the information to the member. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: I will check and see if she's in the office and I will let you know and we'll get her over here.

Thank you very much, Commissioner. I also want to acknowledge the Chair of the Library, just welcome you back to City Council, Ms. Sade Lewis. We appreciate you. Good seeing you. Welcome back home. Good to see you. - - 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. (Applause.) - - -

I want to also -- to wrap this up this round, this session, we're going to have Jeffery J. Young. Take us home, Jeffery.

Thank you, Mr. President. Good afternoon. My first round of questions are regarding DHS and the foster care system. First, could you speak to the aging out of foster care issue here in the City. I represented a client who was developing property, affordable housing for this particular population. Could you tell us what is the process for -- what process does DHS follow when alerting children and their kinship families that they will be aging out of DHS and what resources are available to those children once they age out? The premise of the question is because I was told by -- I have a lot of 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. friends who are in kinship care. I grew up, most of my best friends were in foster care, and they were like, yeah, like a month before we turn 18, they can say, oh, here, by the way, this is what you get. So could you explain to us what the process is for those children who are aging out of foster care and what resources are available to them? COMMISSIONER ALI: Absolutely. So, again, I'm Kimberly Ali, Commissioner for DHS. And so when individuals are interested in becoming a kinship caregiver and/or a foster parent, they know, depending on the age of the child, because we tell them in terms of what is the age that the subsidy stops. And so if the young person achieves a form of permanency with that kinship caregiver or foster parent before the age of 13, that subsidy will stop at the age of 18. If it is after, they get permanency after 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. the age of 13, then it remains until they are 21. The reason why is because the state, when they instituted that a few years back, recognized that teens -- so teenagers tend to age out of foster care or kinship care more than if you were returned to your parent or you are adopted as a baby. And so we prepare the kinship caregiver and the foster parent, because we visit with them during the time that the case is open every single month. So once a month they have a social worker that comes out to their home to make sure that it is stable. Beyond that, if the case is closed, again, they have the information in terms of age-out. But a couple years ago City Council actually gave us some additional funding for young people, so aging out is up to age 21, but gave us some funding specifically around housing, so for older youth rental assistance. And so we 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. invest $2 million in young people who do not have a place to stay after they age out of the foster or kinship care system. We pay --

When are they told that these resources are available to them? COMMISSIONER ALI: How are they told?

Yeah, and when are they told that these resources are available to them? COMMISSIONER ALI: So they are told throughout the duration of their case. So it depends when their case closed. But also there is a resource called the Achieving Independence Center that we have that is located right at Broad and Oxford in which young people can continue to go there up until the age of in order to get supportive 23 services. So if that individual does not 24 know, I would suggest that they contact the office and we can talk to that 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. individual directly. But I will say the resources that I talked about in terms of the rental assistance, that's for young people who don't have a place to stay. When we have individuals who are still in kinship care with a loved one, so that is someone that they know also, or in foster care and their foster parent achieved permanency with that young person to say, listen, I want you to be part of my forever family, that's what we expect in terms of the foster care system in terms of caring -- continuing to care for young people beyond. We know that 18-year-olds, 21-year-olds cannot live on their own, and so that's why connecting them with someone who loves them is the goal of the foster care system.

I understand the goals. In reality from what I see, I just don't see that's what's happening every day in every 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. single case, right? So I'm just trying to make sure that my constituents who call our office, my friends who call me have the resources that's necessary to help move that young person into adulthood, because essentially what we've been seeing is that they don't -- many don't know what resources are available to them. Some of the children themselves don't know where to go, where to turn, and they essentially are left out on the streets because, one, the foster parent is only in it for another reason, right? It's not really a loving place for them. And so they are looking for places to go. So I'm glad you told me about this Broad and Oxford facility. I'll look that up to make sure that they know that that is a resource for them. COMMISSIONER ALI: And we can also make sure that your office as well as the other Councilmember offices have the information for the Achieving Independence Center. It has been in 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. existence at least for about or more years.

Thank 5 you. It's in the Fifth District, so I 6 would love to learn more about that 7 space. 8 COMMISSIONER ALI: Absolutely. 9

I know my 10 time is coming short, but one more 11 question regarding foster care and the 12 criminal justice system. What services 13 are provided -- so essentially when a kid 14 goes through the criminal justice system 15 or if they're in DHS on one floor, they're in front of a judge, they're talking about their story, why they don't -- their family circumstances, and they're removed from the home. And then that very same kid can go on the next floor when they commit a crime and be in front of a judge and be the worst person in the world, right? One floor they're so loved. The next floor they're like the worst person in the world. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. So what can, I guess, DHS do or what services does DHS provide when those children who are in DHS's custody have contact with the criminal justice system? Are there additional services? Are there additional support that's given, or can you describe that, what that process looks like? COMMISSIONER ALI: Yeah. So first I would want to first state that as you know, DHS is responsible for both child welfare as well as juvenile justice. And so if a young person who was known to the child welfare system now experienced a juvenile arrest, if you will, then that is what we categorize as crossover, so that young person has dual dependency as well as dual delinquency. So there is a social worker that will walk alongside of that individual and certainly will be able to share with the court the history around the young person, particularly as it relates to dependency. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. In terms of the services that we have to offer, it depends on the needs of the young person. All of our services are individualized. And so when I think about the continuum of services that we have in prevention or intervention on the juvenile justice side, they could, for example, go to an evening reporting center in which that is a site-based program that they go every single day after school so that they can learn the conflict resolution, they can get anger management if needed, they can do some gaming if needed. So that is one service, an evening reporting center. Those recommendations in terms of what a young person needs on the juvenile justice side is by way of the Probation Department. They can also receive in-home detention, if you will, again, a case management service in which a social worker comes out to the home in order to mitigate anything that was causing the young person to commit or 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. last have committed a juvenile act. Now, when you're talking about involved in the criminal system, which is the adult system, the young people who are involved in the adult system are young people who are probably held at our Juvenile Justice Center. And so at the PJJSC, we have young people who are juveniles but also have an adult charge. And so they would get all the services that are afforded at the PJJSC. So that's their medical, that is their behavior health. We have web design. We have gaming. We have an on-site school that is ran by the School District of Philadelphia at the PJJSC. They get anger management, conflict resolution. I talked about the credible messengers that are also there. Mural Arts is also there for our artistic young people. So there's a number of programs that they will get while they're at the PJJSC while they are waiting for a disposition. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.

Thank you, Mr. President. I'll save my questions for Round 2. Thank you.

Thank you. At this time, we will be at ease for recess and we will return at 2:45 promptly. Thank you. - - - (Recess from 2:12 p.m. to 2:47 p.m.) - - -

We will now begin our second half of this hearing. Sergeant-at-Arms, please clear the floor. We will continue our hearing, and then also once we finish this lightning round for the Office of Children and Families, Free Library of Philadelphia, Parks and Recreation, and Department of Human Services, we will hear testimony from the Department of Commerce and Mural Arts. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. I feel that energy from Jane Golden all the way over there. That's what I'm talking about. Murals do matter. At this time, the Chair recognizes the Chair of Parks and Recreation and also the Chair of Children and Youth Committees, Councilmember Anthony Phillips.

Thank you, Council President Johnson. I'm interested in receiving the following sometime in the near future or soon. Our Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier mentioned something that I think was really important, is that there's levels of capital investment in recreation centers across the nation and compared to the City of Philadelphia, we do not -- we're not doing a great job with capital investments when it comes to recreation centers. So what I think would be really helpful for us is to get an infrastructure plan from our recreation 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. centers and also our parks to let us know how much funding it would take for us to do a massive capital campaign to renovate all of our centers within a timeframe that is appropriate. And right now even with the $152 million that is currently being allocated to -- well, it's suggested as being allocated from the Administration to Parks and Rec, we don't know where that's going or how that's going to go, right? I think transparency with the public is important, because we hear all the time how important that is. So how we're going to be -- what are the ways that we're going to make sure that we have a very strong capital program recommendations from the Department. That's a statement. Well, hold on. And also while you're thinking of that, how will the Department fill the increasing numbers of vacancies for recreation leader positions considering that the budgeted positions for the feeder class, 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. recreation leader trainees, are significantly lower than the current vacancies? DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: So thank you for that, Councilman. We're going to have our Deputy Commissioner Marissa Washington come up. (Witness approached witness table.) DEPUTY COMMISSIONER WASHINGTON: Good afternoon, Councilman. So the recreation leader trainee and the recreation leader 1, they are really the same position. So when you look at the budgeted positions, you should put them together, because the rec leader trainee after 12 months automatically promotes up to a 1. With that being said, we do have a significant number of vacancies. Right now we are going through the interview process for rec leader trainees. Fingers crossed, we have 23 people that we interviewed. Hopefully 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. they will accept the position and all pass the on-boarding. So we'll have 4 folks starting. But with that, we will 5 still have roughly probably about 40 6 vacancies in the trainee. So we will 7 reannounce again to see if we can get new 8 candidates on the list. It's something 9 we're probably doing every year. 10

And 11 how are you making these positions 12 attractive for the individuals that have 13 vacant positions? 14 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER WASHINGTON: 15 So one of the things that we've done 16 probably over the last four or five 17 years, so we have opened up the 18 qualifications. So at one point there 19 were a certain type of degrees that were 20 accepted. We've opened it up now where 21 we're accepting more degrees. Also where 22 folks have a certain amount of 23 experience, especially in our recreation facilities, that helps to give them credit. We also have done a lot of 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. recruiting with the support of the Office of Human Resources reaching out to local universities and colleges to promote our positions.

Just real quick 30-second question. This is actually for the Free Library. The Library received approximately $9.7 million in state funding in 2024, most of which went to the library materials and some property management projects. Currently all libraries, with the exception of those closed for renovations, have stable five-day service. In light of the stability in library services and recent funding allocations, what plans does the Free Library have to further develop its role as a community hub, citing Wilmington, Delaware's library system where they're transforming library space and making it more of a community hub where individuals can gather for social and education 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. events and utilize the space to connect in various ways. Are we putting together a capital program or campaign to really transform our libraries? Because as Councilmember Isaiah Thomas said earlier, only a small percentage of people are utilizing their library cards. What are we doing to take it to the next level? DIRECTOR RICHARDS: Thank you, Councilman Phillips. That's a pretty broad question. Sorry. I couldn't get the word "question" out of my mouth. The Library is -- our biggest focus for the last two years, and we really appreciate the support from Council, has been opening the buildings. We've been closing anywhere from 15 to 19 of our locations or more every day, and 20 we really appreciate the support to have five-day stable service now, and we're on our way to six-day stable service. We've got about 27 of our locations that are open now on Saturdays, and once we complete that number and get it up to 54 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. where we'll have all 54 of our branches open. On Saturdays we're going to be moving toward Sundays, but we can walk and chew gum at the same time, so we're also looking at our programing efforts. And we know what Wilmington is doing. There are two locations. We've got 54. So we've got to be very strategic in the programming efforts that we provide based on our communities and the different needs and the objectives we have for each one of those locations. We are building a team. We have a new Adult Services Division that we didn't have before, where different programming was kind of scattered throughout the system. But we're working hard on doing just what you're saying, providing a robust level of programming throughout our community. Currently right now we do about 26,000 to 30,000 programs a year and have about 600,000 people come into the Library, and we expect those numbers to 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. increase going forward.

Thank you, Council President. Thank you.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Jamie Gauthier.

Thank you, Council President. My next set of questions are about the Juvenile Justice Services Center. So first I want to acknowledge our really good and hard work in bringing the census down. It's amazing that we're at 186 today, which is just two above what sort of the capacity is, and I want to commend you, Commissioner Ali, as well as Councilmember Jones, the Law Department and the whole Public Safety Committee of City Council for getting to where we are. But we know that this is something that we have to keep pressing on, right? Because at times we've seen 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. that population -- or that facility holding as many as 242 young people with a capacity of 184, and that's led to some horrible conditions, kids sleeping on floors, conditions that we would not want our young people to be in. We know the factors that caused these conditions, a lack of state placements and understaffing, which I know that we are already working on. I want to make sure that we keep up the good momentum as we're heading into FY25. And for the last few months, my office has been researching how we can continue to keep the census down, how we can reduce the number of kids who even have to go to PJJSC in the first place, how we can improve conditions and services and ensure that kids returning from detention or placement are integrated effectively back into their communities, because they are the future leaders of our city. I wanted to talk a little bit 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. about placement. So the primary driver for overcrowding has been a lack of beds in state placement facilities. As a result, kids wait months for an opening. And I commend my colleague Councilmember Jones for his resolution calling for a lawsuit against the state, which has produced some tremendous results and gotten a different type of action than we were getting before. However, even though we're pressing on the state to do its job, no 14 one is going to care about our kids and take care of our kids like we will, right, here in the City of Philadelphia. And so I'm invested in working just as hard to find solutions that can help at a local level. For the last three years, DHS has put out an RFP for mid-level placement in Philadelphia and we've not received a response. So, Commissioner or Deputy Managing Director, can you speak to the situation. Why are we having 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. trouble using the funds that were budgeted to provide local placement options for young people? What is the impact of not having these services on the PJJSC census in an ongoing manner? And what do we plan to do differently this year to actually get a response to that or responses to that RFP? COMMISSIONER ALI: So thank you for that question. You are correct in that the Department did issue a request for a proposal three times, and we actually did get individuals who bid on that, on the proposal. I'll talk about the first round. The first round we were very much interested because we were aware that we couldn't attract providers. And so we put in the RFP that even if the provider did not have a facility, that we will walk alongside them to build a facility, to locate a residential location. Smaller is certainly better for young people, and then to help them 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. along that process so that we can contract with them. Our plans were well underway. The particular provider had a leadership change, and so we found out about three months ago that we were not continued to go in that direction. They indicated -- the new leadership indicated that they were still willing to locate a facility. However, we need to pivot because they pulled out, if you will. And so what we plan on doing is reissuing the RFP again. We believe that it probably was too complex. As you know, we were asking for multiple services. We want to be more targeted. So the next target will be for a female community-based detention center.

As Vanessa indicated, we are looking at our female population that is beginning to grow, so we want to relieve some of that pressure at the PJJSC, but then we also are going to look for a smaller group home. Again, a provider can have an 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. existing building or not. So if they do not, what we want to do again is work alongside of them. In terms of how Council can help, any individual that you know that is interested or provider that's interested in becoming a residential provider for delinquent young people to provide them the appropriate treatment and supervision, we certainly will want them to apply to the RFP. And so when it is posted, as we do with other RFPs, we will circulate that again with City Council. We will also circulate it with our juvenile justice stakeholders so that we can identify a provider.

And can you just expound. Was the group that pulled out, were they the only organization that responded? COMMISSIONER ALI: Yes. To the building your own, yes.

Do you have an idea about why -- one, we've 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. issued this three times, and then when we were successful, there was only one organization. What's your sense of that? DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: So, Councilwoman, you know me and I'm going to be very frank. Part of the census is very hard to get people who want to contract with Philadelphia to do this work. We've heard everything from Philadelphia is very litigious. We have a very robust advocacy community. Folks will say, why do I have to deal with all of that when I can go and get kids from Bucks County, Delaware County or some place else for the same pay and not take that same risk, right, in terms of defending lawsuits and all the other stuff that goes on. And this is just my personal opinion. Some of it is also there is a profile, if you will, or prototype that they have done of the young people in Philadelphia, plain and simple. Some of it involves race, in my opinion, and some 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. of it involves this profile that they have created that our kids are inherently more dangerous than others, and I submit to you that is not true, right? A kid in the delinquent system is a kid in the delinquent system, whether he's in Philadelphia or if he's in some other county, but those are all those stereotypes and barriers that we are trying to break down to make sure -- and the other thing is, we as a department, meaning the Department of Human Services and Office of Children and Families, are particular about where our kids go, and we should be, right? I want to make sure that they're treated correctly, as does the Commissioner. We do go out. We do do a lot of evaluation and a lot of monitoring, and there are some providers who know that, and that's not always as attractive to people. But we care a lot about the young people in this city and we want to make sure that we are making sure that they're being treated 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. appropriately.

One last thing. I promise, last thing.

Super quick.

Okay. Thank you for expounding on that. Frankly, we don't want to have organizations that are, A, scared that we're going to force them to treat our kids right or, B, scared of Black kids, you know, responding to these RFPs. So my last question would be, what are we doing to build the capacity of folks who are right here at home, who know our young people, who are not afraid of them, and who could grow into this work? COMMISSIONER ALI: That's exactly what I was speaking to in terms of building your own. We certainly know of providers, organizations that are interested in providing that quality treatment for our young people. And so 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. we want them to put the money where their mouth is, right? And so we are willing to support them, as I indicated. We are willing to fund them and fund them adequately, because we do want them to provide the necessary service for young people, and we want it preferably in Philadelphia. And so that's why we will continue to come to you in City Council, but also go to the advocate community around helping to support and helping to identify a provider.

When is the RFP going out again? COMMISSIONER ALI: It will be out soon. As you know, I can't state when the RFP will be posted.

Oh, okay. Thank you, Council President.

You're welcome. And it may be good to even -- I don't know if you got a working group or 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. not, but from what I get from this as well, you have the providers and some don't have buildings, and as District Councilmembers, we deal with developers on a day-to-day basis that have property that could possibly be utilized as a part of a public-private partnership. Something to take in consideration. So I know most of us know individuals who have land or buildings available, but also that provider in a partnership may be able to come in and kind of provide that opportunity for a safe haven for our young people. With that being said, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Katherine Gilmore Richardson.

Thank you. I thank you so much, Mr. President. And, again, I just wanted to thank Vanessa Garrett Harley and Commissioner Ali for all of your work. I've had the wonderful pleasure of 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. working with you, not just over the last term but for very many years, and I wanted to appreciate the work that you all have been doing to work directly with me and my office, particularly on the Community Evening Resource Centers and the ability to go from one to two and six in less than four years. So I'm so appreciative of the entire team at DHS for your work with putting together the CERC centers. You all continue to provide us with additional updates around the utilization numbers, and I know Councilmember Lozada asked about this particularly with the center over in East Division. And I visited four out of the six and I still have to get to the two new locations, but I wanted to ask how we are tracking the way our CERCs are funded in the budget just so we can ensure that that's happening year over year, and then how do you measure sort of the success rate for each of the CERCs and then how 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. can we engage all of the providers together so they can cross-collaborate on some opportunities for the young people at each of the centers. You know, they all have their different projects. Some have a camera program. Some have a barber shop. They all have different things. But how do we ensure that cross-collaboration amongst the centers as well so they can take best practices from each other. And, finally, I'll talk about this more when we hear from PPD, but how are we engaging the young people who, as I say, they come to the center involuntarily? COMMISSIONER ALI: So thank you for those questions, and then I'll start with the latter in terms of the work with the Philadelphia Police Department. And so as I indicated, in terms of the CERC utilization, we started in January of 2022. So this data is up until February 29th. We do provide City 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Council with quarterly updates, but as I indicated previously, that we had 1,720 young people who participate in activities at the various CERCs, amounting to almost 23,000 visits. And so we know that the CERCs are attractive to young people. One of the reasons why they are so attractive to young people is because the CERCs have the ability to engage them but also ask them what do they want to see at the center. So that's why you see the differences in programming, is because they get the feedback directly from the young people. And so when you see a CERC, you see a CERC in South Philly, it will definitely be different from the CERC in Northwest because of the needs of the young people. The other thing we do for the cross-collaboration is, my team actually meets with all of the CERCs so that they can share some of their successes and also share some of their challenges, 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. because certainly they want to continue to consistently service young people, because there are ebbs and flows, if you will, in terms of the winter months versus the spring and the summertime. And so we continue to do that. In terms of the Police Department, to go back to that question, we have been in communication consistently with the Police Department about bringing young people to the CERCs when they are unable to take the young people home. And so we have had a conversation with the current Commissioner. We will continue those conversations. We will make sure that -- he has new leadership in some of the police districts -- that, A, the CERCs reach out to the police, because what we find is the young people who are brought for curfew violations, the highest number of young people is from the Northwest section, but they have a great partnership with the police. So the 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. police are familiar with that program. As you know, they do the Cooking with the Cops.

They do the haircuts, a police officer come and do haircuts with the young people. So the CERCs that have the closest relationship and the strongest relationship with the police is the ones that the police are bringing the young people in.

Right. And I heard the bell and I'll honor the clock and submit the balance of my questions, but I just wanted to say thank you again for all of your hard work. I mean, to stand up six locations in less than a two-year period, I could not believe that. COMMISSIONER ALI: You pressed us.

And I thank you. COMMISSIONER ALI: You pressed us now.

I'm 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. giving you kudos. COMMISSIONER ALI: But we recognize the need, and we appreciate it. We recognize the need.

I appreciate it so much, because, I mean, to do that is just unheard of, and really it was in response to the cops who said, you can't expect us to pick up a kid in South Philly and take them all the way up to the Northeast. So we really wanted to make that accommodation. So thank you very, very much. I will submit my questions for the Free Library, but I want to give a shout-out to Kelly Richards and his team. They have been stellar and superb in their work, and a special shout-out to the LEAP program and the TLAs in particular for hiring our teens and our young people to work at the Library, particularly in the summer months. So thank you, Council President. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.

You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Cindy Bass. (No response.)

Excuse me. I didn't see. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Kendra Brooks.

All righty. So these questions are for Parks and Rec, this group set. So summer is coming up, and we know that our youth need activities, and one of those is public pools, which I'm a strong advocate for. So of the 60 pools that were open last summer, how many were open for the entire of the summer and how many pools does the City own and why are only 60 set to be open at some point in time this summer? And of those pools, how many of them are accessible and is that in every district? I know that's a loaded question and it's a repeat. And I 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. know you've only been here -- you're new to these questions, but if you could help, that would be helpful. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: Thank you, Councilmember Kendra Brooks. Susan Slawson. So all 60 of our pools will be open this summer. The 60 pools that are open are Parks and Rec's pools. The pools that are not open are under some type of construction, either with Rebuild or a maintenance challenge. So there are -- five of our pools are actually pools that we use for training. I actually have that information written down, but I know it, so -- and so are you concerned about the pools that are closed?

You just said five of them are closed for some level of maintenance. I was just wondering whether or not -- COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: Some of them are Rebuild. Some of them are 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. maintenance.

And then are there wheelchair-accessible lifts at a pool in every district? I asked this a few years ago and I know some were broke or they needed to be repaired. Are we closer to having a wheelchair-accessible pool in every councilmanic district? COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: I'm going to let someone else answer that, because I don't know. I do know that for years we have been working on trying to ensure that each one of our pools, not just one in each Council district, but each one of our pools were to be handicap accessible, so --

And I'm asking because I know it has been a struggle in the past, and then with the closing of Carousel House, this was something that was said was going to happen long term and before you got here. I just wondered what's the status of us having accessible pools in every 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. councilmanic district at least, if every pool not being accessible. (Witness approached witness table.) COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: I'm not going to -- I'm going to let someone answer that. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SALVATORE: Good afternoon, everyone. Bill 11 Salvatore, Deputy Commissioner of Programming at Parks and Rec. Thank you for the question. So we have 36 accessible pools right now. Of those 36 that we can get wheelchairs up to, 14 have pool lifts. We're working with our Director of Inclusion, Gwenn Vilade, every year to identify funding to add pool lifts to the other pools.

So within those 14, is there one in every Council district? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SALVATORE: I'll have to get back to you. I'm not quite sure. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.

Okay. Thank you so much. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SALVATORE: I'm sorry. I'm just told behind me we do have one in each Council district.

Okay. Thank you. That's helpful.

Just for clarification, you said there is one in every Council -- DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SALVATORE: One in every Council district, yes.

And is that a capital investment requirement? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SALVATORE: No, it is not.

Okay. Just wanted to see how do we ramp up making sure there are more pools accessible. So that wouldn't come out of the Capital Budget? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SALVATORE: It would not.

All 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. right. Just wanted to note that for the record.

I have more. Could I finish up?

Member Brooks, go ahead.

So I am -- thank you so much for sharing the information about the utilization of outdoor pools, but I'm very interested in indoor pools as well, because I know with the indoors pools, that's where you can do your lifeguard training during the winter, and every year my Council colleagues and I hear about the shortage of lifeguards, and we realize that you can't train up lifeguards in like a small period of time before the pools open, so we need to make sure we have access to more indoor pools. So I was wondering, what type of lifeguard pipeline programs are in place to ensure that we are recruiting and training lifeguards from our 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. neighborhoods and schools to ensure that we have proper staffing? And another part of that, because in my community there are two indoor pools, one is Marcus Foster and one is Pickett, and they both have potential to be used during winter months for youth recreation and training, and I was wondering how is Parks and Rec working with the School District of Philadelphia to open these pools and what does that relationship look like between the District and Parks and Rec? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SALVATORE: So we currently have one indoor pool that we're using with the School District. That's up at Lincoln. We also have partnerships with Friends Central, Saint Joe's Prep, and some local YMCAs to do lifeguard training. We start as early as January of this year with lifeguard training. And as far as recruitment goes, we've been to a number of recruitment events both locally at 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. community centers, rec centers, as well as hosted districtwide recruitment events. We actually invite previous lifeguards and previous seasonal employees to invite a friend to get a job this summer, and then also we go to recruitment events at schools and colleges and universities as well. As far as your question around your local indoor pools, both Marcus Foster and Pickett are offline from the School District. I think they need some capital investment. That's more of a School District question than it would be for us.

Well, we have done the tour of Marcus Foster and Pickett with the School District of Philadelphia, and part of the conversation is that they are in conversation with Parks and Rec. So I'm just trying to figure out what's the status of the conversation in order for 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. us to begin moving forward on that process. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: So I can look into and set up a meeting with the facilities with the School District of Philadelphia and see where we are and see if there's some type of a partnership. If it's a funding issue, if it's a staffing issue, I can follow up and get you that information.

Okay. DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: Councilwoman, I just wanted to add one thing going back to one of the questions that you asked, was how do you establish that lifeguard pipeline, and part of the ways you establish that is the free swim lessons that we're trying to give across the board. I'm sure you know this as well as I do, that swimming wasn't necessarily taught in all of our communities growing up. So when we are hunting for lifeguards, we often have a difficult time getting lifeguards, 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. particularly out of the vulnerable communities that we serve or the communities of color. And so part of that offering those swim lessons is to build that up differently to start much earlier teaching young people how to swim and all of that, and then in the future, it will be less difficult. Because we have some kids that would like to do it, but they don't have the fundamental swimming basics that they need to be taught.

And that's kind of why I was kind of asking about these central pools. I know that I live in North Philadelphia. There isn't access to an indoor pool that's free and open to everyone. I think the Kroc Center has a pool, but that's a paid program. And Lincoln University is very far. And at one time Pickett had one of a huge swim program for the community, and the pool is no longer available, and we have to keep in mind that Rhoads had 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. an amazing swim team that produced Olympians that are no longer open or we have access to, and we need to create -- in order to create that pipeline, we need to give children the ability to swim year round, and they can't do so if the closest pool for them to use is in Northeast Philadelphia. So that's why this push is so big to me. As a person that was not allowed to swim, so I cannot swim, but I know the importance of pools, and I think it's something that we should expose all young people to, because it's a life-changing experience. DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: Absolutely. I agree with you wholeheartedly. So we'll explore with the School District what the situation is with both Pickett and Marcus Foster.

Thank you so much.

The Chair recognizes Councilmember Rue 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Landau.

Thank you, Council President. I wanted to follow up with some DHS questions. Because they're timing us, I'm going to start talking quickly. Councilmember Gilmore Richardson just talked about the LEAP, the Free Library LEAP program. I just want to -- this is a quick question. The rest are going to be focused on something else. But I noticed that it was cut $330,000 in, I believe, the DHS budget, but I didn't see that funding in the Free Library's budget.

That's correct. Nadine Perese, Chief Financial Officer. Thank you for that question, Councilmember. That's correct. Actually it was just shifted in the budget. So with the new Career Connected Learning budget, we had done some reallocation, and that money is still going towards the LEAP 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. program. It's just not as a direct line item there. It's a direct line item within the larger budget of JEVS.

Okay. Thank you. Now, youth aging out of foster care, I want to follow up on all of this. I am very concerned about the youth aging out of foster care or out of the DHS system in general who have complex needs, and I wanted to know more about what supports do they receive for housing, medical care, employment searches, advanced education before they are released. We'd want it to be graduated, but they don't. They're released. And then what are we doing for housing, other than relying on the adult shelter service that we have in Philadelphia? I'll start there. COMMISSIONER ALI: So thank for that question in terms of young people aging out. First of all, let me state that young people once they turn 18 years 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. of age, they can actually remain in the DHS system until the age of 21. It is certainly a choice of them, and the only criteria they need to have is if it's a service need by the way -- the fact that you need child welfare placement that constitute a service need or they could be in school or employment. So we prefer for young people to remain in care with the Department of Human Services up until the age of 21, because we want to help them transition to adulthood. Young people with complex behavior health and medical needs, that is a given that they remain into our system until the age of 21. If they have complex behavioral health needs and they need adult services, we work alongside of the Department of Behavioral Health in order to identify the appropriate placement for them. So it could be like a community living arrangement, for example. And so the young people can also receive those particular services in 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. the adult system. If a young person -- for example, a young person may make a decision that at the age of or they 6 don't want to remain in the child welfare 7 system. We know that some young people 8 don't, just like they want to leave home 9 at the magical age of 18. A young person 10 can exit the DHS system at any time 11 between the age of 18 to 20, but they can 12 come back. And so that's why we want all 13 young people to know about, and certainly 14 Council, the hub, which is the Achieving 15 Independence Center, because all of the 16 services for young people starting at age 17 12 is right there at the Achieving 18 Independence Center that helps them move 19 to self-sufficiency. So you're talking about education. So helping them complete their financial aid applications, also have employment opportunities. So Career Connected Learning will be attached -- is attached to the Achieving Independence Center. If 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. they need any type of therapeutic services, again, can get it at AIC as well. And so that is a hub for young people so that they can avail themselves to services.

How many young people are enrolled at the Achieving Independence Center? COMMISSIONER ALI: Hundreds. So at any given time, usually around 500 young people are enrolled in the AIC.

Okay. COMMISSIONER ALI: In terms of housing, so we do have some housing services through the Department of Human Services, not nearly enough when you think about the housing needs of the young people in particular. And so certainly we work with the Office of Homeless Services, because we have family unification vouchers. We actually have 75 slots. We have Fostering Youth to Independence vouchers, which is another 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. 125 slots, Shelter Plus Care, which is also 100 slots. We have quads. We work with PHA, which is slots available. 5 We have Northern, which is a young adult 6 program. We have eight slots there. We 7 also have Valley Youth House, which is 41 8 slots, and Congreso, which is 25 slots, 9 in addition what I testified earlier in 10 terms of the $2 million investment for 11 young people who age out of the foster 12 care system.

You said Council allocated that money last year. Is this ongoing, the $2 million, or is it one time? COMMISSIONER ALI: Yes.

That's good to hear. Last question. I know he's going to yank me soon. There was an ordinance passed by City Council in 2022 about having young people -- helping them to get on Social Security benefits and also to create accounts for them so that 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. they can save their money when they get out. Can you tell me about that, the status of that?

So currently we are mandated by the state to collect RSDI, so it's Retirement, Survivors, and Disability benefits for youth that are in our care, and the requirement is for us to put that towards the cost of care for those youth. So first we ensure that the cost of care is higher than what we're collecting, and then we put that towards the cost of care. The majority of our funding for the Department comes from the state, and this is a state mandate, so we're required to do that. So what we've been trying to do on the side is figure out how we can best satisfy that requirement as well as continue to do what's best for youth, right? So to try and conserve benefits. As we've been in part of this planning process and we've been working 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. closely with advocates as well as the Law Department, we found that we see possible roadblocks. So we're not sure of how we would conserve the benefits, if there are implications. We don't want to cause any future problems for youth as far as them applying for any sort of welfare benefits or whatever they may need once they exit care. So we actually just released an RFI. We're very excited about that. It's the first step in the process to make sure we do this the right way, and that will help us figure out who, like an outside consulting firm, can help us do this the right way and conserve benefits on an annual basis for youth so that they have funds when they exit care.

Thank you. To be really clear, you're saying if they receive benefits, Social Security benefits, the state says that you must pay yourselves for the cost of housing or their services from that amount, right? 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.

That's correct. Because it affects the share the state has to pay. That's why.

Okay. Thank you very much. COMMISSIONER ALI: I just want to add, the state has said, though, that you are able to use your money, so all City funds and not the state funds, in order to conserve benefits. This is why we released a request for information, so that we are able to identify a consultant, a provider to help us so we can build an RFP.

Thank you.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Nina Ahmad.

Thank you, Council President. I'm not going to ask anything of Parks and Recs, but I wanted to just 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. do a shout-out for our Commissioner here. I had a constituent request, and her office and she herself was very speedy and the constituent was very happy. So I thank you so much for that. My questions are for Commissioner Ali and DHS, and the question is about just understanding your budget. There was a large increase in special grants funding between FY23 and '24. Are you -- it went from 17.7 to 73 million, if I'm reading this correctly. And are you going to be staying at that level? Is this a sustainable grant that comes year after year? And also does this get divvied out to other service providers and is this for program specific or general operating support?

Thank you for that question. So the variance within the budget under the special grants is actually additional appropriations. We have fluctuations in the bracket above that, which is just the Grants Revenue, 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. and that's our state funding. And so as we have fluctuations in that funding throughout the year, we're able to take just appropriation power to shift it into that Grants fund. So it's just as we have increase in the cost of care, and that's what that's there for. It's a reserve. But it's actually not additional. It's not additional funding.

It's just moving it around?

And that's why in the actual obligation year, you'll always see it decrease dramatically, because we're not utilizing it for the most part.

Understood. Okay. Then the next question is about the CUA, Class 200 CUA budget, which looks to be like 115 million. And so this is a Class 200 off your General Fund sector, and I was just wondering what the remaining 66 million outside of the CUA is being used from that part of the 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. budget.

So the allocation in FY24 as well as FY25 is a little larger than it usually is, and that's to accommodate for the transitions that we're going through within the CUA system. So as the Commissioner had stated earlier, we do have a little bit of additional start-up costs with new providers. It's one time. So it was one time in '24. It will be one time in '25 as we continue to transition, and it's really just to support the success of the new provider coming in. So there will be additional IT costs as they come in to a transition, if there's any additional outfitting, if they selected new space. So that's what some of the earmarking is there.

And quickly last question. I heard the bell. What is the Department's strategy to achieve permanency, including reunification for children? It seems 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. like it's taking longer, from 33.9 percent in 2018 -- sorry; the overall length of stay have increased from 16.6 months to months in 2018 to 6 2022. So I'm just wondering what is the 7 overall strategy to hopefully reduce and 8 reunite? 9 COMMISSIONER ALI: Yes. So 10 thank you for that question. So as we 11 became a system that only have young 12 people that are in care with us that have 13 complex needs, either the young person or 14 their family, what we have found is that 15 it takes longer to reunify. We want to 16 make sure that we work alongside the 17 family so that they can reunify with 18 their young person. So that may mean 19 behavior health treatment. That may mean 20 substance abuse treatment. So that's 21 what you see the timeframe being 22 elongated. 23 We also certainly also experienced the impact of COVID. And so when I talk and had meetings with our DBH 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. colleagues and our CBH colleagues around the availability of treatment and behavior health treatment in terms of getting a consistent therapist, we've seen some issues around there. But the bottom line is continue to engage families, get them connected to the services that they deserve, and then also making sure that there is meaningful reunification and meaningful visitation. And so we also just released an RFP for visitation houses, because parents told us it's not natural, if you will, to visit with their young person in an office. It's not natural. And so we did issue an RFP to identify a visitation house so that parents can come, they can cook dinner, they can bond with their children, do the natural things that they would do upon reunification. So we also believe that that will support reunification as well.

Wonderful. I look forward to the CUA 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. metrics that you're going to be publishing soon, and also the balance of my questions I'll put into writing for you. Thank you so much. COMMISSIONER ALI: Thank you.

Thank you, President.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Nicholas O'Rourke.

Thank you, Council President. And I am not sure if Ash Richards made it down. DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: She did not make it down, Councilman, and I profusely apologize. We will contact your office, though, set up a meeting where we can actually bring Ash and go over all of your questions. Anything you need submitted, we can do that as well.

It may still be possible. Just to quickly 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. follow up on the question about the Urban Agriculture Plan -- and thanks again for the Tree Plan report. That was incredible, by the way. DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: So, Councilman, the Commissioner is also telling me that we're going to bring up the Deputy Commissioner, Sue Buck, who may be able to answer some of your questions just for today. (Witness approached witness table.)

Thank you very much. It was just this one question around the Urban Agriculture Plan and the lack of land security for urban farms and community gardens. Just want to better understand what Parks and Recreation would need to help provide permanent land security for the gardens and farms in Philadelphia. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER BUCK: Good afternoon. Sue Buck, Deputy Commissioner 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. of Operations.

Good afternoon. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER BUCK: As was stated earlier, the Urban Ag Director couldn't be here today. I will try my best to answer your questions. There is the Neighborhood Garden Trust. It's a sister organization to PHS, and they have the ability to access land and acquire land and provide it for gardening groups. But if the question is how would the City acquire land rather than going to Land Bank?

Well, you need, so that way you can hold onto it. That's been some of the complaints, is that one of the -- DEPUTY COMMISSIONER BUCK: I would say for the City to acquire the land would be one question. I don't think that Parks and Recreation has the ability to acquire the land and maintain it. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.

Okay. We'll submit kind of more clarifying questions to the piece, and thank you so much for that. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER BUCK: Yes. I apologize Ash couldn't be here.

No 9 worries at all. No worries at all. Turning now to DHS. Thank you for being here to discuss the important work of supporting children and youth in the City, and good to see you again, Commissioner Ali. I want to ask about child separations. We know that nationally poor Black children are twice as likely to be removed from their homes than white kids are, and once you've had first contact with DHS or if you have an open case against you, you're more likely to have your children taken away. How does DHS in the FY25 budget increase prevention services, resources for poor parents and caregivers and 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. family reunification as opposed to using more punitive practices per se, like family separation? COMMISSIONER ALI: So thank you for that question. DHS has been on a journey around looking at the disproportionate number of Black children in particular who have been separated from their families, and we have been on that journey for the past three years. So we've been doing a lot work in that space, but one of the major things that we did is, we had to do our work differently. And so I had to put investments on the front end to prevent a removal. The first thing I needed to do was look at the infrastructure on my hotline so that I am able to respond differently to calls coming into the DHS hotline. What we know is that about 80 percent of the calls that come into the DHS hotline is because it is a service need or support need for families 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. and not because of physical or sexual abuse. So as a result of that, what we began to do was not transfer those reports to investigations. A hotline staff will go out to the family, make an assessment, and then we would divert from the DHS hotline. And so the past four years we have been diverting over 50 percent of the calls that come into the DHS hotline; that is, we get 34,000 calls. And so we needed to control the front door first. The second thing is that I had to build up our prevention continuum so that we could refer families appropriately. And so we have a number of providers that provide case management services to families as a supportive service. The goal is during the course of being diverted from the hotline or during the course of investigation, let's work with the family so that they are not accepted for service. And so we have been extremely successful with those 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. programs. To give you a sense of the outcomes, the families who avail themselves to our diversionary services, we look to see if we get a subsequent call. We do not. Ninety-four percent of those families do not get a subsequent call to the DHS hotline. So, again, controlling the front door, building the prevention continuum. I'm also proud to state that in 2017, and Vanessa testified to this, in 2017 we saw one of our highest numbers of young people who were in placement. We were at 6,200 young people who were in placement, child welfare placement in the City of Philadelphia. Today we have 3,025. So we reduced that by 50 percent, again, because of the work that we are doing on the front end in order to ensure that young people are not unnecessarily removed from their homes.

Thank you. Thank you for that. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. I did hear the buzzer go off already. One more question?

Yes.

I wanted to shift to talk about our caregiving workforce for Office of Children and Family. I want to talk about caregiver and workforce like our early childhood educators. It's concerning to our office that in Pennsylvania, early childhood educators make less than $13 an hour on average. It comes at a time when many of our early childcare centers have massive wait lists and childcare is expensive for most families. As the PHLpreK administrator, what is OCF doing to support the early childhood workforce? What are we doing to raise wages and working conditions for this sector?

Good afternoon. Sean Perkins, Chief of Early Childhood 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Education. This Council has a living wage requirement that we require all of our contracted early childhood centers to uphold. We start there. And I want to add a little bit more to what Vanessa was mentioning earlier about it's a bit of a complicated system where centers receive funding from Head Start, federal grants. They receive it from the state, PA Pre-K Counts. They receive some funding from us from the City in order to provide that high-quality early childhood education experience that they need. I'm not going to sit here and say that they get paid what they deserve. They deserve more. We are working with more and faster and further and deeper. We reallocate the funds that we don't end up using, because we do still have some seats that are vacant. If they don't get used, we repurpose those to give them back to the centers to make sure they go 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. into the salaries. But we know that the expenses that the centers are incurring aren't just the salaries. They also have lease and rent requirements as well as the materials and supplies. So we don't fund the -- we don't hire or fire the teachers. We actually fund the center, and we allow them that flexibility. Again, not going to sit here and say that they are paid what they actually probably deserve. They deserve far more, way far more. That number you gave, the statistic there about Pennsylvania's rate does not reflect what I believe's Philadelphia's rate is. We have seen the number be higher, but not high enough.

The kind of crux of that -- and I'll wrap up with this. The crux of that was really to get at the actual workforce development on this piece. Is there any work being done to develop caregiving work pipelines and low-cost 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. certifications? How can we incentivize young people to work in early childhood education to make that more robust?

Councilman, you're right on there. Incentives are the key proponent here. So we work very closely with our partners at the School District, and the state designates a professional development organization for each region. Philadelphia is its own region. So we actually contract with the professional development organization to make sure that we are building that pipeline. Again, it's a body of work that we're trying to work on closer with our institutes of higher education. Drexel, Temple, Penn, not to mention a lot of our community-based organizations provide CDAs. Parkway West is one of our high schools here in the City that is working on doing that, and we're looking to build that out even more. There's a grant proposal that the U.S. Department of Labor just put out 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. that we are building towards with 1199C as well to try and work on adding those incentives to build that pipeline as well.

Thank you. My time is taxed. Thank you.

Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Cindy Bass. Welcome back.

Thank you.

Good to see you.

So just a couple of questions just following up from the first round. And I wanted to know -- and I know the question was just asked about removing children from homes, but before we parted, I did ask for the numbers. So do we have those? COMMISSIONER ALI: Yes. And so you actually indicated that the City of Philadelphia had the highest number of removals from their homes, and so -4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.

And that's as of? COMMISSIONER ALI: That was in 2017. So in 2017 we were actually placing for every thousand children, we were placing eight young people, removing them from their home. So now as of today, that number is three young people for every 1,000. It has a lot to do with what I just indicated in terms of our investments in prevention, us wanting to support families as opposed to removing young people from their homes. It is still slightly above the national average, which is like 2.9 or something like that, but we are certainly headed in the right direction.

Where do we place? Are we still number one in terms of removing children from their homes? COMMISSIONER ALI: So I can't answer that question because that data wasn't published again. I've asked for 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. the data from a number of individuals, but it's not published. And the data that you're referring to, yes, it compared us to New York, I think LA --

Right. COMMISSIONER ALI: -- Baltimore. No one has recreated. So the latest chart that I had was from 2017. That was the eight for every 1,000, and now we are at three per every 1,000.

I would urge that I think it's worth for DHS to produce it themselves. Like I don't know who produced the first report, but it might not be a bad idea to just see where we stand so that -- and particularly among comparable cities, because the population between like a New York and a Philadelphia is not comparable, but still we outpace them in terms of child separation. But having the data to be able to make informed decisions and really just know where we stand, like are we doing a good job with the system that 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. we have in place, are we doing not such a good job, because we could all use some constructive criticism or some suggestions in terms of how we could do things a little bit differently or better. So it might behoove us to do our own report, as a suggestion. COMMISSIONER ALI: Yes. And in order to do that, I will have to get the data from the other jurisdictions. So we've tried, but we will certainly, you know, try again. So my Performance Management Technology team will reach out.

The other question I had before we broke was the amount that we spend on the CUAs versus how much we're spending. Originally it was just a social worker system without CUAs and we were spending X amount, and then we were spending having a traditional social work system and then we paired it with the CUAs, which -- and I know your explanation from earlier, but 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. that wasn't the original explanation that we were given. The original explanation, if we go back and look at Anne Marie Ambrose and her testimony, it will say that those numbers were supposed to like -- it was supposed to be a cost-saving measure. But can you give us an idea of where we are now versus where we were then?

Sure. Thank you for that. Unfortunately, that's correct. It's not a cost savings overall for the budget, and I'm sorry that you were told otherwise.

Well, but you know, it never should have been. It never should have been a cost savings. When you're dealing with a vulnerable population, you got to spend as much as you've got to spend to make sure that they're taken care of.

Agreed. Agreed. And that's one of the things that 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Commissioner Ali touched on prior in the other round, is that we've continued to make -- to streamline the work that the social workers inhouse are doing as well as the work of the CUAs so that they work together but not separately, right? And so what you would see in the budget over the past, I would say, five fiscal years is that we have incrementally increased our funding to the CUAs. We're at about 110 million right now for --

Is what we spent on the CUA system, 110 million?

Yes. And that's not including the transition dollars that were noted as a placeholder earlier, but that's the actual investment right now in our contracts. And so that has grown. I would say in the past five years, we were probably closer to 90 million, and those additional investments account for increases around retention support, right? So the same issues that the departments within the City are going 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. through, the CUAs are experiencing as well. So we tried to level-set some of the front-line salaries as well as additional support for insurance. Insurance costs are just through the roof, and the Administration and the state have been incredibly supportive of continuing to fund that increased cost.

Okay.

Go ahead.

I'm sorry.

Go ahead.

Thank you, Mr. President. Okay. Some of my other questions I will put into writing, but I did have just a couple of other different questions for Parks and Recreation and Libraries. Can we do Libraries real quick first? Because it's just one quick question. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. And so my question for our Library Director, and I think it was 2017 in the budget hearings, I had asked the Department -- and of course you weren't here, but I was asking -- and I think we passed a resolution in this body that I authored asking for the City of Philadelphia to offer what some surrounding counties were doing in terms of library services that will bring us into like the new age and things like being able to take out like a library hotspot -- I mean a WiFi hotspot, a tablet, that kind of technology, which is the new way to read, if you will, and we were told that the City didn't have the budget to be able to do that. And then maybe a year or two later, miraculously we did have the budget, but it was kind of like a secret, like no one was told that we were doing that. So I don't know -- I guess I'm asking that to find out are we doing those kinds of services? We were for a 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. while. We started off saying we can't afford it. Then we were doing it, but it was a secret. So are we doing it? Are we not? Like what's going on with that? Is it on the horizon? DIRECTOR RICHARDS: Kelly Richards, President and Director of Free Library of Philadelphia. I can't go back to 2017. Thank you --

Yes. DIRECTOR RICHARDS: -- for recognizing that. But as we build our technology in the Library, first we're trying to get the computers to actually be updated. They're about 15 years old. And so we're working on that project right now. And I'll get back to you, but I think we got a grant or something that we're working on --

Yes. DIRECTOR RICHARDS: -- for that.

Yes. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. DIRECTOR RICHARDS: But I'm not sure, but let me --

No. It was. There was a grant that was provided from -- I don't know who, from -- DIRECTOR RICHARDS: I believe what you're talking about was a federal grant during COVID where we were given dollars to provide computers to the public, but I'll verify that. But that also started, you know, more than -- I believe it was more than two years ago. It was probably three years ago.

It's been a while. Because the thing is, if we're really trying to bring folks forward -- listen, I like a book. I like to sit down with like a real book in my hands, but I know that for a lot of people, they want a tablet, and even beyond that, there's a lot of folks who don't have access to WiFi at home. And so having those kinds of tools available only makes sense. If we're really trying to do 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. something to address literacy and to address the digital divide, these are the kind of tools that I think our Library needs to be offering these days. DIRECTOR RICHARDS: We offer eBooks. We offer electronic resources and services, but the equipment is what you're talking about taking home.

Right. DIRECTOR RICHARDS: And the federal government, they did offer that and the Library received it, but it ended in December, but there is some talk at the federal level to provide something again. But going forward, the Library, we're always looking for grant opportunities, and some of those things are out there and available, but that's to come. And it's something the Library, me, my team, we're always looking for those opportunities for citizens here in Philadelphia.

Okay. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Thank you. DIRECTOR RICHARDS: Good question, and we're always looking for those things.

Well, listen, I just want to -- like I said, I know you weren't here, but just making sure it's on your radar so that if there is an opportunity to do that, if grants become available in the future or if we even put in an allocation maybe in next year's budget if it's too late this year, but maybe in next year's budget, that that might be something worth considering as really providing our citizens with the latest in tools and technology. DIRECTOR RICHARDS: I support that.

Excellent. Thank you.

And, Member, if you shall want to see it in this budget, we can talk offline, because we're still negotiating. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.

All right now. How much we need for that? Throw me a number, Kelly. Throw me a number.

Before we go into our next session, a lightning question and a lightning response from Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier.

Lightning? I wanted to ask about data. This is for DHS. Sorry for the musical chairs. So in order to make sure that we're improving the lives of young people, we need good data, right? We need to know what charges are bringing young people to PJJSC for the first, second or third or fourth time. We need to be able to trace a young person's journey through the juvenile justice system, understand what services they receive, and what outcomes are tied to those services. If we have that 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. information, we can know what works and what doesn't so that we can invest our dollars accordingly. So I wanted to ask about how we're currently tracking outcomes. How are we currently measuring the effectiveness of specific interventions like the services offered at PJJSC or in-home detention programs or IPS? How are we currently doing that? And what kind of investment do we need to provide publicly available data about juvenile justice that tracks young people through our system from beginning to end, and is that end this current budget? Is that lightning enough? COMMISSIONER ALI: So I'll actually ask Deputy Commissioner Williams to start with that question. (Witness approached witness table.) DEPUTY COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Yes. Good afternoon, Council. My name is Gary Williams, the Deputy Commissioner 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. for Juvenile Justice Services. And so just to level set, when we consider recidivism, Councilwoman Gauthier, we just did a major study on recidivism, and we looked at 3,000-plus young people who went through our juvenile justice system. And how we defined recidivism is the fact -- is basically when a young person goes through the juvenile justice system and completely discharges from court, we look at a two-year period after that discharge. And so of the 3,000-plus young people who went through the system, there were 85 percent of young people who remain recidivism-free. It's pretty good. And so now we're at the point of looking at each program, because we want to know which programs are making a difference, and the way that we do that is what we call impact assessments. So all of the dependent -- excuse me; the delinquent programs that we have are 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. undergoing what we call impact assessments. And so with that assessment, we'll identify those particular outcomes that are unique to those programs. The second phase of that is actually to do a deep dive review of scope of work and contracts. So we align the desirable outcomes to those -- for those particular programs and make sure that they're in the scope of work in contract. And the next phase is really to develop a comprehensive tool to measure those desired outcomes, and we're projecting in Fiscal Year '26 to be able to regularly publish those qualitative outcome reports that we all need.

When are those reports that you mentioned, when will they be available and will they be publicly available? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Yeah. The quality evaluations that we do even now are made public. So they will 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. certainly be made public. I would be remiss also if I did not mention the deep dive evaluation process that actually, with the help of Drexel University and their Juvenile Justice Research Lab, they did a major study on what we have as IPS, intensive prevention services, which is a diversionary program that is also used for our school-based diversionary work, and they did a five-year -- they looked at a five-year period, and with that, they were able to basically conclude as a result of actually receiving this particular intervention, there were -- there was an 84 percent reduction in arrest rate across schools. Alongside of that, there's also been -- it also was discovered that there were -- there was a 34 percent reduction in what we call serious behavior incidents. So what that means is as the arrest rates declined, there was no 25 compromising of school safety. And so 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. with that information, we also opened that particular intervention up to the general public, and that's actually on the continuum as a diversionary primary prevention program. So those are the types of studies that we're looking to move towards.

Timelines? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: For that, again, the qualitative reports that we're looking to do is, we're projecting that to be in the Fiscal Year '26.

Okay. So nothing this year? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Well, we have the impact. We have the impact assessments that could be made available to you as we complete those. That gives you a really good indication of what's working in terms of the interventions that we have. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. COMMISSIONER ALI: The reason why Deputy Commissioner said for FY26 is because, as you know, the data that's available for Philadelphia DHS or Juvenile Justice Services is the data of young people who avail themselves to our services. And so we know that we need to look at the MOU that we have existing with the Police and probably have to do a revision around that, the MOU that we have standing with the courts, so Family Court as well, and then we need to enter into some discussions with the District Attorney's Office, because when you talk about the charging of young people, all of that is done by a separate entity. So in order to do a comprehensive look at the young person, as you indicated, from the time that they are arrested until the time they receive services through the Department, we would need the support of other departments to do that. We have started that conversation already with the Police Department and certainly with 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. our court system.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President.

You're welcome. And I would think that -- are you working in partnership with Adam Geer, the new Public Safety Director, as it relates to this comprehensive approach of having the District Attorney's Office, First Judicial District, as well as the Philadelphia Police Department as a part of this conversation? COMMISSIONER ALI: We have not yet. Adam Geer is actually scheduled to come to the PJJSC, and so we will be providing him with an update on all of the services that we have but also the needs that we have as well. So we will certainly have that -- raise that question with him.

And just also -- go ahead. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: I'm sorry. I just wanted to add, Councilman, I have had conversations with Adam Geer about our collaboration together. And so very confident that we will be working together. And his Deputy Commissioner that he brought in is Evangelia Manos, who is coming from working and reporting directly to me on our juvenile justice strategic stuff, so she's very aware of the need for this. So we have had -- I have had some of those preliminary conversations.

Good. And just give me a brief overview about our Evening Reporting Centers. What do they compose of? What's the criteria for individuals to go to an Evening Reporting Center? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: Thank you for the question, Mr. President. The Evening Reporting Centers, basically they're offered to our 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. young people based on the court posture of the young person. So we have a pre-adjudicated Evening Reporting Center. That is the young person who hasn't been adjudicated as of yet. We also have a post-adjudicated Evening Reporting Center. The services are similar, but based on where that young person is within the juvenile court system, it may look a little different. We also have what we call the Community Intervention Center, which is for those young people who are on a deferred adjudication. And then we have the post-placement ERC. Those are -- that particular intervention is for young people who actually are returning to the community. So, again, it's a pretty robust continuum of interventions geared towards those young people who are in the system. And then alongside of that we do have reintegration services. So the provider basically who provides that particular 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. intervention can work with a young person six months post to their discharge from placement.

And where are they located at, the Evening Reporting Centers? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: I can actually give you those addresses, Mr. President.

That's cool. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS: It's for -- they cover the span of the City.

Sure. And are we -- this will be for you, Vanessa. Are we moving forward with the Day Reporting Centers? I know there was an RFP that was put out over the last two years for Day Reporting Centers, and I haven't seen them come to fruition. One of them was at Southwest CDC, was one of the actual places they were going to 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. actually house a Day Reporting Center, and I haven't seen anything move forward since then. I don't know if that was under your purview at the time. DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: I'm not sure I know what you're referring to in terms of the Day Reporting Center. It's certainly not under DHS at this time. We can talk about it.

It was an alternative for individuals being placed in placement, but this moved beyond juveniles. It was also adults as well. But maybe that's another conversation for another panel, but I'm matching up the Evening Reporting Centers -- DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: I got you. I think it comes under the Public Safety Director. This is what I'm thinking. You may be referring to the Neighborhood Resource Centers that we had been working on years ago that folks could have went to if they were 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. reintegrating from the adult system.

I think that may be what it is. That was under Erica Atwood at the time, that proposal. DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: Yes, and that's now under Public Safety Director Adam Geer.

We'll save that question for him just to get the status of it. I want to defer back to Councilwoman Cindy Bass, because she was in the middle of her line of questioning before I went to Councilwoman Jamie Gauthier. I know we don't have no problem working and have some questions, so report back.

That's okay. It was a lightning round, right? So a couple other questions, Parks and Recreation. Good afternoon again. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: Good afternoon. Susan Slawson.

Good afternoon. So a couple questions. So in 2013, we initiated a camera program for all parks and recreation centers -- or for all recreation centers and playgrounds in the City of Philadelphia, and it was scheduled to take, I think, like three years or something like that. It was somewhat delayed, and by the time I think most of them got done -- it was supposed to be done, I think, in 2017 or so, and then in 2017, it wasn't complete. And then I think closer to 2019, and then we hit the pandemic. Can you give me an idea, is everything done now? Do all of our centers -- are they equipped with the camera equipment that was supposed to be provided? COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: We have 1,972 cameras that we have in place currently. There are 12 facilities that 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. are in design. We have about 36 that still need to have cameras placed. So we've done an amazing job. I want to say it was about 300 less a year ago. So within a year, we've done --

So we're almost there. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: We're almost there.

Okay. And I remember when we started, I think we had something like 50 cameras throughout the entire parks and recreation system. So kudos to you all. You did a great job in making this happen. I know we did our first camera announcement when we alerted the public over at Marian Anderson in the Second Council District with the Council President. So that was when we first kicked it off there, and since then, you all have just been going non-stop. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: It's 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. times like this, Councilmember Bass, that your push makes a difference. So now here we are these many years later, our system almost completely outfitted with the cameras.

So we've got how many left to go, you said? COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: Well, 36 left.

Thirty-six centers? COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: So now 12 are in design.

Thirty-six cameras? COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: Thirty-six centers. Right now 1,972.

Cameras are in place? COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: Cameras are in place.

Very good. Another question, back under previous Commissioner DiBerardinis, we 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. asked for -- actually this body passed a bill that required annual reports of crime on Philadelphia Parks and Recreation property, and every year I ask, like are we getting that report any time soon? Because as a District member, it helps us as we allocate money through ITEF dollars to try to figure out where do I need to put my ITEF dollars. Like if I know that there's a rec center that's a problem, that things are happening, that they need more, they need more attention, they need more improvements, we need more light, let's flood it with lights if we're having problems over there, more cameras, maybe we don't have enough cameras, you know, more security measures, things of that nature, more programming. But we don't know if we don't know what's happening and where it's happening in our districts. So I'm pretty sure you probably don't have that report, but I'm going to ask if you could produce it 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. sometime in the near future and get it to Council maybe by the end of this budget cycle. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: That's a great question, and I've met with Adam Geer, and so we are working together. And just as coordination, I'm also working with the Police Department. So I don't think that will be a difficult ask for us to get the information to let you know what's going on in your particular districts. Parks and Recreation has a great relationship with the Police even prior to me and when I wasn't here. So we'll be able to get you that information.

Thank you so much. I think as a District member, it's important. Two more questions really quickly. One is around Ready to Swim, which is a program that our office authored and presented to the previous 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Commissioner and asked if they would fund it. Ready to Swim was a program that was pretty much guaranteed to ensure that any kid that wanted to learn how to swim would learn how to swim. And so we would provide quality instruction, training, swimwear, the whole nine. And so the giveback on that was that we were hopeful that some of those young people would be able, like the older ones, would be able to be lifeguards in the summer, because as you know, we end up closing our swimming pools in August and it's still very, very hot in August, but we close them because kids have to -- the young people who are the lifeguards have to go back to college, and so that has been our talent pool for a very long time, but it really doesn't work with what the needs of the City are. So we authored this program, Ready to Swim. We were told that there wasn't any funding, and I think in the 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. last budget cycle, the previous Commissioner said, oh, yeah, we did that, but they didn't let us know. But is it still happening? It's called something different, though. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: It is. I'm actually going to ask Bill to come up, because we are doing something to ensure that we're trying to teach our young people how to swim, and I'm not sure if you're aware of the initiatives that started last year where we're paying an additional $1,000 to those, whether young, middle age or old, if you're willing to come on and be a lifeguard. If you sign up and you complete a certain part of the process by April 15th, you get an additional $1,000. And it goes a little further. If you don't make the April 15th cutoff date, you still have May 15th and you get an additional $500, and this is an incentive, because we're trying to do everything we can to not only get the lifeguards but to get them 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. in a timely manner so all of our facilities can open. But, Bill, if you could speak to... DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SALVATORE: Absolutely. Bill Salvatore once again, Deputy Commissioner, Parks and Rec. So to respond to your question, I'm not quite sure of the program that you're speaking of, Councilmember, but we did expand our Swim for Life camps this summer --

That's it. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SALVATORE: -- to an additional three sites. We did get an additional grant from the Red Cross to expand our swim lessons. We mandated swim lessons in all our summer camps. So even if you don't have a pool at your summer camp, we will bus those campers from that summer camp to the nearest pool for swim lessons. And we also added adult swim lessons outside of normal swim hours, so adults 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. can get swim lessons after o'clock. 3

That 4 sounds like the same -- I just want to 5 make sure it's still going. 6 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SALVATORE: 7 Yeah.

Like people are learning how to swim and that hopefully we'll be able to expand our talent pool so that we don't have to close our pools so early. And one last thing. Speaking of swimming, I do want to ask about -- because I was absent for the conversation about pools in my district, particularly Marcus Foster and Pickett pool, and I wanted to just briefly, if you could, recap the conversation, because I've been working on this for a long time, so I feel like some kind of way, you know, that I'm not in the room when we're talking about it, because we've been working and working and working to get these pools up and running and open, and 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. we know that PPR doesn't really want them in their inventory, at least that's what we were told. So if that's not accurate, feel free to let me know, but I know right now it's School District property. At one point they were operated by -- well, at least Pickett was operated by Parks and Recreation. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: At one point they both were. So if you can speak to that, Bill. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER SALVATORE: Yeah. So years ago when I was in the field, yes, we did use Pickett and Foster for lifeguard training. In our last conversation with the School District -- and this is information that we just got today from Councilmember Kendra Brooks that the School District is interested in talking about Foster and Pickett -- we were told they were out of service. So I think we need to go back and have a conversation with the School District to 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. find out how we can partner to perhaps get them open like we are doing at Sayre.

Well, we've been having conversations with the School District and it hasn't been as productive as we would have hoped. We're going to continue to have conversations. I know that there are folks who feel like, oh, it should go -- listen, School District doesn't want them anymore. We want to give them to Parks and Recreation. Parks and Recreation doesn't have the dollars to be able to maintain, properly maintain, the pools and bring the pools online. And, you know, we're looking at every possible alternative, because it matters less to me in terms of who is actually the main operator and more important that it's a resource that's open and available to the community. So I just wanted to just go on record on that, because it's easy to, when folks start rah-rah-rahing around a 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. particular issue, to jump in front of the parade, but you really have to be mindful and knowledgeable and have to have been at the table with the conversations to really know what's been happening all along. So I just wanted to thank you for that. COMMISSIONER SLAWSON: Thank you. And if you are interested in us being a part of those conversations, I'd be willing to be part of those conversations.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you so much.

So I'm going to do this, because we do have two departments who have been waiting patiently. And so these three -- these four departments can be available for callback. And I know there was another event going on that kind of prevented members to come just a little bit later, but for the sake of us continuing to move 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. this process forward, we're going to wrap up this round, but also offer the members who I do see want to have follow-up questions and so forth either we call you back for an official part of the next part of the hearing so they can still get their questions on the record and then we'll go from there. And so -- and then also on this particular topic as well, hopefully the key parties can kind of get all on the same page so we can figure out how we move this process forward, and I'm going to defer to Commissioner Sue Slawson as well as yourself, Vanessa, to kind of facilitate that process. DIRECTOR GARRETT HARLEY: Absolutely.

So we'll all be straight moving forward. So with that being said, because I said lightning round around two or three times, and so we are wrapping this particular session up. And with 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. that being said, I'm going to call -- first of all, thank all of you for your testimony. I want to thank Gary Williams, give him a shout-out, as well as Mike Scott and his team. With that being said, we're going to ask for Mural Arts and the Commerce Department to please come on up. (Witnesses approached witness table.)

So we want to thank you for patiently waiting. I know some of you have been here since 10 o'clock this morning. So we had a delayed Appropriations meeting while we took care of some business, and then obviously starting at 11 o'clock, we had four to five different departments, so obviously that conversation was going to be very, very robust. And I do want to say it's exciting that members want to go even longer, and so that shows the dedication and commitment of individuals being laser-like focused on this budget 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. process. So thank you for your patience. And so up now we have Mural Arts as well as the Commerce Department. You both will give your testimonies, and then we will allow members to ask either one of you their questions simultaneously as we go through this process. So with that being said, Jane Golden, state your name and title for the record and please begin your testimony.

Thank you very much. My name is Jane Golden and I'm the Executive Director of Mural Arts Philadelphia. So good afternoon, President Johnson and members of City Council. I am pleased to provide testimony on Mural Arts' Fiscal 2025 Operating Budget. 68 million. I want to start out with gratitude and thank all of you for your support and the opportunity to testify. I always love this. This is such an important time in our city. We have a 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. new Mayor with an exciting agenda, a committed and passionate City Council. The positive feeling that I see from people all over the City is palpable. In spite of multi-layered challenges, I am an optimist. I am inspired daily by the spirit and tenacity of citizens in our city. I feel a collective determination, and every single day somewhere in the vast array of the work that Mural Arts does, we encounter love and faith and a tremendous hunger for beauty and for art. We at Mural Arts are excited as well. After all, it is our 40th anniversary of the Anti-Graffiti Network and the Mural Arts Program. Every year over 100 community groups, arts non-profits, and social service agencies partner with us on programs and projects of all sizes across Philadelphia in every neighborhood. 4 million directly into the creative 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. economy. Yay, artists. Because of your support, we serve over 25,000 constituents through our many departments, including Art Education, the Porch Light program, which is our partnership with the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, Restorative Justice, Community Murals, Restoration, Special Projects, and the Mural Arts Institute. So let's start with Restorative Justice. Here we work in the state prison at SCI Phoenix, and we started working at Graterford back in the day in 2002. We work with the DA's Office, and we have programs like the Guild and the Rec Crew where we create pathways for people who have been impacted by the criminal legal system so they can reintegrate back into the community and prepare for the road ahead. The recidivism rate among participants is very low. It's less than a third of the average in our city. More importantly, 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. and what's really inspiring, we see people start to believe in themselves. Our Porch Light program uses art to help people who are struggling with mental health issues, substance use, and trauma. Porch Light takes on major projects that are really complicated, like one we're doing now about suicide awareness, but we also have permanent storefront locations in the Southeast, the Northeast, Suburban Station, and Kensington. And why do we do this? To bring vital support and resources to people where it's needed the most. We want to be on the ground. Our Color Me Back initiative is a same-day work and pay program that provides people facing housing insecurity with opportunities to earn money and access to services, and we prepare them for work. Sometimes they stay on with Mural Arts and sometimes they go far beyond Mural Arts. Since 2019, we've worked with several thousand people. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Every year we're serving a thousand people in the Color Me Back program. Right now in the last few weeks, 92 new people signed up, and we have a waiting list of almost 300 people who want to get into the program in Kensington. This is a needed service, and it's incredibly inspiring. Our Art Education Department annually serves over 2,200 young people ranging in age between 11 and 18. Every young person in Philly deserves access to art through programs after school and during the school day and during the summer. Mural Arts is able to provide safe spaces with highly trained teaching artists where students have an opportunity to learn, grow, thrive, and express themselves. We provide young people a choice and a voice and a way to harness the talent and genius we see inside them.

Art can bring life to corridors -- and I'm so happy to be here 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. with the Commerce Department. Thank you, Alba Martinez -- and communities across our city. We see this at work every single day. In Philadelphia, public art transforms empty walls and turns them into living, breathing beacons of color and hope in our city. People's stories once untold are told in big, bold, beautiful ways, honoring people's legacies, stories, memory, and history. Representation matters in our city and culture -- yes, culture -- is part of our everyday lives. We also believe empty storefronts can be transformed into thriving community centers. A perfect example of this is our Tacony Lab, which continues to grow and thrive after eight years. It's miles from an anchor arts institution. This amazing space offers a wide range of programs and artist's residencies, enlivening the Northeast with activations and engagements. We see 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. potential everywhere. And let's remember, our murals are civic assets, and we work hard to maintain them. We are known nationally and internationally as the City of Murals, and that is fantastic. Ten thousand people come on tours. We have million press impressions from a year. 10 I know that sounds so high. And even 11 Abbott Elementary had an episode called 12 Mural Arts. Quinta Brunson worked on a 13 mural in 7th grade, right? That's 14 amazing. 15 And as 2026 draws closer, let's 16 lift up our extraordinary collection of 17 public art and shine a light on it, 18 because the art in our city helps make 19 our city sing. 20 So thank you, thank you, thank 21 you from the bottom of my heart. Your 22 investment makes all of this work possible. And just as important, your support helps us leverage every single dollar so we could inspire individuals, 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. foundations, and corporations to multiply the power of that investment. Your commitment in us is an investment in the City, the way it looks, the way it feels, the way we live, and how we dream. No matter what the problem or obstacles are, the truth is I believe, and I believe this from the bottom of my heart, that working together, we can make our city a healthy, creative, cooperative, cleaner, greener, and safer place to live. And I am more certain than ever, and I've done this work a long time, I am more certain than ever that art -- yes, art -- has an essential role in that movement for change and inspiration. As I always say, art ignites change. Thank you. ) - - -

4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Talk about bringing the smoke. You know that's right. Ms. Martinez, just state your name and title for the record and please begin your testimony. DIRECTOR MARTINEZ: Well, I'm going to tame my expectations about a public response for my testimony.

Hard act to follow. DIRECTOR MARTINEZ: Good afternoon, President Johnson and members of City Council. I am Alba Martinez, Director of Commerce, and I am joined today by our Deputy Directors to provide testimony on the Fiscal Year 2025 Operating Budget for the Commerce Department. Growing up in Puerto Rico, I never envisioned the opportunities Philadelphia would offer me. My love and gratitude for our city fuels my dedication to ensuring all Philadelphians can achieve their dreams irrespective of 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. their diversity or background. As a member of Mayor Parker's Administration, I commit to work with each of you to make opportunities more plentiful and accessible for your constituents. Philadelphia boasts world-class assets, a dynamic business sector, leading educational institutions, and people with the drive and aspiration to succeed. Businesses from large corporations to small neighborhood enterprises form the bedrock of our economy. Our mission at Commerce is to foster an inclusive, globally competitive city through proactive business support, a business-friendly environment, and coordinated attraction and retention efforts. In Fiscal Year '24, we have achieved notable progress. We expanded the Taking Care of Business cleaning program, enhancing 116 commercial corridors and supporting 250 cleaning 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. ambassador jobs with 39 non-profit and Black-owned business partners. We are advancing minority firm participation in infrastructure and development contracts via the Supply PHL initiative, and we invested $1 million in Philadelphia Business Lending Network incentive grants, supporting businesses like Top Dog Groomers and Lee's Deli in the Second and Third Districts. We launched the PHL Made Grant for local manufacturing companies like Insinger Machine and AA Plasma in the Sixth District, as well as a youth seed fund challenge to support young entrepreneurs in the creative economy. We nearly doubled the typical grant amount of the Community Opportunity Real Estate grant program, known as CORE, which supports projects like the Frankford CDC development at the Transportation Center in the Seventh District. We are launching an overnight 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. food truck market in the First District to enhance the nighttime economy and are introducing the Liberty Bell Safe Certification Program to improve safety in nightlife areas. We invested $500,000 in grants to enhance the safety and appeal of commercial corridors, such as the mural and lighting project by Mount Airy CDC at Zsa's Ice Cream in the Eighth District. We disbursed $270,000 in Quality Jobs Program grants to create 54 jobs with living wages and health benefits. With our streetscapes programs, we are enhancing the visual and functional appeal of key thoroughfares, like Broad, Germantown, and Erie. Our Office of Business Services continues serving as a resource for about 4,000 businesses annually, with dedicated representatives for each Council district. Looking ahead, we aim to position Philadelphia as a premier 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. business destination by working in a coordinated, disciplined manner with our partners across government, business, and the community. Through our new Open for Business initiative, we aim to streamline processes and foster a business-friendly environment that will make it easier to do business with our government. Through our expansion of Taking Care of Business, a crucial part of the Administration's clean and green agenda, we will continue revitalizing and enhancing commercial corridors, with a focus on underserved areas like Kensington. To boost our attraction efforts, we want to promote our business brand with a Bring Your Business to Philly message that celebrates our city's many strengths and highlights the exceptional businesses that are already here in sectors like life sciences, education, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing.

4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. To expand business access to information and resources, we will refine and deepen our community outreach strategies and we'll launch a user-friendly digital business hub available 24/7/365. We aim to introduce an ROI-driven workforce system framework that will more efficiently meet business needs and align our city's talent with apprenticeships, training, and jobs that lead to financial mobility. The proposed General Fund budget of $46,807,708 reflecting an increase of $7,144,414 over the previous year will enable us to implement these initiatives and continue our foundational work. Thank you, and we welcome your questions and insights at this time.

Thank you. - - - (Applause.) 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. - - -

So we're going to get right into it. For all the young people who are here representing Mural Arts, can you please stand? We have some young people that came out to be supportive. Let's give them a round of applause, please. - - - (Applause.) - - -

We had another group of young people that's here, and it's just critically important to acknowledge them because they're in the right place at the right time. They do not have to be here. They could be somewhere else doing something totally different, getting involved in all types of other things. And so I just wanted to acknowledge their presence. And so I'm going to be very, very brief, because I want to turn it over to my members, because I know they 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. have a lot of questions, but I did see the departments -- the Administration slashed your budget by a million dollars. And so just give us an idea of what program services are no longer being funded, the impact of those programs and, most importantly, considering the wide popularity and demand for murals throughout Philadelphia, how sufficient is the funding to meet the demand for art in public spaces? So the cuts and the impact from those cuts and then also based upon the demand, how we're going to go about being supportive and sufficient in terms of those initiatives. And I just want to say just real quickly, I just left Phoenix Prison about three weeks ago for the FACT, Fathers and Children Together, and as soon as you walk into that complex, the beautiful mural is in the back, and then talking to the young men, were very, very proud of the work that they're doing with Mural Arts. So it was very, very 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. therapeutic. And then also I would hope and I would think as a part of the agenda to create Philadelphia to be the safest, cleanest, greenest city, with economic opportunity for everybody, that hopefully there's a conversation where Mural Arts can be a part of that clean and green initiative. When I'm going to and out of the City of Philadelphia along I-76 east and west, right, the amount of graffiti that I see on both sides of the Expressway, right, is very, very demoralizing, to be quite frank, and I would just think that if we have beautiful murals that align the Expressway, I think it would just boost morale, right? And I don't know who owns that part, maybe PennDOT. And then I also see when you're going toward the Zoo and you also have Amtrak, right, again along the Expressway, like maybe partner with them and they'll allow us to kind of beautify 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. the area. I just think this morale and this sense of pride as a city, and I come from the era of Bill Clinton and Colin Powell and America's Promise where we actually toured Germantown Avenue, right, and we did the mural tour to kind of see all the beauty that the City of Philadelphia has to offer. So hopefully there's some synergy there to make you a part of -- a key component of making the City clean and green, but also beautiful. And so with that being said, Ms. Jane Golden, I will turn it back over to you to answer those two questions and I'll turn it back over to my members.

First of all, thank you. Thank you for those points. And I want to say you are an official wall hunter, President Johnson, because you notice those great walls. It's true, 76, 95, and there is a graffiti problem. It's growing and growing. And CLIP does a remarkable job, but, you know, I think 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. we also need to work on changing behavior, right? Because we can clean and clean and clean, but what we saw at the Anti-Graffiti Network is that a lot of young people were rerouted, because they got to see that they actually had talent and skills that had just gone unrecognized, and we say recognize it and let's provide options. So I've been in conversation with Director Carlton Williams, which is very exciting, because we've known each other from back in the day, and we are cooking up some ideas, which is super exciting, and we gave him a proposal with, you know us, like 5,000 ideas and we can do this and this, because when we heard Mayor Parker say clean and green and beautiful and safe, it's like that just made our hearts sing, honestly. So we would like nothing more -- it would be fantastic. Like let's marshal the energy of young people and have more public art in our city and 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. along those major corridors. Yay, major corridors, Alba Martinez. And so I think rethinking an Anti-Graffiti Network would be very -- it's an opportune time as we look to 2026. And then about the reduction, to answer your question, I mean, we will work with City Council and the Mayor's Office to do the best we can with what we have and try to leverage and raise money and just -- you know, we do this -- this is like, in all honesty, like for me and I'll speak for my colleagues at Mural Arts, it's not really just a job. It's like a moral imperative to do right by the citizens of this city. Like I feel it's such a privilege to do this work, to wake up in the morning and do work that has real meaning and that you feel connects with people everywhere. It's like such an honor. And so we'll figure it out and we'll figure it out together somehow, but 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. I'm here, we're here, and we're completely committed.

Okay. Awesome.

I don't know if that answered the question.

No, it didn't, but I just want to really quickly so I can turn it over to my members, but like in all seriousness, their million dollar cut impacts what areas?

Oh, could you --

The million dollar cut, you have been cut a million dollars, so which services are being impacted?

Well, I would say, you know, we will have to do less Color Me Back, the Guild, new murals, restorations. I mean, it's all -- you know, yeah. They would all be vulnerable, and that's why we want to work as hard as we can with all of you to 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. try to see what can happen.

Okay.

To, you know...

Understood, Jane. Say less.

But I feel like we are very determined. The work is so important, so we really want to see what we can do to not just actually keep it at what it is, but we would like -- we want to see it expanded. So whatever funds we get, we will do our best to like leverage it, stretch it, and do good work.

Okay. All right. Thank you very much. Starting this round off, the Chair recognizes Councilmember Anthony Phillips.

Thank you, Council President. First question, I hope this is not a hard question for Jane Golden. We and a lot of District Councilmembers are 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. ecstatic about murals, right, and what they do to create beautification for our city. In particular, what a mural does oftentimes, it gives, I guess, a neighborhood a sense of pride that this belongs to us, right? How can we facilitate the number -- the completion of at least two murals annually in each Council district, and this is beyond the Rebuild project, but at least two murals annually that we can have in each Council district? What strategies does that take?

Well, first, thank you for the question, and we do have -- the one thing that's wonderful about Philly is that there are murals everywhere and that we have a really big waiting list, and that's good because, as you said, you said that beautifully, there is an appetite for public art in our city, which is great. I will say, Council President Johnson, with the cut, we do go down in 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. what we can do. So really it's about funding. And the thing is, whatever funding we get from the City, you know we're going to go raise extra money and we're going to leverage it. But we will go from 75 down to probably 50-something or 60 murals. I mean, that's just the truth of when you have funding and then you don't have funding. So that's why the funding is really important. And if you look at every project we do, there's a little bit of private money and public money, because we never want to be overly reliant on any one sector, so we're busy bees trying to leverage.

But that's what I'm saying. I think there's an appetite. If you present the data on what something like this would take to happen, our neighbors would not only love it, but we could potentially find ways to make that happen. So it's about streamlining the process so you can say 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. how much this will cost to make that happen, roughly.

Well, we could submit a proposed -- we could give you the data of what it would take.

That would be helpful. And then I have a question for Commerce. We have in every councilmanic district, we have avenues and commercial corridors. Is the Commerce Department committed to doing like a roundtable or -- not a roundtable, a symposium in each councilmanic district without us having to organize it as Councilmembers for small businesses in our neighborhood to provide resources of -- provide information about technical support, opportunities for small businesses to expand their operations, as well as other services that the Commerce Department has available? DIRECTOR MARTINEZ: Thank you for that question. I'm going to ask Jane 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. to help me answer it -- just kidding. First of all, thank you for the question. The short answer is absolutely, yes, and the slightly longer answer is that it's consistent with our commitment to deepening our outreach strategies and our approaches, and we're piloting something that we're calling Commerce in the Community to going straight into the neighborhoods, into spaces where we feel people have not traditionally seen the Commerce Department and engaging people in learning and networking and connecting to resources, and at the end of the workshop, we're providing office hours. We're doing that in the Seventh District once a month. We'll do it for the second time on Friday. We had 60 people come out the first time. We're having community members do the outreach for us, and we would love to see that extend into every Council district. It would be an honor 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. to do it.

Absolutely. I love that, because what I want -- what I was trying to get at is, I don't want us to have to initiate it. I want you to call me and say, this is what we want to do, right, and we can collaborate, and you already have it together and we just provide the input. And I think that would be really helpful for a lot of our small businesses. I mean, I just think that's helpful for a lot of folks. Lastly, how are we improving accessibility to grant and loan process for a lot of our small businesses? Additionally, how can a department assist in facilitating more access to loans and grants for our small businesses? I'm not sure if they're very much aware of this and how well we advertise a lot of the small grants that are available as well as the low-interest loans that are available too. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. DIRECTOR MARTINEZ: So I'll start with a short answer and then ask Deputy Director Yvonne Boye to go deeper with the details. Fundamentally, outreach is something that we need to continuously improve, assess how we are -- who we're reaching by zip code. I believe that's an important analysis that we need to do. And then we need to affirmatively target zip codes where we are not being as effective reaching people. Second of all, we are going to step up our efforts in terms of reaching people digitally through a resource hub that we're creating. And, thirdly, I'll mention communications and marketing. We do have an infrastructure that is fairly new in the Commerce Department, and we think that we can definitely reach more people by deepening the utilization and the effectiveness of our social media strategies. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. Yvonne. DEPUTY DIRECTOR BOYE: Thank you. Yvonne Boye, Deputy Commerce Director. I lead the Office of Neighborhood Economic Development. Thank you for your question. One of the things that is at the heart of what the Commerce Department does is to provide opportunity to communities and businesses that have otherwise not had opportunity. And so we have an array of programs that improve the access to the funds. No matter how much funding is available, if the opportunity and the access is not available, they don't get it. So one of our -- we work very closely with the CDFI network, which is the community financial development institutions, who fund small businesses and mostly in the neighborhoods and businesses that do not usually have access. So we work with them very closely. We meet with them and exchange 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. ideas as to the best ways to do this. We also fund community development financial institutions so that the underwriting criteria might be better tailored to the businesses that have issues accessing regular modes of financing. We also have the business -- the Philadelphia Business Lending Network, which is a portal, which eases the access for small businesses, small and micro businesses, to help towards reaching lenders. We have about 33 lenders in that network right now. And so they fill one form of interest, and we farm it out to 33 lenders, and that is an elevated way in which we are able to do that. And we now add access to grants to incentivize the lenders to do that. We have also technical assistance to help the businesses get ready to access the capital. I hope that answers your question. 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC.

It does. I just want to say that's the bell. I had a quick statement. Hopefully I think another Councilmember is probably going to bring this up, but we do have skyscrapers in Center City Philadelphia that are nearing being empty or going to be empty soon, and I just want to make sure Commerce has a plan to build relationships that's going to help us make sure that those skyscrapers are not going to be empty in the coming years.

Thank you. Just for a little housekeeping rules, just ask for members to be succinct and direct with their questioning, because we have a whole list of members who would like to get through this round. With that being said, the Chair recognizes Councilmember Jim Harrity.

Thank 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. you, Council President. Hello. How is everybody doing this afternoon? Thank you for waiting around for so long. My things are for Jane. Jane, I just got to tell you, I've known you since the early to mid '90s, and you haven't changed a bit. You still have the same energy when -- I had the honor of being the Assistant Managing Director for your program during the Street Administration, and I remember when we had the kids on North Broad Street for the after-school program, and just to see how much that has grown over the years is just amazing. You know, the thing with you is the budget money you get goes a long way, because, as you said, you raise extra money. You go out of your way to make this a beautiful city, and we appreciate that. I'd just like to -- I'm still waiting for my mural for Marvin Harrison, 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. NFL --

Got it.

-- all-pro Hall of Fame. But just if you could tell us a little bit about the stuff you're doing in Kensington with the Porch Light program and stuff like that. If you can just give us little bit more information on that and how that's going.

Well, we're working with about -- I think this is sort of one of the secrets. People don't know this about Mural Arts, but through Porch Light, we've been in Kensington for about ten years working. We're working at schools. We're working at rec centers. We're working with different social service agencies. We're servicing about 7,000 people every year. We're also doing a major project with a very well-known artist, Roberto Lugo, who is from Kensington, and we're building these 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. giant vessels. He's a ceramicist. So it's going to enliven public space. And we have a mobile pottery studio, so we're going to be having workshops all throughout Kensington. And our charge to ourself is to work with seniors, work with young people, and everybody in between with all kinds of programming. And then we have a space at K&A, and that's where Color Me Back meets, but it's also an art space that's really lively and wonderful and means a lot for the Avenue. So it's like -- what I think about is like how do we create individual change and community change at the same time and link them up. But to answer President Johnson's question to me, which I should have answered more directly, Kensington will close because of the million dollar loss. We will not be able to stay there with Porch Light. So that is -- I know. I should have said that in the first 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. place. I'm really sorry. I was trying to be really positive.

Hey, sometimes you have to be honest in order to get your point across. These are programs that are needed, especially in a neighborhood that really needs programs for our kids, stuff for our kids to do that show them that they can be somebody. I remember this program started out at Anti-Graffiti, as they stated earlier, and I remember a lot of my friends getting put into Anti-Graffiti's group, and that's when we first started the murals back in the day, was with the kids that we're tagging, and we showed them that there was another way, and I believe that's what we need to do.

We also have something else. We have a gun buy-back program that we're doing, and we're going to be working heavily in Kensington, and then the guns will be melted down and we're creating a public sculpture that is 4/3/24 - WHOLE - BILL 240179, ETC. a tribute to public safety in our city. So, again, how do we use art in the most innovative way possible to impact people and impact the community and to deal with the really serious issues. We feel every issue that's on your plate and the Mayor's plate, that's an issue we should be thinking about through the lens of art, but we can be aspirational and pragmatic at the same time.