1305 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET - - - Room 696, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tuesday, March 4, 2003 10:00 a.m. - - - BILL 030004 BILL 030008 BILL 030010 - - - PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANNA C. VERNA COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN DAVID COHEN COUNCILMAN FRANK J. DI CICCO COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI COUNCILMAN RICHARD T. MARIANO COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILMAN ANGEL L. ORTIZ COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO - - - V A R A L L O, INCORPORATED Litigation Support Services 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 (215) 561-2220 1306 I N D E X WITNESSES JOHN DOMZALSKI, Health Commissioner ......... 1307 MICHAEL COVONE, Dept. of Health .............. 1322 ALBA MARTINEZ, Commissioner of DHS ........... 1445 JOHN ZANIER, Fiscal Director ................. 1461 DAVID FAIR, DHS .............................. 1465 ANN MARIE AMBROSE, DHS ....................... 1550 ROBERT HESS, OESS ............................ 1486 CHERYL RANSOM, DHS ........................... 1495 WANDA MILE, DHS .............................. 1564 ROBERT HESS, OESS ............................ 1579 JOSEPH MITCHELL, OESS ........................ 1598 ANDRES PEREZ, Commissioner, Public Property .. 1609 JOSEPH JAMES, Public Property ................ 1616 JAMES MULLER, Fleet Management ............... 1667 RICHARD TYLER, Historical Commission ......... 1673 1307 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Good morning, everyone. This is the continued public hearing of the Committee of the Whole regarding Bill Nos. 030004, 030008, and 030010. The first department to testify is the Health Department. Good morning, Commissioner. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Good morning, President Verna and Members of Council. I'm John Domzalski, Health Commissioner. Joining me at the table to my left is Deputy Commissioner Michael Covone and to my right is Carmen Lemmo, our Director of Financial Administration. I very much appreciate the opportunity to present the Health Department's testimony in support of its FY '04 Operating Budget request. This morning our testimony will be divided into two parts. I will speak on public health services, and Michael Covone will address mental health services and the Behavioral Health Services. I'm pleased to report that the Department's recommended Fiscal '04 budget maintains 1308 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET key performance and service indicators comparable to those of FY '03. During FY '03, the Department undertook major initiatives aimed at improving and protecting the health of the community and incorporating a neighborhood perspective citywide on health status indicators. We will continue these initiatives in FY '04. 7 million in the Health Choices Behavorial Revenue Fund. 8 million is in the Health Choices Behavioral Health Revenue Fund. 2 percent is for behavioral health and mental retardation services. The Department's budget will support 1,350 positions, 835 of which are in the General 1309 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Fund and 515 in the Grants Fund. This represents a reduction of 51 General Fund positions. The staff reductions will be taken in administrative areas that do not affect direct services. The Health Department administers a wide range of essential public health services for Philadelphians. These include primary health care at eight health centers; monitoring and control of communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis; a specialty clinic for the treatment of sexually transmissible diseases; and coordination, funding, and oversight of our HIV/AIDS programs. The Department coordinates, funds, and monitors child health services, including infant mortality reduction, prenatal and family planning services and childhood lead poisoning prevention. We are responsible for a range of environmental protection services, including monitoring of pollutants and enforcement of local, state, and federal environmental regulations, as well as regulations of the local retail food industry. In addition, the Department operates the Medical Examiner's Office, maintains oversight of 1310 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET the Philadelphia Nursing Home, and monitors health services at the Riverview Home. In an increasingly uncertain world, the Health Department is prepared to respond to threatened or actual bio-terrorism events. 4 million in emergency preparedness funding under the new Homeland Security Act. In this regard, we are working to significantly enhance the public health infrastructure, including surveillance and communication systems and personnel. In addition, we are working with the State of Pennsylvania on the issue of smallpox inoculation. In keeping with Mayor Street's focus on the transformation of our neighborhoods, we are organizing our data on health status indicators so that the overall health of the City can be understood from the perspective of the health of its neighborhoods. These neighborhood level data, aided by the mapping capacity made available through Philadelphia Safe & Sound, are now being used to strategically deploy services to areas of greatest need. These range from smoking behaviors and diabetes incidence, to the occurrence of 1311 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET communicable disease and the extent of immunization coverage of our children. The Mayor has emphasized that, while we turn our attention to neighborhoods, we will not turn our backs on the businesses that are so important to the economic health of the City. Accordingly, in our regulatory activity we are making our procedures and our processes more user friendly, while not compromising the public health objectives of our regulations.
I will briefly highlight some of our major accomplishments and challenges. With regard to lead poisoning in children, childhood lead poisoning prevention has been elevated to a major priority in the Department. The number of properties brought into compliance with lead paint removal requirements has nearly tripled from 115 during the period April 2001 through January 2002, to 335 from April 2002 to January 2003. As of February 2003, we have reduced the backlog of houses by one-third, from 1,400 homes to 950 homes, with 301 properties made lead safe, 136 vacant properties referred to the Department of 1312 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Licenses and Inspections so that they cannot be occupied until they are lead safe, and were 4 demolished. As of February 2003, there were 28 more 5 properties where the owner is in the process of 6 doing the work, but has not yet completed it. This 7 progress results from the work of the Lead Abatement 8 Strike Team, LAST, and the newly established Lead 9 Court. 10 LAST brings together nine City 11 departments and related agencies to resolve the wide 12 range of issues and situations that can impede the 13 lead intervention process. These issues range from enforcement and family relocation to structural repair and abatement. The Lead Court results from the creativity of the City Solicitor who conceptualized a court that is knowledgeable and informed about childhood lead poisoning issues. The Solicitor secured approval from the First Judicial District, and cases began being heard on an expedited basis in November 2002. Last year at this time we were adding 350 houses a year to a backlog. We promised last year never to add another house to the backlog and 1313 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET to attempt to reduce the existing backlog. We have kept that promise. Not a single house has been added to the backlog and the backlog itself is being reduced. We will continue this effort. Moreover, we have set ourselves the additional challenge of substantially increasing the effort directed at primary prevention. Essentially, we want to get to the point where we know longer use a report of lead poisoning in a child as the entry point into the lead poisoning prevention program. With regard to the infant mortality, infant mortality is one of the most significant indicators of the health of a community. It is a measure of the babies who die per 1,000 live births. 3 in the year 2000, which is the latest year for which data are available. This is a decrease of 28 percent. However, as a result of our focus on neighborhood health data, we learned that reliance on the citywide rate alone is deceptive. In some of our neighborhoods, the rate is shown to be as high as 22, while in others, it is as low as three. The death of even one baby is unacceptable and the 1314 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET disparities we see across this City are outrageous. We will change this. In FY '03, the Department developed a new neighborhood strategy to attack infant mortality, beginning in the neighborhoods with the highest rates. This strategy will operate under the title FIMR, F-I-M-R, or Fetal and Infant Mortality Review. It is a process that involves medical practitioners, community-based organizations, advocacy groups, faith leaders, health care providers and government. We must improve infant mortality citywide and we will do this by attacking the problem in a coordinated fashion at the neighborhood level. Turning to childhood immunizations, Philadelphia and other large cities in the nation have experienced decreases in the rates of childhood immunizations, due in large part to the introduction of additional inoculation requirements. In response to our determining that the citywide immunization rate had fallen from a high of 83 percent in 1998 to 76 percent in 2002, the Department set a goal to raise the citywide rate to 90 percent by Fiscal Year 2006.
Here, again, our focus is on neighborhoods, 1315 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET and it has provided the critically important information that the rates in some neighborhoods were as low as 52 percent. Using data from our KIDS Immunization Registry, we identified those neighborhoods with the lowest rates and strategically re-deployed resources to those neighborhoods. Children in these neighborhoods receive intensive outreach services which have resulted in a significant increase in immunization levels. In Passyunk, for example, the percentage of the two-year-olds with up-to-date immunizations improved from 52 percent to 66 percent as a result of this intervention. In Fairhill, the immunization rate improved from 60 percent 74 percent. And in West Oak Lane, it improved from 62 percent to 74 percent. We will continue to implement this strategy in these neighborhoods and across the City to identify pockets of need and develop strategies to improve the overall immunization rate. Considering chlamydia and gonorrhea, we are in the midst of an epidemic of sexually transmissible diseases among our adolescent children 15 to 19 years of age. In 2002 we confirmed that 1316 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET 8,000 cases of gonorrhea and chlamydia are in this age group. While to 19-year-olds make up 7 4 percent of the Philadelphia total population, more 5 than 35 percent of STD cases diagnosed were in this 6 age group. This is especially troubling because the 7 complications of untreated sexually transmissible 8 disease include pelvic inflammatory disease, 9 infertility and tubal pregnancy, and an untreated 10 STD can make a person more easily infected with HIV. 11 Because people with these infections often have no 12 symptoms, we know that many young Philadelphians 13 have infections they are unaware of. 14 Beginning in FY '03, through 15 unprecedented collaboration with the School District, we launched an intensive initiative of education, testing and treatment in public high schools. As of January 2003, Health Department staff provided STD educational sessions in five high schools with a total of 4,062 students attending these sessions. An astonishing 70 percent of those participating agreed to be screened for STDs. 5 percent in some groups tested. Treatment is made available at the school. The goal 1317 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET is to provide this program to students in all public high schools by the end of this school year. Turning to HIV/AIDS services, AIDS continues to disproportionately affect minority communities in Philadelphia. While the number of newly reported cases of AIDS remained relatively stable over the last year, with an increase from 1,137 in FY '01 to 1,160 in FY '02, 80 percent of persons living with AIDS are people of color. To address these disparities, the Department funds 12 community-based providers through the Ryan White 13 Minority AIDS Initiative. 14 The centerpiece of this initiative is 15 the "Storefront Project," which is three sites 16 located in Germantown, West Philadelphia and 17 Kensington. The storefronts are street-level open 18 access service sites providing a "safe space" geared 19 to walking traffic. They link people living with 20 HIV to primary medical care, testing and counseling, case management, substance abuse, treatment, prevention programs and other needed services. During the past year, we served 1,417 high risk people and people living with HIV through this Storefront Initiative, about half of whom are 1318 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET women and children. This year, the National Black HIV Awareness Campaign with the theme, "Get Educated, Get Tested and Get Involved" is an example of the outreach and collaboration that must continue to occur in fighting the epidemic.
Looking at our animal control services, on September 1, 2002 we marked the end of a 20-year relationship between the Department of Public Health and the Pennsylvania SPCA for the provision of animal control services. To continue these critical services, the Department has formed a non-profit organization, the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association, PACCA. PACCA performs all municipal animal control functions, including maintaining an animal control shelter, picking up unwanted animals from both streets and homes, and providing adoption services, enforcing animal control regulations, and euthanizing animals. From September through December 2002, PACCA has received 10,409 animals. The adoption rate has gone from zero percent the first month of operation to 20 percent in December 2002. In order to maximize the number of adoptions, PACCA has 1319 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET established working arrangements with a variety of rescue and humane organizations and forged a brand-new relationship with a national pet store chain, Pet Smart, and is currently promoting adoptions at various Web sites. PACCA has established a relationship with the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and is also actively soliciting support of several foundations to assist in the adoption and support of these services. The health insurance initiative. During a typical year, approximately 1,000 patients make a total of 340,000 visits to the Department's health centers. In FY '02, 64 percent of our patients' health care center visits were not covered by health insurance. We project by the end of FY '03 we will reduce uninsured visits to 59 percent. Our goal for FY '04 is to reduce our uninsured visits to 50 percent, and by FY '08, to 30 percent. A number of studies, including a recent study by the Institute of Medicine, has found that people without insurance have worse health status than people with insurance. Yet, many of the uninsured in our health centers are insurable, 1320 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET particularly the children. Our Insurance Initiative, which includes assignment of benefits counselors to health centers and the active follow-up of patients to complete the insurance application process, is directed to significantly increase the numbers of health center patients with insurance. The success of this effort will improve patients' access to care, allow patients to choose among providers, and allow the City to benefit from the state and federal funding streams that support health insurance coverage for low-income persons. In the absence of this, the City unnecessarily absorbs the cost of these services. 5 million over the next five years. One of the most highly used services in the health center is pharmacy. This Fiscal Year the health center pharmacies will fill over 560,000 prescriptions. This volume is very close to overwhelming the present system and it has affected the quality of this service. The ability to recruit pharmacists in the midst of a nationwide pharmacy shortage and the physical limitations of the existing pharmacy areas in the health centers 1321 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET results in long, daily waits for service which, despite the best efforts of on-site managers, can stretch to several days' wait for routine prescriptions. These factors persuade us that the way this service is provided must be re-conceptualized to take into account changes that have occurred in the pharmacy services delivery industry, including increased accessibility to neighborhood pharmacies, increased availability of mail order prescription services and the near universal institution of prescription co-pays. The Department has undertaken a major management initiative which will be instituted in early FY '04.
This major management initiative which we will institute in FY '04 will involve one or more of the following alternatives: Use of a central fill system to reduce the number of refills handled in the health center pharmacies, use of mail order prescription services, conversion to complete outsourcing of the prescription services to a neighborhood pharmacy. In conclusion, the Department of Public Health is moving forward and meeting longstanding 1322 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET and developing public health challenges in new ways. We are meeting the budget challenges by bringing sound management principles together with creative program initiatives to preserve and improve the delivery of essential public health services to the people of Philadelphia. I very much appreciate the opportunity to present testimony today. Deputy Health Commissioner Michael Covone will now present testimony on the behavioral health part of the budget, and after his testimony we will be pleased to answer questions.
Good morning, President Verna and Members of City Council. My name is Michael Covone, Deputy Commissioner, and I am here to present testimony on the Behavioral Health System/Mental Retardation Services component of the Health Department budget. 7 million in the Health Choices Behavioral Health Fund. 1323 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET The Behavioral Health/MRS budget will support 295 positions, 64 in the General Fund and 231 in the Grants Revenue Fund. 1 billion, $285 million, or percent, is for mental 6 retardation services and $814 million, or 74 7 percent, is for behavioral health services. 8 The Behavioral Health System consists of 9 three major components that coordinate the City's 10 treatment services for approximately 100,000 adults 11 and children annually. These three components are 12 the Coordinating Office for Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 13 the Office of Mental Health and Community Behavioral 14 Health. 15 The system provides a full range of 16 mental health and drug and alcohol treatment for 17 both children and adults via a network of 18 community-based providers, which include an 19 extensive array of services to children with 20 behavioral health needs. 21 Mental Retardation Services is the 22 office responsible for the development, coordination 23 and monitoring of services for children and adults 24 with mental retardation. MRS provides services to 25 over 11,000 individuals per year, including case 1324 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET management, in-home and residential services, early intervention services for infants and children, family support services and day and employment services. These services are provided through contracts with over 70 provider agencies. Over the last year, Behavioral Health and Mental Retardation Services has operationalized a variety of collaborative initiatives with its sister social service agencies in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services. Examples of these initiatives include, first, the increase in Student Assistance Program. Although Student Assistance Programs have been provided in middle and high schools since 1990, not all middle and high schools have had access to these services. With the infusion of an additional $500,000 from a Safe and Drug Free School Grant, the Behavioral Health System began, in January 2003, to expand student assistance services from the current 57 schools to all 90 middle and high schools. This increase will be accomplished by increasing the number of school-based liaisons from 13 to 20. The overall outcome of this expansion is to continue to foster a collaborative relationship 1325 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET with school personnel through the assessment of children with behavioral health needs, and consultations with School District and families in assuring appropriate follow-up. It is anticipated that this grant will increase the number of assessments and consultations from its current level of 3,500 annually to over 4,000 annually. In collaboration with the Office of Emergency Shelter and Services, the Behavioral Health System has seen consistent growth in supported housing resources. 4 million federal grant that targets chronically homeless individuals. This initiative will support units of supported housing and 17 services, as well as support services for 50 18 individuals through the development of an Assertive 19 Community Treatment Team. 20 The new resources will continue to build 21 on an existing network of specialized housing 22 resources for individuals with behavioral health 23 needs. Currently there are 1,920 beds in the 24 Community Mental Health Program, with an occupancy 25 exceeding 96 percent. 1326 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET In addition, supportive recovery housing for individuals and families maintaining clean and sober lifestyles are projected to increase from 332 currently to 350 in Fiscal Year '04.
With the inception of Operation Safe Streets in May 2002, the Behavioral Health System has been actively involved in providing support to individuals identified through this initiative. While the goal of Operation Safe Streets is to disrupt drug trafficking and return the streets of Philadelphia to the people who reside in the City, emphasis has been placed upon treatment and rehabilitation. Unable to purchase drugs, individuals have been entering treatment in numbers that far exceeded admissions during the month prior to the initiation of this program. On average, monthly admissions have increased by 190 persons when compared to the same time period one year ago. The Behavioral Health System has played a lead role in assuring treatment is available and that persons wishing to enter treatment are assisted in doing so. The accomplishments noted above represents the continuing effort to ensure a system that is both responsive to consumer and family needs 1327 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET and accountable to our various funding sources and the residents of Philadelphia. In order to further our mission, Behavioral Health and Mental Retardation Services will undertake the following additional initiatives during Fiscal Year '04, including the continued development and implementation of performance-based contracting for the delivery of mental health, substance abuse and mental retardation services. During the past year, baseline data in key program areas has been collected and reviewed with providers. These efforts have assisted the provision of technical assistance to providers and allowed for piloting of performance-based contracts with a number of agencies during the current year. Pilots with hospitals providing psychiatric in-patient services have included performance measures related to length of stay expectations, effective linkages to outpatient services within five days of discharge, and evidence of comprehensive evaluation within 48 hours of admission. During Fiscal Year '04 the Behavioral Health and Mental Retardation System will continue to refine the performance measures and expand 1328 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET implementation of performance-based contracts to other service areas. The Behavioral Health and Department of Human Services have begun to develop a blueprint for integration that began implementation on February 1, 2003, for delinquent and dependent children and youth. The co-location of behavioral health staff within the DHS infrastructure will assist in identifying those children and families who may have current services, a history of treatment, or have never had services, but are in need of specific evaluations. Behavioral health staff will be co-located within the screening unit at DHS to help divert unnecessary placement of children when safety is not an issue, but there are behavioral health needs that require immediate intervention. In closing, the Behavioral Health and Mental Retardation System will maintain its ongoing efforts to improve accountability and ensure the delivery of quality services to the citizens of Philadelphia. Thank you again for this opportunity to testify this morning.
Thank you very 1329 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET much. Each Council Member will get five minutes of questioning on the first go-around. Mr. McPherson, would you start with my timer? Commissioner, you state in your testimony that you will be reducing your General Fund position level by 51. However, if you look at the detail on -9, I would like you to explain why it reflects a 29 position increase in the General Fund?
President Verna, the increase is from the increment run, which I believe is the November increment run. It's from the increment run, as opposed to the budgeted number of positions.
So we're really not eliminating the positions that were never filled. Where is the cut? There is no cut. We're not saving any money. 1330 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Well, President Verna, what we're doing is reducing General Fund positions in the administrative areas in the Department, and that runs across about six specific components within the Department.
Commissioner, what is the backlog for lead paint removal?
The backlog for lead paint removal is, at this time, approximately a little less than 950.
Can you explain why you're eliminating in FY '04 the $1,273,000 dollars that was used for the lead paint hazardous abatement of homes? That's on the detail on -51. Mr. DOMZALSKI: Yes, I can, President Verna. That is the amount of money that we put into lead paint abatement in this Fiscal Year, which we do not have an identified source for at this time in Fiscal Year '04. I do believe that we have resources from which we will obtain that money so that we're able to continue this effort. 1331 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET But what we did in Fiscal Year '03 was piece together money from a variety of sources within the General Fund in the Department to make funding available for lead paint abatement that never was made available before.
And when would you know that you're going to be able to accomplish this?
We're going to continue as we go forward. Even now we're continuing. What we have are two sources. We put in from the General Fund in the Department's resources in this Fiscal Year, $1.5 million. For FY '04 we have two sources that we are very confident are going to come through for us this year. One is a $500,000 grant from under TANF, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. The other is a $1,500,000 HUD grant that's available for lead paint abatement from the federal government.
So when do you 1332 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET expect to eliminate the backlog?
If I could take a step back, President Verna. When I sat here last year, what was going on is, we were adding houses to the backlog at the rate of 350 houses a year. I promised then I would never add another house to the backlog. I've kept that promise. What I also said was, that we were going to try to reduce that backlog. And the way we were going to do that was by resources that would either become available to us through a grant that we anticipated, or through efficiencies that we're able to achieve through the Lead Abatement Strike Team process. We didn't get the federal funding that we anticipated. Nonetheless, because of the efficiencies we were able to generate in our abatement process, we were still able to reduce that backlog from 1,400 to 950. We expect that backlog to continue to be reduced by a similar number this year, and by the end of the following year for it to be gone completely. And it will never return.
Wonderful. Let me ask you a question. When a 1333 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET property is demolished, do they have to check if there's lead paint in the building that's being demolished? And if so, how is that addressed?
Any house, President Verna, in the City of Philadelphia that was built before 1978 has lead paint in it. And so the debris from that has to be handled in a way that respects the fact there's lead paint contamination there and disposed of according to federal and state rules.
The specialized landfills where they're allowed to be deposited.
Commissioner, the Administration has indicated that they will be eliminating 50 Senior Administrative positions, and that six of the 50 will come from your Department. The Budget Director, when asked about this, indicated it was a planning unit that never accomplished its goals. Could you explain this reduction? Is it the mission of the units and accomplishments? If no accomplishments, why did it take so long to terminate?
I can't, President 1334 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Verna. The unit is called in our Department the Organizational Development Unit. And I want to at the outset say that the unit has been and continues to be staffed by very able and valuable public health and administrative professionals. The unit was developed in the mid '90s with the thought that certain activities having to do with management and leadership in various units of the Department could be centralized, and that is the planning function, the developmental function. And in the early years of that, the unit was very active in doing on-site assessments in different program areas about how services could be improved and how management systems could be streamlined. Over the years, and particularly from the year 2000 onward, those functions have been increasing seen by me to be a responsibility of the individual program managers throughout the Department. And so while the services certainly had a value, they are the kinds of services that are now incorporated into the individual management expectation that I have of all of my managers. And I don't expect that to change. 1335 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Commissioner, would Air Management be here and could they tell us if they have any information regarding the underground fire at Hog Island? It was in the paper today, and I think it was in the newspaper one day last week. Could we be enlightened as to what Air Management has found?
I can help with that, President Verna. We have had Air Management engineers at the site of the fire on Hog Island at different times since the fire's existence. And what we've been doing is taking air monitoring samples there and the situation -- and I think you're aware, President Verna -- ranges from sometimes a very pronounced odor to sometimes odors that are very hard to detect. At some cases that we have been there, we have taken measurements and we have not found toxic materials in the air. Other times we've been there, we haven't been able to detect the odor itself. And so it's a matter of our continuing to monitor that situation until it is resolved. I'm not sure of the mechanics or what's really going on with the fire itself. 1336 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Whose responsibility is it to determine exactly what is causing this?
Point of fact, I think it's probably a joint responsibility. Certainly the Fire Department has the expertise in much of that area. In terms of the geology and physics and what else is going on, there may be some other professionals that need to be involved as well. We have been called on at this point to look at what are the health impacts of that and have done that assessment.
I know that Councilman Rizzo has written a letter to Christine Whitman asking that she look into this. Reading the paper, this has been going on since 1990. I think we've got to come to the bottom of what is causing this. Is it really hazardous and how deep do they have to dig to determine that? But the Fire Commissioner was in here last week and he said they merely go out and there -- in fact, I think they have hoses that are there permanently to simply douse the fire, the flames. Something is causing it. The concern is how 1337 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET dangerous is it and what is actually the cause.
I think a unit, President Verna, that has been involved with this as well has been the State Department of Environmental Protection. They have engineers and environmental scientists that have also been on the site. And what we can do is provide your office with the information that they have at this point, and maybe just get a little more certainty as to precisely who has the ball and, one, determining why that's burning and what the plan is for extinguishing it.
I would appreciate your forwarding that to my attention today.
Thank you. My five minutes is up. Councilwoman Brown.
I'd like to give my preliminary questioning to the issue of young people and mental health and drug/alcohol services, and call your attention to a map that was produced by PCCY in August 2002, where they did a comprehensive report on drug and alcohol treatment programs for young people. If you look at that, you'll notice that, according to this map, there are no services available for young people that live in West, Southwest and South Philadelphia. So for me, it begs to question, how are we serving adolescents and children in that section of the City?
There are a variety of initiatives going on relative to drug and alcohol treatment for children. Assistant Commissioner Bencivengo can talk about some of the specifics. And I know there's some follow-up with PCCY on the report that they put together around this particular issue. But beyond just the traditional treatment services, we have been able to do some additional school-based services over the course of the last year. As I indicated in the testimony, 1339 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET we've increased the Student Assistance Programs to all middle and high schools throughout the City this year with an additional grant. We've also been able to continue programs that began a couple years ago utilizing Health Choices Reinvestment Funds with C&E Specialists, Consultation and Educational Specialists in the school. Those programs have been sustained and are currently funded through the Department of Human Services.
And they're in all the schools, including those in West, Southwest --
They're in the majority of the schools throughout the City as well, and we could get you a list of which schools that they are in.
As well as a variety of other initiatives that are going on relative to supports around children's services. Specifically with the issue of additional services in that particular area, I think the follow-up discussions, and we will look at some 1340 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET additional data around that. What we have seen is actually an increase in the number of adolescents accessing drug and alcohol treatment.
Not broken down by areas, but as a City as a whole, we've seen an increase in that area, which has been historically a concern, are adolescents accessing either outpatient services or some other type of drug and alcohol services.
Another reason why I'm struck by that is in listening to Commissioner Vic Richards' testimony on why they have teen centers in certain parts of the City. And one issue or factor that drove them to the where, were the crime stats and geo-mapping provided to us by Safe & Sound. If you have teen centers in a certain section of the City, yet no support, MHMR services, then where is that comprehensive support?
And, again, I don't disagree. I think some of the follow-up discussions will determine, number one, should the services be traditional outpatient facility-based services, or is it a better approach to try to continue to enhance the services provided in the school and 1341 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET through after school programs as well, with that area. The services that are identified here are the traditional licensed behavioral health services, and what we've tried to do is come up with a series of alternatives as well, over the years.
Okay. I have questions later on licensed versus recovery houses. I'll get to that. Let's now move to seniors and mental health. Maybe I overlooked it in the pie charts that you provided, which are helpful. There's no 13 breakdown of services provided to -- you say you're providing services to 100,000 children and adults, but nothing in here reflects the actual number. How many of that 100,000 are services for kids and how many are services to adults? Further, what and where are we providing services for seniors specifically?
The actual breakdown of services between children and adults is of the --
Actually, I'm going into some of the Medicaid data right now for that. What this will represent is about 75 percent of that 1342 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET 100,000 universe on the Medicaid. And of that universe, approximately 37 percent, or 30,000, of the folks served are children under the age of 21. And 47,000 are over the age of 21. The population of individuals who are served who are 65-plus is about 1,500 individuals a year. And part of the reason for that, I want to just add one point to that, is because many of those individuals have Medicare coverage, which fall outside of the purview of the Medicaid program. And we've been working and struggling to try and ensure that some of the providers who are on the behavioral health panel of the City also get on the HMO panels for Medicaid as well. That's been a struggle we've worked with and in conjunction with Mental Health Association with some of their aging advocacy programs on this behalf as well.
Do we have any relationship or get any dollars from the Philadelphia Corporation of Aging specifically for this population?
We have a couple small joint funded initiatives with the Philadelphia Corporation for the Aging to provide some domicile 1343 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET care programs. We also have a program that we established a couple years ago for the elderly population, a mobile therapy program where we can actually have folks go out into the community in a couple areas. That is not citywide. And one of the struggles has been securing resources both from the State Department of Aging, as well as trying to get additional resources through DPW on that.
Well, I should share with you that I have been in discussions with a number of groups that care in a passionate kind of way about this population, and I will be introducing a resolution calling for hearings on how and what we can do better and differently to serve this population. So I give you a heads up on that. Is my five minutes up?
Thank you, Madam President. 1344 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Good morning, Commissioner.
First, the issue of lead paint. What is the average cost per unit of lead abatement?
$5,800. That holds pretty true? There's not much variance one way or the other?
The reason I ask is, in testimony last week, Kevin Hanna (ph), the new Secretary of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation, talked about the discontinuation of their Settlement Grant Program because of the cost of lead abatement and placed that cost at -- he said it was guesstimate -- but at $10 to $15,000. Is that possible on average?
It is possible. Some of our abatement services have been $7,800 $8,000, $8,500.
But on average, it's 1345 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET not possible that it would cost $10 to $15,000?
It could. Let me tell you, Councilman, why this is a little beyond. There are some additional factors. For example, one of the things that -- it's one thing to abate the property for the lead hazard. Some of the properties that we get into, we cannot do the abatement until certain basic system repairs are accomplished. For example, sometimes a property will need a new roof. As long as the roof leaking, it will disrupt any abatement process that we have done. Sometimes an electrical system needs to be repaired and sometimes there are serious internal plumbing problems. All of those have to be addressed, either while we're abating or immediately before, preferably. So the total abatement could run -- if you add my lead paint abatement figure, just the average of $5,800 to what some of these basic system repair jobs cost, you could easily be $15,000 to 16.
He wasn't referring to basic systems repairs or related costs of lead abatement. He was actually just referring to lead abatement. That sort of begs the question, do you 1346 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET work in the same areas as OHCD?
We work in conjunction with them, Councilman. In fact, OHCD is a member of our Lead Abatement Strike Team.
So what level of coordination is there if one figure is $5,800 and another figure, $10 to $15,000?
I think we would need to look at what Secretary Hanna was addressing. My focus is on the universe of children who have diagnosed with lead poisoning. These may be two different issues. Under HUD, it's a requirement that you -- whether or not children are in the home or not -- that you do extensive lead abatement and that may be what he's talking about.
Let me ask the question, how are your programs coordinated under the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative?
Well, in neighborhood transformation, what we do is, when we're in an area, we are looking at the maps. Rob Hess has been very close to that process over in OESS. We have a coordination now. We're going to make that stronger as we go forward. 1347 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
I'm assuming there's more than data sharing. Is there actual program coordination? I would assume that a natural link would be between the construction of affordable housing and lead paint abatement. Does that link exist or does it not exist?
The link that exists at this point -- and it will get more comprehensive and stronger -- is that when we're looking at houses that we're planning to abate, we look at what the situation is, whether or not that's scheduled for any neighborhood transformation activity. So far, we not seen a conflict.
Essentially we are subsidizing affordable housing to the tune of $150,000 per unit. In testimony last week we essentially said to the new secretary that you could find $10 to 15,000 within that $150,000 per unit, but you definitely could find $5,800 within that subsidy of $150,000 per unit. Shouldn't there been a direct coordination between the Health Department and what we're doing in terms of neighborhood transformation, in terms of producing housing?
There is. And Secretary 1348 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Hanna and I have talked. We're working at the staff level. For example, I was at a community meeting last night that was focused entirely on neighborhood transformation. I'm very focused on this and looking for areas where we're going to coordinate more closely, and certainly where we're not going to duplicate any effort. There's not enough resources to do that.
So when we have a further discussion with him about the Settlement Grant Program, which we will, you will be available to provide a hard number in terms of the average cost for abatement?
On the properties that we've been doing, Councilman, yes, I can, sir.
Or properties that may need to be done under neighborhood transformation?
I'm not aware that we've done any that may need to be done under a neighborhood transformation. I don't know whether there are issues that are different from what we're dealing with in lead --
But my assumption is 1349 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET from what you said is there's only one Lead Abatement Strike Team. So if there is going to be lead abatement done related to neighborhood transformation and related to a Settlement Grant Program, that it will be done from your strike team?
With the caveat, Councilman, that the Lead Abatement Strike Team is focused on children who are diagnosed with lead poisoning. They may be slightly different populations, so I don't want to go beyond what I know on that.
Maybe slightly different populations, but there may be also funding opportunities under neighborhood transformation?
Commissioner, I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but in the budget detail for last year under the Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, we had $1,273,000. It was to be used for lead paint hazardous abatement. That has been eliminated for FY '04. That was definitely 1350 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET from the General Fund.
This is the same $1.2 that we talked about earlier that we had found in the General Fund for this year. Philadelphia Health Management Corporation is -- if I may, President, I need --
We found it last year in the General Fund in the Health Department from two major sources. Both were reimbursements for services previously rendered. One was reimbursement for planning that had been previously done and was reimbursable under the new money that came in for neighborhood health centers under the tobacco grant. And the other one was about a $300,000 reimbursement that we got for expenditures from the General Fund that we made to support all the overtime and other activities that we accrued over around 9/11. It was bio-terrorism reimbursement. So 1351 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET from those are the two major sources that we ended up able to find the $1.5 to put into this.
Do you feel comfortable that you will find that money during FY '04?
We will find that money. I am not comfortable, but I am committed that we are going to get those resources. And the reason I can say that is because I was just this side of furious when this City failed to get the HUD funding that somehow, that somehow, was made available to 16 other cities in this nation. And We went and got a 17 personal debriefing, line by line, as to why 18 Philadelphia's children weren't eligible for that 19 level of funding. 20 I will tell you, President Verna, after that session I'm comfortable and confident that we are going find this money for Philadelphia's kids.
Why didn't we get the money from HUD, may I ask?
I believe one of the 1352 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET absolutely astounding, astounding assertions that was made, was that they didn't understand our link, that our link they didn't feel was strong enough with the housing agency when, in fact, we had links with all of the housing agencies. I didn't find that to be a very believable reason. And I will tell you, President Verna, it's one of the ones that's most remediable for the next grant application process.
How are you doing? I just need an explanation of -9. I'd like to know how you get to 51 positions if there's an increase in 29 positions? Could you explain -A under Summary C? You had 830 actual positions in June of '02, but you were budgeted for 886.
Councilwoman Tasco, there are two points in the budget that we look at. One is whether the budgeted positions, that is what 1353 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET we plan to do at the beginning of that Fiscal Year. The other is our increment run. It's kind of a snap shot of where we are at any particular date. That's what the snap shot looked like on November 2nd when we did the increment run. So our 51 positions, in fact, out of the General Fund will be reduced across about eight agencies within the Department.
And I was just looking at the paper where the entire training unit was cut?
Because I was going to ask you how many slots were in the training department. So you cut all the training?
Councilwoman Tasco, we won't be cutting all the training. We will continue to do training. What we're going to be doing is putting the focus and the responsibility on the individual managers in the Department to identify what organizational development they need to do in their units and what kind of training they need to 1354 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET do specific to their program management goals. And we've provided some additional Class 200 money to be able to support that training. So the training function will accomplish it. It just won't be done at a centralized level.
So will you have the level of experience and expertise to insure the Health Department is adequately trained?
Absolutely. And the expertise, for example, in our Maternal and Child Health Program, the experts there are the people who run the program. They understand the training needs of their individual persons. In addition, our Environmental Health Unit and Air Management, as well as our Disease Control Unit, will need to do some training clearly, as we look at our expanding disease control role. And we'll be able to access funds that remain for training within the Department and also take some additional money and resources made available.
It's possible. It's possible. In fact, it's possible that we'll be able 1355 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET to get that training from experts either at Centers for Disease Control or through the State Health Department or in our own shop where we have our epidemiologists who are on board to do the training as well.
Can you describe how the pharmacy management initiative will affect the waiting period for patients and senior citizens? Part of your testimony you talk about possibly several methods of clients being able to refill or fill prescriptions.
Could you talk a little more about that? I mean, how would you envision a mail order prescription service being done? And also, how would you envision outsourcing prescription services to neighborhood pharmacists, and what would be the cost associated with that?
Those are all options that we're looking at that are on the table. My objective is that however we reorganize this service, that the impact will be direct and it will be permanent. Presently, there was a time with the 1356 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET influx of demand for prescriptions in the centers that, in the fall of this past year, the fall of 2002, we unfortunately had waits of as long as eight days for regularly scheduled medication in those centers. We cannot have that. We have addressed that. We have gotten that wait down to an unacceptable -- but improved -- but unacceptable wait in some centers of two days, and some centers we're down to same day service. We want to get everybody down to same day service. The way to do that, the way we organize our pharmacy services, Councilwoman Tasco, is probably exactly the way you would organize a pharmacy service if you were going to do it in 1972. We haven't taken advantage of all of the things that have happened to change pharmacy delivery systems in the 30 years that have passed. Mail order delivery, I don't know whether any of our patients are going to be able to use mail order delivery. But we know, we know that people can access mail order delivery in the United States and in Philadelphia right now and don't have to wait eight days. They don't have to wait four days. Some patients may be able to benefit from that. 1357 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET With regard to the central fill, the idea there is to try to take some volume out of the center pharmacy itself. These center pharmacies weren't designed to be large volume community pharmacies. They just weren't. And as a result, their design is very inefficient and they work a burden on the people who work there. And so what we want to do is try, under the central fill option, try to get about 60 percent of the volume out of there, so that all that has to happen in the pharmacy is that the centrally filled medications can then be dispensed, given to the patient at another site in the center on that day. And so it's a combination of these that we're looking at. We haven't decided on any one yet, but our commitment is to improve that service.
Councilwoman Tasco, would you complete this, please, because your time has been up.
In looking at outsourcing, since we have a large contract with Rite Aid to fill our prescriptions, maybe they ought to tack on this service for people who use, as a service to the City because we have such a large 1358 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET contract with them. Maybe they could provide that service for the Department.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. I am encouraged by the creative programs that Commissioner Domzalski and the Department certainly has undertaken. I will say that I see the Commissioner all over the City, and we appreciate his firsthand approach to being involved in all of the issues that affect our communities, from our seniors to our teens, et cetera. I see Ms. Ransom and many others who do a fine job. In fact, we were with the Commissioner last night at an NTI meeting in my district. And, again, we say, thank you. I am glad to see that we have formed this new organization, too, called Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association. You know, I have a lot debates about people who insult us over 1359 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET the years in the past. I'm glad to see that we are doing that ourselves, as well as across the board from Safe Streets to homeless funding. And I know that there was some questions about CODAAP's role in that because certainly in that arena we're doing things just not narrowly City funding, but we have to reach out, as we do, across the board now for funding from the state and the Feds in order to do the program to service our people. So I, again wanted, to thank you for your leadership and for always being available to do a great job for our citizens.
Good morning. Did I hear you say that the money for the lead abatement is not included in the budget as such?
That's correct. In FY 1360 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET '04.
We spent an incredible amount of years getting to the point in which, one, we had a focus on lead abatement. Two, in which we actually had a line in the budget committed to lead abatement. And I can tell you that I know your commitment and I know your passion and I know you from years on in, but I also know the bureaucracy and I know how things function in government of so many years. And it really preoccupies me that, as we're making this advancement in terms of finally getting a hold in making a dent in the lead abatement problem that we've had for the last 30, 40, 50 years in the City, that the money is not included in the budget. It really is worrisome. And I know that you will bend and cajole and try to do everything possible, but sometimes -- and if the things emanating from the central office as such, as David Letterman says, are not as bright as we'd like. I don't know if it is not there, I don't know whether you're going to be able to find it, because then it comes to be the area that becomes a subject of preponderance of need. So it 1361 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET really concerns me. I really would like a much more detailed answer as to how we're prepared to continue with this because it is such a huge problem, and it is a problem that, like you said, we have not added to the backlog. That, to me, is an incredible accomplishment, incredible accomplishment. So tell me, talk to me, convince me that this worry that I have, it should not be there.
I think it's well for all of us to worry about kids. I think it's very important to worry about kids that are poisoned with lead. I mean, just an editorial. These kids would not be poisoned with lead if somebody didn't put the lead there in the first place. And I think we need to look at that from a general policy standpoint. What is not in budget. We have a small amount in the budget that's always been in the budget for lead abatement.
We always have. It has never been the money that we needed, and we've never been able structure with that amount of money the programs that we need to do.
What is not there is the 1362 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET one-and-a-half million. And things are happening. Things are happening that give me a great deal of optimism and confidence that we are going to get the money. People will tell you when we have had our meetings internally, when we talk about this, one thing I always end the conversation with is, and we're not going back. Now, how to make that happen. Little things have happened. For example, in the advocacy community -- and, again, these are small things, small things. My eye is on the one-and-a-half million that we've got to extract from HUD. There's no question about that. We're going to do everything necessary -- not everything that we can do -- everything that's necessary to get that money. But little victories here and there, I think, help us in terms of displaying the commitment of this community. For example, as a result of the work of PCCY and their involvement with this issue over the years, this year, this year for the first time, we have had two hospitals who deal with children, come forward and say, as an expression of our bona fides on this, as an expression of our concern for 1363 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET children, we want to do an abatement in our hospital. We want to fund an abatement. Saint Christopher's Hospital for Children made that commitment and we've just completed that abatement and they've given us the check for that. Temple Hospital for Children is another one that has come forward and said, we want to do this. I've been talking with the managed care companies about their -- you know, at some point we're going to start talking about the fact that we in the government need to do as much steering as rowing. And so we need to invite our partners on the table on this. So we've got those two pieces that I feel comfortable with. I feel comfortable that we're going to make our convincing case with HUD and get that money. We're never going back. We're never going to add a house to the backlog.
Commissioner, children and youth and us, we've been in this struggle for a long time, and we would hate to be back here talking about the same things that we always talk about. We can't.
What's more is I know how much you don't want to be talking about that and 1364 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET that is even more of an enticement for me to be successful.
Commissioner, I'd like more detail in the reduction of 51 staff positions.
You've spoken about that, but I'd like more detail about it. And when you say it will not affect direct services, what do you mean by that? And if they were not providing anything that provided or assisted in the delivery of services, then we have to question why they were included in the first place. If we have 51 positions that can be eliminated, and that can be eliminated without affecting the delivery of services, then we have to question why those 51 positions were there in the first place.
Sure. I can tell you in some detail, and I'd be happy to supply this under separate cover. For example, 43 of the 51 positions will come out of Public Health Services, and eight positions will come out of Behavioral Health/MRS. The 43 that come out of the Public Health Services, there will be four coming out of 1365 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Ambulatory Health. These don't affect direct services for the reason that this represents a reduction of four custodial positions that are related to the overall citywide centralization of that service.
Well, you're telling me that you're eliminating four janitors, right?
This whole service is going to be centralized in the government and provided across departments through a centralized service.
That's four. I'd like to find out how that centralized janitorial service or maintenance service is going to work. Because the community health centers usually get somehow neglected every once in a while and we need to be able to have them in a shape in which the individuals that come there understand that they're going into a clinic and not just a little dump.
Councilman, Mr. Dubow 1366 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET tells me that Public Property is going to discuss this very issue on how it's going to be organized and how the various needs are going to be met when they testify sometime either later today or whenever.
Well, give me more detail as to -- we got four positions eliminated in custodial services. That would leaves us -- I'm very bad at math.
In our Division of Early Childhood, we're going to reduce one clerk in the General Fund. And what we will be doing is just using the existing staff to absorb those responsibilities. In the Environmental Protection component of the Department -- now, the Environmental Protection component, Councilman, includes both environmental health services and also the air management services. We'll be reducing six General Fund positions from that component. They will consist of one administrative assistant, one vector control worker, one field investigator --
A vector control worker. 1367 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
That person that helps us respond to complaints of various animal control, might inspect or respond to a complaint of rodent infestation.
Commissioner, my office does call your office regarding that issue. How many inspectors will remain?
Well, how many inspectors will we have? MR. DOMZALSKI I have that detail right here.
That's one of the issues that happens. 1368 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
While we're pulling that out, can I give you the others? There will be one administrative manager that's reduced. One Air Management Services license specialist. That will be the six positions. In Administration there will be positions that we're 8 reducing. Those 24 positions consist of two people 9 in personnel. It will consist of one equipment 10 operator in facilities management. We will have one 11 service representative in our medical eval unit. We 12 will have four positions in our Fiscal Office; an 13 account clerk, a financial technician, a clerk steno 14 and an administrative support specialist. There 15 will be three positions in the Health Commissioner's 16 office that will be reduced. 17
One will be an executive 19 assistant, one will be a secretary and one will be a 20 clerk typist. 21
Are any of 22 these employees that you have just mentioned under 23 the DROP Program? How many of them are under the 24 DROP Program?
President Verna, we have presently 125 people across the Department that are in the DROP Program. And in Fiscal Year '04, 49 of those 125 will drop. 38 of them are in Public Health and are in Behavioral Health. 9 And in the following year, FY '05, we 10 have 29 that are in DROP, of which 27 are in Public 11 Health and two are in Behavioral Health. And in '06, 37 people will drop, 30 of which are in Public Health and seven in Behavioral Health. And when we get out to Fiscal Year '07, we have 10 total in the DROP, and all of those are in Public Health.
In answer to your question, we will have seven remaining vector control workers after we drop that one.
That's for the whole 1370 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET City?
Yes, sir. But they're not the only one's who respond to those services. On the remainder, we have five positions in the Medical Examiner's Office, two of which are the custodial positions, which Public Property will talk about in terms of the custodial work. We have one investigator that we will not be filling. And we have two clerical positions that we will not fill.
Commissioner, what I would like is for you to give us a rationale behind this. Because when you eliminate 51 positions and you go through departments and you never perceived -- they're almost inter-dependent many times. And when you say it will not effect services -- and specifically because I'm very concerned. Health and DHS, Recreation, are probably departments that I don't like to see cut in terms of situations. So it concerns to me as to what services, delivery systems 1371 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET may be impacted and I would like to look at it. But I'd like to see it in print so I can read it. I can digest it and look at it.
Yes, they have been. And I just wanted you to finish your line of questioning.
First, I want to thank you for your aggressive action on the infant mortality issue. I know that you really are concerned about that as we've met and talked about taking some action. So I just like for the record to know how far you are along on your Fetal Infant Mortality Review. Just give us a little more 1372 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET information about what you're doing.
Sure, Councilwoman. First of all, I think the City should thank you, Councilwoman, for having the hearings that you had in September in these chambers for infant mortality. The chambers were packed and it really galvanized the interest around some things that we had been wanting to do. You may recall that at the end of that Session I turned to my staff and said, we now have an hour and a half less to do something than we had when we began this discussion this afternoon. What we have done is, first of all, I asked the Medical Director for the Department of Public Health, Dr. Joann Godley, to head up the infant mortality review focus for the Department. And toward that end we recognize that there are three major components in addressing infant mortality across the City. The first is the provider community; the hospitals, the obstetricians, the neonatologists, et cetera. We have worked in conjunction with the Delaware Valley Hospital Council and we've convened a meeting of the heads of those departments and all 1373 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET the hospitals across the City to talk about having them partner with us to begin to look at this from a scientific structural approach and to address the issue of infant mortality from a medical, scientific perspective. The other area that's important is the community-based organizations. Because as in all things having to do with health or public health, it's a community affair, and what we do together as a community to ensure conditions in which people can be healthy. And so we called together a meeting between of our provider organizations and community-based organizations, and we had that over at the School of Public Health just about three weeks ago on a Monday evening. I think we're going to have to redo that because it also happened to be Monday evening when it was very, very inclement. There was some snow. But despite that, we did have representation at that meeting. Third of all, we have the government. And when we look at our maternal and infant care programs, our maternal and child health programs, our Division of Early Childhood, Women's and Youth Health Services, a huge part of this is directed 1374 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET toward infant mortality and having -- and the two components as you pointed out in your hearing, Councilwoman, are the fact that most infant mortality comes about as a result of babies either being born too soon or being born too little. And so the more we can focus on women's health, that is a principal ingredient as to where we are. So the idea here is we will pull our community partners together on this and, yes, my partners in the managed care industry are going to be right there at the table with us when I meet quarterly with them and we do put these issues on the table. And so what we're pulling together is this focus so that when -- first of all, the death of infant, a child less than 365 years of age should not be a statistic. It's an event. It's a tragic event. And we need to understand each and every one of those from the tragic event that it really is. And understand that, albeit not in emotional terms, but what is it that we can do as a community to prevent that next infant death. That has a component that's medical. It has a component that's nursing. It has a social work component. It has an outreach and it has a neighborhood component. And 1375 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET so these things will be brought together under the Fetal and Infant Mortality Review so that this group meets and reviews infants' deaths on a regular basis and brings -- not two years from now, not two years from now, not a year from now -- but brings data that we can understand and we say, yes, this looks like it's an appropriate intervention to bear on the communities as we find the data. I've asked our staff to begin in the communities of highest need in this City. There's two communities right now that are very high need.
One is in your district, Councilwoman Tasco. The other one is in Councilwoman Blackwell's district. And so where we are is going to be focusing there and bringing our community and Fetal and Infant Mortality Review and resources in that. We're very glad to have you, your staff, as partners, and to keep you posted as to how we're progressing. I don't like the word "progressing" because it sounds like it's not a very active word, but we want to be active in this and to be sharing and to be effective ultimately.
Thank you. I have more questions, but my time is up. 1376 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Miller.
Thank you, Madam President. Just to do a follow-up. Good morning, Health Department.
Follow-up on the infant mortality question. Can we, as Councilmembers, get a quarterly update from the Health Department that gives us information about what's going on in our district? For example, I believe Zip code 19144, which is Germantown, is an area that has a high infant mortality rate. When Councilwoman Tasco had public hearings last year there was a lot of information. I just wonder what's the information today. So if we have a quarterly update then we could keep a little bit current about what's going on. And then when we're going out to community meetings we can address certain issues during those meetings.
Absolutely, Councilwoman. And I can tell you that what I will provide you and to all Councilmembers is the infant 1377 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET mortality, the rates that exist in the various districts, including 19144. In addition to that, we have just completed something that I have talked about in this past year, and that is understanding the health of the City of Philadelphia from the perspective of the health of its neighborhoods. For the first time ever, we have got some 40 neighborhoods in the City all outlined with specific health status indicators, and I'll be happy to provide that to you, and can do that quickly. In fact, provide it to the Council President for consideration to distribute to all Councilmembers I'd be pleased to do that immediately.
That will be great. We need to know what health of our City is too.
Absolutely. We'll make sure that you keep informed, Councilwoman.
I have a couple different questions, but I'd like to actually address these specific questions to CODAAP in the area of drug treatment. The recovery houses -- and those are the ones out in the neighborhoods -- the ones that we, 1378 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET as Councilmembers, interact with all the time, those individuals that help us do community services and sometimes we can just pick up the phone and get someone housed that needs housing. I believe -- and I'm sure a lot of my colleagues agree -- that they're an important ingredient in the drug treatment environment here in Philadelphia. My more specific question regarding recovery houses, how can we help them get funding? Can you give me information on the per diems that the other programs get? And I know recovery programs don't get a per diem, but maybe they can because they are actually housing most of the clients that a lot of the other programs are serving. I'll give you a chance just to answer those two.
As you move to answer that question, start out by defining what is a Behavioral Health entity versus a recovery house. What's the distinction between the two? 1379 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Okay. I'm going to ask Assistant Commissioner Bencivengo to help me with this one. But let me provide a little background and backdrop on this. There are recovery houses that are funded through the Coordinating Office of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. That funding started over about seven years ago. There are currently providers 10 under contract and they provide supports to about 11 350 individuals. So that is a part of the CODAAP 12 housing initiative, those 350. They are not funded 13 as part of a Medicaid benefit. They are not a 14 covered benefit. They're what's called a supplemental benefit, and the funding for those come from the Department of Health at the state and/or the Department of Welfare. So unlike outpatient and residential treatment for children, they are not an entitlement in that nature, which is why that growth has been measured and slow over the years. Because as we've been able to gather additional grant funds, we've been able to do some additional RFPs to expand the network of recovery houses. Some of those support mothers and 1380 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET children. Some of those are specifically dedicated around the Hispanic population. There's a small number of beds that are dedicated to individuals with HIV, as well, in the recovery centers.
Sure. We can provide you with a list as follow-up of those and where they 10 are located. 11
For example, is 12 One Day at a Time one of those programs? 13
Okay. I just wanted to make sure we're talking about the same types of programs.
So you're saying that those houses are funded through a supplemental benefit through the State Department of Health and Welfare?
The funding would come from one of three sources. It would come from either a state criminal justice source, because many of the 1381 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET recovery houses are linked to individuals coming back into the community, or health or welfare state resources.
I just noticed, some of the recovery programs in my district are in desperate need of financial assistance. And I know that they serve hundreds of people year after year, and we're constantly meeting with them to try to figure out ways to help them fiscally manage and get fiscal money to keep these programs alive. They're an integral part of neighborhoods. And I support them strongly. I want to see them continue and just need to figure out if we can figure out a way to help them get some financial assistance.
And I think that recognizing that has been difficult over the years because of where the resources come from. We generally do do that process and we could include anybody who you may recommend in any future RFP mailings as well.
I will do that. I don't want my time to be up. I want to talk a little bit about the SAP program that you have in schools and teen or 1382 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET adolescent drug treatment programs. I had occasion to help a constituent whose son smoked this drug, I believe called "wet." It has something in it, a tranquilizer or something -- it's PCP you said? It just threw his whole mental health just totally off balance. And we've been through a series of 302s and all kinds of things to try and help get this child treated. What is available for teens here in the City?
Well, there are a variety of access points. Let me touch on a couple of those first, in case there's any confusion about how to access services. Community Behavioral Health Member Services is one critical access point for the City of Philadelphia. And I can provide you with the 800 number where either this individual or any individual necessary can call. They will also help out with trying to figure out, does the individual have Medicaid benefits or not, and also provide some linkages for getting those benefits, as well. The other thing that they would do is also give you an array of potential treatment options. Whether the person's Medical Assistance or 1383 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET not, we do have a funding stream which will support some of the non-Medicaid individuals, as well. That would be a referral to some of the gaps that Councilwoman Brown indicated before, either some type of a traditional outpatient or rehabilitation service or potentially some of the school-based services that exist throughout the City, including the Student Assistance Program, including use of the Consultation and Education Specialist, and up to including, if necessary, some therapeutic supports that are provided one to one to children through Behavioral Health Services.
Most of it is on the outpatient basis. There is some residential capacity as well.
What exactly does the School Assistance Program, what kind of services do they actually provide?
They will actually do two things. Number one, they will help school personnel in the assessment of anyone who's 1384 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET identified with potentially problematic behavior. So they will, number one, work with the child and also the school personnel and the families. Their other major component is actually linking someone to services that are out in the community for either mental health or drug and alcohol or some type of ancillary service, as well. So it really is an assessment and then a linkage function that they provide.
And what are we doing with those individuals since the numbers have increased due to Safe Streets? What are we doing with the individuals that are seeking treatment, and do we have the capacity to help them?
Actually, at this point in time we have had the capacity to address the increased demand. We've seen an increase of about 190 individuals per month prior to Health Choices starting. And, touch wood, at this point of time individuals who have expressed an interest in getting into service we've been able to accommodate.
Do you have more programs, or the number of programs that you have in place are enough? 1385 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Currently the number of programs are enough and they've been able to expand to meet that additional demand.
Okay. You know, drugs, the use of drugs in our neighborhoods is what keeps our crime and safety rates up. Sometimes I think if we could get better control of the drugs and the use of drugs, then we wouldn't have so much crime in our neighborhoods. So it's a particular interest of mine. I strongly support recovery programs and I'd like to set up a meeting one on one to further discuss this whole recovery issue.
I would say, Councilwoman, that the knowledge of what RFP opportunities are there are very important. And I think we should take a proactive role and get that information to you and also to others that may be interested. Sometimes the business of doing business with the government ends up in somewhat more of a maze than it needs to be. I think we can 1386 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET help with that.
We would appreciate that. Commissioner, on -51 of the detail, you're requesting two contracts with PHMC. The first one is for $173,000 for administrative and analytical support services. The second, for $194,000 for management information and computer services. Would you please explain what PHMC is and what services they provide? Because as we go through the detail, there are numerous schedules. There's one on , 180, 190, 207. Again, I'm asking to explain what PHMC is and what services they provide?
PHMC is Philadelphia Health Management Corporation. I don't know how much information you want, President Verna. It started about 30 years ago when there was something called the Experimental Health Services Delivery System, which kind of didn't get off the ground, but the organization developed and 1387 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET it was staffed primarily by people who had an interest in public health, and they developed some expertise in providing public health related services. They've grown. And they are a non-profit organization that through which we are able to get services accomplished in an effected and efficient way. One of the things they help us with, for example, President Verna, is that we're one of the few cities that has an up-to-date and ongoing community health survey that goes on. Many cities do not have that. Philadelphia Health Management Corporation puts that together, conducts the survey, and it's a basis from which we get an awful lot of our health planning data, including data that helps us apply for grants. Philadelphia Health Management Corporation also enables us to get some of our work done in an expeditious and cost effective way. And they are an organization that we contract with to do various related services. For example, we have one contract on one of those pages, President Verna, of something like $1.2 million with Philadelphia Health Management Corporation that has to do with childhood 1388 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET lead poisoning. As I may have mentioned earlier, we do supplement our lead abatement services with private contractors. And it is through Philadelphia Health Management Corporation that we contract with those private contractors. So it is kind of a back office administrative support service that we contract for.
The make-up of the board, it is about 30 members and they're representatives of hospitals in the community. They're representatives of the Health Commissioner on the board. There is a representative of the Delaware Valley Hospital Council, the Family Planning Council, all principally non-profit health-related organizations are represented on the board.
I don't think my first question was answered about the $173,000 for administrative and clerical support services. And the second is for $194,000 for management information and computer support services.
I believe what we're 1389 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET contracting there for are support of nutrition services, supporting our health centers and some nutrition counseling services. These would be individuals that we are contracting for. So we contract for a certain amount of individual professional time and we contract with PHMC and they provide and pay for the individual.
Commissioner, in your detail, you show a PHMC and a PMHCC. Who is PMHCC and are they related to PHMC?
Well, President, I'll take the non-detailed response that, one, they're not related. They do provide a similar type of service. However, one began as a focus, primarily PMHCC, in the behavioral health/mental health area. I think Mr. Covone can pick up from there.
PMHCC was established back in 1995 as a result of a Robert Wood Johnson Grant that the City of Philadelphia received. They provide a variety of both direct clinical services, as well as some support services and management of programs for the non-Medicaid population that exists in the City.
Thank you. 1390 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET At this time the Chair would like to recognize Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Madam President. Commissioner, I'd like to go back to an area where Councilman Ortiz was a little while ago. He was asking you about vector control. And you and I have had a number of conversations about some of those issues. What I'd like to understand for the record, actually, is what is the City's policy with regard to possum?
Well, Councilman, I'll take a step back and just note that, as we all know, I live up in Zip 19144 and we've got a lot of woods there. We kind of moved there and the possums were there. We'll continue to have possums. We'll continue to have raccoons. I will tell you two things. We do not have a specific service related to possums or raccoons, but I will tell you that we will provide a service anytime our furry friends are interfering with the quiet enjoyment of persons and their property, so we'll help people out. 1391 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Well, I understand that. Therein lies a little bit of the rub. I need you to explain, as my constituents have called -- and some of these areas are not necessarily wooded. They are in the flatter open landscape of West Philadelphia where we have at times a very serious possum/raccoon problem. And what people are generally told when they call is that they have to rent some traps, then get the trap, then date and place the trap and then when the animal gets in the trap, dispose of it. Now, do you think that anybody in Philadelphia is going to go through something like that? I wouldn't be touching it, personally. So it's just an unreasonable situation to ask constituents involved with these animals. They don't know much about them. They're dangerous. Some of them are vicious at times, if not rabid. We don't ask people to go out and trap rats in the street. Why are we asking them to deal with possum and raccoon and the like, which are much bigger?
I will tell you, Councilman, here's what I think about that. And my staff are probably either smiling or grimacing at this point. I think all of that is outrageous. To the extent that -- and I would say this to every member of Council. We do communicate. In fact, I was just looking over my files coming over here. In the last year, I've had 209 requests for service from various members of Council. And what I would like to have happen is, anytime you get that response -- first of all, I am going to try to weed it out on my end. I've got that responsibility. We shouldn't be telling people to pick up a raccoon or to trap a raccoon or trap a possum and rent a trap and all the rest of that. First of all, the first response that I will get -- and if you'll permit me -- is that, well, Commissioner, we cannot trap every raccoon and every possum in the City of Philadelphia. Of course we can't. And we're not asked to do so. We're only called when it's making an incursion on someone's property. So we can do this and we will do this. I will work on my end to make sure that those kinds of responses either are a thing of the past or that 1393 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET they never happen from this point forward. And I think I will have some help with that. In addition to that, if any Councilmember gets a response like that, I'd like to be called.
Our relationship is such that I have let you know about that. And you've been tremendously responsive. In an urban environment, after you get over a little bit of either the shock or the surprise or the kind of laughability of it -- and I've received some of these calls and, I mean, it is stunning to me where some of these animals show up. Again, I understand why they might possibly be in at least some parts of my district, close to woods and the like. But 56th and Master is not exactly close to Valley Forge Park. So I don't know how they are getting to these places, but they are running around. They terrorize people, adults and children alike. And the raccoons, they are some of the nastiest, most vicious animals you've ever possibly run into. That response from the government is really insane. The other thing that happens -- and 1394 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET vector control has been very helpful with this -- is I seem to recall last summer and in the fall -- and I don't know whether this is a climate issue, temperature issue or whatever the case may be -- but you'll get these, like, outbreaks of rats in the neighborhood, running around all over the place. And again, vector has been responsive on that particular issue. I'm actually very serious about some kind of policy to deal with these larger, nastier, more dangerous and oftentimes diseased animals that is a response above "go get a trap." That's no 14 response.
Absolutely, Councilman. You couldn't be more correct. And more than that, we've, in a lot of our programs, and with the advent of PACCA, we've actually discovered the information age. What we're going to be doing is keeping track of these kinds of complaints. When we begin to get, at 55th and Master, complaints like that in an urbanized area, something else is going on here that we ought to be attentive to and a little more proactive on as a government and as an animal control agency. 1395 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET In addition to that, on the rat piece, that's the kind of thing that we do need to be proactive on and we do need to focus on. And while we have an obligation to know what's going on in the City from that perspective, we'd also like at any point to invite you to call us -- and other Councilmembers as well -- when there might be an issue going on. Sometimes it's something as traumatic but simple as a broken sewer line or a lateral that we can identify that we can issue an order on to get corrected so that we can abate that particular problem.
Or where you have significant construction or demolition activity, significant disruption to the ground and other areas. A lot of times, again, the vacant buildings. They're literally scurrying and running. They're just out, again, in a row house community with kids and other people around. And it can be a quite frightening experience. And I don't know why it happens and I don't know what we do, for instance, when we have major demolition activity going on in certain places, if we prepare for that or anticipate that that may happen, but also let neighbors in the 1396 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET community know that it is a possibility, but also send our people in immediately subsequent to the demolition to anticipate it. You are disturbing some of these natural habitat kinds of places. And we want the demolition to take place, but we also don't want people in danger as we try to improve the community out there. So I think some of that coordination between the folks who are doing demolition, whether it's us or contractors, and the vector control people to anticipate that. I mean, you take down three or four houses, you might have that kind of activity going on. Obviously, we've got significant demolition activity that we're anticipating over the course of the next year through the NTI program, through the Office of Housing and Community Development activity. These things will happen. And I just think we need to be ready for it.
Absolutely. Part of the permitting process requires some abatement. But I will tell you, though,that one thing I think I need to go back and look at is to what extent do we communicate that in the neighborhood, as to what's going on. So I'll be happy to follow-up, 1397 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Councilman.
Okay. Commissioner, I know that there's been extensive discussion prior to my arrival with regard to lead paint abatement, and I won't take you back through all that. What I did want to get for the record, though, is I seem to remember last year when we had a fairly significant breakthrough -- and I commend you for your efforts in this area. We talked last year about the significant backlog, as well as the new properties coming on-line. This was last year at this time, so we were talking about the current Fiscal Year. I'm trying to remember -- and I thought both from your testimony and material that I received from people in the advocacy community about this, what's the average cost of abatement for whatever anyone might consider a typical house in Philadelphia?
Good answer. We had a hearing a couple weeks ago and there was some discussion about lead paint abatement and the impact that that has on another entirely different program of the government having to do with settlement costs 1398 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET and some funding for a program that helps first time home buyers. And we'll deal with the subsequent decision later, but apparently a decision has been made to end that program because of a change in some federal regulations around lead paint abatement. But Secretary Hanna, who is the Secretary of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization, I believe, quoted a figure of $10 to $12,000 for lead paint abatement. I had thought that that figure was exceedingly higher than what we had heard last year. Can you tell us based on any information you have where the $10 to $12,000 figure comes from?
Yes, sir, I can. I think in my responses and comments I need to give myself caution to say that what I'm talking about are those houses that has something to do with a child who is lead poisoned in the first instance. So my figures are related to that and that alone.
I don't mean to interrupt you. Because for some reason I had in my mind that there was a figure of $1,500 to $2,000 in our discussion last year. Do you remember that?
There was, yes, sir. That was a super clean, where we didn't have -- 1399 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET maybe a little bit of spot removal. In terms of where the larger abatement number might come in --
The to or maybe 7 even 10 to 15. 8 There are two parts to abatement. 9 Sometimes there is basic system repair that must be 10 accomplished before you can begin abatement. That 11 means that if there's a roof that needs to be 12 repaired, that has to be done. Sometimes it's an electrical system that's very hazardous that needs to be taken care of. Often, it's a plumbing system that needs significant interior repair. Those things need to be done, need to be done, before you begin abatement. So my $5,800 has to do with our treatment of surfaces within the house that are covered with lead paint. It does not include the preparatory work that may need to be done to those basic systems. I can tell you, Councilman, that we have worked with OHCD to get our properties on lists so the basic system repairs can be done. We've been successful with that. We've also known that some of 1400 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET those basic system repairs can be as much $7,000 to $10,000 on their own. So the figure you quoted, sir, doesn't surprise me when you looked at it comprehensively.
So we have a $2,000 job. We have the $5,800 job. We've got a $7,000 one and a $10 to $15?
And we might have something somewhere between $2,500 and $5,800 depending on just what needs to be done in the premises.
Okay. I just thought, again, based on last year's testimony -- I mean, I've never heard of $10 to $12. It didn't stand out. I'm sure there was some discussion of it in the larger context. I mean, these figures, are these numbers associated with your kind of average Philadelphia house which is kind of 16, 18 feet wide and 20 or so some odd feet deep, or are we talking about your larger twins and singles and all that kind of stuff?.
No. It's the basic house. And the thing with lead paint is, is that, one, if somebody didn't put it there in the first 1401 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET place, kids wouldn't be getting poisoned now. And when those houses deteriorate, the more deterioration there is, the more expensive they become in terms of both the abatement itself, as well as the basic systems that may have to be repaired in advance of the abatement.
Couple last questions. And I think part of these were asked earlier. The Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, I thought I heard a question regarding its board. There's a board?
I believe that the president of the board makes the appointments.
How was this entity created? This is a private, non-profit? 1402 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
My version of history, sir, is that it grew out of the Experimental Health Services Delivery System that was kind of in vogue in the late '60's, early '70s. It kind of never got off the ground. The core structure remained public health-type professionals who began to do things in the non-profit world like data collection and some service provision, and it has grown to the entity that it is and that we rely on fairly heavily.
Okay. Well, I heard what you said, but someone had to create it or file 18 articles of incorporation or get a name registered. Who did that and what role did the City play in any of that?
I don't know that the City played an actual role, but I think that there have been various leaders. The present executive director is Richard Cullen (ph). And preceding him -- Richard has been there for, I think, 20 years. 1403 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET And then Jack McMeekan (ph) of Crozer Chester Health Systems had been involved with it. I think Carl Moore from South Philadelphia was involved originally in its creation, Mr. Carl Moore.
I don't know if this was asked earlier, can you give us a list of the members of the board, as well as the executive staff?
Now, why does the City contract through this particular agency as opposed to contracting directly with the providers?
It's a lot more timely, efficient, expeditious to do it this way. I'll give you an example.
I was just looking for Rob Dubow. This the part where the person at the witness table, Rob gets worried that they're going to say that it's just the way to get around the City's procurement process and avoid coming over here for anything. Is that now when you want to say that part?
It's an efficient process. My lead abatement piece is a good example 1404 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET of this. I have eight contractors that I contract with. If I were to contract with those eight individuals directly, I'd still be probably in the process of getting the first abatement done. PHMC does the business aspect of that, runs the contract, pays the contractors, we pay them. It works very, very well from that perspective. They do some other things that are a little more technical and intricate from a public health perspective, like the community health database. And they actually run some other programs in other parts of the department. But that's my interface with them essentially.
What's their administrative cost for providing these services and programs, or what's the percentage of the City dollars that they take?
And how much money does the City send over to PHMC? Mr. DOMZALSKI: From the public health 1405 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET side, about $10 million in total contracts.
On the Mental Retardation Program, they provide early intervention case management services. I believe that's about a $3 million contract.
So total of from 10 the government? Any other source of funding? 11
They would also bill on the 12 mental retardation side for the federal share. The 13 case management draws Medicaid money, as well. So they would bill the state directly for a portion of the Medicaid money.
Do they provide any service to anybody else, or are we the prime customer?
I understand that they do provide some health services to other jurisdictions. I believe somewhere out in Montgomery County, they've done some work for either the county or for the Borough of Norristown. And I think that they've done some work in one or two upstate communities, as well.
All right. Thank you very much. I'm going to assume that a list of contracts was already requested?
Has anyone raised 1407 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET the question with you with regard to level of participation by way of diversity in the contracting of the Health Department in terms of minority or female contractors?
Let's have a conversation about that. Of the various providers that you contract with, either directly or through PHMC, can you give me any information as to either number of contracts or contract amount with regard to minority or female contractors?
Yes, sir, I can. If I can just look at what our participation was overall in 2001 --
When you say overall, are you talking about the entire department?
Yes, overall. And also across the minority, women and disabled spectrum. We were at 16 percent. In our '03 Budget, that 16 percent has become 23 percent and --
Back up for a second. 16 percent represents what? 1408 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
That represents the overall percentage of our contracts that are with either minority, women or disabled vendors.
Do you know within the percent what goes with which category? 7
Yes, sir. In the 8 General Fund -- and I'm going back to '01 -- there 9 was 4 percent minority -- did I say that wrong? The 10 total of all contracts -- instead of me taking you 11 through this line by line, my fiscal person suggests 12 that I tell you that we had $912 million in 13 contracts. Of that amount, $34 million, or 4 14 percent, were with minority vendors. Another $44 15 million of that was with women vendors, which 16 amounts to 5 percent. And a very small amount in the disabled community of $10,000. I can certainly provide this breakdown, Councilman.
That would certainly be helpful if you had a full report. And that's for the Department of Health?
Would you have '02 figures yet? 1409 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Why don't you put those -- unless you have them handy?
I can give them to you now. The minority contracting in '02 was at 6 percent.
I'm sorry. It's $1,000,064,000 of contracts. Of that, $28 million were with minority contractors, or percent. There was another $43,799,000 that were with women, which is percent. And, again, a negligible amount in the disabled community.
So actually you experienced a drop or a decrease from FY '01 to FY '02 in terms of minority contractors of $6 million.
If you can get to 1410 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET the Chair a full report on that. And do have any information in the same realm with regard to CBH?
Yes, we do. The numbers that Commissioner Domzalski was quoting includes Community Behavioral Health, but the breakout, we'll provide that as a separate line item.
That will be helpful. Thank you. How do you select the providers? Is there an RFP process, is this Professional Services contracts? How do you end up with the people that you end up with?
There is an RFP process. Just to be candid, Councilman, there have been times when people get into a situation of using the same vendor because they know the vendor or whatever.
We've gotten away from this. We're now looking at performance-based contracting where we're looking at the performance of contractors. We're paying more attention to our work statements and what we expect of contractors and we're also making changes in the contractors by 1411 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET going through an RFP process across the board.
Does it increase, decrease or leave the same business opportunity?
Are business opportunities enhanced, left the same, or possibly negatively affected by the RFP process?
Now, why do you think you have the small drop from FY '01 to FY '02 in your minority contractors?
I don't know. One of the things I will tell you with minority contracting is, just as I somewhat suggested to Councilwoman Reed Miller, that 1412 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET knowledge of opportunities needs to be out there. That we need to be very aggressive and proactive in making sure that all potential vendors know of the opportunities, not just those who may be on a particular list. And I'm not suggesting that there is a particular list, but --
Do you know how people are solicited presently or how people get information presently? Do you talk with Minority Business Enterprise Council, or do you send solicitations off of their list?
Yes. And we do ads. We'll advertise in the newspapers of general circulation. I'm not sure how much we advertise in neighborhood newspapers. I'm not sure how across the board we make opportunities known to people who may know of vendors from various places that are not in the business themselves, to actually have that as a business development part of our contracting process as well.
Let me ask this question. Has anyone ever raised this particular issue with you about levels of participation by diversity in the Philadelphia community in terms of 1413 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET what happens over at the Health Department or Health combined with CBH or Health combined with PHMC? Are any of their contracts a part of the figures you laid out to me, or do we not calculate what they do?
In the first part of the question, yes, people do talk to me about our minority participation. Our MBEC office reviews our RFPs, suggests targets of levels that we try to achieve. It's a focus and has been of the government to reach effective minority, women and disabled community participation. On the Health Choices side --
On the Health Choices side, I guess two things. Health Choices and Community Mental Health and Metal Retardation --
When you make reference to Health Choices, are you using that as a term of art? I mean, are you talking about CBH?
I'm talking about the Community Behavioral Health, yes, the name of the program that they operate. We consciously when we began that initiative back in the late '90s had actually had an "any willing provider" network for the first few years so that any provider who had 1414 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET been previously either through the state Medicaid system or through the variety of subcontracts that existed back then who were a behavioral health provider we allowed into the Community Behavioral Health network. So frankly, the network was probably larger than it needed to be, but we felt we needed to assure that opportunity existed at the time. Since then, expansion initiatives really have been targeted on the drug and alcohol side. RFPs are reviewed with MBEC routinely. We're looking at a case management initiative on the mental retardation side that we've reviewed preliminary drafts of that RFP with the MBEC folks and have solicited some feedback from them on that. So we consciously do try for new initiatives to go out there in a pretty open fashion.
Are there businesses or vendors out there who you think can provide the high quality of service that we should expect from either the minority or female-owned business community who are not participating or who we are not talking to or doing outreach?
I'm not aware of a lot of 1415 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET them. The larger minority entities have done a lot of business with both CBH and the community programs, at least on the behavioral health and the mental retardation side and continue to expand their service from that end of things.
Again, high quality should certainly always be first and foremost, but, I mean, you're up now up over a billion dollars in contracting opportunity. That's actually starting to get to be some fairly serious money. And as people are providing whatever service they're providing, and as long as quality is of the standard that we would like, I mean, a billion dollars goes a long way towards helping certain businesses function here in the City. I mean, as we talk about crime and drugs and a whole host of other things, I'm just a very firm believer that the best anti-crime program is a jobs program. And when people are working, they have a less of a tendency to get involved -- some -- in some other things, if they know that those opportunities are out there. I mean, if we're going to be in the business and we're going to provide these contracting opportunities anyway, the only 1416 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET real question is, who is getting the contract and ultimately who's getting paid. Let me ask one last question. And if you went on over this already, you'll just let me know and I'll read the transcript. The health centers, there was a story in the newspaper a while back with regard to the issue of reimbursement for services and co-payments at the health centers. Have you had this discussion on the record here this morning?
Why don't we be a little more in depth. How are we ensuring that we either get people signed up for the health care services for which we can be reimbursed or deal with the co-payment issue? Do we have people at centers who sit down with people and try to get them signed up for whatever health care they're eligible for?
Benefit counselors that are in all of our health centers. That has been since the beginning of the Fiscal Year.
Yes, sir. And we've 1417 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET ratcheted up that service since September to make sure that we have more benefit counselors, more people who can direct patients to the benefit counselors. We've elevated this to a very, very high priority in the Department. I personally met with every manager in our health centers. I've met with the medical staff. I've met with the medical leadership and the staff. And so we know the priority that exists for this for (sic) are no 11 longer to be not availing ourselves of the federal and state funds that support these programs and services.
Are prisons health services still under the Department of Public Health, or is that more a function of the prisons?
All right. I'll leave that for them. Thank you, Commissioner.
I wonder, Councilman, if I could just correct something that may have been a little bit misleading. I hesitate to talk about the doubling of small numbers as being any sign of progress. But 1418 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET just to give you some idea about where we've been going. We had the small decrease between '01 and '02 from 4 to percent. In our '03 contracts, that number has gone to percent. And our projection for '04 is that that will be at percent. So it's small progress.
I understand. But I believe in progress. I do want to ask you one last question. Commissioner, specifically as your position as the Commissioner of Public Health, what are the City's efforts directly in the area of smoking, smoking cessation and the general issue in the public health arena about smoking specifically and secondhand smoke, as well?
Smoking is one of the most dangerous things to the public health than anyone can do. That's been recognized. What the tobacco companies have perpetrated has been recognized and those lawsuits have been settled. As a result of those settlements, Philadelphia has received some tobacco prevention and cessation money. We are putting that into both of those three or four areas. Cessation and then 1419 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET prevention. Another is counter marketing. And we are also providing some amount of money this year for nicotine replacement therapy. So as people go into McDonald's and see the monitor on the counter, they're going to be seeing our anti-smoking ads there. On some 40 screens, movie screens, across the City you will see at intermission and at the beginning of films, tobacco counter marketing. At 7-Elevens, on the monitors in there, you'll be seeing counter-marketing functions throughout. And we also are targeting our services toward pregnant women and toward creating culturally relevant programs throughout the Philadelphia community by engaging community-based organizations in the delivery of our cessation and prevention services.
There are a number of cities and states that have taken these steps. What is your position, as the Commissioner of Public Health, on the public policy of banning smoking in public places and enclosed environments?
Well, we have an ordinance in Philadelphia that does ban smoking in public buildings, such as this one, our City Health 1420 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Department facilities and other City buildings. From a public health perspective, no one should smoke anywhere at anytime, period. They should not. Bad. Bad for the people. Bad for the people around them. This also gets caught up into a question of when a community may be ready to go for a full scale ban of smoking anywhere at any time. New York City is undergoing the throes of this right now where legislation signed by Mayor Bloomberg a year ago will take effect the end of this month. And that community is grappling with that. Presently where we are in Philadelphia with this is that, to the credit of the food and beverage industry in this City, we're having increasing number of restaurants and bars and facilities and diners going smoke free. And last count, I think we've got well over -- I know over a hundred, and that may have greatly increased since the last time I looked at that list, of people who voluntarily went out of the business of allowing people to smoke in their facilities.
Lastly in that area, what's your view on the issue of the impact on employees or workers in environments that are, 1421 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET again, enclosed, and as a matter of their course of holding employment, are subjected to tobacco smoke pollution. What's your position as Commissioner of Public Health on that particular issue?
That issue is so timely that the Justice Program on NPR last night aired about an hour of this where they had the debate on both sides of whether there's constitutional right to expose others to smoke, whether you can, as a constitutional right, interfere with others' ability to do that. From my position on a public health perspective is that we ought to be educating across this community about the dangers of tobacco. There's no doubt about that. There's no doubt about that at all. So my position is we educate, educate, educate. And probably more importantly is get children, get these educational programs out to the child, so that just as R.J. Reynolds was able to take Joe Camel and get people to smoke one and recognize him when they were three and five years old, we can do the same thing about people and children so that they never think about picking up a cigarette. 1422 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
I understand. Last question in this area. Is it possible for a smoker and non-smoker to reasonably, and in a health capacity, coexist in the same enclosed place? Is there anything to a notion of a "no smoking" section 7 in an enclosed environment, such that the non-smoker can be protected from smoke?
Sure there is. The issue is, what is enough? Is it separation? Is it positive pressure room? We've all seen in airports where there are enclosed facilities where people can gather and smoke. It depends on the place. It depends on the variation. And it depends on the engineering as to whether or not how safe that environment can be made.
I understand that. I'm talking about just one open room and all those parties being in the same space?
Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you Commissioner.
Thank you very 1423 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET much, Councilman. Councilwoman Blondel Reynolds Brown.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Let me underscore interest and expressed concern around people of color and women getting a fair break and fair opportunity with regards to minority contracting that has resonated in Council during these hearings. And with the leadership of Councilman Angel Ortiz, who has actually taken this by horns, we're all paying close attention to every department and how they are or are not conducting themselves with regards to making sure that taxpayers who look like me, and women, are getting a fair break in this town -- and Angel Ortiz as well.
Early in my testimony I raised questions about the gap of service in South, West and Southwest Philadelphia. Know that I will look forward to the report, that end product, which will speak to what those discussions yield and how you're going to move to fix that. 1424 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
And I would like to provide one clarification on that since our prior discussion. There is a new program opening actually in West Philadelphia operated by the Consortium Children's Program targeted at this population. There's a second initiative where we're actually putting together an application for funding for that particular area, as well. And I apologize for not updating you on those two earlier.
Sure. That's an important update. Give me your definition or opinion of recovery houses.
I will give you the opinion from the perspective of what the City funds, as far as recovery houses. They really are a series of homes, non-treatment facilities, operated by this network of 14 providers that we've talked about earlier who are engaged with folks who are in active treatment. And that's the key linkage to those that are funded through our CODAAP Office. They are residential facilities. The facilities themselves do not 1425 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET provide treatment. In most cases they are operated by individuals who are in recovery, former recovering individuals. And each of the individuals in those homes are actively involved in treatment during the day.
When we factor in the concerns raised by my colleague, Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller, many of which I share, for those agencies that want to move to capacity or grow to capacity in terms of meeting the protocols of CODAAP, first of all, do you have a TA, a technical assistance unit at all?
There would be program analysts who would be available to provide technical assistance.
And during the RFP process when you then get that X number of agencies that don't meet the protocol, that don't meet the criteria, what happens with them?
I believe they are afforded the opportunity to review the review of the RFP.
Okay. So that's a standard operating procedure that happens?
I think with the letters 1426 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET that go out, it advises folks if they wish to be debriefed on the RFP.
Does PHMC, where we give $15 million, do they provide technical assistance of any kind to those providing direct services, or is their contract strictly with the Health Department and your unit of the Health Department? Because you mention in your testimony, PHMC provides technical services.
PHMC, the contracts that they provide on the mental retardation side, are actually service delivery. They are a case management component for us from the mental retardation end of things. They also are a direct service provider in drug and alcohol residential, as well, and they operate a number of programs. So they provide a multitude of services, but some of those are direct services. And primarily the services on the behavioral health and mental retardation side are actually service provision, not technical support or some administrative skill.
Okay. The Consortium initiative you just mentioned, that is scheduled to kick start when? 1427 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
So with that said, in your supporting detail, Professional Services and Care of Individuals on -53N, Child Guidance Center has not been funded for the last two years.
Right. Child Guidance Center elected to get out of the behavioral health business a couple years ago. A number of their services were picked up by Consortium, who picked up the outpatient services and also picked up and expanded the family base service that are provided in that area.
So would it be fair to assume that the services provided by the Consortium reach West, Southwest, and West Philadelphia residents?
Yes. There's two entities out in that particular area. The Consortium and Community Council is another provider in that area, as well.
Final question. The Center for Autistic Children, they also were not funded for the last two years. What might be the 1428 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET reason?
The Center for Autistic Children, actually, their funding shifted from primarily county contracts to Health Choices initiatives. We were able to negotiate. Because of the special nature of their program, there was a special contractual arrangement that was negotiated there that enabled us to move the resources from what had historically been Community Mental Health dollars to Health Choices.
New mothers visits. There was a lot of discussion about that last year. I didn't read anything like that in the testimony, but I am curious to know how are we doing with new mothers visits? Are we at capacity? What are you doing for outreach or raising awareness to let new mommies know that the service is available?
This is our David Olds Program that you're referring, Councilwoman, where -- David Olds, is kind of a brand name. It's kind of a patent that comes out of 1429 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Colorado where David Olds, a Ph.D., has identified certain criteria that he believes achieves an outcome for first time mothers and their infants. And we've implemented that here in Philadelphia. We have a capacity and it's a good program. It's a good program. And I very much appreciate the availability of the funding that allows us to make this happen. We're learning a lot from it. I will tell you that we are at capacity, and the capacity is 400 first-time mothers and their children, newborns. I'm a little hesitant in this because when I use the number 400, the other number that's in my mind is 10,500, and they're the mothers and they are the babies, the newborns, that need home visiting. And we're going to do something about this. We are going to increase our home visiting process. We're going to inform our expansion that we're going to be doing through all of our maternal and child health existing programs. We're going to inform that by what we learn out of the David Olds project so that we can achieve the best health outcomes that we can for women and their newborns. This is one of the major ways in which 1430 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET we're going to impact on lead primary prevention in children. And it's also one of the ways in which we're going to impact on infant mortality.
I thought I had a last question. I was wrong. The programs in the schools, are they referral programs or treatment programs?
The Student Assistance Programs are a combination of assessment that will happen in conjunction with the child, in conjunction with school personnel and engaging the families. But then that will lead to a linkage for ongoing treatment through the network of providers, community providers.
So something or someone or some mechanisms track that child and follows that child until they land in a treatment program?
They're in all the 1431 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET schools?
And I would imagine they are linked to any one of these?
They are linked both back to Community Behavioral Health or they're aware of the network of community providers within their area.
That initiative has been operational since the early '90s, but this is the first year that we actually are in each and every middle school and high school.
Yes. Just to clarify that, we were in 57 schools up until this year. We are now able to expand to the full 90 middle and high schools, all 90 middle and high schools.
What are you doing to measure effectiveness, things like making sure no 25 child is dropped through the system? 1432 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
One of the things we're attempting to do with all of the contracts is develop some baseline information on, not only referral patterns, but also access to treatment. So one of the key areas that we're trying to look at in all areas of behavioral health are those linkages. Do they exist? Do they exist timely? And do they exist in a way where the individual who is referred is not coming back through other high cost services like out-of-home placement, like in-patient treatment, like hitting the emergency room? So one of the things with data that we're trying to do is coordinate the various sets of data that exist throughout the Behavioral Health System and throughout the entire provider network so that those very questions can be answered so that we can, number one, establish baseline information and then establish improvement from that baseline.
So it is a lot premature to ask you how well that's doing. I'll be curious to know and I will look to see how and if that category of service delivery to children is reported in the children's report card. I don't know yet that that category is, but I would hope 1433 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET that we can look to see where the progress is happening.
Thank you very much. Thank you for testimony. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Commissioner, I was out of the room for a few minutes and I would like to go back to an issue that I have an interest in. For the past years, could you provide 17 to the Chair all of the data that the Health 18 Department has accumulated in reference to the 19 smoldering fire situation in Southwest? I would 20 hope that the Health Department has knowledge today, not tomorrow, not some information that's being gathered as we speak, about the health risks as a result of those smoldering fires. Can you tell me what you know about that issue? Or who could come to the table to talk about 1434 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET what we know, what the health hazards are as a result of that ongoing situation that, I understand, has been a year situation there? 5
It's been longstanding, 6 Councilman Rizzo. This is a primary responsibility 7 in terms of the environmental impact and the health 8 impact of the State of Pennsylvania Department of 9 Environmental Protection. 10 Having said that, we get called and we 11 are concerned about what emissions we're able to 12 pick up in that community. We make periodic site 13 visits there and additional site visits when a 14 particular flare-up might occur so that we can do 15 some air monitoring in the area. 16 To date, we have not found air toxics in 17 that neighborhood resulting from that fire that are 18 related to a public health impact. We will go back 19 and get the very current data -- it changes daily -- 20 from the Department of Environmental Protection, as well as our air management services data, and get that to Council.
Commissioner, then provide a copy of the letter. I would assume that the Administration would not tolerate a situation 1435 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET like this. And I assume then somewhere in the file 3 there should be a letter similar to the one that I just wrote this week to the state asking them to deal with this issue. I don't think it's something we should just for years have accepted. 7 I wrote a letter to Secretary Whitman 8 asking to have this site considered for Superfund 9 money to get it cleaned up. We talked about a 10 tremendous undertaking here to determine what's 11 causing these fires continuously. And then when I 12 read that commercial pilots have even noticed and 13 questioned the haze on some days when the wind is 14 blowing in the right direction, and that's obviously 15 not a desirable things to have around an 16 international airport. So I would hope that we're 17 going to now do what we need to do, along with my 18 letter to Governor Whitman, asking for the 19 assistance at the federal level. But the state has 20 a responsibility here along with the City that we deal with this and get it put it out and find out what the heck is cooking there. So I'd appreciate you turning to this and putting all the resources of the Health Department in gear. I would like to see a paper 1436 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET trail of how we've dealt with that particular issue as far back as we possibly can go.
I'll provide that, Councilman. In addition, I think it's probably prime time to be able to get Cathy McGinty, who is the new Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection in Harrisburg. She is a Philadelphian. She has Philadelphia roots. Draw her attention to this just to see what more we need to do.
I wish she lived in Southwest Philadelphia. She would certainly pay a lot of attention to that issue. The other issue that I'd like to discuss with you is a significant investment of taxpayers' money. I understand and only looked quickly at the budget, so correct me if I'm wrong. Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association, a private, non-profit, it's been created -- and I don't really understand why it was set up this way, but if it is a matter of soliciting contributions, I can understand why it was established as a non-profit. So far excessive of $5 million to establish this, $2.2 million in, I believe, in last year's budget, 1437 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET another $2.2 or $2-and-a-half million in this years' budget. So we're talking about a significant investment in an area that I think is a serious issue. You'll get some people that will snicker or laugh or think it's not appropriate to be discussing this issue, but I think it's very appropriate. Because I would hate to see nice animals -- I'm not talking about animals that are close to death or animals that are very, very sick being destroyed, but when we have pets that are given to this organization -- since the SPCA, in your testimony, indicated that they don't want to be part of that. And part of the reason that they got out of the business is because they were just euthanizing hundreds and hundreds animals a week. The reason I'm bringing it up again today is we really need to get the word out there. If there's some advertising abilities on our City channel, which our constituents are watching this as I speak, we've really got to get the word out there. I'd like to get the number of animals that are being destroyed, nice little pets that are being given up by folks that just can't manage them any longer. 1438 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET And I don't know how long we keep them before we destroy them, but another project that I would appreciate us doing all we can humanly possibly do to see that these pets at least have an opportunity. If it's a secret, there's no one going to be adopting these pets. Some mornings, on the early morning TV shows you see one of the celebrities with the little kitten or the little puppy on their lap and those dogs go like that. I suggested and you bought into it -- at least I believe you did -- that we could create on the City channel a similar adoption program where people are aware that nice pets are available. I mean, very nice pets. The private sector -- I don't want us to compete, but we will -- with the private sector you go to these little puppy stores and pet stores, they're selling pets by the dozens every day. And I think that we have an opportunity to provide pets to constituents. My question, is it limited to Philadelphians? Can anyone come? Can someone come from the suburbs and adopt a puppy or a cat or whatever? Is it limited to Philadelphians? 1439 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
No, sir. Anyone can adopt. I'm just really heartened by your comments. I will say that no one has been a better friend of animal welfare than you have been. In my meetings with you, one of the first and usually the last item you talk with me about is just how we're doing with this animal control function. A couple things from a positive nature I can report to you, one is, I don't think there's anyone in the whole Health Department that doesn't agree wholeheartedly with what you say. If there is anyone who doesn't understand the crying need for us to be able to adopt animals, you need to come and visit us up at 115 West Hunting Park Avenue. I warn you, when you go you'll probably come out with a pet. We've got wonderful animals up there. One of the things that we've been able to show is that we can partner with a bunch of different people. Your idea, Councilman, of us getting this service and the opportunity to adopt up on the City's cable network, I've thought about that. We went back. We worked on it. Councilman, I can tell you that as of February 28th, that ad began appearing on the City channel. We're up 1440 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET there. In addition, what we've done is we've got a hold of Pet Smart, that big pet company. One of their stores right here in Philadelphia up on Cottman and the Boulevard, they've agreed to take 7 of our animals every week over into their store and 8 show them and display them. And we've got 9 tremendous response from that. 10 In fact, we've been able to demonstrate 11 that at this point in our service -- we've only been 12 in operation since September -- but we've been able 13 to adopt out 7 percent more animals than the SPCA 14 had been able to do in a comparable period. We're 15 not going to stop there. We want every adoptable animal to go out. Sadly -- and you pointed this out, Councilman -- 65 percent of the animals we get are what we call non-adoptable, and here's why. We get a lot of them that are sick. We get a lot of them that are injured. We get a lot of them that are maltreated. And that is the only humane response we can have. You talk about the pet stores and the rest of it. One of the things we want to do with 1441 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET PACCA is teach and sell responsible pet ownership. Responsible pet ownership. So we don't have the Christmas puppies. Everybody wants a puppy at Christmas. And then about two weeks after New Year's, the puppy is a liability. So we want to teach responsible ownership.
Commissioner, I really feel comfortable with your leadership on this issue and I know it's important to you. You're not just satisfying a Councilmember that has a particular love for animals. But what I envision is using that TV channel -- and I'd like you to talk to Water Revenue to see if we can't put something in the water bill, like a piggy back mailer to schedule a time, like at 2:00 in the afternoon, 8:00 p.m. at night, for people that would be interested in learning about responsible pet care and have some people -- even officers from our K-9 Unit. What a way to showcase this. Because I think that if we do a good job and we publicize it to the best of our ability, that that adoption rate next year -- because I'm going to ask you that question next year -- I think you know by now -- and I think that you're going to have more success. What would be 1442 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET greater for kids who watch this show to see a police officer that protects their City every day talking about and explaining that they take their dogs home with them. They live with their families. I think there's so many opportunities, and not expensive opportunities. We have the channel. We have the water bills, don't I know, going out every month like clock work, even during the snowstorm. So a piggy back to that, again, with an adoption program on the City's TV network, I think, could be very successful. I really would be disappointed if it didn't work.
That's an incredible idea, and we'll set about that. I think the idea f having a K-9 Officer incorporated into, that's got to be --
Don't forget the cats now. We've got to take care of the cats. So we have to figure out what we're going to do about the cats.
As a cat owner, I'd be in bad shape at home if I forgot the cats.
If you ever get a parrot, if anybody ever brings in a parrot, I'll 1443 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET adopt the parrot.
Commissioner, I had a parrot. His name was Andy. He was 33 years old and he just died. I miss him terribly.
Great, great pet. I'll tell you a quick story, just to digress for a second. My mother is on the second floor. And the postman, always out of courtesy, would hand her the mail if he saw the door open. And he knocked on the door and he heard from the kitchen, wait a minute. He knocks again, wait a minute -- you know we're I'm going with this story. Half hour later, 15 minutes later -- I'm exaggerating -- my mother looks out the window and sees Charlie the mailman. She says, Charlie, what you are doing? He says, for 15 minutes you've been telling me to wait a minute. She said, that was the parrot answering you. So parrots are a lot of fun. Pets are a lot of fun. And older folks, if you get the right-sized animal, cats for people that are alone, 1444 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET they can be the best company. My mother misses that parrot terribly, so I'm working on a replacement. I hope she's the watching. Thanks a lot, Commissioner.
Thank you very much. Are there any other questions for Commissioner Domzalski and the Health Department? Finally. We thank you. The Department of Human Services is next. (Brief recess.)
Good afternoon. Thank you for your patience. The Committee is now back in Session. We will now hear from the Department of Human Services. Good afternoon, Commissioner. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Good afternoon, Madam President and Members of City Council. I'm Alba Martinez, Commissioner of the Department of Human Services, and I am pleased to present the Department's Fiscal Year '04 Operating Budget 1445 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET request. I am proud of the significant progress DHS has made in the past three years, but I'm also clear that significant challenges remain to achieve the most successful, safety, permanency and well-being outcomes for our City's most vulnerable children. Our proposed budget request is designed to continue to improve on our services and our outcomes and to be on the cutting edge of service delivery. DHS's Fiscal Year '04 General Fund budget request is $599,348,000, rounded off. This represents an increase of 10 percent over the Department's Fiscal Year '03 estimated obligation of $544,596,000. 82 percent of this request will be offset by federal and state revenues. Thus, the City share of DHS expenditures will be $43,021,000. 18. 8 million for child protection and child welfare. 8 million for juvenile justice. 4 million for community based and prevention services. 4 1446 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET million for Riverview. 7 million for contract administration and program evaluation. DHS has made a very positive contribution to the financial position of our City government through aggressive revenue enhancement strategies. Since 1992, the City's contributions with DHS program costs has been reduced by 10 percent, while overall expenditures have increased 11 by 179 percent. 12 The state's use of TANF dollars to fund 13 child welfare programs has reduced the City's share 14 by reimbursing 100 percent of the cost of the 15 in-home services to eligible families, as well as 16 reimbursing for emergency shelter, juvenile 17 detention and prevention services. We expect to 18 capture $155 million in TANF funds in Fiscal Year 19 '04, further allowing us to expand services to reach 20 vulnerable children, youth and families before they 21 experience a serious crisis. 22 At the core of DHS's reform agenda is 23 the achievement of higher rates of permanency for 24 Philadelphia children who have been growing up in 25 what were intended to be temporary living 1447 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET situations, like foster care, group homes and institutions. Last August, the federal government conducted it's federal child and family service review for Pennsylvania. DHS was one of three county children and youth programs that participated in this review. The evaluation by the Feds identified strengths in the area of safety and well-being, while identifying permanency for children in DHS custody as a major area requiring improvement. The good news for us is that we were already on the way to addressing this challenge. DHS's current efforts to achieve permanency for our children and to intervene before placement is necessary are unprecedented in the history of our Department. There are three ways to achieve permanency for children in the custody of the government. Reunification, adoption or permanent legal custody. In order to achieve a higher rate of more timely permanencies, DHS has launched a major reform initiative that combines our goals of improved service delivery and increased financial 1448 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET accountability. Our performance-based contracting initiative includes our 27 major foster care agencies, each with 50 DHS children in their care at least. Performance-based contracting changes foster care services by increasing the permanency and stability expectations in exchange for granting more flexibility and more resources to our provider agencies to meet those new expectations. Under PBC, agencies that meet or exceed performance expectations will have financial and practical benefits while agencies that fall short of their contractual expectations will be subject to disincentives.
In contrast to the previous per diem system, PBC rewards providers that successfully move children to safe, permanent, living situations, rather than maintaining them in foster care. To support agencies' ability to meet these expectations, DHS is providing additional resources for emergency care, foster parent recruitment, permanency workers, after care and placement stability. Reunification is almost always the first permanency choice for children who enter our care. 1449 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Children belong with their own families whenever it is possible, as long as they are safe. DHS is actively enhancing our services and partnerships for parents who are working towards the return of their children, including funding material needs and after care services for all children to ensure support after reunification. Of children reunified with their families, the percentage of those that went home within months of placement is steadily increasing 12 over the last three years. 5 percent of all children within 12 months. 8 percent. Now, for children who cannot be reunified safely with their families, adoption offers a second chance for a permanent family. We have had a significant increase in completed adoptions in the past year. During 2002 calendar year, 576 adoptions were finalized, up from 401 during 2001. This is an increase of 44 percent. For the close to 200 Philadelphia children who are in need of an adoptive home, but do not have one, we have significantly expanded our 1450 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET efforts to find them the family they deserve through partnerships with the Statewide Adoption Network, the National Adoption Center, and through massive outreach and media efforts. In the next few months, DHS will establish a citywide adoption and foster care information and referral line. This central point of contact will respond promptly to families' request for foster and adoptive parent information and will provide educational and resource materials to prospective parents. Now, hundreds of Philadelphia children, however, have been living in stable homes with relatives or foster parents for many months or many years. But for a number of reasons, adoption and reunification has not an option for them. Until this year, the only option for those children had been long-term foster care, known by some as foster care drift. For these children, as of January 1st, 2003, there is a third permanency option, Subsidized Permanent Legal Custodianship. This new permanency option meets the needs of those children whose relationship with their birth families should be maintained, as well as for children who do not want to be adopted. SPLC 1451 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET allows children to remain in safe, permanent homes without continued government agency involvement, but with the financial subsidies as are provided in foster care. SPLC represents a significant potential fiscal saving from the anticipated closing of cases that were open to the department solely to allow financial reimbursement for the caregivers. As PBC and SPLC, performance-based contracting and permanent legal custody are fully implemented in the coming years, we anticipate a significant climb in our permanency outcomes data. It is essential, I might add, that that permanency number increases in order to protect our continued federal investment in the City and state's child welfare agenda. In the midst of our reform efforts, it is important to note that we face new challenges. The number of abuse and neglect reports to DHS is increasing. There was a 3 percent increase from Fiscal Year '01 to Fiscal Year '02. And in the first half of Fiscal Year '03, DHS is experiencing a 12 increase in the number of reports over the same period. For Fiscal Year '03, we are projecting a 1452 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET total of 17,200 reports. In some ways, this is welcome news.
I believe that our increased presence in and accessibility to the community is contributing to the rise of reports made to the Department. As Philadelphia families begin to experience DHS as a source of assistance, rather than merely an enforcement agent, they have become more engaged in the protection of children from abuse and neglect. Our revision for reform is also founded on community partnerships. We are cultivating and sustaining an impressive number of collaborations with other public and private agencies aimed at delivering services in an expanded and user friendly way from families. In the interest of time, I will not list all of the partnerships that I was planning to list, but I will note that we have a very, very strong strategic relationship with the Behavioral Health System, which is essential, since at less 70 percent of the adults whose children come in to place, suffer from some form of substance abuse or mental health issue. We are also in partnership with the 1453 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Health Department in their lead abatement program and also in the project designed to provide intensive nurse case management services to first-time mothers in areas where there is high rates of abuse and negative. We are in partnership with the School District, Family Court, and a network of community and faith-based organizations. With the School District and behavioral health providers, we have advised families of children with behavioral problems in over 160 elementary and middle schools. We are also engaged in after care programs for 14 youth to return to the City after delinquent 15 placement. DHS has also invested significantly in making available quality after school and youth development programs throughout the City. Early invention and more intensive services are generally managed through community-based providers under contract with us, while our primary after school and youth development prevention services are delivered through a partnership with Philadelphia Safe & Sound. In the current Fiscal Year, DHS has 1454 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET allocated over $60 million to support these children and youth programs as part of the Mayor's Children Investment Strategy. Our funding includes supporting 165 after school, youth development and Beacon programs, school-based programs that provide services to public school children with behavioral problems, school attendance improvement initiatives, parenting skill enhancement programs and delinquency prevention programs for chronic truants. We also support community family centers which, in 12 addition to youth and parenting programs, provide 13 intensive case management to families reported for 14 abuse and neglect who do not need the services from 15 a formal child protection agency, but who may need 16 assistance to stabilize a family situation to 17 prevent future entry into the child protection 18 system. 19 For Fiscal Year '04, the Department is requesting additional TANF funding from the Commonwealth to significantly enhance and expand this service network. 8 percent. For our youth in placement transitioning to adulthood, DHS, in partnership with the 1455 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Philadelphia Work Force Development Corporation, has established the Achieving Independence Center, which is cutting edge, one-stop center located at 701 Market Street designed to help adolescents to learn the skills they need to successfully transition to independence. We offer on-site services with a strong emphasis on education, training and employment. In the last three years, we're also very proud of the inroads we've made in efforts to prevent delinquency. But in particular, I want to report here to you today the successful efforts we have made in approving the Youth Study Center operations, an issue that Council has brought up to me in the last two years of testimony and has asked me to respond to aggressively.
The responsibility to maintain safe, secure and Constitutionally acceptable conditions of confinement at the Youth Study Center, which averages 6,000 admissions a year, is an enormous undertaking. It cannot be done without a close partnership between DHS, Family Court and other stake holders in the juvenile justice system. We have been successful. 1456 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET For example, there has been a significant reduction in the average daily population of the Youth Study Center. In Fiscal Year '03, we have seen the lowest daily population in the building's 51-year history. For the first seven months of Fiscal Year '03, average daily population has been below its licensed capacity of 105 and it is projected to be at 90 for the year. In addition to working on population reduction, we have devoted considerable time over the past year implementing management initiatives to reduce overtime. 5 days per employee in 2002. Maintaining adequate staffing levels along with new training has improved safety and reduced the number of serious incidents involving both staff and residents. 1 per 1,000 days in '02. The number of youth requiring one-to-one supervision by staff, which significantly contributed to overtime, was reduced from 10 per day in '01 to per day in the first half of '03. 8 million, from $ 4 million in the last year. 2 million that we saved and we were able to reinvest in other critically needed City programs and services. The State Department of Public Welfare conducted its annual licensure of the Youth Study Center in April of 2002 and said it was the best inspection in the last years. 12 We also underwent our audit by the 13 American Correctional Association in October 2002 14 and have become the only fully accredited juvenile 15 detention in Pennsylvania. The Children and Youth Division from DHS also completed its annual licensure evaluation by DPW and we once again received full licensure. An important reform area for CYD area and a challenge that we are taking on very aggressively is improving the way that we take reports of abuse and neglect. We prioritize reports for investigation and we divert those cases that are better served outside the formal system. We have created a new information assessment and referral services to 1458 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET handle all incoming reports of child abuse and neglect and to do the appropriate screening and differential responsive reports. We also are, therefore, allowing intake and investigations to focus exclusively on doing investigations. m. shift for 9 receiving and responding to abuse and neglect 10 reports. This means that Philadelphia has joined 11 the other large cities in the country by having a 12 live child abuse and neglect protection system 24, 7. The prior system was a non-call stand by report where employees took reports from their homes. In April, we also added three specialized sex abuse investigation units to handle all reports of child sexual abuse and, therefore, we are building a deeper level of expertise and quality in the Department. Lastly, an important principle of our reform agenda is to be accessible and effective at sharing critical information within our system and with our clients and citizens. We have recently developed and launched an extraordinary resource that will be available to all government staff and 1459 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET also citizens which is called Philly SOS, Search On-line for Services. This is a Web-based searchable community resource database that will allow us to connect our clients with services instantaneously all over the City. We also launched a parenting public awareness campaign in February advertising services for people to call to get immediate help when they need services to support them in their parenting and to prevent crisis situations from getting worse. We've distributed 100,000 copies of Helping Hands, the first citywide parenting resource directory throughout Philadelphia.
We have an Internet and a Web site on the Internet and 14 publications to inform Philadelphia families about important services and resources they need. We've had many accomplishments, but our work continues to be urgent as we face many challenges. The number of out-of-state placement is an example of a major challenge. We have 311 dependent and delinquent youth placed outside of Pennsylvania. These out-of-state placements must be drastically reduced for several reasons. Families must be involved with their children while they are 1460 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET in placement. Youth experience additional difficulties when they transition back to the City and to school from out of state. And these placements are typically much more expensive than local placement. In January 2003, we implemented a new treatment foster care service designed to meet the complex needs of youth that have in the past been placed in out-of-state facilities. This is an example of the initiatives we're undertaking to reduce the problem of children residing in out-of-state placements. Philadelphia deserves the best Department of Human Services possible. Our department has made great strides toward greater accountability, accessibility, integration and excellence and we remain committed to reach an even higher quality of service for the most vulnerable children and families in our City. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your concern and support of our mission. Together we must and we will make Philadelphia the safest and most hospitable City for children to grow and succeed. I welcome and look 1461 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET forward to your questions and comments.
Thank you very much. Commissioner, you mentioned that your department receives approximately $155 million in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. What is a family's eligibility criteria, and are there time limitations?
There are no time limits on how long clients can receive TANF services through the child welfare system. And I will ask our Finance Director, John Zanier, to address the question of eligibility.
I'm John Zanier, Fiscal Director. The eligibility requirement for a family of 4 is 4 times the poverty level, so that would be for a family of 4 in Philadelphia, any family that would want services that are under $72,000 a year will be eligible for this program. It goes up 17,000 per family member.
Under $72,000 will be 1462 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET eligible for this program. And as a family's numbers increases, the dollars amount increases by $17,000.
Philadelphia, President Verna, was very involved in negotiating the eligibility criteria for TANF in child welfare and we were able to get a very high eligibility threshold in order, again, to advance the interests of the City.
How is this funding stream impacted by welfare reform? MS MARTINEZ: Well, the TANF resources come from the original changes in welfare reform in 1996 and the states have flexibility to submit a plan to the federal government. First and foremost, TANF funds have to be used to help transitioned families that were formerly on AFDC off of welfare. But because the numbers have dropped of people receiving cash assistance, they were able to reinvest their TANF money in other types of initiatives. And in the State of Pennsylvania they decided to put into child welfare and juvenile justice services and to prevention services. And they're going to, I think, 1463 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET release some TANF money in the next year for some housing assistance as well. So there really is no 4 impact. It comes from the same part of money, but the state is reinvesting it in different ways because they have more of it than they have needed for cash assistance.
Thank you. On page eight of the Five-Year Plan, it mentions Super waiver to TANF, which could potentially be used by states to redirect the funding for other purposes, such as highways. Could you explain the Super waiver procedure?
Sounds very exciting, but I'm not responsible for that part of the Plan, so I'd have to defer to someone in Budget.
I assume that that's not in the DHS section, so while I read it, I can't explain the project. Here comes our super Budget Director.
Not so super on this one. I'll have to get back to you on that with the explanation. 1464 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
It doesn't sound kosher. If, in fact, our allocation of TANF dollars are reduced, what happens to the programs they funded? If we're going to be declaring Super waivers for the highways, what happens to the programs that we have been funding?
Well, obviously, if we receive a reduction in TANF money or in any other source of funding, the Department would have to take a step back and reevaluate our priorities and reconfigure our budget. We are not anticipating in the next Fiscal Year that the total dollars of TANF that are set aside for child welfare, juvenile justice and prevention will change. We are uncertain about whether our request for an increased amount of TANF will be granted. But we feel pretty confident that we will receive the same amount at least as of last year.
Okay. And on pages six and seven of your testimony, you highlight $31 million in additional TANF funds you are requesting for FY '04. Would you supply us with the eligibility criteria for these initiatives, the locations that will be used to service the clients, 1465 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET and how they were decided?
The eligibility for those services is the same as for any other service in which we use TANF funding. And I will introduce David Fair, Director of Community Based Prevention Services, to help address how our priorities were arrived at.
My name is David Fair. I'm the Director of Community Based Prevention Services at DHS. In terms of the level of detail that you've asked for for $31 million, we'll have to provide that to you separately. But basically, the investment is mostly about enhancing or expanding the resources that we currently are dedicating to prevention services. That includes after school and youth development programs, family center programs, truancy prevention programs, our parenting collaborative, which is dedicated to helping people enhance their parenting skills. We have a school-based case management program that works with the Student Assistance Program that some of the Council were asking about when the Health Department was testifying. And we have programs called 1466 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Compromised Caregiver Programs. These are more intensive, home-visiting-based programs that are targeting families that are at a great risk of losing their kids to our system because of some difficulties the caregivers are having. The Nurse Family Partnership, which was also referred to in the Health Department's testimony for the first-time mothers in North Philadelphia is funded through TANF funding that's awarded through our Compromised Caregivers Programs. We also have programs targeting substance abusing mothers and parents with mental retardation. Basically, we determine our priorities on the basis of what indicators in the community that we think identify families that are at higher risk of potential involvement in the child protection or juvenile justice systems. We try to target our services so that we can help those families before their needs get to the extent that we actually need to accept them formerly into our system.
Thank you very much. Commissioner, what is the status of the 1467 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Youth Study Center Replacement Project?
We have been working very closely with the Capital Programs Office in identifying potential sites around the City that would be suitable. We went through a very professional, careful, deliberate process to do a needs assessment since we know that this facility is likely to be with us for many, many years into the future and we have a space plan based on best practice. We also looked at facilities around the country. We are interested in two sites that we believe would be ideal for the Youth Study Center.
Are you at the liberty to tell us where these sites are located? If you'd rather not, just say it.
Well, it's been in the newspaper. I'm not sure what the right thing to do is for Capital Programs.
They've been in the press. I certainly will say that they're in West Philadelphia and they are an ideal location. They're an ideal location. And we are working with 1468 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET our Councilwoman in the district and with the owners of these properties to try to make the deal happen as quickly as possible. We have the money set aside. We have the best Youth Study center in terms of its operations in history. The property values around the Youth Study Center right now have gone up by 187 percent in the last years. The fact that 9 the Youth Study Center would be a hardship to any 10 neighborhood is an absolute myth. It's an absolute myth. And what we're hoping to do is to find partners in that neighborhood that will give us the land we need to have the best Youth Study Center in the country. We have a very, very well-run Youth Study Center. We need an appropriate site. We believe that that site, based on Best Practice, will also save the City money. We've demonstrated that we have brought the cost down and improved the management. This site will truly be a benefit to the children who are served there and also to our City.
When did this article appear in the paper? Because I'm going to have to go back to previous editions to find out where the locations are. 1469 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Well, they're in West Philadelphia around 48th, 49th Street. It's been reported in the Daily News approximately three months ago.
Well, if it's reported in the paper, why can't you tell us where they are?
I don't remember the exact addresses. I can definitely get them to you. Council President Verna, I think the issue is that we want to be very, very respectful of the community process. And we're really in preliminary --
You will send us the locations in writing, please.
Of course, we will share all that information with Council. Of course, we will.
Thank you very much. Commissioner, on pages 44-9 of your detail, it shows that you were budgeted for 1,943 full-time positions in FY '03, yet you only filled 1,750 as of November '02. Why are you carrying so many vacancies? 1470 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
We are in a situation in the City where we are slowing hiring across the board in order to address, of course, what we all know are important City financial needs. At DHS, when I became Commissioner three years ago, we had an even worse situation in relationship to the numbers of vacancies we've had. We've been very successful at recruiting new social workers, because that is not the only priority for DHS, but a huge priority for DHS. And to give you an example, when I started at DHS in the year 2000 we had approximately 480 social workers. And today we have approximately 540 social workers. But we lose between 80 and 100 social workers a year. So we've hired over 300 social workers in the last three years to not only keep pace with attrition, but to bring the numbers of social workers up. It is, as you know, not easy to go through the hiring and recruitment process in the City.
Can you tell us what the funding source of the vacancies is, please?
It's 40 percent federal, 1471 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET 40 percent state, percent City. 3
So the City is 4 only saving 20 percent of all of those vacancies? 5
Well, that's correct. 6 But what I was explaining is that we've been very 7 aggressive in our hiring for social workers. We've 8 hired close to 300 social workers in the last three 9 years, but our net gain is 70 social workers over 10 where we started because of the high rate of 11 turnover. 12 The reason why we have that high number 13 of positions authorized is because we have a 14 commitment from the state to allow us to lower our 15 case loads as we can bring the number of social 16 workers up. Our case loads are gradually coming 17 down. The average case load in case-carrying 18 positions is 21.52. And we have the authority and 19 the support of the state to bring them down to 15, 20 if we are able to get there. Now, it's not 15 children. It's 15 families. So we have many, many children in those case loads. We are committed to continuing to work our way down in terms of case loads. Our permanency reform agenda will help us do that. 1472 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET We do have a significant number of vacancies and we are being very careful about filling those vacancies, though, because even though it is cents of City dollars, we are not of the 6 belief that we should fill positions unless we 7 absolutely need them. The process for hiring is 8 slow, and so that impacts on our ability to hire 9 employees also. 10
Commissioner, when we 14 don't fill a position that has got federal and state 15 funding, what happens with that funding? Because 16 that might be shortsighted not to fill positions 17 that are being federally funded and state funded. 18 Since our contribution is such a small 19 piece of it, what happens when we don't take 20 advantage of that funding?
We are able to re-program to other categories including by coming before City Council and requesting intergovernmental transfers. The money can be shifted to other expenditures.
I'm not talking about 1473 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET City money. I'm talking about the federal money and the state money. I'd like to see something that indicates that we have not lost that opportunity. In fact, I'd like to see something directed to the Chair to assure me that our not filling these positions is putting us in a position where we are losing state and federal money. Because we're saving percent of that funding by not filling 10 those positions. So I would like to be real 11 confident that is not occurring. 12
Absolutely. We can 13 reprogram, and we do reprogram state and federal 14 money to areas of priority. I will say that we have 15 an exemption in terms of the hiring freeze for 16 social workers and youth detention counselors. So 17 under no circumstances are we slowing that hiring 18 down. Where we are part of the hiring freezes when 19 we talk about clerical and administrative positions 20 and it's not that we're not being allowed to hire them. It's that we have to go through a process to justify each position and that slows down the process. But I will say this, Councilman, DHS, when I became Commissioner, used to turn back a lot 1474 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET of money to state and federal government -- well, to the state government, and not anymore. We are truly learning how to spend, but doing so responsibly also.
Commissioner, when you say that you can reprogram money -- and again I'm not suggesting this, but I have to say it. I hope this wouldn't be a strategy to not fill these positions to reprogram money to pet projects. I'm not suggesting you do that.
Well, that's a good idea. I hadn't thought about that. No, absolutely not. Our books are open. We run a huge system that is about mandates. It's about life and death. I guarantee you, it's not about that.
But my point is, I'm fairly familiar with the way federal money flows. And when you say, reprogram, that scares me. Because it's very difficult to reprogram money that's been committed for specific programs, and state money. So I'd like to see something in 1475 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET writing to support the fact that we're able to reprogram that money and that we're not turning state and federal money back.
Absolutely. I will give you one example of what I did in the year 2000, 2001. When I came to DHS, with the help of our staff, I realized that there was money that we were going to give back to the state and not spend after really making a big effort to get it, and that compromised our credibility with the state when we went and asked for an increase. They said, well, why are you asking for more money, if you don't spend what we give you on legitimate priority areas. So one of the projects that we worked on was on one-time capacity building grants for provider agencies. Many of these provider agencies had no 20 computers. They have furniture for kids. They do visitations with children. They had furniture for children that was falling apart. If they had a group home, the place was not in the kind of condition that we would want to place our own children in. So by doing one-time capacity building 1476 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET grants, we did not carry over the expense into the next year, but we were able to increase the quality of the services of our providers. We made them justify and prioritize, also allow them to use money for training. And then the next year that money was not encumbered for that kind of service. That's what we do. And, Councilman, I assure you, and I want to assure all Members of City Council here today, that the books of DHS, as you know -- and they have to be -- are always open. We really are very proud of the fact that we work really, really hard to put our money where our priorities and mandates are at.
We're going to start our first go around. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you, Madam President. Good morning, Commissioner, and to your team. You may have heard in the testimony of the Health Department of the concerns raised about the gap of services in West, Southwest and West 1477 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Philadelphia. And on page five of your testimony, you speak to 160 elementary and middle schools that are benefiting from Behavioral Health Services provider activities. Of this 160, are any of them in those sections of Philadelphia?
My name is David Fair, Director of Community Based and Prevention Services for DHS. All of the elementary and middle schools in Southwest and West Philadelphia, the former Bartram and West Philadelphia clusters have one of these school-based case managers. Some of them have part-time people, especially the middle schools where the Student Assistance Program already has somebody dedicated.
I'm sorry. The Student Assistance Program, which is run through the Behavioral Health System, has staff now in all of the middle schools. So what we have done is redirected some of the staff that we have in the middle schools so that they're only part time there and they're shared with other schools. 1478 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
All right. nine of your testimony, you talk about your 215 Parents' Telephone Line. In Commissioner Domzalski's testimony around home visits to new mothers, that new initiative, I'm curious to know if the 215 Parents' Telephone Line is armed with the kind of information needed for first-time mothers who call in? Is it comprehensive in nature in terms of information provided?
Absolutely. The 215 Parents' was originally established to help people connect to the support groups that DHS itself was providing to families seeking reunification with the implementation of the Parenting Collaborative. And adding 70 new community-based parent skills enhancement programs, as well as our support for programs like the First Time Mothers Program, that 215 Parents' Line has become more of a full-fledged hotline where people can basically connect to pretty much any service they want. Next year, the plan is to expand the capacity of that line, as well as to expand our support for Health Department home visiting programs 1479 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET so that we can more directly link families that call us through the hotline. There's a lot of services that, if we fund them, we can directly connect a person to them. If we don't fund them, then we just get on the list. We refer them and we can't guarantee the service. So in the future we're trying to make sure that priority is given to the services that we can directly access. Commissioner Martinez mentioned the Searching On-line for Services database. That database was originally tested in our division because we have the most pressing need, really, to know where all those community services are, all of the information that's in our Helping Hands directory and all of the information that is in that database. And we're in the process now of getting other databases. The Choice Hotlines database, the AIDS hotline database, the Where to Turn directory database from the United Way. And all of that information will be integrated into the Searching On-line for Services database, so that not only will all the people who answer 215 Parents', but the parent themselves who has Internet access would be able to get that information. 1480 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
I know that the DHS is rich with brochures that speak to the service that you're providing. Might you have one on the 215 Parents' Hotline?
Yes. We have a guide called Helping Hands and we've distributed 100,000 of those already all over the City. And they have over 100 parenting programs, including the 47 programs of DHS, plus our family centers. But in addition to that, we went through a very, very comprehensive process with PCCY and Safe & Sound to capture information about all parenting programs in the City. Because what I found coming into DHS, is that there was no vehicle for parents in crisis to get help when they needed it, unless the crisis was really, really severe. And that was not obviously in the best interest of our City. So we have them. And it's so popular that we are about to publish our third edition. And each one of them costs a dollar, so they're expensive. But it's a dollar well spent on our citizens because it gives them programs all over the City by Zip code.
I am very familiar 1481 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET with that. Are the linkages with the School District at all levels to make sure that School District staff and personnel and parents and Parent Advisory Councils across the board are aware of that kind of information? It's so important.
I will ask Director Fair to speak to what the collaborations are between DHS and the School District. But when you asked the question, are there linkages at all levels, absolutely not. There are not linkages at all levels. I think that that's why, while I'm very proud of accomplishments that DHS has made as a system, I also have to be very, very clear that we face enormous challenges. And part of our agenda is about integration of systems and coordination of systems. The School District is a huge bureaucracy that's been through a whole lot of change, as we know. DHS, also. And the collaborations are not as good as we want them to be. We have a number of things that are working well. And DHS, for example, is now putting staff to be focused exclusively on being liaisons with the School District to troubleshoot cases to prevent 1482 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET children from falling through the cracks. But we do have a number of really good partnerships, but I wouldn't call it collaboration at all levels. I would like David to talk about what we are doing, which is more than we had before.
About a third of those 100,000 copies of the Helping Hands directory that the Commissioner mentioned were actually distributed through the schools, through those Parent Advisory Councils and the Home and School Associations and with the school-based case managers that we have in those schools. The interesting thing about the calls that come in to the 215 Parents' Line from schools is that many of those calls, probably a third of those calls, come from staff that we have placed in the school buildings. Because they're coming from our system and so they're more aware of resources than an overworked counselor would be or a teacher or a principal might be. And that's one of the resources we provide for them is to help them link their families to community-based services. We also have been working very closely with Mr. Vallas and the members of his staff about 1483 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET the development of the Cradle to the Classroom approach which he's trying to implement for next school year. That approach really builds on what's apparently being done for the Project Elect Model on a smaller scale, which serves about 500 or 600 pregnant or parenting teens in the School District. Our data shows that there's about 1,500 pregnant and parenting teens that are in the middle schools and the high schools. And only about a third of them are participating in Project Elect, which is the School District's parenting program. We're hoping, depending, again, on the allocation from the state on TANF money -- please make phone calls -- that we will be able to partner with the School District on Cradle to the Classroom so that while they will handle the work that's done in the school building, while the kids are going to school, that we would be picking up a lot of the support for the community-based mentors that are connected to these teens and that go with them to school, that participate in the school day with them, but also are able to visit them at home. It's sort of a version, an enhanced version of the Parents as Teachers Model. 1484 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET The combination of the home visiting component and the school-based programs, I think, is very exciting in terms of being able to get those kid back to school. About a third of those 1,500 that are being served by Elect, about a third are not even going to school. And the other third are going to school and nobody's paying attention to them. Our goal is to identify and partner with all 1,500 of those families next year. The overall cost savings of that over time will be, I think, very easily measurable, since many, many of these families end up getting reported to DHS simply because the teen parent is often overwhelmed and doesn't have support. So we're working very closely with the School District on that. We've also been training our providers, our 70 providers in a particular model called, "I Can Problem Solve," which the School District has been investing in for the elementary schools. So all of our providers are getting people trained in that model, so that they're prepared when a school calls them and says that they want some help for a particular parent, the School District is basically 1485 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET asking us to start with this particular approach because it will help the parents learn how to support their kids, in terms of their school performance.
I see. I would imagine my time is up, correct, Madam President?
Regrettably, I have to step away from the hearings temporarily, but one of my colleagues will be posing questions around contracting, what's working, what's not working, where you are, where you may not be. And I join in that voice with the concerns expressed with contracting with my colleagues.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Madam President. Commissioner, good afternoon.
Let me just ask one quick question with regard to the testimony, and a comparable page, I believe it's eight in the 1486 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Five-Year Plan. Riverview Home, I notice in the Plan we're talking about -- it's not eight. It's 162, rather. Tell me, why are we still in this business?
Well, I would like to call up my colleague, Rob Hess, since the management responsibility of Riverview was transferred over to OESS a couple years ago.
My name is Rob Hess, Deputy Managing Director for Special Needs Housing. Councilman, in answer to your question, I would say that we are in the business of Riverview Home because to this point it has been the best alternative for folks that need this type of care and can't afford it.
Essentially, personal care, boarding home care. We do have, through the Health Department, medical services on site. There is recreational therapy and a variety of other support services on site, in addition to housing.
Well, I am sure their care is of highest quality as a municipal 1487 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET government, but are you saying that no one else provides this type of service anywhere in the City besides the City government?
There are certainly personal care boarding homes across the City that do provide similar care. Most of the personal care boarding homes require income. And so, many of the folks that end up coming to Riverview Home, come without income. There is a benefits unit on site that can often assist them in getting income, entitlement income. And once they have that, they may be able to move to other personal care boarding homes in the City, or they may stay at Riverview Home and pay a significant portion of that to support their living there.
What's the difference between your calling personal care and either a nursing home or independent living or continuum of care? Why is this so unique or different?
It has to do with the level of care that's actually provided at the facility. Under the state rules, there are certain 1488 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET requirements for personal care boarding homes that are much more stringent requirements in terms of level of service for, say, nursing home care.
But the Five-Year Plan says that you're looking to phase out Riverview. So apparently, some decision has been made that we're getting out of this business.
Well, we're going to look at it. Over the next Fiscal Year, there will be no 11 change in service at Riverview Home. The budget stays approximately the same. The only really change is our target will be a daily census average of 240, versus about the 260 residents we have there today. We will be looking hard at what the community-based options are. We want to be sure that people eventually move from Riverview Home, that they move into high quality and appropriate housing options in the community, which is actually one of the disadvantages of Riverview being out on State Road separated from the community and kind of surrounded by prisons. So we're going to look at other options. Ultimately --
I hate to cut across 1489 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET you, but I don't get the impression from the Five-Year Plan that it sounds like something that you're just kind of thinking about in the context of, you know, let's sit around and think about a few things. The Five-Year Plan says, by FY '08, all of the City's funding will go towards care in the community and Riverview Home will be closed. I think that's a little more than just thinking about it. I mean, we've got a statement here saying that the place is going to close in five years. Sounds like it's closing.
I think a lot can happen in the next several years. We need to know, first of all, that there are appropriate community placements for the residents that are currently at Riverview Home. We're not there yet. So I think it's a little premature for us to say that it's absolutely going to close. On the other hand, I do think for the reasons we've already mentioned --
Well, Mr. Hess, I didn't write the Five-Year Plan. I'm just reading what's in the document. So, someone decided.
I think the decision is based on our belief that kind of running an institution is 1490 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET not what we'd like to do. We would really like to be able to place people in community-based placements that are appropriate and high quality. The question will ultimately become whether those placements exist.
Okay. I appreciate that. Commissioner, -78. Now, I've not seen this in any other department over the past two weeks, so it actually stands out rather glaringly. Do you have a budget book available?
What I don't understand is, at the top of the section, it reads, Minor Object Code and it gives you 250, 251, 253, and then, name of contractor or provider. Now, what I do not understand in this section of the budget book, which is distinguished from all the other departments who have come before us so far, is you have no names of any contractors or providers and have grouped them together by category. So now I am not able to have a full and complete discussion of your budget because you have not provided the appropriate and required 1491 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET information in order for me to understand who it is that you're contracting with. I mean, adoptions is not a name of a contractor or provider, unless you want to correct me for the record. Or youth development or family development or communications or staff and program development. This is a budget. So I'd like to know the names of the contractors or providers in question. Can you provide us with that information?.
Absolutely, Councilman. They are available and we can have them at your desk this afternoon. These are basically aggregate numbers in certain categories of contracting because of the size of our budget and our contracts, but we do have the detail and we can make it available to you immediately.
Well, I can certainly appreciate that. And I know you have a lot of contractors or providers. I can't imagine that the Budget Office would have a problem with those contracts being listed here in the budget book. And if it resulted in five, 10 more pages of budget document, I mean, they're already pretty 1492 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET large, and they give us two of them, so what's another pages among friends. 4 It is impossible, though, to understand 5 what's going on here without that information, or to 6 even get it at a subsequent context because, one, 7 your portion of the hearing will be over and I have 8 no ability, then, to ask questions with regard to 9 the specific contractors or providers as we've had 10 that opportunity with every other department. Who decided to print the book this way?
I'd like to ask our Finance Director to assist in answering this question. But I do want to say, Councilman, that we will provide the information, and, of course, I am available to meet with you anytime or to come back in front of the entire Council, if needed, to answer specific questions about contracts. And I apologize for the inconvenience.
Councilman, the way we've grouped these categories is for space reasons. We have a complete list. We can give it to right now, if you'd like to take a look at it. It's probably, like, two inches and that's why we didn't list all the contracts out. There's $500 million worth of 1493 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET contracts.
Well, fine, why don't we go through it. Tell me who is in the adoptions category for $3.1 million? Do you have another one of these? Do you have an extra one? Well, we have a brand-new copy machine right in the back there.
The adoptions contracts, Councilman, are given to Diakon Social Ministries. It's $2.9 million to support the Statewide Adoption Network. And Diakon Social Ministries is a custodian of these resources and they are paid out to licensed adoption agencies as they complete specific adoption tasks. In other words, Diakon holds the money and pays it out to provider agencies when they earn the money. And that is an arrangement that is set up with the state because Philadelphia has so many adoptions that it goes through. The state passes the lump sum to the City. The City contracts with Diakon and then Diakon does business directly with 1494 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET the adoption providers.
Commissioner, did I understand you to say earlier -- or it may have been the gentleman -- and I didn't catch his name. Your total amount of contracts is, did you say $600 million worth of contracts?
Who else is in the adoptions category? MS MARTINEZ: We have Lutheran Children and Family Services and Bethanna as providers of pre and post-adoption support services. Those contracts are significantly smaller because the big pay out for adoption services goes through Diakon, which, again, is the custodian of all the funding.
So it sounds like you had three contracts, the total of which is the $3.1 million?
Councilman Ortiz asked the question, who is Diakon? Where are they located?
Please identify 1495 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET yourself for the record.
I'm Cheryl Ransom, Deputy Commissioner for DHS. They are the organization that has been selected by the state to administer the Statewide Adoption Network System for Pennsylvania. They're located in Harrisburg, and that's in Pennsylvania, and they subcontract with all of the counties in terms of administering the state's adoption system. So the state actually selected that provider.
You still didn't tell me who they are. You told me that they are located in Harrisburg. Who are they?
They're a non-profit organization. They have expertise in doing adoption work. They also do child welfare services for children in the counties.
The service that Diakon 1496 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET provides for DHS and for other counties relate to paying for home studies for training and certification of prospective adoptive parents. And all of those steps in the process cost money and the providers bill for them once they are completed. So Diakon provides that service across the state. And they have been doing this work prior to my arrival as Commissioner, so I've met the leadership, but I don't honestly know a whole lot about the details of the organization. They were selected by the state and they operate more as an umbrella type of organization. It's a very highly regulated area, of course, as it should be, the adoption approval system.
Let's talk about family development, $7.1 million; programs that provide family reunification, placement, diversion, shelter services, crises intervention, visitation and other services.
The department has a primary mission of safety and permanency for 1497 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET children that come into our care. That mission is achieved in a number of different ways. We spend a significant amount of dollars for placement of children. But we also spend a significant amount of dollars for supervision and support of families where children are still with their parents, but where there is a level of risk. What these family development and support programs allow us to do is to work with families where there is risk, but it's not at point where we've had to remove children from their homes. And the department, over the past three years, has been very careful and strategic and thoughtful about investing in Best Practice models. One of our major investments is in a type of program called Family Preservation. Family Preservation is a very intensive short-term service for families, to keep them together and to then to bring about stability where there is a crisis. And once Family Preservation Services are complete, often we follow-up those service with additional services that are less intensive, but are more long term. In addition to that kind of model, the department is investing in other types of programs 1498 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET that, again, focus on working with families where there is risk of abuse and neglect and, in some cases, high risk of abuse and neglect, but not sufficiently high risk to remove the children. And we have a wide network of providers all over the City who do this type of work for us.
So who are the contractors or providers under this Family Development contract?
African American Interdenominational Ministry, Asociacion De Puertorriquenos En March, Carson Valley, Catholic Charities, CAACY, Congreso, Cornell Abraxas, Caring People Alliance, Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, Intercultural Family Services, Jewish Family and Children Services, Lutheran Children and Family Services, MANNA, Philadelphia Children's Alliance. We have a contract with PHMC that serves as a management entity for our Parenting Collaborative, which has 70 parenting skills enhancement programs, and those are listed in this list that we have given you. SCAN, which is Supportive Child and 1499 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Adult Network, Tabor.
Are these providers selected based on geography or where you determine the greatest need to be? Is there a citywide coverage by the providers? Can you give us a map of their coverage areas?
We don't have it right now. Absolutely. We can do that. There are a number of different ways that these providers have come to be at DHS providers. First of all, many, many of them, the majority of these providers have been doing business with the City of Philadelphia and with DHS for many years, way before I became Commissioner. And they are chosen and have been chosen through competitive processes, the Request for Proposal, or RFQs, Request for Qualifications, sometimes we call it that, but it's the same thing. On an annual basis many of these providers get continued based on their prior year's 1500 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET performance. And also their contracts can be increased or decreased based on their performance because they get monitored on an annual basis by our Contract Administration Program Evaluation Unit. We also occasionally target providers due to their expertise. If we're looking for a type of provider or service and there's only one or two providers that do that, then we do a targeted RFP to a provider. Occasionally providers solicit us and they write to us and tell us about their interest in a particular area, so we will put them on a list for future reference. But mostly, Councilman, we choose providers based on a competitive process. Or if they've been a provider, then they get renewed into the next year unless we have a major problem with them. We also sometimes enter into contracts with providers under court order. When there is a need and the court requires us to contract with someone, we really don't have a choice. We have to contract with providers.
Commissioner, how many people in the City are provided service through 1501 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET DHS?
We have approximately 8,000 children in placement and we serve thousands upon thousands of children in community-based settings.
I wanted to get a sense of the magnitude of the people out of our million-and-a-half population who are somehow part of or touched by this system.
20,000 children receive in-home services from the Department. 8,000 children are in placement, which means out of home care, in our legal and physical custody. And in the Prevention Division, we serve many thousands more. We definitely struggle with counting those numbers, but the impact is huge, is enormous and is across the City.
Since many of the prevention services are relatively new, we were able to establish them with a Web-based data collection system for people to report what they're doing. And at this point there's about 75,000 unduplicated families that are in that database. And that includes everything from a kid who's in a drill team 1502 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET where we're giving a $5,000 mini grant, to more intensive kinds of services so they're not all getting an equal amount of services. But there are 75,000 families that are touched in some way or another by the investments we make in prevention services.
Now, does prevention services include all the other components?
So we're talking maybe a 100,000 families in Philadelphia are somehow a part of the larger DHS system?
I think the way to think about it is that we invest in services for about a 100,000 families. They're not really part of the DHS system, the ones that we serving. We're trying to keep them out of the DHS system.
Well, I understand that. But they're touched by it or have contact with it in some way, shape or form? 1503 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Yes. And we should keep in mind that at least of half of them would be children attending an after school or youth development program. So it depends on your definition of what a service is.
I understand. There are about 500,000 households in the City. I'm just trying to get a sense of the magnitude of engagement.
If I could also just point out, that when in comes to the prevention services, we do use fairly sophisticated mapping software to figure out where are the best places to target these services. So we're much more likely to be investing more significant amounts of money in communities where there's a higher rate of abuse and neglect reports or higher rates of infant mortality, depending on the service that we do.
Commissioner, I need you to explain -- obviously, it's important to get information out about the services and the multiple services and units and programs and the like. I do need you to explain your communications budget in the contract area. 1504 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET In FY '02, you have $1.9 million budgeted, and I will assume spent, for communications. In the current Fiscal Year, that's $1.8. And you're proposing next year, $1.2. What have all these communication services been, and who have those contracts been with? MS MARTINEZ: The Department of Human Services, as you are all well aware, is one of the largest departments in the City. And three years ago, it was one of the most distrusted departments in the City. It was a department that struggled with having a tough relationship with, not only its clients, with public at large and with external stakeholders. For DHS to achieve it's mission, it has to be accessible. It has to be accountable. And it has to be able to connect with its constituency quickly and also connect clients to services that they need. It's not only the good thing to do. It's our responsibility under the law and I want to explain why that is. The biggest investment in DHS is with kids that are in the abuse and neglect system. We're investing in prevention to try to keep kids out of the system and we're investing in juvenile 1505 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET justice. But the bulk of the expenditures are in abuse and neglect. Under the law, DHS has to make reasonable efforts to prevent placement, have to make reasonable efforts to reunify children with their families. We also have a mandate to provide child protection through the county hotline. We're the only entity in the City providing services to children, protective service to children. And the way for people to report abuse and neglect that gives the City the power to intervene is through a Child Abuse Hotline, which is 683 - in addition to that, we have case load caps and we have a situation where the case loads at DHS high and case load staffing was low and when case loads are high and staffing is low children can be endangered. Our communication strategy is not PR; it's about achieving our mission. And I want to tell you it's been expensive and I had no idea how much it was going to cost to do this. I was charged by the Mayor and City Council to turn DHS around. I thought million in making accessible 1.2 accessible to the public and increasing our effectiveness in a budget of $500 million, $550 1506 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET million was not a large expenditure. And we have the result that show that our investments were well worth it. For example, in staff recruitment, Councilman, we had to put a couple hundred thousand dollars into spreading the word DHS is hiring. As I mentioned, we hired 300 social workers in 3 years with a net gain of 70. We loss them so many times. The work is so hard and in an organization where everybody promotes within, you constantly have turnover. We had to put the money out in hiring. We had to set up central personnel to basically meet our demands. In addition, we invested a significant amount of resources in the creation of a parenting services network and in the dissemination of information to parents about that parenting services network.
Let's go back to the earlier part. I need you to tell me in a little more detail what all this communication has been. What's the form of it? What type of communication are we talking about? How are you getting, quote/unquote, the word out? And who is providing these services?
Absolutely. We use a 1507 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET number of strategies that get repeated again and again. One is to develop publications, create information that we need to get into the hands of the public. So far we have 14. Be happy to make them available to you.
Fourteen publications of a number of different types, including, for example -- I mean, it's hard for me to memorize all of these things, but none existed. Basically, nothing existed at DHS to really get the word out to people who are entitled to information. Number 1, our parenting guide, Helping Hands; 100,000 have already gone out, 100,000. I had never expected that it was going to be seized up as much as it has. Number 2, we've published guides for families to teach them how navigate family court.
DHS publishes it. I mean, we basically work through a number of contractors, including Keel Communications to do this type of work; including but not limited to Keel Communications because our needs are so great, our 1508 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET needs are so great that we've had to expand our partnerships. And I am aware, Councilman, because you told me that you were going to ask questions about Keel Communications, and I'm prepared to answer those questions here today.
I appreciate that, and I'll get around to that. You don't want to take me out of my pattern. You just don't want to do that.
What's the unique aspect to those contracts that could not be provided by your own staff or personnel? Now, you have 1700-some-odd people on staff. What's the unique aspect of these particular communications contracts, one; and secondly, don't we have people in the government that produce publications? And how much do these publications cost?
Well, I will provide you all of the detail about our communications expenditures. I will say that the City has never engaged -- at least DHS, DHS has never engaged in its history in the kind of outreach efforts that we 1509 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET have engaged in in the last three years. I first considered whether I had the internal capacity to do this, and we did not have the internal capacity to do it, Councilman. We have great staff, but communications and the development of these kinds of materials is really an expertise. It was more efficient for us to do it outside. We do not have the internal capacity to do that. We do a lot of publications internally also. We do a lot of this stuff inside, but what we wanted to do in a City of 1.5 million people was just impossible to be done. And in addition, we needed to simultaneously -- I mean, I have multiple points of attack at the same time because if I decide I'm going do this sequentially, I would have a lot of angry people on my back because everybody recognizes, as big as DHS is, it was not doing right by its public, it was not doing right by its clients. And in many ways there was not even sufficient quality communication internally at DHS. A significant amount of this investment has been in technology. We now have an intra-net called DHS Central. It's not all been in publications. Hundreds of thousands of dollars we've invested in 1510 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET internal communications through this communications budget. We have SOS which is Search On-line for Services, which is a resource that is going to be available to the entire City. And it's basically a web-based search engine to connect people to services instantaneously. It has cost a lot of money to do, but it didn't exist.
Let's go back. Who are the contractors for FY '02 for $1.9 million?
The 1,948,000 for '02-'03 is given to the Fund for Philadelphia --
Hold on for a second. I have 1,904,456, the line on 44-78.
I believe that the budget document that we shared with you is incorrect because the number we have here -- are you asking about '02, Councilman, or '03? I'm sorry.
I'm asking about Fiscal '02, actual obligations, -78 of the budget book, and that is $1,904,456. That's what 1511 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET I'm asking about.
The accounting of the 1.904 includes 1.272 in communications projects, but that figure also includes expenditures for other types of services. That's what I mean. The figure is correct but it's a misnomer to say that it's all communications; 1.272 of that 1.9 is communications.
Let me then point out to you, Commissioner, that's why for all the other departments we have an actual detail on the pages that show the contractors. And if we had that information available, I could ask you even more intelligent questions. All I'm left to ask, since the department decided to group your contracts, I have a line that says "Communications." I think I know the definition of "communications." If you have another definition or if there's a more expanded definition, I'm pleased to hear it. But I can only ask questions based on the material provided in the budget book. If you want to give me a breakdown of the 1.9, I'd be pleased to hear it. And I'd like to know the names of the contractors and the amounts.
Councilman, I will give 1512 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET you a general breakdown right now and I will provide you, as soon as possible, with a detailed breakdown of the names of the contractors because, unfortunately, I don't know them off the top of my head. Communications in '02, the expenditure communications project was 1.272.
There are a number of contractors in that line, and I will have to provide it for you, but it's more than one vendor. There were a number of vendors in that line.
Family preservation activities which are those intensive in-home services. There is a fund that supports --
Point of information. Commissioner, I think what I'm hearing here, and I 1513 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET think it would satisfy my needs, is that we really start all over again to prepare a budget that really gives us the information that we need. You made a comment to me that your books were open. Obviously, they're open, but they're not very clear. So my request, to support my colleagues here, would be really this process, I think, needs to start all over again and submit us your budget so we can understand it with no mirrors.
Thank you. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Councilman Nutter.
Do you have more detailed information for Fiscal '03, the current fiscal year? That's $1,808,091.
For '03, the 1.948 breaks down as follows: 1.3 million are for communications projects, and we will give you the breakdown of --
Commissioner, I'm sorry. Did you say 1.948? I'm still on the same page, 44-78. The budget book says $1,808,091. 1514 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
It is 1.808, and in that 1.808 there's approximately 1.332 in communications projects. And the balance of it is broken down in a project called CAPTA which provides support services for medically fragile clients for activities for our family preservation programs, youth development activities.
I don't mean to interrupt you. How do those projects or programs end up in the communications budget?
They're not. They're in the Fund for Philadelphia. The 1.808 is really the Fund for Philadelphia projects. Communications is part of that, but it is not all of that. So this document has to be corrected. The document that was shared with you has to be corrected. And we can provide the breakdown of what is in that 1.808. And as I mentioned, 1.332 is communications.
Why don't we do this? My request is going to be that we take your entire section of the budget which is section 44, and in accordance with the recommendation of Councilman Rizzo -- DHS seems to go from 44-1 to 44-108 in the budget book. I would like you to 1515 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET reprint that section and list every contract in every appropriate category with the name of the vendor or the provider or the contractor and the actual dollar amount.
And be prepared to respond to any questions about any contract that any member of Council may have.
Now, you also understand that not only on -78 where you have -- these are the 250 professional services. You also have 251, 253, 290 on -79. What I'm going to be interested in is the entire Class 200 section from 200 to 299.
We understand, and we will provide all the details requested. 1516 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
I still need to get an answer, though, to this general question of this communications strategy, what has been involved in this? Are we talking about radio ads, TV ads, billboards, buses, bus shelters, magazines, print media, radio? What is this strategy and what's the message that's been communicated for upwards of a million dollars?.
Well, we've used multiple strategies. For staff recruitment, we have used a significant amount of radio and print and just personal outreach. And the main cost in staff recruitment has been radio and the print materials that we do.
For the radio campaign, it was Keel Communications. We worked with them to do the radio campaign.
And who received the commission for the placement of the radio ads?
So let me make sure I understand. They were paid by the Department to place the ads. And then as a normal part of placing 1517 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET ads in all the forms of media, I believe the entity that places the ad then receives a commission, I'm assuming, from the radio or TV entity. Is that your understanding?
Yes, we did radio, and that is my understanding of how it works. You pay a commission for the coordination and the placement of the ads.
So in fact, the person ends up getting paid twice for a certain amount? They're being paid by DHS to go and place them; and then isn't there also in that business a commission that's paid for the actual placement?
Councilman, I will research that for you. My understanding is that there is a commission paid, but I'm not sure that it's about paying the person twice.
Who pays the commission then? Who pays the commission for the placement of the ad?
Well, I believe that the Department pays for the technical assistance, the creative design. And then the process of placing the ad, there is a commission -- I'm calling it a 1518 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET commission. We pay a percentage over the cost of the ad itself for the management and the coordination of it. I'm not sure if there is a separate commission paid by the receiver of the ad. I'm not aware of that. I don't believe so, but I don't know. I certainly do not have any interest in paying twice for the same thing. And it's not been my understanding that we've been doing that. We have been using Keel Communications. We used them in the first year. And the second year, to place --
When you say the first year and the second year, what was the first year?
Well, when we started doing this -- this campaign was in Fiscal Year 2000-2001. And the reason why we went ahead and --
It would have been the end of 2002, the end of calendar year 2000 into 2001. I became Commissioner February 1st of 2000 and spent the first few months assessing the challenges and problems at DHS. And one huge problem that we had was a very, very high turnover 1519 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET rate and few people coming in the front door.
Did you go through a RFP or was this a professional services contract?
I knew of Frank Keil's work because of work that he had done with then the Private Industry Council, the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation, now called the PWC, Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation, when they have done the campaign to get employers to hire people from Welfare, the Hire My Mom Campaign. I was very impressed with that campaign and I was interested in using the person who had done that because they were so successful. So I reached out to Frank. At that point, I really had never worked with him. Nobody recommended me to him. I had just seen his work and I wanted to work with someone who had a proven campaign in terms of social marketing. And the truth is, Councilman, that I was also under a huge amount of pressure to get DHS up and running and I truly had a limited amount of time to do a lot 1520 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET of things that I needed to do. So I just reached out to him, and he was available.
Last question. Now, at the time that you brought Keel Communications on, we're now into February '01; is that what you're saying?
Yes. By February '01, he was working with us on the staff recruitment campaign.
Were you aware of any other contracts that that company may have had with the City or was working on behalf of the City.
I wasn't aware of specific contracts, other contracts that he had with the City. I do know that people were impressed with the work he was doing with DHS because we were delivering results so he may have been talking to other commissioners about doing work with them. But I was not part of those conversations, nor was I promoting conversations nor was I in the middle of those conversations. I was really only working with him on DHS under DHS agenda.
When did Keel Communications start working for the Mayor's Office? 1521 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
The services that Keel Communications provided to the Mayor were in this Fiscal Year '02-'03 and also in Fiscal Year '01-'02.
So when did they actually start? I don't really deal with fiscal years.
I believe from the information that I have in front of me that the services began January 1, 2002 between the Mayor's Office and Keel Communications.
So the company was already working for you prior to working for the Mayor's Office?
Now when you were deciding or trying to decide who to pick up for DHS, did you look at or consider any other companies?
Well, at the time that I reached out to Frank Keel for help, I did not; I did not. I approached him based on, as I said, the work that he had done with a system partner. And I had to hit the ground running and I was looking for someone who had pretty much done something like what I needed done. 1522 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
So, I mean, some of the other names in that business, people like Bruce Crowley at Crowley, Askins, Rogers or George Beach at Beach Communications, none of those firms were considered for this work?
I did not issue an RFP at the time that I reached out to Frank Keel.
I understand you didn't issue an RFP. You didn't think about them either?
No. As I said -- and I'm not saying that it was the best way to make a decision, Councilman, in hindsight and with more time, I would have done it differently.
I'm not making a value judgment about the decision; I'm not questioning the decision. I'm trying to understand the decision process.
I reached out to Frank specifically because of his work with PWDC which I was very impressed with and which was very successful.
So the size of the contract with Keel Communications presently is how 1523 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET much?
To date, our contract with Frank Keel Communications for this year is approximately $65,000 for consultant services. And through his contract, we do pay some subcontractors. And I can provide you the details of that. In this fiscal year, we have paid in consulting fees $32,200. For '01 we paid Keel for consulting fees $61,000 -- I'm sorry, for '01-'02 we paid 61,000. For 2000-2001, we paid 40,000 in fees.
Okay. You're going to provide us with the full detail on all of these contracts.
Did it ever occur to possibly just hire someone on staff to do this work?
I have a communications director, Lisa Rodriguez is our communications director. I have a communications team. And she coordinates all of these projects. We certainly have some staff involved in this that work very, very hard, but what we're doing is very huge; it's enormous. And part of what I asked Frank Keel to do was actually to develop Lisa's capacity to 1524 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET coordinate projects and we have been reducing reliance on Frank to do things that now we are coordinating and managing in-house, Councilman.
Last question in this area. How did the contract for the Mayor's Office end up in the DHS budget?
Because we had a contract -- because we were paying Frank Keel already and we had a contract, we were asked to ad the services agreement, the services that the Mayor needed into our contract with Keel Communications through the Fund for Philadelphia. And he would invoice separately for those services.
I'm sorry, Commissioner. I didn't understand that. You've now put a new entity into the conversation. Where does the Fund for Philadelphia come in in this?
Well, the Fund for Philadelphia is the entity that we pay Keel Communications and our communications vendors through.
Why would you pay through the Fund for Philadelphia? Why didn't you 1525 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET just contract directly?
I thought the Fund for Philadelphia was mostly a place where money came into, not went out of.
It's been used in both ways historically. It is a place where the City has fund-raised in the past, and it's also an entity which DHS uses in order to work on projects where we need flexibility and where we need to work with speed and where -- you know, to be honest, the slow process of City --
Is this the part where we talk about getting around the usual procurement requirements? Commissioner Domzalski talked about expediting. You're talking about flexibility. Is that where we're trying to get to here in this part of the conversation? We're trying to avoid going through the normal procurement process; is that why we're doing it?
Well, I think that DHS in its -- in our work, we use the regular procurement 1526 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET process a lot and the overwhelming majority of our contracts do go through the regular process. There are some instances in which we have made the decision to work with fiduciary agents and other partners for strategic reasons but, Councilman, I say with all sincerity that it is about getting the job done, it's not about getting around anything. It truly is getting the job done. Now, the reason why we put --
And if you didn't go through Fund for Philadelphia, you may have had to put your communications projects out through an RFP or go through procurement, right? By going through Fund for Philadelphia, you could pick who you wanted, right?
Well, I believe that there are processes that we would have had to go through going through the City procurement process that we do not have to go through through the Fund for Philadelphia, that is correct.
Look, I understand if we have to buy malaria medicine we may have to issue an emergency contract or not go through the procurement process. Generally, public relations 1527 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET services, I don't think, qualify as an emergency.
The issue for us is that in our effort to improve on our services and using what we're calling communications as a strategy that there were a number of different tasks and activities that needed to happen simultaneously and needed to happen pretty quickly, from my perspective. The fees for Frank Keel were included in the communications budget, but there are other expenses in the communications budget over and above the fees to Keel that also go through the Fund for Philadelphia, and we will definitely provide that information for all of City Council. I just want to say that, for me, as Commissioner of DHS, I feel that I have followed every rule to the best of my ability, but I have a mandate to fulfill and I just find the best way to get the job done, Councilman. And I certainly have no intent to violate any rules, but the mandate is serious and I'm held accountable for delivering an improved child welfare and juvenile justice system and that's why I have made the decisions that I have made to do some contracts through partnerships with fiduciary agents like the Fund for Philadelphia. 1528 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET And if I am directed do otherwise, I will do otherwise. Although I will say that I think it will have an impact, not all of it. But the procurement process works a lot, but it doesn't always work for our City and we need to be honest about that. We can't be asked to deliver on these aggressive mandates and then have our hands tied behind our back as commissioners sometimes.
Who signed off on the Mayor's Office contract going through DHS and the Fund for Philadelphia? Did you sign that contract?
Well, we were asked to do it. The Budget Office asked us to do it, and our Finance Director and I agreed to do it since that's what we were asked to do.
Well, I just assumed that it was an appropriate thing to do. And so once the information came to light, the Mayor's Office backed it out and they realized that it was not the right thing to do so they backed it out.
Why do you think it 1529 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET was not the right thing to do?
Because I think it would have been better for them to have Keel Communications dollars in their own budget and we would have been happy to transfer the money. We could have transferred the money over to them. And we did. Once this issue came to light, it was transferred back to the Mayor's Office.
I want to continue in this light. You talked about the communications budget, the $1.9 million and that it had also included some technology expenses, but if you look at item 251, there's another 1,607,343 item for consulting technology support, training, license, web design and other services. So it's more than -- what I'd like to know, what are the services you're going to provide. You're going to provide information on what the services were in the communications. I want to know what technology was involved in that $1.9 million because you have 1530 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET another line item for technology.
Councilwoman, we will provide the entire breakdown for that information, for the information requested. We built an intra-net at DHS from scratch and we built the web-based search system from scratch and it has cost a huge amount of money, but it will have the benefit to the entire City. We will provide that breakdown for you.
Not arguing that point, you stated in the communications expenditure you had used money for technology. And if you used money for technology, what was the technology? Because the other line item for technology states what you did with it, with that dollar amount. But I want to know what technology is included in communications.
I will qualify that. It may well be that some types of design consultants were used through the communications budget and some other technology consultants were used through the other line item. I will provide that information as soon as possible, in the next two days.
I can appreciate 1531 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET your concern for getting things done, but I will tell you that in the last week or so we have sat in this Council and discussed the use of minorities and women business here in Philadelphia, and since pamphlets and other advertising efforts may be very important to what you do, they were not dire services that you needed such as providing services to children or some of the other services you provide. You would have had an opportunity to look locally whether you used minorities and women or a majority company, but the company would have been a Philadelphia company. I'd also like to know subcontractors that were used by Mr. Keel and who they were. Were they Philadelphians? How many minorities and women were a part of that? A lot of money is being spent -- looks like, someone said to me, we live in Keel-adelphia. He doesn't live here. And I'm personally pained to sit here and listen to that and we can't get work for people who live in this City. And if we who are in charge in this City to help promote businesses and promote work for people who work in Philadelphia and who pay taxes in Philadelphia, who pay occupancy 1532 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET tax and business privilege tax aren't given the opportunity to do the business and we continue to send it out of the City, it's not good for us. And I can understand Ms. Davis being very pained and embarrassed the other day about the lack of the Administration's effort to be inclusive. What I'd like to know is you have in your budget some information regarding non-travel meals and official entertaining, it's on -44 of the budget detail. Why has this amount increased from $14,458 in FY '02, to $26,503 in FY '04?
Well, it's certainly not official entertaining, I want to be very clear about that. That does not happen at DHS. We have been extremely active in doing a lot of staff development and reform efforts with providers. We have, as we've mentioned, almost 2,000 staff. Of those staff, close to 600 social workers and 125 supervisors and we have a couple of thousand social workers in the provider community. As we try to reform DHS, we have been bringing staff together for a lot of staff development and training, and we make an effort to provide refreshments. The system is of such a scale, Councilwoman, that occasionally we 1533 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET have to -- it's not covered in that line, but occasionally we have to pay for rented space to be able to accommodate the numbers of people we have, and we do pay for some coffee or danish. And if we make people work through lunch, we provide lunch. That's what that has been used for. It's an expense that really ties staff training and development, not to official entertainment, I can assure you.
And you intend to do more staff training in 2004 than you've done in 2002?
It is absolutely essential that we do the staff training, however at DHS we have begun talking about areas where we need to cut back, and we can cut back and we will cut back if we don't get the resources. And even though, as you may know, it is important for people to feel cared for in government, and having a little bit of danish and a little bit of coffee, to be honest, goes a long way to make people feel valued. If we have to cut back on that expense, we obviously would. But we will have to train thousands of people to achieve the reform that we want in the Department of Human Services. And training at the 1534 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET level that we do, because of the hundreds of people we have to train at one time, is going to cost money to the City. But I believe it is an expense that we will just have to do because we want a reformed child welfare system.
Thank you. Let me just check something here. Who are the providers for the after school program? Do you have one, two, three or a number?
This is David Fair from the Division of Community Based Prevention Services. There are about -- altogether there's probably about 165 providers. I have a list which I can leave with you.
You should give it to the President. We appreciate that.
And all of those providers were selected through a Request For Proposals process.
Thank you. On pages 44-22 and 44-78, your Department identified legal services as professional services contract. Who are these legal service providers and what do we receive for our money? 1535 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
John Zanier, DHS Budget Director. On -22, these are parole hearing costs for Philadelphia residents incarcerated in other counties in Pennsylvania. The county residence is required to pay for the legal representation of these inmates at their hearings.
The legal services that are included there relate to civil rights litigation that the department has been involved in, and we pay for our litigation costs. For example, there's a lawsuit right now related to kinship care. It's a lawsuit that was filed against the State, but the City was joined in as a defendant and so we contracted out the legal representation of that. All of that is coordinated through the City Law Department. We basically transfer the funds to the 1536 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Law Department for that. In addition, we have --
Before you go on, what is the lawsuit around kinship care?
Well, it's actually very, very close to settlement. And the lawsuit was filed by advocates who believe that the State and all the counties have denied kinship caregivers the right to receive benefits for kinship care. And so the settlement is going to involve a review of cases within, I think, the last five years, identify relatives who may have received custody of children but not received payment. So DHS has been an active participant in settling the lawsuit so we can do right by our kinship parents and move forward. We have had to pay for the cost for our own City representation through that.
It was my understanding that some years ago when we dealt with the whole issue of kinship care which came out of this Council that the benefits followed the child. Was that something different that happened?
The lawsuit relates to the lack of clear policy at the state level as to how to handle kinship cases. We have many children 1537 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET living with their relatives getting paid as foster parents, many, many, many of them. In fact, under the law and best practice is that children should be with in their relatives if they can't live with their parents. But there are a number of individuals who are a part of this lawsuit, and I believe it was certified as a class action, who feel that they were not offered the benefits that they were entitled to. In other words, they stepped up, accepted the custody of the child, but did not receive an offer of kinship benefits. And the trigger in kinship care is if the government has assumed custody and has intervened and then the government finds the relative, then we have an obligation, a legal obligation to offer that relative kinship care benefits. And that is the crux of the lawsuit, that when we identified the relative or we had custody of the child first or we would have taken custody but for the relative stepping up to the plate, we had a legal obligation to offer benefits at that point. I believe that Philadelphia has been better at this than many other counties. This is a statewide lawsuit, not a 1538 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Philadelphia County lawsuit. But we were joined in it and we will do our part to go back and review our cases. We have many, many people receiving kinship care benefits right now. In addition to that, in terms of legal services, the City provides financial support to Community Legal Services for their representation of the indigent in Philadelphia. And this is part of that legal services line item. In this current fiscal year we paid Community Legal Services $720,000 for their services to the poor in the City.
On of your testimony, you stated that early intervention and intensive services are generally managed through provider contracts and that Philadelphia Safe & Sound provides primary prevention services. What is the total amount of contracts that Philadelphia Safe & Sound receives through your department?
This fiscal year, for after school programs, youth development programs, and beacons, DHS has provided Safe & Sound with 16.7 million in TANF and 1.4 million in Human Services 1539 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Development Fund.
A total of $18 million, rounded off, and it is 16.7 TANF; and the balance HSDF, Human Services Development Fund.
They were targeted for what purpose when they came to you? Did they come to you as a pass-through or were you to use them for services?
For prevention, in-home services, youth development services. And we are using those funds for the types of services that they were authorized to be used for. We submit a means base plan to the State where we tell them what we intend to do with the resources in terms of general categories, and we did inform the State that we were interested in receiving TANF money to be able to expand the array of after school and youth development programs for children in the City, so the money was given to us for that purpose. The State does not dictate to us whether we provide the 1540 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET services directly or whether we do it through a relationship with an agency or, let's say, an agency that subcontracts with a number of agencies.
So is Philadelphia Safe & Sound one of the agencies that I talked about earlier where you have these after school program dollars? Is that a separate -- is Safe & Sound one of the providers of the after school programs? You have other after school programs outlined on -- let me look at this. You have 12 million. Is that the money that's going to Safe & 13 Sound for the after school program? 14
That's not the only money we 15 spend in after school, but it is the bulk of the 16 money. We also support other after school and youth 17 development programs for other special populations. 18 For example, for our delinquency prevention programs 19 we have after school components that we don't fund directly through Safe & Sound. The reason for spending most of the money through Safe & Sound is that the Mayor has identified Safe & Sound as the agency that is responsible for developing the City's Children's Investment Strategy. In addition to the goal of 1541 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET finding out of school time opportunities for up to a hundred thousand kids that we don't think get them today, we also recognized at the beginning of the administration that many activities go on in the city that are called after school and youth development, but they really are not held to any particular standard, there's no licensing requirements for a lot of these programs. So part of the agenda has been, not only to get more money for the communities who support these programs, but also to raise the quality of them.
Safe & Sound is not a provider. Safe & Sound is an agency that then contracts with other agencies. But prior to being Safe & Sound, didn't you directly do that? Isn't that what one of the things that you went out and made contact with different agencies to provide these children services. Why put another middle level in between? What efficiency did that bring to 1542 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET it?
I just want to make clear, Safe & Sound does not provide services.
No, it's a managing entity. It's an entity that provides management and coordination and issues RFPs, provides technical assistance, provides support to the after school Youth Development Beacon Initiative, monitors the providers.
DHS has never invested in prevention the way that DHS invests in prevention now.
I'm not saying that it did not invest in prevention. I'm saying the job of DHS was to contract out, whether it be for prevention or maintenance or risk management or whatever, it was to provide the RFPs and to provide the management structure and so on.
That is correct. And there are a couple of things -- government can do this work of contracting with community in different 1543 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET ways. The way that DHS does it most commonly is, as you mentioned, Councilman, to contract directly with providers. And we do that in the majority of instances. However, the other way to contract to get services into a community, especially when it's a specialized service, it's through an intermediary where you can enter into a relationship with a management entity that provides a certain set of services and provides some of the oversight coordination and management of the initiative, because it would be unwieldy, let's say, or impractical or impossible for the Department to do it ourselves. In terms of the after school and youth development programming that DHS is now investing in, the Mayor wanted us, and I absolutely agree that the best model was to contract it out to an outside entity. Safe & Sound was not an entity that -- was a latecomer to this after school and youth development initiative. Safe & Sound was created during the Rendell Administration years with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. And their agenda is to do system reform around youth and after school development activities. It's always been 1544 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET their plan and their design to increase the number of after school services in the City. And so when we actually got the money from the State, they were the best prepared in the City, quite frankly, to run with this project. In addition to Safe & Sound, though, we're working with PHMC. PHMC does part of the technical assistance, United Way does part of the technical assistance. So really DHS is an investor in this program. While we have some contracts with, what we do directly is small compared to what Safe & Sound is doing. And quite frankly, Councilman, we would not have the capacity to do it the way they are doing it because my priorities are, quite frankly, elsewhere; they're in the abused and neglect and the foster care and the group home intuitions. I just could not do it effectively, and it needed to be done. It needed to be done. And they are a contractor with us. I want to say, though, that we also transfer money to the Health Department, we transfer money to OESS. We work with other partners in order to get the job done for the citizens but, ultimately, we are accountable to the State. And so 1545 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET therefore, we have an interest and concern how that money gets administered and gets used.
So any community organization or any other organization would have to subcontract with Philadelphia Safe & Sound to provide the after school programs in the various communities?
For those resources, yes, absolutely. And the funding has been allocated through a competitive RFP process, managed by Safe & Sound.
In your provider network, and I know it's quite vast, do you have any idea what is the diversity of the providers?
From the MBEC. And we have some additional information that we were able to collect about our more recent prevention investments. The level of participation -- the percentage of DHS total contract with MBEC participation is 24.1 percent, and the total dollar 1546 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET amount was $90 million for 2001. For 2002, our numbers show that the percentage of contract participation is percent with a total amount of 5 MBEC participation at the same $90 million. 6 The reason why we have additional 7 information to provide is because most of our growth 8 last year was done through those contracts with 9 management entities and so we have additional 10 information about the minority participation through 11 Safe & Sound and PHMC and our other prevention 12 providers. 13
This is David Fair, DHS 14 Prevention Services. 15 In the Class 250 contracts that are 16 funded through the community prevention services 17 division, we have 132 providers, some of which are 18 shared with through some of these fiduciary -- some 19 of them are directly contracted with us. Of the 132 providers, 32 percent meet the previous MBEC definition of a minority provider when they were applying as a non-profit corporation. These are all non-profit corporations. In terms of the dollars, there's $54 million that was spent in Class 250 contracts in this current fiscal year. And of that 1547 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET amount, 47 percent of the dollars, $25.3 million, is spent in the organizations that meet the prior MBEC definition of non-profit minority organizations. We did a recent survey with the Law Department of our provider system to determine their ability to serve clients with limited English proficiency, so we happen to also have some information on the number of people that we pay for in these agencies. Right now we're paying 438 full-time equivalent staff in those 132 agencies. Of those, 73 percent are African American, 13 percent are Puerto Rican or Latino, 1 percent are 14 Asian and 11 percent are white. 15
We certainly recognize the importance of having diversity in a number of areas: Racial diversity, cultural diversity, geographic diversity, linguistic diversity, and we are committed as a department to continue to improve on those numbers because they certainly can be improved.
Well, we hope every effort is made. It's getting very tiring. I think I've been here 15 years, and that's all we talk about every time we have a budget hearing and we 1548 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET hear the same message over and over again. We'd like to see better progress. I just have a couple more questions. One, about a program that was proposed by Warren E. Smith to provide counseling to African American males. What happened with that program? Are you familiar with that? Is anybody familiar with that program? It was a Dr. Gibbs involved.
I believe the program is the extended day treatment program for boys at risk of placement. It is a day/night program. There was one established for girls. And the model is very successful. It's a program that allows us to keep children that would otherwise go out of State in the region. We issued a competitive RFP to expand the program for boys in the City of Philadelphia. And we received a number of applications, and Warren E. Smith was one of the applicants. Two providers were chosen to do the work. One is Cornerstone and the other one was Congreso de Latinos Unidos. And it's my understanding that Warren E. Smith was not happy with the decision of not having chosen them and raised some concerns about that. Those concerns were reviewed by then Managing Director Estelle 1549 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Richman and so she was satisfied that the process that as followed was a fair process.
Was the targeted population mainly African American males?
The targeted population for this service is African American males. Both African American boys and Latino boys are over-represented in the juvenile justice system, so certainly we were very committed to making sure that services were available to African American males first and foremost and also to Latino youth as well because they're significantly over-represented in these kinds of efforts. Cornerstone is a provider that has a record of serving African American males and other youth as well. And Congreso, as you know, primarily serves Latino youth but also has a record of serving non-Latinos as well.
It's a delinquency provider that's been working in the City for quite sometime and providing deputy service. I'll ask Deputy Commissioner Ambrose to explain.
Good afternoon. Ann 1550 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Marie Ambrose, Deputy Commissioner for Juvenile Justice Services. Cornerstone was selected because they had been very successful in meeting a special needs in the juvenile justice field for children returning from out-of-state placement. Most of them were initially sex offenders. They were so successful with that population that we decided to expand their after-care services for the older adolescence who were aging out of the system.
Cornerstone is a female-run corporation out of Colorado who had some institutional programs that were successful that we used in the out-of-state capacity. And then because of their success with some of our children in the out-of-state capacity, we used them for community-based programing for children who are on after-care in Juvenile Justice.
If they're out of Colorado, how do they run the program in Philadelphia.
They have people in Philadelphia who are very competent and experienced 1551 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET who run the program.
That's correct. It's on 18th and Callowhill. And the new Cornerstone facility is on Hunting Park, I believe. They're trying to get space on Hunting Park.
I'm not exactly sure. I'd have to get back to you on the diversity of their staff.
I'd like to ask a couple of questions about Riverview. I can raise some concerns I have about Riverview because I have some constituents who've expressed a concern about family members who are there and the uncertainty around Riverview and what will they do with these families members if they have to leave Riverview. I caution you on the transition from an institution to community-based programs because, as 1552 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET you know, you'd have this nimbi. And unless you have begun to identify homes in the Philadelphia area where you can place 240 individuals, I'd be concerned about where you place them. I'd be concerned about who's going to monitor their care. You have senior citizens. It seems to me Riverview has a good reputation for providing quality care. And that you also have to be minding of the zoning. So those are issues that I see that confront you as you talk about Riverview because where are you going -- and are you going to create individual providers to provide the home care service for these residents, these senior citizens? And are the providers people who really have the qualifications to provide care or are they someone who just sees an opportunity to get a contract, puts the people on the porch and let them sit forever. So those are real concerns about the quality of care for the residents of Riverview as well as dealing with the community concerns of neighbors who sometimes, not always right, are concerned about group homes, conversion of single-family housing into multi-family housing. Those are the issues that have to be -- and I think 1553 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET you might want to talk to the Health Department in some of the trials and tribulations they had earlier on in setting up group homes. And so that is my concern. My major concern, though, is who will monitor the care? Who will be there to make sure that the senior citizens are getting quality care?
Councilwoman, my name is Rob Hess, Deputy Managing Director for Special Needs Housing. I appreciate your comments. I think they're absolutely on target. The care the folks get at Riverview is exceptional. I have not been in a personal care boarding home locally that can match it currently. Having said that, we heard before the previous Managing Director left and put the title "secretary" before her name, that this was going to be a focus for her and her work in Harrisburg and that she was going to work to achieve a much higher standard of living and standard of care in personal care boarding homes all across the Commonwealth. And so as she makes that her focus over time, we may begin to see that level of care and standards increase. If we do and if as we work through our 1554 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Five-Year Plan, it becomes clear that there are community-based options that are more appropriate and higher quality than currently exist, then that might be a direction to go. Ultimately, the real question, and I think you hit on it very well, is what is best for the individuals who reside at Riverview? Now, some would argue that Riverview being on State Road surrounded by prisons is not the best environment; that if we had high quality community-based options, that might be more appropriate. I don't believe today we do. So we'll have to look at this very closely and look at the options over time. If Secretary Richman is successful working throughout the Commonwealth to greatly enhance the standards of care at personal care boarding homes, then we may see that landscape change and then we ought to look closely at what that means for the people that are currently residents at Riverview. To answer your question with respect to who would monitor the quality of care in personal care boarding homes across the Commonwealth, that is 1555 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET DPW. So that would be clearly under Secretary Richman's purview.
But if we are -- if it's our responsibility to provide the care for these individuals, we no longer have responsibility once they've moved out of Riverview and placed into private care?
I think we'll still have some responsibility. In fact, I think the reality would be that if the quality of care was not a high quality of care, these are folks that very likely would end up rotating into our emergency shelter system or other systems, and we just don't want that. That would not be the appropriate level of housing for them. We can't afford to let that happen. Folks are much better off at Riverview today; it's a more appropriate housing setting, certainly, than our emergency shelter system would be, so we're sensitive to that point.
Let me ask you a question. Why is the consideration on the table to close Riverview? Is it the cost? Or is it because it's surrounded by prisons?
No, I think the reason that 1556 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Riverview is on the table is strictly an issue of what's in the best interest of the people that reside there. Is it in the best interest to be in an institutional setting that's kind of out of the immediate area of most communities, or under ideal circumstances would a more appropriate setting be community-based and perhaps even a smaller setting and non-institutional in nature. And I think that's the debate that really drives the looking at what the future of Riverview should be or should not be.
Well, it seems to me that senior citizens who can afford it are moving into institutional settings. They're selling their homes and going into assisted living, using whatever income they have to be in a setting where they can get care. It's still an institution. It's not a public institution, it's a private institution. Those who can afford to -- who are mobile and who retire can go to retirement communities. Others are moving to assisted living, which move to residential facilities, assisted living, and nursing home all in one. And these facilities seem to be cropping up all over the country, and I don't see a negative to having a quality care, City-run facility for people 1557 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET who live in the City who may not be able to afford to go in these assisted living facilities to have that same kind of setting. It's not a negative.
I don't disagree with you. But I also think that we have a responsibility to look at all the options. And over time, as the landscape changes, in this case if Secretary Richman is successful in really driving significant change in creating a much higher standard of living and standard of care within personal care boarding homes, that may be an appropriate option. And if it is a better option for some or all, they ought to have that option. We just need to keep it on the table. And I guess Riverview, in many ways, has been on the table for many, many years; so that hasn't changed. I think our focus is what's ultimately in the best interest of the residents that live there.
Well, I do think you all are creating some real uncertainty with families. They are beginning to wonder, what do I do, what am I going to do with a 90-year-old grandmother or 85-year-old aunt or something that. 1558 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET You're beginning to create these worries because you haven't made a final decision but you have it on the table and it's just creating some uncertainty with a lot of families.
I think that's unfortunate, and I think it is true. Anytime that you're looking at a change, it tends to make folks uncertain and uncomfortable. We certainly will engage the residents on a regular basis for communication, staff, the advocate community and others to make sure that we can fully inform people all along the way.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo for a point of information. 1559 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
In reference to Riverview, could you just go back over the plan just briefly? What is the date that you plan to make the significant change there?
Fiscal Year '04 will see no 7 change, with the exception that the average census, which is now about 260, we expect to see a drop to about 240. Changes beyond Fiscal Year '04 have yet to be decided. If there are appropriate and better community-based settings for folks by the end of the Five-Year Plan, then Riverview would be closed. But we're a long way from that. There's a lot of work that needs to be done between now and then.
How many acres is that property? If you don't know, that's fine.
But my point being, you know what's going to happen. The more there's conversation about it being closed, the more speculation its going to be that it's going to be sold. Has there been an appraisal? Is there a value associated with the property? I think that's something we really need to know if you start to talk about closing it. And I would hope that we 1560 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET would not -- if you have no population in the building, a couple dozen people, to maintain a facility like that would be like maintaining the Convention Center that we had out in West Philadelphia for all those years and dumping a lot of money into it. So I think that you really have to be upfront, especially when the community starts asking what's going to happen with Riverview. I know it's not -- correct me if I'm wrong. It's not in the heart of any residential area, but I'm sure there's going to be people concerned or people interested in that property. So I think you need to start planning. If it's in the Five-Year Plan, then coinciding with that there should be a plan on what happens if you do close it and at what level. I would hate to see money wasted at that facility just keeping a few dozen people there and spending millions of dollars a year just to keep it open.
I know that's on the radar screen for Public Property. And we certainly pass that question along and will get you an answer. I just don't know the answer. And I think it's much too early in the process for us.
It's pointed out to 1561 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET me that there's already estimations in the Five-Year Plan on the savings, 5.3 million, phase out Riverview, find alternate placement for its residents. So I think it's a little further along than you just suggested. If it's in the Five-Year Plan, then there's a projected savings of $5.3 million.
I think that savings projection would be based upon there being other, better, more appropriate community-based housing options that folks would move to. And if that were to happen and at that point Riverview did close, then I think what you see there is the operating budget for Riverview reflected.
Well, obviously, that's what it is. And find alternate placement for the resident is a very significant piece of the pie.
But, again, don't put us, as representatives of the people, the District Councilpeople, the Council at Large, with the speculation of what's going to happen there. The next thing it will be it's going to be a casino.
We'll keep you fully 1562 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET informed, Councilman.
Let's go back to something. I'm interested in adoption. And I'd like to talk to you about where are we in the adoption programs. How many kids do we have in the process? How many kids were adopted? And how can we get more kids adopted in the City of Philadelphia?
We had a good year in adoptions. We had a 44 percent increase in adoptions from calendar year 2001 to calendar year 2002. And we have at this point 1,200 children, approximately, as of December of '02 that are ready to be adopted. They are legally free for adoption, 1200 children in the pipeline.
I'd say from infant to teenagers. The bulk of the children that are in this group are probably between the ages of 5 and 13, I would say, but they really span all ages. Of those 1200 children as of December who are legally 1563 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET free for adoption, there's probably around 150 who have no adoptive resource. There were around 250 when I came to DHS, but through our communications efforts and a lot of those investments that we've made, we've identified a lot of adoptive resources for these children, you know, spread the word, getting a lot more people into the pipeline, and that number is down. However, we do have --
When you say they have no adoptive resource, what does that mean?
That they are legally free for adoption but there is no family right now who has expressed interest in adopting these particular children. Or perhaps they've expressed interest but have not made a commitment. So then the role of government, Councilman, is to continue to work harder to match those children with a family. Because if children grow too old in a system, they become less and less likely to be adopted. However, with our new reform initiative called Performance Based Contracting, we expect to see a significant number of permanencies. And I would ask Chief Deputy Commissioner Wanda Mile to speak to what our goals are around improving 1564 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET permanency for the City.
As the Commissioner said, I'm Wanda Mile, Deputy Commissioner for Children and Youth Program and Planning. We have an enhanced and intensive permanency agenda at DHS and have been working very, very hard with our provider partners and targeting first our family foster care providers who are responsible, not only for recruiting and training and managing appropriate foster parents and then sort of having children in our care placed with those parents, but also who are responsible for a permanency plan on behalf of those kids. We have been working with them for over a year at looking at ways in which we can together as a system better achieve permanencies, strong, safe, stable families for kids. If they cannot go home, which is our number 1 permanency option, reunification, then really identifying appropriate adoptive and subsidized permanent legal custody resources: Parents who can take on children, build new families for children in our system. So we have structured contracts, really re-worked our contractual arrangement and agreement with family foster care 1565 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET providers to incentivise and support and enhance their ability to move kids safely and more quickly to permanent homes.
Where are the parents coming from? Are they Philadelphia -- are the kids being settled with families here in Philadelphia or outside of Philadelphia?
The majority of children are adopted in the five county region, but some children get adopted by families outside. There are a number of cases where children are adopted outside. The overwhelming majority, though, are in the City and the region. And 90 percent of children get adopted by their foster parents.
Do we have a breakdown of the kids in terms of ethnicity and race and sex?
Yes, we do. And the overwhelming majority of children free for adoption are African American males.
And what's that number at this point? 1566 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Well, as of December, 1200 children freed for adoption, but within that number around 150, as I said, who do not have an adoptive resource. So that means that perhaps 1,050 will achieve an adoption soon than new cases will come into the adoption section, but there is that group of children who will languish unless we find them an adoptive family. And what DHS is doing about that is really picking up the pace around recruitment efforts for children who need to be adopted. We are going to the press. We're going to the radio.
Do you have many Puerto Rican and Latino families coming forward? Who comes forward? Do we place these kids in, generally, if he's a Puerto Rican kid in a Puerto Rican home? Or how do we try? Is there an attempt to do that?
We have a commitment to place children in as close proximity to their community of origin as possible. The system has held that as a value for many years. But the design of the system has not reflected that. In practice -- it's always been a value, but the practice has 1567 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET not necessarily been consistent with that value. In our new performance based contracting model, we entered into a dialogue with the providers and we have an understanding that providers will pick geographic areas where they are going to build their recruitment of foster parents. Most children should stay close to home because they can stay close to their friends and family and community and school. For some children, it may not be in their best interest, so it's not a hundred percent required. Specific to Latinos, we have two agencies Concillo (ph) and APM who do foster parenting and adoption. They are very successful at recruiting bilingual and bicultural families, and they also have multi-racial foster parents, too. Every agency makes an effort to recruit from everywhere. There is not and we would not tolerate a kind of a racial bias in favor of recruiting certain types of foster parents over others, but certainly we have two Latino agencies who specialize in the development of Latino families as resources and, yes, when we have the ability we place bilingual, bicultural children with those two organizations first. But, Councilman, it's not 1568 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET always the case. Our contracting process, though, moves us closer to that direction. We have been doing more recruitment, more advertisement in the Latino community around the need for adoptive and foster parents. We've been very much very proactive, much more than ever before targeting that community.
I'm very interested in that, and I believe in it. I just think that we should do it more. You were talking about the class action lawsuit, the Kinship Care Policies. And according to your monthly budget update here, Wolff, Block, Schorr & Solis-Cohen is the law firm doing this lawsuit for the City?
And they were paid according to what I read here or budgeted $300,000 for '01; $135,000 for '02; projected for this year-end $100,000. Why are we dealing with Solis-Cohen? The City Solicitor could not handle the case? Give me the rationale for going outside. Is the City expecting to get any funds out of this case or just the regulations to be changed and a 1569 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET reform agenda to be placed?
Wolff, Block was the law firm that represented the Department of Human Services in the Baby Neil litigation for over a decade. Now, that lawsuit ended and we have a very, very close working relationship with our advocacy community --
No. This is a completely separate lawsuit. It was filed as Baby Neil was wrapping up and so therefore because Wolff, Block was already involved in this kind of litigation and had a knowledge base that we believed made it cost efficient to use them, the City Solicitor asked them to handle this. The City Solicitor handles a huge amount of work for us, tremendous amount of work for us, including sometimes complex litigation like this. At that point, the decision was made to contract it out under City Solicitor Trujillo. And as you see, the costs are significantly lower than when I first came to DHS because we are in settlement negotiations. It is not our intent to litigate this to the death. We are going to settle 1570 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET this case, do right around policy, and move forward. It is a State lawsuit, though, Councilman. So we don't really get to settle it outside of the whole team of people.
Are there legal agencies accompanying Wolff Block on this, or Wolff, Block sole legal representation of the case?
It is my understanding that they are representing us themselves in this litigation. I can confirm that for you.
Yes. They represent the City. I'm not sure if they represent any other defendants. I am hundred percent sure they represent us and that they're pretty much doing it themselves because it's in settlement negotiation right now.
You're welcome. I believe Councilman Nutter has his light on. Did you want to be recognized, 1571 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Councilman?
Yes, Madam Chair. Thank you. Commissioner on -99 of the budget book -- if you went over this, you'll just let me know. Have you been on this page?
Again, in the professional services area, the after school item which as a part of the materials you're going to get to us or what was shared this afternoon we'll be able to figure out who the providers are. These after school programs -- and they are also mentioned in other parts of the testimony. Would you be able to get information to the Chair for us that lays out where these after school programs are? Is there an overlap here between what you're listing as after school programs and -- for instance, yesterday, we had the Recreation Department and they talked about a whole host of after school programs and that they're getting a booklet together or a guide. I don't know whether it was at your recommendation, but Mr. Keel's working on that project as well. He's a busy guy, he's a real busy guy. I clearly 1572 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET went into the wrong business. Where are these programs and how many children do you believe are being served?
We will share some of the information with you now verbally and we will give you that information by this afternoon or tomorrow. We have it broken down by councilmatic district. And there is very good coordination, I would say, generally among the after school and youth development programs that are administered directly through DHS, those that are administered through rec and those that are administered through Safe & Sound. And that is a product of a lot of the coordination that we have been doing as a system over the last three years. David will answer the specific questions about where they're located.
This is David Fair, DHS Prevention Services. I'm not sure how to answer that question. Ther's 140 of them.
140 different after school programs that are funded through DHS funding.
How about if you 1573 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET just get me a listing with locations?
And that includes beacon programs as well as other after school programs supported by DHS.
Yesterday we had discussion with Recreation about these State-licensed after school programs in six recreation centers for the next Fiscal Year. Are you familiar with those?
Yes, I am. I'm familiar with the concept. I don't know the specific rec centers.
Apparently so. It's a fund transfer to the Recreation Department; it's not a direct contract with us.
I understand. The centers are Dende, Maxmires, Hawthorne, Simons, Christy and Tarkin. And one of the questions yesterday was -- and Recreation is going to map these out and I don't know where all of these are. I know where all of them are not, which is anywhere in the 4th District that I represent. And we had some discussion with the Recreation Commissioner and 1574 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET his staff yesterday, and I wanted to ask, is this -- I mean, as you have the funding, I guess, that you transfer to Recreation to run these, I'm actually actively seeking funding for a site in the 4th District to serve children in the west and northwest section of the City. I would make the case that their needs are at least equal to or are as meaningful as other children across the City and that children in the west and northwest section, whether it's West Philadelphia Wynnefield, Overbrook, Roxborough, Manayunk, East Falls, North Philadelphia or West Mount Airy, I think are deserving by their citizenship and should not be denied the opportunity for services by their geography. Are you able to possibly provide any funding support to add a seventh location and make sure that there's full coverage throughout the City?
Councilman, we certainly would be more than willing to talk about what the needs are and work in conjunction with Vic Richards and Safe & Sound and DHS to see how we can support you in that important need you have. Let me say that the intent has never 1575 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET been to deny any child service in the City, but rather to target where the highest rate of abuse, neglect, delinquency, youth homicides come from. And we've always recognized that the best city is one that has these services in every neighborhood because just because a neighborhood is not devastated doesn't mean that there aren't children who are at risk. And we understand that and we've had these conversations with a number of Councilpeople. So in terms of the specific project that you have, we would be happy to sit down with you and strategize about how we can meet the un-met need that we have within the resources that are available.
Commissioner, can you please make your answers a little more concise. We're really running very behind schedule.
Thank you, Madam 1576 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Chair. Commissioner, I would like to have that kind of discussion. And I, quite honestly, don't want to have to sit here and denigrate parts of my own district to somehow make a case that the children are deserving or needy. Again, I think wide dispersion graphically targeted but also, again, as you said, recognizing that different children have different needs. In some instances, I think we don't want to wait until things are so bad that you then have to throw tremendous resources at a particular problem, but there are problems out there. There are children who are in distress. There are issues of abuse and homicide and the like, and I don't know how many you have to have to qualify. I tend to think that one is too many. And I don't think there should be one on every other corner, but certainly if you look at a map and say, "Well, we're going to have one over here and one over there," and kind of spread them all out, then before you know it, there's reasonable access where you don't have to travel miles away or enter into an entirely different neighborhood to get the services because you know that often those issues become 1577 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET barriers to people accessing services even if they want them.
Yes, Councilman. We will follow-up with you on this. There are at least a million dollars in after school investments invested in your district, is the information I have, but certainly I recognize that given the scale of the need in our City, it's definitely not enough. We don't have enough anywhere. I accept that.
I would definitely like to have one of those centers. So I'll look to hear back from you as soon as possible. And then you're going to get us the kind of budget detail to replace what's in your budget book, you said --
And, Commissioner we would like copies please. 19
Are there any other questions from Members of the Committee? The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco. 1578 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
I'm just briefly looking at the major contracts you have here. It seems there is a James Randolph who is a project manager for many, many programs. How does that work?
Ann Marie Ambrose, Deputy Commissioner for Juvenile Justice Services. Mr. Randolph is the Director of our Court and Community Services Program for Juvenile Justice Services. So most of those contracts, he's responsible for.
Are there any other questions or comments from Members of the Committee? (No response.)
Next to testify is the Office of Emergency Shelter and 1579 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Services.
Good morning, Councilmembers, President Verna and Councilmembers. My name is Robert Hess, I am the Deputy Managing Director for Special Needs Housing. I have to my left Joe Mitchell, the Director of OESS; to my right, Richard Shaeffer, our Administrative Services Director; and to his right, Emily Camp Landis, Assistant Managing Director for Special Needs Housing. I am pleased and honored to offer this testimony on the Office of Emergency and Shelter Services budget request for Fiscal Year 2004 as well as on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in the area of homeless services. As presented to Council, the proposed Fiscal Year 2004 budget for OESS is $38,153,251, of which $15,544,372 is in the General Fund and $22,608,879 are grant revenues. This request is an increase of $1,760,803 over the projected Fiscal Year 2003 spending representing anticipated grant revenue increases. In Fiscal Year 2004, we will have approximately 2300 beds in our emergency shelter system and in related emergency housing resources, and we will provide case management, 1580 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET supportive services, and transitional housing. Our proposed budget will support 138 positions, a decrease of one general funded position and one grant funded position. There will be no impact on service delivery due to these reductions. Programs and responsibilities associated with them have already been restructured. In the area of demand for emergency shelter, we have experienced significant differences between 2002 and 2003. First, families having been requesting shelter at a higher rate than expected since July 2002. In past years, requests for families declined once the school year started. Parents whose housing conditions were substandard tend to stay in those conditions rather than disrupt their children with a shelter stay during the school year. This year we believe due to the consistently poor economy, families have continued to come into our system throughout the summer and into the fall and winter months. Last year at this time, I reported that we were observing a sustained decline in emergency shelter requests that started in Fiscal Year 2001. 1581 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET During the planning stages for Fiscal Years 2003, we had no reason to believe that this trend would change. But counter to those projections, requests for shelter during the first several months of Fiscal Year 2003 nearly returned to the level of two years ago. The shift in demand on the family side of the housing is only half of the story. The extreme cold weather has brought a greater number of singles into the emergency shelter system. Unlike last year's relatively warm weather, Philadelphia has experienced a particularly cold and snowy winter this year. As of today, we have had approximately 70 days when a Code Blue has been in effect, and that compares with 28 days all of last winter. The weather forecasters are not predicting a major change for the last few weeks of this winter. During Code Blue, OESS maintains a policy of placing everyone in need of emergency shelter with a special focus on people who are chronically homeless living on the streets or brought in by outreach workers or police. In response to this increased demand, OESS has been able to increase bed capacity and meet 1582 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET the growing need for shelter. In addition to our core beds, OESS currently has access to approximately 600 beds that can be used on an as-needed basis. Two hundred of these beds are reserved for families and will continue to be part of our system until the family requests return to Fiscal Year 2002 levels. Another 200 are considered winter beds and will be open throughout the coldest months of the year to accommodate the increased need among the single adult chronically homeless population.
An additional 200 beds are available on short notice on a day-to-day basis, meaning OESS can utilize these beds when it is expected that more people than usual will be coming into the emergency shelter system on a particular night, for example, when a Code Blue is called. Furthermore, OESS has expansion capacity through opening additional recreational centers, fire stations, police stations, and other public buildings, as has been the case in previous years in which actual emergency requests exceeded the expected demand. In addition to expanding the number of available beds to meet demand, we also recognize 1583 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET that increased mental health supports are needed for our families in shelter and that we needed to improve access to behavioral health services, particularly drug and alcohol treatment for adults in our shelter system. To do both, we relied on partnerships we have formed within the Division of Social Services. The behavioral health system has worked hand in hand with us to ensure that our planning efforts in these areas were sound and that implementation of these efforts were smooth and continued to be monitored for effectiveness. The well-being of children who pass through our shelters during a very difficult as well as formative time in their lives continues to be a focus for OESS. In Fiscal Year 2003, we partnered with the Bright Horizons Foundation, McNeil Pharmaceuticals, and numerous others to kick off our Bright Spaces Initiative. At the end of the first phase of this partnership, a total of 14 Bright Spaces will be open to infants, toddlers, and parents temporarily living with us in our family shelters. They offer age-appropriate interactive play spaces that encourage the development of critical motor 1584 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET cognitive and sensory skills of children.
Mr. Hess, excuse me. We notice you have a very detailed testimony here. Is there any way you could just kind of summarize it for us, because we have it. It's been a long day.
It certainly has, and I'll be happy to do that. Let me just hit a couple of the high points. Councilwoman Blackwell, actually, asked us to bring some pictures of the Bright Spaces. So if I could have those passed around, you can see some of the improvements made to our family facilities that we're really excited about.
Thank you. We have three other departments to testify.
Okay. I'll be very brief with the balance. I want to point out that we have upgraded a number of facilities, spending millions of dollars in facilities improvements, some of which you'll now see with the pictures that are being passed around. We're now in our second year with Ready, Willing and Able, and we will see 20 to 25 1585 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET men graduate from Ready, Willing and Able before the end of this Fiscal Year. Extraordinarily exciting. These are men that have long histories of substance abuse, long criminal histories that now will graduate. That means that they have been drug and alcohol free for to months. They have got a 8 full-time job and they've moved into unsubsidized 9 housing in the community. And we're just 10 extraordinarily proud of them and of their 11 accomplishments and look forward to another 25 or so 12 graduating next year. 13
That is run by the Dove Fund 16 under the name Ready, Willing and Able. 17
Yes. They do a great deal of work throughout the community. They work every day at Fairmount Park. They work at Woodstock and Stenton Family Shelters to help perform custodial functions. They recently cleaned up Poppa Playground and done a number of other things in the community. We're proud of them. 1586 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET We do have a number of new programs that are outlined in the testimony. I would say to you that our challenges remain very significant. This was a very, very difficult and cold winter for us. I'm extraordinarily proud of our staff, the providers in the community, and our management team that work so hard to make sure that folks got shelter throughout this difficult winter. We are still focused on prevention and diversion in the front end, reducing the average length of stay, as I told you last year, and moving people much quicker into permanent housing. And we're excited about those opportunities moving forward.
Thank you very much. We appreciate it. I'd just like to add, thank you so much for your help with the 13th and Lindley situation we had up there.
That was tragic for those families. We were happy to see it positively resolved.
And we'll talk to L&I about that building. But I want to thank you for your help.
A quick question. I did look at the budget regarding Ready, Willing and Able, and I'm actually a big fan of their work as well. I was just wondering, it read like next year's obligation is more than you expect them to spend this year. Do you actually view it as an increase or decrease in funding from this year to next year?
I think it's actually fewer dollars. It's actually gone down and that has to do with the agreement that we reached with them when they came to town to open a facility. We paid for a hundred percent of the operation the first year, 90 percent the second year, and 80 percent the third year; and they're backfilling that with private contributions.
So this is not a -- it's a decrease in public funding, but it's not any 1588 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET disinvestment in their program overall?
Thank you. Mr. Hess, you state on of your testimony that we fully intend to be the first major City in the United States to end chronic homelessness in years. You further state that 10 the New Keys Programs will assist 30 individuals in FY '04. Would you define what you mean by chronic homelessness? And what is the current number of the chronic homelessness population in the City?
Thank you for that question, Madam President. The definition of chronic homelessness is someone who has been continuously homeless for more than a year or has experienced four or more episodes of homelessness in the last three years. That is the HUD definition that was actually created, as I understand it, by Professor Dennis Culhane here at Penn. So that's the target population. What Dr. Culhane has also gleaned in his research is that about 20 percent of the shelter population occupies about 50 percent of the bed 1589 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET nights used in shelter, and that's the chronic group that rotates in and out. And so with that definition, the chronic group in our City would be not more than about 3,000. The actual chronic group on the street, much less than that.
How many individuals are you projecting to serve in the out years of the Five-Year Plan?
We will get up to 100 folks at New Keys Program -- served by New Keys Program over the first three years.
New Keys will support up to 100 chronically homeless individuals that are duly diagnosed in the first three years.
Please understand that the New Keys Program is targeted to duly diagnosed folks that meet the chronic homeless definition that are living on the streets. Now, in terms of folks on 1590 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET the streets, we have right now about a hundred individuals living on the streets. That will go up somewhat as we get into summer. We'll be probably around 250. Now, that's the target for the New Keys Program. And this was only one source of funding. This particular source of funding will get us the first 100 interventions or first 100 folks, provided service over the next three years.
Would you please explain why you are reducing your General Fund Class 200 budget by 1.2 million? What is the service impact of this reduction?
We have reduced it because we believe through aggressive seeking of federal grants that we will be able to increase the grants fund by approximately $3 million, hence the $1.7 million overall budget increase. And so we see an increase in services in this budget.
On -15 of your detail, it appears as if you are eliminating your employment and training programs. Would you explain?
Yes. Employment and training programs are funded through HUD and PWDC. The 1591 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET general fund obligation was $333,000 a year. PWDC puts an alike amount, as does HUD. Over the last several years, given the HUD formula, we've actually overmatched the requirement. And so for this coming year -- actually for the next two years, I believe -- we will be able to remove the General Fund dollars, the 333,000, and continue the programs at the $666,000 level and still meet the HUD match requirements. Our intent is also to work with PWDC to find other mainstream employment and training slots for our residents.
Thank you. Are there any other questions or comments by Members of the Committee? The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. As everyone knows, this is one of my primary areas of interest. And certainly, I realize that we always have growing pains. It's a pleasure to work with Mr. Hess. I've worked with Rich Shaeffer longer than both of us probably can 1592 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET remember. And certainly, Joe Mitchell is a welcome staff addition, and we are very, very pleased that he is part of the OESS family. Now I speak for Councilwoman Blondel Reynolds Brown who had to leave who wants to get you back to Poppa this year. I don't really know where that is, but she said they did a great job there.
Also she's asking about the Bright Spaces Program and maybe it be expanded. She said, could we possibly have it in all of our facilities, but she thinks it's a great program and would like to see expanded.
Councilwoman, thanks to the generosity of McNeil Pharmaceuticals and Bright Horizons Foundation, we're going to be able to do exactly that. We have opened the first Bright Spaces at Woodstock and Stenton. There will be two more Bright Spaces opened before the end of this fiscal year at Red Shield and Act Masters, and the balance of every one of our family facilities will have a Bright Space for children and parents by the end of Fiscal Year '04 as long as we are able to stay on the schedule that we worked out with McNeil 1593 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET and with the Bright Horizons Foundation.
Thank you. Let me finally say that -- and I've said before even this year especially that Lucien Blackwell started our homeless program in this City many, many years ago when Rizzo was mayor. And certainly, it's where our heart is, where our commitment is. This and education do it for me. And let me say that I know that we have problems and that I'm committed to you and I'm committed to everybody who works for OESS to do what we can, to be available whenever we need to be, as often as we need to be to try to iron out any issues that may exist.
Councilwoman, we certainly appreciate that. As you know, we go through long stretches of time when we have daily communication, and I think it's very helpful in many, many respects and we appreciate your support and your interest.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.
Madam Chair, I had to 1594 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET step out so I don't know if these questions were asked. I read in the paper today in terms of projections for an increase in the area of homeless and families and a projection also for cutting back on the prevention aspects, those programs. I don't know if any questions were asked. Could you explain to me what is the projection in terms of the growth? What is going to be the impact of cutting back on the prevention programs on those numbers?
Councilman, first of all, let me say that there is no reduction in prevention programs in this budget. The cuts that are alluded to in this morning's article in the Inquirer were last year cuts, and they amounted to $300,000. The impact of those cuts on clients who receive those benefits --
It says here, I would imagine they quote you, "Those cuts will not be restored in 2004," and those cuts really impact on the prevention programs.
That is true. We were not able to restore that $300,000 in this coming budget. However, as we looked at the impact of those cuts 1595 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET over this past year, what we found out is the providers were able to serve the same number of families that they had in the previous year and they were able to serve them in an average funding of $1100 per family as opposed to $1200 a family prior to the cuts. So we think that the actual impact on the programs from the client's standpoint was relatively modest. And since then over the last two years, as you heard from Commissioner Martinez, DHS has tremendously expanded their prevention programs that many of our clients are eligible for. So we think the overall pool of prevention dollars through the Division of Social Services is actually much greater today than it was prior to the cuts.
Could you give us in writing something clarifying the issues brought out in the story? I would really appreciate that.
In terms of the monies, in terms of projection for the increase of people going into the homeless situation.
We had hearings here 1596 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET a few months back on the issue of domestic violence. We found out then that we really have only one safe house in the whole City and very few beds in your system for domestic violence women or men, but mainly women. What are we doing about that and what are the numbers of beds that are now available and what priority is given to somebody who comes into the system really fleeing from an abusive spouse, an abuser?
This is a tough issue for us, Councilman. And I'll tell you why. The vast majority --
But especially for us because women and families that come to us have generally experienced some level of trauma. And they are oftentimes fearful, they are oftentimes reluctant to tell us that they have been subjected to domestic violence or sexual abuse or things of that nature initially until they've been with us a while, they've got a relationship with their social worker, and then over time they may reveal that. But generally, women that come into our system do not 1597 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET tell us that they've entered our system because of domestic violence or sexual abuse. Now, that said, some of the very difficult cases we do get. You know, they've told somebody else and somebody else has called us. And in those cases, we handle them on a case-by-case basis. And very often those women and children do not end up in the shelter system. We have what we call an emergency relocation program that has 11 apartments that are kind of located around town that 12 we can use essentially as a safe haven, if you will, 13 although that's not the right technical term, for 14 those families to be safe. We have had families, I 15 will tell you, in the course of last year that 16 there's been so serious in nature that we feared for 17 their safety no matter where we put them, and in a 18 couple cases, the Manager Director has worked with 19 the Police Commissioner to authorize some police 20 protection for those families in individual 21 circumstances. And I can remember one family that 22 we actually made arrangements to be placed in an appropriate facility in a different City for their own safety. So that does happen on a case-by-case basis. But generally, when women and children come 1598 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET into our system, they don't tell us that they have this need.
But if they do, then your case workers and you have protocols and guidelines that they follow?
But I said, then you have the guidelines and protocols that you follow.
Joseph Mitchell, the Director of Office of Emergency Shelter and Services. As Mr. Hess said, it really kind of depends on the situation. If our social worker is able to ascertain that there is a legitimate abuse issue here, then we will work with the Emergency Relocation Program to get appropriate placement for that family.
Thank you, Madam President. Good afternoon. 1599 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
I've seen your testimony. I believe you spoke somewhat already about Ready, Willing and Able Program.
And having had some history back in New York, can you talk to me about the New York model? Are you familiar with the New York version?
I am. Essentially we are operating with what the Doe Fund in New York would call the Brooklyn Model, which means that folks that -- single men who are ready, willing, and able to work, have criminal histories generally and long histories of substance abuse are the target population. Now, that group comes in, takes a drug test. They have to be clean when they come in. They begin working. And they're paid for their work. They're paid -- I think it's $5.25 an hour for their work. A portion of that they pay back to the program for board, essentially. A portion of that goes into savings. When they graduate from the program, the program actually matches their savings. So they can leave with a significant amount of 1600 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET money. But they work towards graduation. They learn skills. They learn employment skills. They get experience. At the end of the day, graduation means that they have remained drug and alcohol free. And they're randomly drug tested two or three times a week throughout the period of time they're in the program. If they relapse, they're not thrown out. We work closely with CODAAP to get them in appropriate drug treatment. And when they've completed that, they can return to the program. But while they're in the program, they're randomly tested routinely. They work every day. They are paid. A portion goes to savings, a portion goes to room and board. Between 12 and 18 months they're expected to graduate. Graduate means that they've remained drug and alcohol free. It means that they're employed full time. And it means that they're living in unsubsidized housing in the community. It's a tremendous accomplishment and a tremendous victory for them and I think for the program and for us as a City. That said, it doesn't stop there. For the first three months that men leave the program 1601 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET after graduation, they return to Ready, Willing, and Able once a month. They take another drug test to show that they're still clean. They present their pay stub so we know they're still working. They present some proof of rent so we know they're still living in unsubsidized housing. And if they accomplish that, they get $200 that Ready, Willing and Able pays out to them.
I believe it was the City of New York, but I could be wrong. I'd have to check.
It's my understanding that our great Senator Specter got a substantial federal grant or was instrumental in getting a federal grant.
Well, I'm kind of going there. At the time early on in the infancy stages of the concept of doing Ready, Willing and Able, there was an attempt to reach out to his office to get the necessary support from the federal government. At that time, I don't think we had the 1602 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET mechanisms in place to implement it, so that request was not responded to. My understanding also in the New York model there is a relationship with private business people, particularly on some of the commercial corridors where they have some sort of a special services district comparable to our special services district where they actually pay Ready, Willing and Able for services relating to business corridors throughout New York.
That's absolutely true. They essentially perform street cleaning and other services in Manhattan. What they do here, of course, is they work at Fairmount Park.
Are we looking at possibly to some degree duplicating that New York model, first, in terms of trying to get some additional support from our great Senator Specter.
And the other thing is going beyond government's resources in terms of getting opportunities to expand the program.
Yes. One of the things that 1603 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Ready, Willing and Able does extraordinarily effectively in New York and they've begun the process of doing here in our city is reaching out to employers and developing those kind of relationships and partnerships with employers that you need to have because if you see a resume that says, you know, "criminal history - drug addict," it tends to cause a problem. If on the other hand, what you know is that these folks have been through the kind of program that they are clean, they have been extraordinarily productive, and they are good additions to the workforce that are going to continue to get support from a program, then you can have a higher degree of confidence. And that really has been the magic of Ready, Willing and Able, I think, in New York and will have to be part of the magic formula here.
Right now we're funding a number of providers throughout the City of Philadelphia for transitional housing services and homeless providers. In the future RFPs, what would be the probability or the likelihood of us being able to include in that RFP some conceptual minimum, hopefully, a requirement that would have the 1604 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET provider do something similar to what we do at Ready, Willing and Able beyond just simply providing a bed and some food or whatever minimal requirements that they give the existing clientele?
Councilman, we're moving in that direction. This current Fiscal Year for the first time, every one of our contracts has some performance-based language in it. We're beginning to get baseline data this year from providers on the kinds of services and the kinds of outcomes. One of the things that we are very clear about, and I think where you're going with this question, is that the Emergency Shelter System is a point of entry, it's not a point of destination. Where we want to be is we want people returning to communities in safe, stable housing with the ability to pay for that housing or with a subsidy that supports them. And we want to have the social services kind of move with them to the degree that they require and want those social services. So we're starting that this year. It's going to be multi-year effort. The first year is get language in and begin to collect baseline data as to what's going on now in a meaningful way and 1605 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET then we have a progression. This coming year for the Fiscal Year '04, we're actually going to release three RFPs for three of our larger facilities. And we're going to, hopefully, get out of that some more creative thinking from the provider community and look at some different ways that services can be provided more in line with what you're suggesting.
Can you provide through the Chair a draft of what your proposal would be as it relates to an RFP process or RFQ?
Because I think we really need to -- and hopefully this is not going to be a long, drawn out process that we ultimately segue into a Ready, Willing and Able model throughout our shelter system, a way that we can realistically get people to be productive citizens in our wonderful City.
Absolutely. I mean, part of the challenge that we face and we're really better positioned to deal with it now than we've ever been is the OESS resources alone are not going to do what we want to do. But the OESS resources coupled with support from DHS, with support from the Health 1606 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Department, with support throughout the Division of Social Service, because after all these are all the same clients, really makes a tremendous difference.
I'd like to see, you know, you have the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation involved with that so it will be a myriad of components in terms of support of services. I'd like to see, if at all possible, a draft of a proposal so we can, hopefully, expedite this process.
We will certainly provide that for you and work with you on it. The other thing that I would mention is we mentioned in the testimony the Behavioral Health support. Behavioral Health System, at our request, very quickly, within 30 days, provided us with a mobile Behavorial Health assessment team that is now stationed at Kirkbride, two shifts a day, but eventually will move, be mobile and be able to go to any of our shelter facilities. It's an extraordinarily important resource to us that we didn't have before now. But it's the kind of thing we have to do, reaching out to other divisions of social service agencies to provide support to our 1607 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET clients.
Council President, is my time winding up? Can I get one last question?
With respect to the work that Ready, Willing and Able is providing at Fairmount Park, what's the issue as it relates to the municipal workforce versus Ready, Willing and Able's work? Was there an issue? I know in some instances there was some concerns about the municipal workforce and unions representing them having other entities provide services, work that traditionally that workforce performs. I know some years Sheriff Green had actually made a proposal to have minimum security prisoners provide services in the City cleaning streets, and that was met with serious opposition from the municipal unions. What kind of arrangement do we have with Fairmount Park that allows Ready, Willing and Able to do services in Fairmount Park?
I'm not aware of any 1608 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET labor-related issues with respect to the work being done by Ready, Willing and Able at Fairmount Park. I will certainly check with the Managing Director. I'm told there was an issue about Ready, Willing and Able staff using heavy equipment, so they're not doing that. Beyond that, I'm not aware of those issues, but I'll certainly get with the Managing Director and get you an answer.
Okay. I'd be interested to know how they were able to do that. Actually, I saw some guys out cleaning ice off of the walkways in Fairmount Park in East Park.
Thank you. Any there other questions or comments from Members of the Committee? (No response.)
Seeing none, Mr. Hess and gentlemen, thank you very much. 1609 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Public Property is next. Commissioner, we do have your testimony. We'd really appreciate it if you would summarize it, and we'll give a copy to the stenographer and she will transcribe it in whole. Thank you.
Certainly, Council President. Council President Verna and Members of Council, I'm Andres Perez, Commissioner, Department of Public Property. With me today are Mr. Joseph James, Deputy Commissioner for Communication; John Herzins, Deputy Commissioner for Administration; Joan Schlotterbeck, Facilities Management Director; and George Hee, Fiscal Officer. I'll just briefly summarize the proposed budget. The Department of Public Property's Fiscal Year 2004 budget request totals $200,336,457 in all funds, an increase of $269,000 or less than percent over our previous year's estimated obligations. In the General Fund for Class 100, we're requesting $10,146,919, an increase 798,521 or approximately 8.5 percent from the Fiscal Year 2003 budget. And that's all primarily due to pay raises 1610 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET and the establishment of a 311 call center. The Department is budgeted for 236 positions, up from 212. And again, that's primarily to accommodate the staffing required by a new call center. Class 200, we're requesting $156,680,361, a net decrease of $1,502,793, and again, less than 1 percent difference from the Fiscal Year 2003 budget resulting from increases of $2,010,500 for utilities, $406,773 for space rentals, and $2,690,000 for core operational costs that are offset by decreases of 3.6 million for SEPTA and 2.9 million in telecommunications expenses. In class 300, we're requesting $917,939, which is a decrease of just under 3 percent from Fiscal Year '03. We're requesting 14 million in Class 800, which is an increase of just under 8 percent. And that's due primarily to the Water Department rate hike. On that note, let me just broadly summarize by saying that our budget reflects virtually no growth from the previous year's budget. There are a couple of initiatives which were discussed in the Five-Year Plan that may require 1611 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET some staffing and it's been accommodated in this budget and some other related expenses which has also been accommodated in this budget. We've continued to provide the facilities maintenance support. Most notably during the current Fiscal Year, we took over the new building for the 24th/25th Police District, a 40,000 square foot building. That is in our care and custody and represents new spending from prior years. We are working with the neighborhood to dispose of the old 24th/25th district building which is about 20,000 square feet, plus a large parking area for which there is an interested local developer, and we hope to be able to move that facility into someone else's hands for some community reuse to be determined in concert with the community. One of the initiatives that we're looking at implementing is the contracting for custodial services, which is really an expansion from what we have been doing for several years now through the custodial contract in City Hall and the custodial activities involved in the Triplex contract. We will be releasing a request for proposals which will be timed to allow us to enter 1612 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET into agreements in the beginning of the fiscal year, provided all the planning goes forth and the appropriate support is there from the Members of Council through this budgeting process.
I'm sorry. Do you mind repeating that? Is that on -39, you're requesting $11.8 million for the Triplex maintenance, is that what you're referring to?
No the Triplex maintenance is the existing contract for the Courthouse Municipal Services Building. I was referring to City-wide.
I mentioned it as a reference that we have been contracting for it in the Triplex area. Now we'll get into smaller facilities more scattered through the City. In the communications area, we've substantially completed the 800 megahertz project implementation. There's a piece of it which is within the Aviation Division, the airport establishment, which remains under construction. However, all other departments and agencies at this 1613 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET time have received their equipment and have been using it for several months. The timetable for the airport is still a bit fluid but, nevertheless, it is progressing. The Communications Department also embarked on the upgrade of a number of telephone systems throughout various City facilities. Again, for many years we concentrated on bringing the technology to our core buildings in Center City through renovations and through leasing and through reconstruction of spaces. And last year through this year, we began bringing the upgraded equipment and technology out into the fire houses and police stations and health centers and we completed about a hundred of those upgrades. We're also working on a 311 constituent contact center, which has also been referred to as the Consolidated Call Center or initiative, whereby several call centers operated by other departments in addition to the switchboard which we've operated for so many years, we're looking at some longer term savings and benefits by pulling those resources together, organizing them into one space, giving them all the same technology, same training, and 1614 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET implement a one-stop, one-location call center for anyone trying to reach City services for other than 911 purposes. Really on that note, the only other significant project that I'd like to highlight is what's been referred to as the fiber optic network. We have for many years been using the innovative -- which at one time was the innovative CityNet fiber optic loop, which is really a combination of three loops. One of those loops supports the Center City infrastructure of our government, the main buildings. That loop is clocked, for lack of a more technical explanation, and it now makes sense for us to install our own loop and operate it with increased band width and thereby providing increased capacity to the departments and agencies that depend on that in lieu of expanding or upgrading through Verizon the CityNet loop and incurring additional monthly charges. So we look at that as a hard cash savings that will begin to be realized as soon as the loop is installed and activated. We've continued our support of departmental space needs. Five hundred individuals were relocated for one reason or another during the 1615 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET previous fiscal year into and throughout City spaces, both leased and owned. The bulk of that was the reorganization of space for the Department of Human Services to meet their rapid growth staffing requirements. I think I'll conclude on that note. You're all aware of the Department's support of special events. It's been a fairly routine year and we'll continue to do our best to provide that support in the forthcoming year with an eye toward managing our overtime closely, keep it down in order to meet our budget objectives. Thank you.
Thank you. Commissioner, on of your testimony you indicate your department has been developing initiative to establish a 311 call center. You further state that eight existing department call centers will be collapsed into one citywide intake and deliver constituent contact centers. Would you identify the eight existing centers, what services they perform, and how you will be able to consolidate them into one center?
I'd like to ask Deputy Commissioner James to respond. 1616 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Good afternoon, Council President. My name is Joseph James, Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Public Property. To answer your question, specifically, the eight call centers that have been identified and targeted for the consolidation consists of the Streets Department, Licenses and Inspections, Water, Water Revenue, Revenue, and there's actually two that really do not have the same kind of physical infrastructure as others, but they're the Health Department employment desk and the Mayor's Action Center, and then last one is -- there's our own City Hall switchboard which represents the eighth and final part of the consolidation.
How does Water and Water Revenue being consolidated here save us money?
Well, today, there is the Water Department help desk that answers just general information calls for the water customers who call in, versus the Water Revenue which is more of a billing and collection department. 1617 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET What we envision is that is part of the solution -- Just so I can clarify your question, Council President, if the question has to deal with Water Fund, Water Fund revenue versus general operating, we don't include the Water Fund revenues in the consolidation effort. We're talking about General Fund cost.
I just wanted to be sure about answering the question. The savings is in the Class 100 positions that would be reduced in the consolidation efforts since we are going to reduce the total number of operators and supervisors that currently maintain the various call centers down to a group of about 40 operators and 5 supervisors.
Has it been determined where the center will be located?
We anticipate the site may be here within City Hall, but we have not confirmed the actual location yet.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo for a point of order. 1618 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Commissioner James, I'd appreciate you providing to the Chair some information that I had asked previously. I have no 5 problem with consolidating call centers. But I could not be supportive and I won't be supportive until someone proves to me the need to engage in a contract, I would assume, with Verizon or somebody else to put a 311 number in. I just don't get it, what that brings to this deal other than us picking up installation charges of a system, monthly charges for people to dial fewer digits that most people that will be calling this government will be calling from their home phone in most cases. In most cases, it's a free call for that person. So I don't support -- I support the consolidation. I think somebody was listening two years ago when I made this suggestion, so maybe it should be named after me once it's built. But the proposal to spend all of this money to duplicate, almost replicate a 911 system -- not necessarily so with the technology. I just don't get it, why we need to spend all of this money for three numbers when a seven-digit phone number can provide the same end result. So I'd appreciate you telling us now, 1619 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET because it's not clear to me what exactly you're talking about -- because I know that Verizon, they do very little without a fee -- what it will cost to actually put in and working. Now, I know when the 911 system was installed. It was designed to send the calls to geographic consoles. Then the Police Department undid that. We spent millions of dollars. So if you dialed from the Northeast, it would go to northeast console; south, to south console. Then we centralized so all the calls come in everywhere. I just honestly don't get it. And I think I have a pretty good handle on communications and things that you do; not to the degree, obviously that you do. But I just don't see the bang for our buck on 311. 1776, you could consolidate and do all the things that you want to do without incurring 311 charges. If people want to dial 311, they put it on their speed dial at home and have it dial 1776 if they want to just dial three numbers or even less numbers. So honestly, I don't get it. I think it's a very expensive proposition that's unnecessary. Consolidate, do all the things you want to do and have people dial 686-1776. 1620 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Councilman, if I can try to answer to your point about the cost impact and what exactly does the City gain from establishing a 311 center. The number in itself, as you articulate, it's just a phone number. And the cost association with it is different than what we invested in building a 911 because in that scenario, we had to build all that infrastructure because there were certain performance levels that we had to maintain to make sure when citizens dial that number 911, they get to that center and the center can handle the calls. For 311, it's very similar to what we've done in other cases in working with cell phone providers and others when we established three-digit numbers to report potholes or when you have a three-digit number or four-digit number to call a radio station. It's just a phone number. And the cost for it is really not that significant. And I think I can demonstrate to you that the cost is not where the concern should be. What the benefits are, are enormous because today, as you mentioned, 686-1776 is a seven-digit number for people to call. But there is a litany of numbers out there that the 1621 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET public has to retain when they're calling about trash, recycling, heat, billing, any kind of City services. Today the public -- and what major cities have done from Chicago to New York to Miami Dade is that that becomes a burden in the quality of life issues for the citizens because the onus is now put on the citizen to try to figure out, how do I access City services. And the idea of having a consolidated simplified numbered is to say to citizens, "You don't have to worry about that. You just dial these three-digit numbers. Let us determine how to provide you that service. Let us be focussed on delivering you quality service in a simplified manner in one stop." And I think we can do that in an affordable manner.
Commissioner, I hear you. But believe me, you can disconnect all of those numbers, put a referral number to call 686-1776, put bill stuffers in the water bills and tell everybody "Forget all the numbers you ever knew" -- as a matter fact, you can even come up with a new number. You can put it ahead of 1776 and people that call 1776 can still get through. 1622 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET But my point is, I really need to know. You say it's not expensive. I want to know what kind of money we're going to have to spend to implement a 311 system, and I also would like to know what the monthly charge is, because I would assume, and correct me if I'm wrong, that when a person dials 311, that's not going to be a chargeable call to them, it's going to be a chargeable call to us. So I would like to know all these things. You might sway me; I doubt it. But I want to see some numbers. And the numbers that I see in the Five-Year Plan don't appear to be realistic to me because people listening to this and people sitting in this room have tried to do business with the phone company, and you know it's 10 bucks to put this in, $20 to put that in, and I can imagine this is going to be substantial to install a 911 system and then monthly charges associated with it. Then, once it's operating, if we're picking up the tab, like US Air does for their 800 line, it's expensive to accept that burden when people can call us with an unlimited telephone for free from their home. So you need some work on me on this one. 1623 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Are you prepared to respond to the Councilman's questions at this time?
At this time point in time, Council President, I don't have the specific numbers to answer the Councilman. But certainly, I think we can put together the case to demonstrate --
Will you do that in writing, please, and send me copies, 11 please? 12
You're 16 welcome. 17 Commissioner, according to -7 of 18 the detail, I think you won the lottery or you 19 certainly are one of the luckiest department heads. 20 According to what I read, you're receiving an increase of full-time positions. Would you 22 please explain what these positions are for? 23
That's the call center 24 staffing, which could be any combination of new employees or transfers from the other departments 1624 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET that operate call centers.
If I can answer your 16 question, Council President. In City Hall 17 switchboard under Public Property, we currently have 18 17 operators and 3 supervisors. And all of the call 19 centers that were talked about is approximately 107 20 operators and approximately 25 supervisors. So that 21 pool of people that exists today in the other 22 departments would be candidates for those 20-some 23 slots that we now have within our department to fill 24 to build the call center. So that we would end up with 23 positions in addition to the 17 we have to 1625 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET get 40. And that 23 could come from the 107 pool or if they're unavailable, that would be new hires that would be filling those positions.
So are 87 people or 87 employees being let go under this?
In the consolidation effort, those departments would be responsible for either finding positions for those people or, if necessary, there's no positions, I assume they would be laid off.
Council President, that's one of the factors that we'll have to address as we proceed with the plan. No doubt, some of those individuals are on DROP, may have already declared an intent to retire. Some of those positions may also fill vacancies within the department that they're leaving. So the actual permanent loss of jobs won't materialize until we implement the plan and we learn those details about the individuals involved. Also, just as a matter of course, when any kind of change like this comes upon people, they 1626 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET get uncomfortable enough to retire sooner than they planned to. And so the change itself will, no 4 doubt, push some people into leaving City employment early.
Commissioner, on -13 of the detail, you are requesting a total of $393,625 for two transit lobbyists. What services do they provide and how are they selected?
This is a departmental allocation for the consultant/lobbyist that represents the City's interest. In our budget, this is the piece of it that's funded through Department of Public Property. It's the same consultants who actually represent the City in total and not necessarily the Department of Public Property.
Do they lobby for us in Washington or Harrisburg or both?
Do you have any lobbyists in Harrisburg regarding the transit?
I don't understand why it's labeled transit. I'll have to explain that to you after the hearing. But the purpose is to fund the 1627 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET contracts that support the lobbying on behalf of the City.
On -39 of the detail, you are requesting $11.8 million for the Triplex maintenance to be determined. Will you be going out with a new bid? And do you enter into one-year leases?
When this detail was originally proposed, a vendor had not been selected. We have a vendor in place, a contractor in place. The US Facilities Group has replaced the Elliot Lewis Group Triplex --
They're located in Philadelphia now. 1628 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
They were. We first contracted with them when they won the bid for the new prison several years ago, almost five years ago. They competed in this round for the Triplex and were successful. The Philadelphia office is right up the street. And they had several other contracts in the area.
On -45 of the detail, you're requesting $98,752 for proposed leases. What will the space be used for? What leases are we referring to?
The proposed lease is for a field office. The Frankford Avenue lease is a field office for the CLIP Program. That's in place and ready to be occupied as early as next week. The next lease, the Department of Human Services is outgrowing its space and it's been necessary to contract for two to three floors of space. That lease was executed for the first year very recently and will come to Council for a long-term engagement as soon as we can get that ordinance on the schedule. 1629 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET And again, you heard Commissioner Martinez refer to the staffing problem. They've been successful in recruiting and staffing and they just don't fit. Their floors in the One Parkway Building are occupied as many as 180 people on a single floor and there's no room to expand within their space. We've already emptied out two floors and made room for them. And this is another expansion we expect to have fully in place by July 1st.
Thank you. Councilman Goode, this will be my last question. As a matter of fact it will be four questions in one. You state on of your testimony that you are proceeding with the design and construction of a City-owned Center City fiber optic network. Will you explain what this project entails, question 1; it's time line, question 2; what is the projected cost; and where is it in the budget?
Deputy 1630 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Commissioner, would you explain the project?
What the Commissioner mentioned earlier in his testimony, we have approximately identified between and Center 10 City buildings that are currently on a fiber optic 11 ring today that is being leased from Verizon. The 12 scope of the project is to place that leased ring by 13 installing our own fiber optics in the ground and connecting those buildings together and thereby providing our own network within those 11 to 13 buildings. What it entails is the actual mapping out of the routes in the City streets, identifying the actual conduits in the ground and determining where pieces do not exist have to be constructed and then the installation of the actual fiber in the ground with laterals into the buildings and connections to the infrastructure that's in those buildings today. Once that's all put in place, the physical part of that, we then go to the technology, 1631 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET the amount of networking capacity that is required on that ring for it to operate. The final piece of that is to connect that ring with the leased other two rings so that we have complete redundancy within our network and we have the ability to share traffic between the other two rings and the one that the City will own. The actual time line for that project is we're in design phase right now. I have a proposal -- I received a proposal from the company to do the design work and do the actual mapping out of the routes and doing the test runs of the conduits. We think that will take approximately four to six months to complete, depending on how difficult when we actually get into the ground when they find out how the routes are. The actual project should take about 18 months to construct from that point going forward. As far as the cost, we have the money, it's in our Capital Budget; it's not in our Operating. We have approximately 460,000, I believe, in the design cost and we have approximately 2.3 million for the construction of it. 1632 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Which buildings are we referring to when we talk about 10 to 13 buildings? 11
The buildings that are being considered are, of course, City Hall, One Parkway, Municipal Service Building -- and I can provide this to you in writing as well. Municipal Service Building, Criminal Justice Center, 1234 Market, which is the data center for MOIS; 1101 Market Street; Fire Headquarters at Third and Spring Garden; 990 Spring Garden; Police Headquarters, 8th and Race; 34 South 11; and 100 South Broad I believe is the 11th. The other buildings that are being considered when I say 11 to 13 is going west to look at 1801 Vine and 1901 Vine and the Youth Study Center as it exists, the Free Library and the Youth Study Center as it exists today.
Thank you. 1633 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Councilman Goode. That was five questions instead of four. I'm sorry. The Chair now recognizes Councilman Goode.
Thank you, Madam President. Good afternoon Commissioner.
The question by the Council President about the transit lobbyists, you said you did not know what the transit lobbyists were in your budget for specifically. By that, did you mean what they were specifically lobbying, or why transit lobbyists would be in your budget?
No. I meant -- I don't know why they were labeled "transit" lobbyists. They engage in a number of activities on behalf of the City. Historically, I've had a transit unit in my budget, which is now part of City Planning. But I know why they are there.
The reason I asked the question, you also cited a communication expenditure related to SEPTA, the capital budget, there are several line items that deal with fixed rent. I am extremely interested in understanding what public transportation infrastructure is 1634 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET actually owned by the City.
At one time, the City owned the Philadelphia Transit Company, PTC. That was subsumed into SEPTA organization when it was created 30 years ago.
Subsumed? Who retains the infrastructure? What infrastructure do we own and what infrastructure does SEPTA own? My understanding is that it's under master lease agreement.
There's a master lease agreement which will expire within, I believe, two years, perhaps three years.
Actually, I was told a year or two ago that it would expire within two or three years. Can you tell me the term and status of any lease or leases we have with SEPTA regarding infrastructure? If there is master lease agreement, the expiration of that lease agreement. Also, I'm very interested in knowing who negotiates the next agreement or the terms of the next agreement.
We'll have the appropriate group put the information together and submit it to Council in response to your question, to your 1635 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET overall question. I have asked the Law Department to assign personnel to begin developing the new agreement. Obviously, that agreement is really going to be dictated by the requirements of the Managing Director's Office, the Mayor's Office and the Planning Group. Public Property is coincidentally the owner of some of the property involved under the operating agreement.
Can you give me a general description of what we own in terms of infrastructure?
A few subway cars. Most of the neighborhood transit locations, we own the land.
What do we own related to elevator systems, Market Street?
So the improvements that are being made on Market Street are actually improvements to our infrastructure?
Yes. They're federally and state funded. 1636 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Thank you. No 3 further questions. Except I would ask if you could forward to the chair the status of that master lease agreement and the other lease agreements that may exist between SEPTA and the City regarding infrastructure. And specifically, I'd like to know what we own and what we don't own in terms of infrastructure related to public transportation.
We'll try to provide those details. And the only reason why I say that hesitatingly, Councilman, is that SEPTA has floated a number of bonds to acquire its own equipment. So as they sell off Public Property owned rail cars, buses, they're replaced with bond finance, SEPTA-owned rolling stock equipment and other types of infrastructure.
I'm confused by that response. They sell off things that they are leasing from us?
How can they sell off things that they're leasing from us?
So we're selling it? 1637 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Excuse me, Councilman. If we're selling, who gets the money? Does the money come back to the City?
We'll have to get back to you. I know it doesn't recycle back into Public Property's budget, but it's probably addressed in the agreement how the funds are allocated and used.
Commissioner, whatever responses you're going to give us, would you make certain that we get copies, please? 15
One last question, 17 Commissioner. With regard to negotiation of the new 18 master lease, is it true that SEPTA wants to buy us 19 out? 20
I've only heard rumors. There's no substantive fact behind that from our side. I have not been involved in any meetings relating to that. I've tried to -- from a manager's point of view, I have a collection of real estate that I've got no control over on a day-to-day basis. 1638 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET That real estate is tied up in this agreement. And how that real estate gets used, managed, repaired, replaced should absolutely be clearly addressed in the forthcoming new agreement. It's only purpose -- in most cases, its sole purpose is for the convenience of City residents and their transportation requirements. There's no other public facility use for it other than probably occasional neighborhood parking where it's convenient. In addition, there are areas that support the suburban rail system for those locations that are in the City of Philadelphia which is also real estate that I don't use it, I have no effective control over it on a day-to-day basis. And a new agreement should really itemize what that infrastructure is and delineate role responsibilities.
Do you have any estimation of what that value might be?
No, I don't. That would be a pretty monumental undertaking. 1639 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
I plan to have a discussion with SEPTA when they come before us. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. At this time the Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam President. Good afternoon, gentlemen and lady.
With respect to the transit concourse below 15th, 16th, JFK, does the City of Philadelphia, i.e., Public Property, own the entire concourse?
The answer is no. There's a mixed ownership primarily between us, SEPTA, and some portion of it by PATCO further down on South Broad Street and Suburban Station.
There are pathways in Suburban Station that are our responsibility and there are pathways that are the underground frontage 1640 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET of privately owned buildings. And that's the mix of ownership. SEPTA has some jurisdiction; we have some responsibility and jurisdiction; owners, individual owners, have some responsibility.
But I'm saying the actual thoroughfare that leads us to the trains and various shops, the City of Philadelphia owns that?
The closest parts -- those parts that are closest to City Hall, for example, the tiled area going to the post office, that's Public Property. And right where the tile line ends, so does our jurisdiction.
We do. You turn right and when you go back toward the Municipal Services Building, you walk across SEPTA land and you come back to Public Property owned land when you get to the pillars and the entrances to the 15th Street and 16th Street gateways down into the lower part of the concourse. It's a mixed bag which some of it we've leased to SEPTA and they maintain and use. Some of it is left entirely in our responsibility, two large 1641 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET sections are, the two that I just referenced.
So you're saying some of the areas are leased to SEPTA?
Most of the public areas of the concourse, Suburban concourse, are SEPTA which they inherited from the railroads that used to own and operate it. The pieces that we own tend to be the parts that come down from the street connecting into the concourse. So we own a number of stairwells and the base of the stairwell. But the main concourse area --
So the areas where there is currently the renovation taking place to where there are going to be some vending opportunities, that's all owned by SEPTA?
It's not all owned by SEPTA, but they are using some of our spaces to support the construction. They need staging areas and storage areas while that renovation is going on. When you 1642 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET walk down there and you see enclosures, some of those enclosures are Public Property areas.
To what degree are we involved in the development process?
Well, there's two answers. They've been working on that plan since I was in Managing Director's Office as a deputy. And to that extent, plans have been presented over and over again. As they've evolved -- although funding was not there until very recent. So whoever the incumbent public property commissioner is, the transit unit which is now in City Planning, they've participated in design development meetings where all the issues are thrashed around, design issues are thrashed around. I participated in some directly. The point at which they actually go to construction, however, is something we tend to find out really at a late hour, last minute, as is the case with the area you're talking about.
In order to get these specifics of the development scenario, I would have to deal with the transit unit?
Transit unit and SEPTA's capital group. 1643 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
City Hall. Public Property, City of Philadelphia owns City Hall?
I've been here for a while. I still don't understand -- and I guess this is somewhat personal in nature -- of the distribution of space. I know years back when the criminal justice facility was built, it was my understanding that all of the court-related activities were going to move out and City Council and other government related agencies that remained were going to get extensive redo, space, whole nine yards, we were going to get additional space. That didn't happen and now I understand a number of the judges are coming back. I guess my question is, who makes the decision on the distribution of space in City Hall. And I must admit this is somewhat personal because I have a decent size staff and we're kind of sitting on top of each other. From time to time, I've gone to the Council President and tried to get some additional space, but there's always this entity or person who makes the determination of the ultimate distribution of space. I can't find out who that is. 1644 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
The best way to characterize it, and I'm going to take a shot at it only because I've been around so long as Commissioner through several aerations of space changes, is that it's a collaborative among independently elected officials that reside in the building. City Council is one of those entities. Public Property happens to have control of a number of portions in the building. The First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, they have the largest single collection of space which they've had historically. The significant changes that occurred were Council gained 10,000 square feet, believe it or not. There was a day when all of you were in one room with one anteroom. So the 10,000 square feet allowed virtually everybody to have two anterooms, two interconnected offices, although it still is a tight fit. A number of offices were renovated and new offices were created. I think three new offices were created and several conference rooms were created all within that 10 to 12,000 square foot growth. We did that as we approached the migration of criminal court from this building to the Justice Center. We tried to plan our way through that the best we could. The point 1645 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET person for Council was always the Council President's office. We did not really engage with individual Councilpersons in office scenarios. That is the only significant expansion that took place.
The reason I ask that question -- the Council President assisted me in securing some space in the building, and I thank her for that. It was necessarily in close proximity to the primary office. From time to time on the wing in the corridor that I sit on, I would always see space becomes available, a judge leaves and the judge may be gone for six months, a year, and that space remains vacant. And every time I inquire about that space, I'm told it's not available. And I was just trying to get a sense of what -- is the space permanently designated to the Judicial District? Is there wherewithal to be flexible. If the judge leaves and he's going to be gone or she's going to be gone --
You won't find a document that codifies that and there's no code that provides that detail. But the practice has been that the space they've had is the space they get to keep as changes occur within the judicial activities. We 1646 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET knew that shortly after the migration to the Justice Center, that's 600,000 square feet of judicial space, that several rented areas would in civil court come back into City Hall. So there's a two-year, three-year period where the court engaged in renovation of various spaces, more on an individual basis except for one long corridor that they did, and that allowed them to get out of some expensive leases which was a general benefit to the budget, of course. That was done, again, collaborating with the Administration, Budget Office, and accounted for in the year-to-year allocation of capital monies and funding for the courts. I believe that is substantially complete, that migration is just about done. The 6th floor corridor is the last big move that I'm aware of. I'm not aware of any future planning for the First Judicial District. And any spaces that become available that we know of, they end up -- if they come to our attention, if we know someone's got a request for space, we will try to make the marriage and we'll try to get the agreements made to work it out. Unfortunately, most of the empty space 1647 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET in this building is in the areas where you can't have public access because of the cost of extending elevators, escalators, and making it accessible.
So if I see some available space in close proximity to my office, I contact the Council President, she calls you, and then we work out an arrangement; is that what I'm hearing?
It's probably better if there was direct dialog with the First Judicial District.
And we've done that. We have done that any number of times, and it just doesn't work. And we do need additional space.
We kind of have the smallest offices out of all government. I hate to be personal, but it seems like the Council offices are the smallest offices as compared to all the other government agencies, and I don't understand why that is.
What does the City Charter say? Who actually is in charge of this 1648 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET building?
The Charter requires the Department of Public Property to provide the courts --
I believe it's the same reference. It doesn't say square footage.
When you are looking for space for courts, look for room for City Council also.
We'll certainly be glad to let you know of anything that might be useful to you.
Immediately let us know, so nobody gets the room before us.
Madam President, I just want to ask that question again. Maybe it will be a different answer this time. I see some space 1649 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET available on the 4th floor. I contact the Council President. She calls you --
No, he said I shouldn't call him, I should be in touch with the First Judicial District.
If it's clearly court space, that's where the decision gets made. We can bring it to their attention on your behalf. You could bring it to their attention on your behalf. And the bargaining goes on from that point.
I'm saying, but what's the contractual -- and I know we're in an governmental agency. I mean, what's the arrangement in terms of -- because you say there's nothing codified, this is kind of a person's agreement.
So that basically determines the ultimate disposition of space?
When it comes to space that's being used for court purposes. 1650 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
You're going to have to let me know what space you're referring to.
It's the space across from me, it becomes vacant like every three months and it sits there vacant and then a new judge appears a few months down the line.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Madam President. Commissioner, I would like to go back for a moment for an area that Council President Verna had dealt with about 15, 20 minutes ago. The maintenance of the Triangle and the new contract that was awarded in January of this year.
Triplex. I'm sorry. You indicated -- and I didn't hear you say it. What 1651 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET was the reason why the contractor or the vendor was changed?
As you know, there is a four-year rule on contracting. We had passed that with several amendments to the existing vendor. We had --
I believe there's an interpretation in the Charter that doesn't permit us -- or through the Law Department that does not permit us to contract with a vendor beyond four years at a time, in a single contract.
So once you get a contract for four years you're done.
I understand that. But you're not precluded after four years of getting a contract again?
You undergo a 1652 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET process.
You guys don't do four-year contracts anymore anyway. It's all one-year, three one-year options.
That's been the term of art of days in order to circumvent the City Charter and the Council in any input they may have. But that's another whole discussion. In this particular case, the four-year rule was in effect and you re-bid it, correct?
This was professional services contract, not a bid. So a judgment was made that the current vendor would be able to deliver the same services, presumably at the same quality with the same effectiveness, hopefully, at a lower cost. 1653 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
The differential at this point I think is $400,000 in the first year. In between the implementation of the RFP and the actual finalization of an agreement, several of the labor unions involved with the primes had new deals and those costs were passed on to us.
Does the new contractor have similar deals with or similar union jurisdictions to deal with?
I'm saying, the company, the Philadelphia Facilities, is that the name of the company?
US Facilities. They won the contract. They don't have union workers?
So what's the difference between the issues surrounding Elliott-Lewis and US Facilities?
There was no issue with 1654 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET their workers and their union. The issue was with the unions representing subcontracted services. There's a significant amount of subcontracting, such as security and custodial.
Actually, there's a different security contractor. It's the same custodial contractor. A slightly different agreement. And the delay in the award pushed us right up against an expiration of the agreement. And that was renegotiated.
I forget the exact address. But it's a couple blocks up on JFK Boulevard.
They were a subsidiary of a Maryland or Washington company. They are now owned 1655 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET by PRWTT. I don't remember what the letters stand for. It's a minority-owned silent partner. It's a freestanding division which is contracting with us for the services.
I believe they're one of several companies owned by the larger group.
The other companies? No, I don't. But it was probably in the materials submitted for financial review.
Since this was a professional service contractor, there's a lot more subjectivity and leeway than there is in a bid; is that an accurate statement?
So what other factors enter into the decision-making process in addition to the overall cost of the contract?
We look at how long they've been in the business, track record, which is actually more important with a new bidder than it is 1656 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET with the ones who are re-bidding because we already know what the incumbent vendor can or can't do. We look at the debt chart that's offered by way of the management team. That's part of the proposal. We require them to specify their anticipated team leaders, their managers. In this case, we as a department actually had experience with both. We had Elliott-Lewis as a vendor for several years. We also had US Facilities as a vendor when we were responsible for the Curran-Fromhold building.
And that was the same consortium of people, the same consortium of companies?
No. At that time, it was a division of the out-of-town agency.
You said that US Facilities now has an office in Philadelphia. How many employees are located in Philadelphia, do you 1657 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET know?
Were you aware of Elliott-Lewis' Philadelphia roots and Philadelphia headquarters and the number of people that were involved? I think it was 1200 employees in the City of Philadelphia.
So it becomes difficult for me to understand why a company that has had a wealth of experience in dealing -- has there ever been any problems with Elliott-Lewis' performance that you know of, other than the normal?
There's always -- somebody misses something here and there and we're allowed to penalize them for it.
So a pretty reputable company located here in Philadelphia, 1200 employees, and we give the contract to a firm from Maryland.
Let me clarify. They had been in Philadelphia for a couple of years at the 1658 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET time that they put their proposal in.
But this is certainly not the history that this company has, that Elliott-Lewis has.
So we decide now to give this work to -- let me go back for a second. I understand on a bid process, there is really no 10 choice. I mean, we get to a point on the bid where you open the bids, they are what they are, and we're stuck. We can't give Philadelphia preference, we can't give local preference, and whoever wins the bid wins the bid. But when we are in a situation where we have a longstanding Philadelphia company with 1200 employees who have been loyal to the City, have not abandoned the City as many other companies have, and we decide the way we repay them is to subjectively -- and subjective, we can argue the level of subjectivity -- to give it to someone else as a result of a process that is, again, in my opinion subjective because professional services pretty much is subjective as to how you choose lawyers, stockbrokers, other types of professionals, accountants. I mean, a lot of it is done 1659 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET politically, if not all of it. And I just think that -- and what happened to Elliott-Lewis at the airport, I think -- which I understand you're not part of; is that correct?
What happened to them, what happened to Rosenbluth Travel at the airport is another example of this Administration not really caring too much about taking care of what's here at home and making decisions based on politics that I don't think is in the best interest of the City. So I want the record to clearly reflect that this company has been a longstanding company, Elliott-Lewis in Philadelphia, has 1200 employees, has been loyal to this City, has paid their taxes, has not run to the suburbs like many other companies have, and this is how we repay them. I don't need you to comment. I think I've commented enough. But I just think that it is disgraceful the way in which we are handing out these subjective personal service 1660 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET contracts and ignoring long-term Philadelphia companies that have been loyal to the City. Thank you. Thank you, Madam President.
Are there any other questions or comments from Members of the Committee? Councilman Kenney.
I forgot. How long is the contract with US Facilities?
They're four years, a year at a time. So we have an option. And we've exercised the option in the past not to continue into the second or third or fourth year.
Why then did we contract for four years with Elliott-Lewis?
Did that contract come to this Council for approval as per the Charter?
That -- and it's been spoken about already on other areas, especially in procurement. That is a blatant attempt to violate the spirit and the letter of the Charter. It is just a blatant attempt to keep these kinds of contracts out of this room so that we don't ask questions about them like the questions that I'm asking you now after the fact that the contract's been awarded. And I'm telling you the Charter is clear. And whatever lawyer or group of lawyers invented this scheme to get around us is truly in violation of the Charter. And maybe at some point in time we have to look at going to court and challenging that practice because it is absolutely disgraceful. And please, don't be offended. All the people at this table are hard-working, good City employees and I in no way mean to offend anyone 1662 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET sitting here. You just happen to be here representing the Administration at this time. I think this practice is an abomination. I think it's totally against the law. And I think it's done for purely political purposes to give away things to people that they want to give them to way to as opposed to doing what's right by the taxpayer and by the citizens of this City. Thank you for taking my abuse. I appreciate it.
With the one-year contract, Commissioner, who has the right to withdraw or does the vendor?
We almost always -- I'm trying to think of an example where we haven't had the right to terminate at our convenience or for cause. In these four-year type, whether it's a bid or professional services, we always have the right to not renew at the end of the first year. And there's probably a notice in there of 60 days or 30 days.
We don't take that opinion. The vendor is obligated to us until we say otherwise. We have had instances where other vendors were not renewed by us because of poor performance.
After -- I think in one case we went two years with them before --
We went into the second year. At the end of the second year, we did not renew. And in fact, Elliott-Lewis was the one who won that re-bid.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I think, Councilman Kenney, this will be the last year this happens. I believe we have 1664 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET legislation, pending hearings and we will pass legislation before we break out for summer recess on this issue.
Are there any other questions? Councilman Mariano.
Thank you, Madam President. I'm sorry I came in late in the fight and may repeat Councilman Kenney's or Ortiz' questions. Councilman Kenney may have touched on this; I'm not sure. US Facilities, Elliott-Lewis, the people that work for Elliott-Lewis actually did the work on these buildings?
The contract was composed of what we call the main mechanical workforce. That had to be employees of the main company. So it had to be Elliott employees. It has to be US Facilities employees.
By 420, I'm sure. 1665 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET They went with US Facilities and the only difference is that the people paying the bill besides the taxpayers paying, US Facilities or Elliott-Lewis, it was US Facilities.
You're correct. There's an impact on the company, but there's almost no impact on the individuals except for a few managers who go on to another job.
Any other questions or comments? Councilman Kenney.
Elliott-Lewis, from my understanding has 1200 employees in the City of Philadelphia. Are you saying they're the same employees as US Facilities?
So the loss of the business impacts the company and its 1200 employees in the City of Philadelphia so that --
But the company itself is the one that is losing the work and 1666 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET revenue, and therefore, potentially jeopardizes the company's existence in Philadelphia and also very much jeopardizes the company's desire to stay in Philadelphia.
Thank you. Any other questions or comments from Members of the Committee? (No response.)
Commissioner, thank you very much. And may I just say that I certainly want to applaud many of your staff. They're so loyal and dedicated and they're truly -- you can really be proud of their performance.
Thank you. Fleet management is next. Good evening. Thank you for your patience.
Good evening, Madam President and designated Members of City Council. I am James Muller, acting Fleet Manager. Here with me today is Robert Fox, our Administrative Services 1667 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Director; and Marie Stone, my Executive Officer. With a great deal of remorse and respect for the City's first Fleet Manager, Riley P. Harrison, our entire department would like to mark his passing at today's proceedings. Mr. Harrison's tireless devotion to the City's Fleet has been recognized throughout the City and he has set an example of excellence that we will follow forever. Among the initiatives that Riley began and we will continue to undertake is the increase in and maintenance of the neighborhood snow-fighting fleet. Apparently, Fleet is maintaining 123 light and medium-duty vehicles with another smaller 15 snow-fighting pieces which include Gators and skid 16 steer loaders. 17 OFM's budget fund for Fiscal Year 2004 18 is $47.3 million. Fleet utilizes these funds to 19 maintain an active fleet size of 6,085, including 20 787 pieces of specialized equipment. Apparently, 90 21 percent of these vehicles are available every day. 22 0FM is administrating a fleet reduction 23 initiative that calls for a percent reduction in 24 the City's fleet each year. To aid us in this 25 endeavor, the Managing Director has requested that 1668 1 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET Fleet conduct a zero-base analysis of the entire fleet in order to ascertain the usefulness of each vehicle. In an effort to involve the community and create a skilled work force, Fleet will continue to work with local high schools such as Swenson Skill Center and West Philadelphia High to mentor an internship program in which our technicians work with students with the intention of hiring as many as possible to be fully functional automotive technicians. In 2004, OFM is planning to work with John Bartram High School to develop the City's first diesel engine maintenance program. OFM has entered into a contract with the City's main field provider, F.C. Hob, which freezes fuel prices based on the number of gallons purchased. In the past, fuel contracts allowed for prices to change every week until a service entitled OPIS, Oil Price Information Service. While the weekly changes ensured prices remained current. It made price forecasting and budgeting very difficult. OFM was forced to set aside funds budgeted for new vehicles and vehicle parts to ensure that weekly 1669 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET changes in prices did not result in cost overruns. Our new procedure enables Fleet Management to develop better purchasing strategies and if prices rise due to currency abroad, savings will increase. During the third week of February, the average gallon of gasoline was $1.11 a gallon on the open market, while Philadelphia was paying only 81 cents. If this trend continues, the City will save more than $500,000 for FY 2003. OFM plans to enter into a similar fixed contract again in 2004. Thank you for this opportunity to testify. And I will be happy to answer any questions at this time.
Thank you. Any questions of this witness? Any comments? The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.
Could you explain to me the aspect of the SUVs and our expenditures and what the City plans to do in terms of that?
Fleet believes that the City's SUV fleet needs to be revisited and reduced. The Managing Director has requested us 1670 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET to conduct a zero base analysis of the City's fleet. This way each vehicle will be justified on what it's used for. And from then on, we'll probably take some of them away from different people and plug them into police or fire or wherever else necessary for emergency use.
And do we have any purchase orders out on SUVs to replace the ones that we have right now? What is the status of our fleet purchasing situation?
I believe right now we have Water and Aviation purchasing some SUVs presently.
What about in terms of for the rest of the year? I'm sure that you're looking at other departments that are requesting cars and so on. 1671 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Yes. As you know, some people have already gave them up and are looking for smaller type vehicles. So we're in the process still of taking them away if somebody wants to come up and give it to us, we'll schedule it to the police or fire or wherever necessary.
What's been the cost in terms of gas with these vehicles?
You just heard me, we're pretty good with fuel. The average cost is $1.11, and we're only paying 81 cents. We're in locked contract with the OPIS.
But they use more gas than other vehicles so they're more expensive to operate.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Mariano.
Thank you, Madam President. Mr. Muller before the SUVs were the hot 1672 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET topic and everybody wanted them when it snowed -- and basically my thought of it was in Buffalo everybody has them. This isn't Buffalo. It will never be Buffalo, but it's not Atlanta either. The police had them. They just weren't the sexy vehicles that they are now, they were Blazers. For instance, Traffic has them, right? Why do they have them? There must be a use for them.
Highway Patrol Truck Unit has them. So these vehicle could go there, that's what you're saying?
So will they replace cars that you probably would have ordered new?
So can I be safe in saying that probably some well-deserving policeman will get an SUV? Probably before he would have been 1673 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET riding around in a 10-year-old Blazer possibly.
Any other questions or comments from Members of the Committee? (No response.)
Gentlemen, thank you very much. The Historical Commission is last. I'm sure the stenographer is very happy to hear that. Dr. Tyler, good evening.
Madam President and Members of Council. First, I'm Richard Tyler, Historic Preservation Officer for the Philadelphia Historical Commission. The space allocation issue you discussed, that's at least 125 years old. The first user in the new City Hall was in the late 1870s when the building was still well under construction was the State Supreme Court. City Councils did not get into the building until 1895, one of the last. Until then they were stuck in Independence Hall. 1674 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
I don't remember the exact year, but it was the late 1870s. The building was started in 1872. They were among the very first -- it was the first governmental user in the building. And City Council didn't get here until 1895. That might amuse you. It's a long tradition. The proposed budget for Fiscal 2004 requests $265,619, an increase of 3,408 over the Commission's fiscal 2003 estimated obligations. With this budget the Commission can reasonably expect to maintain its present service levels of permanent review under the Historic Preservation Ordinance, under the Manayunk Commercial Revitalization Ordinance, and for the conduct for the federally mandated historic preservation assessments. I should be pleased to attempt to answer any questions that Councilmembers may have.
Question. As you know, we introduced a resolution sometime ago with regard to the Historic District in Spruce Hill. And we did that, not to create World War III, as even some of my colleagues thought we did, but merely to have a venue and a time for people who had other concerns to voice their opinion. It is never my goal to go against the wishes of my community. As your statement says, there were a consultant hired in Spruce Hill who came up with the Spruce Hill Historic District. Having said that, my specific question is, what's the process for hearings? Who is included, who knows, and how do they know?
The process for hearings. Sixty days for a historic district, 60 days in advance of any meeting of any part of the Commission, at least 60 days. Two letters will go out to every owner of property within the proposed district; one to the person at the address within the district, and one to the person at their residence.
Of the owners, you're saying, property owners? 1676 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
Yes, ma'am. In addition, there will be a notice placed in a newspaper of general circulation. I recognize that's not of much value. But also, a poster will be put up at least one in every block within the proposed district so that tenants and others as well as owners are advised of it. Before any of that starts, a letter will go to the District Councilperson or if it embraces two districts as Rittenhouse did, to both Councilmembers. President Verna will remember receiving that letter.
The first hearings will be a committee meeting which will be public also. And we'll have probably two for each district. Then you'll go to the full Commission. That will be held in -- currently we meet in the City Council Caucus Room. It is also our practice with districts to hold at least one -- it will be the second hearing by the full Commission in the neighborhood at night so that people who can't come into City Hall during the day also have an opportunity to be heard. And then another hearing in our regular schedule. 1677 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET
And who notifies the public about meetings in the neighborhoods?
The notice to the owners will have the complete schedule of these meetings. The posters in the neighborhood will also have the complete schedule of these meetings.
And the neighborhood meetings, do you put out notices for that?
All right. I just want to make sure we have a fair process. And I will finally say this, Madam President. I live in University City and I live in Spruce Hill. And one of my colleagues wrote a letter to one of my neighbors in Spruce Hill saying that my bill will never get a hearing, it would never see the light of day and how dare I raise the issue. And I say to my colleague, I resent that. Nobody has a right, nobody will tell me how to do my job. I have a right to do my job. And I resent it. I have it in writing. One of my colleagues wrote in 1678 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET my neighborhood where I live -- many of you were there when Lu passed. Nobody tells me how to do my job and tell me that I don't have a right to hold a hearing and that individual never holds hearings so that my legislation would never see the light of day. I resent it. I've been waiting for the time to say it. And I'm not finished with the issue yet. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. Dr. Tyler, I just have one question. How long have you served on the Historical Commission?
I was saying I think you've been there as long as I can remember and you do an excellent job. I applaud you. Thank you.
Any other questions or comments of Dr. Tyler? (No response.)
Thank you 1679 3/4/03 - FY '04 OPERATING BUDGET again. Councilwoman Blackwell.
My statement on the issue is I don't bother my colleagues. I don't interfere in anybody's district. If I go to your district -- I went in Councilman Nutter's district where a 10-year-old had the problem last week. I told him about it. And when they called on me, I got up and sat up in Councilman Nutter's district, talked to him about it. I'm not trying to mind anybody's business. But I do my job. And I resent somebody coming in my neighborhood -- Lu moved in my house in 1959. How dare one of my colleagues tell me what I'm allowed to do in here in my neighborhood. I resent it. And I challenge them to respond. Thank you.
This committee will stand in recess until tomorrow, Wednesday, March 5th at 9:30. Thank you very much. (Council adjourned at 4:55 p.m.) - - - 1680 C E R T I F I C A T I O N I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of March 4, 2003, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. RE: COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ___________________________ Lisa C. Bradley, RPR and Notary Public