Okay. I think you're the first department head to say that. Let's see. I have a couple of questions about the ongoing work of the Community Oversight Board. What is the timeframe for the COB to complete its verification activities outlined in the January of 2008 report?
Okay. And I think in the COB report, and 16, it said that completing this recommendation -- and its impediments to completing COB's recommendation of 00275 monthly face-to-face contact between DHS and children receiving services, completing this recommendation requires resolution of a number of issues that limit the availability of social workers for home visit, a substantial number, 90 vacancies in case-carrying social work positions, which have required the reallocation of uncovered cases, result in high caseloads, et cetera, delays in (indiscernible) process that needs to be resolved. What -- I guess I have two questions. Number one, what, if anything, can City Council do to help move the hiring progress along? If you have recommendations, you don't have to have them today, please provide them to the Chair. And then, what progress have you made in fillings these vacant positions?
We've done a couple of things. Just to give you -- sort of 00276 put that issue in context. The paperwork consultation that we just had was an example of that. We also -- Judge Dougherty, Kevin Dougherty, and I spent a day in Pittsburgh recently to look at efficiencies that can be gained through the court process. Judge Dougherty and I meet every month. We look at the amount of time our social workers are spending in court, we track that, and have been pushing those numbers down. In addition to that, and the issue that you specifically asked about, was the number of vacancies. We currently are at 56; we've been able to get the number down. The civil service system can be very onerous. A year ago -- well, not a year ago. Six months ago, I asked our H.R. director to look at how long it took us to get someone in the door with a full caseload from the 00277 time they showed up to the time that they would have a full caseload. That process takes eleven to fourteen months, which is much too long. And so based on that, we approached Central Personnel and have gotten an agreement to streamline our process of bringing people on. For example, one of the things that created a large delay in the process was the whole testing process. And so, what we've done is to move the testing process to be a part of the training process. If we have a cohort, for example, of new graduates from one of our local colleges, we want to bring those individuals in, begin them in the training process quicker, and then use that process to ferret out those who can move forward. That process alone will save us several months in terms of getting people in. So those are the kinds of 00278 efficiencies that we've tried to -- that we're implementing. As I said, we've cut the vacancy rate in half. We think by making the changes I talked about, by the end of the year, we can be pretty close to having all of the department's vacancies filled.
Great. If you do have recommendations, I'd be more than happy to help. Thank you very much.
Thank you Madam President. Good afternoon. Earlier today, you mentioned after-school program period. Where are we with the after-school program?
Okay. I think, actually, Dr. Schwarz wants to answer that one, so I'm going to defer to him.
The current situation is that we have, as mentioned, I think, assured that there is a contract in place or a letter in place with every provider, that those numbers and reductions and budgetary requirements have been met.
And through weekly meetings with providers, I think that you would find that the providers feel that at least they're clear in terms of information.
Okay, all right. The second question was the -- 00280 I think you answered that about the report card.
Okay. Earlier -- late last year, Councilwoman Tasco and I convened a hearing that was in response to the report prior -- to the report around the evaluation of systemic operations at DHS, and one of the revelations or discoveries was the either inadequate or unavailability of regular professional training opportunities for social workers. Can you give us an update on where you were you are with that recommendation?
Sure. We are making a considerable investment in staff training in the department. And, in fact, our staff might be complaining that we're getting too much training right now. We're asking them to go through a training on a new evidence-based safety tool, which is 00281 several days' long. I also mentioned the guided decision-making training that we are simultaneously having staff go through. In addition to that and to other trainings that are available to staff, one of the things that we have implemented is leadership development training. It's our view that -- and my view in particular that if DHS is going to not only initiate the level of change that we're looking at but sustain that change, we have to have people in the organization who are not just good managers but who are good leaders. And so we've graduated two cohorts of those individuals. Those individuals that are going through that get a 360 assessment, they go through other kinds of assessments, they get some didactic training, as well as coaching after the training. 00282
And so, you know, your goal is -- and we've made this available to all of our supervisory and management staff across the organization.
And our goal is to have all of our staff, our supervisory and up staff, go through some kind of leadership training.
Just my editorial comment as a former social worker: There's never too much training, especially if the expectations are going to rise.
Well, I feel the same way. I think they feel that they have a lot of work to do as well, but we are -- I think people do understand the importance of it.
Indeed. Let me underscore the observation made 00283 by my colleague Councilman Bill Green around efficiencies with regards to the transportation of social workers. Philly Car Share is becoming more recognizable and respected with regards to the efficiencies that it brings, so I would underscore his recommendation to look into that and see how that might aid the department in efficiencies with the transportation of social workers.
I think it's a wonderful idea. I hadn't thought of it. Great idea.
Thank you very much. Are there any other questions from members of the committee? 00284 (No further questions.)
Council President Verna, this will probably be the last time that I come to you as DHS Commissioner, so I just wanted to thank you and members of Council for your support of me personally and for the department. We've gone through a very difficult time. I will be going back to Behavioral Health full-time, but I wanted you all to know that we appreciate the support. I'm very confident and very proud of the work that people have done in the department. And I think it was Councilman Green that asked me, What can you do to -- a more pointed question but I think more generally for people in the department to know that you continue to support the work that they do. 00285 It's very important. And any way that you can share that with them, I think, will mean a lot to them. So thank you and I appreciate it.
Okay, thank you. MR. McPHERSON: The Office of Supportive Housing. (Witnesses come forward.)
Good afternoon. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Good afternoon. My name is Dainette Mintz. I'm the Director of the Office of Supportive Housing.
Welcome. And thank you for your patience. I know you've been waiting to testify.
Thank you. 00286 Good afternoon, Council President Verna and distinguished members. My name is Dainette Mintz and I am the Acting Deputy Managing Director for Special Needs Housing and Acting Director of the Office of Supportive Housing, OSH. The function of OSH is to plan for and assist individuals and families in moving toward independent living and self-sufficiency. I am pleased to offer this testimony outlining the OSH budget request for Fiscal Year 2009 totaling $97,989,500, as well the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for Philadelphians experiencing homelessness and the agencies, offices, and departments dedicated to serving them. In Fiscal Year 2009, OSH will promote and healthy and sustainable communities and continue to strategize on efforts to address increasing 00287 demand. By focusing on preventing from households from entering emergency housing and measuring the percent of households discharged to appropriate housing, OSH will focus on returning households to housing located in the community. By mandating appropriate placement and measuring success, DHS will enhance its management of the provision of service and resource allocation. The Housing Retention Program will again target specific neighborhoods that have high rates of foreclosures and evictions, with provider partners assigned to specific geographical areas. In Fiscal Year 2009, this program is expected to again serve over 300 households who would otherwise need to enter the emergency-housing system. In addition, OSH will incorporate new customer-service standards into to daily operation. By 00288 setting the customer-service standard of communicating the expected wait for an intake interview, OSH will promote efficiency and service delivery and provide effective means to respond to consumer complaints and provide redress when required. Also, in Fiscal Year 2009, OSH will continue the implementation of Philadelphia's Ten-Year Plan to end homelessness. The major work areas of the Ten-Year Plan are: Prevent and treat into homeless. Address chronic homelessness and visible street consumers by providing appropriate housing and treatment opportunities. Increase the number of affordable permanent housing units. Revise program and facility operations standards. And address the above, using best-practice models. 00289 In keeping with the key principal of fostering healthy and sustainable communities, the Ridge Avenue Center, Philadelphia's main intake and emergency-housing site for single men experiencing homelessness will be phased out over time and reconfigured into smaller, more specialized facilities with community resident resource centers and a community advisory board as part of the model. This new initiative will promote community collaboration, improved customer service, and foster healthy and vibrant communities. By providing specialized and appropriate placements, the number of visible individuals experiencing chronic street homelessness will decrease, and the public safety and the safety of homeless residents will increase. As presented to Council, the OSH Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, 00290 totaling $97,989,500, represents a reduction of 2 percent in General Funds. Of the $40,210,085 General Fund appropriation, the funding breakdown is as follows: 6,601,227 is Class 100. 33,201,779 is Class 200. 236,174 is Class 300. 135,855 is Class 400. And 35,050 is Class 500. The OSH Fiscal Year 2009 budget also represents a continuation of focused coordination between City agencies, offices, and departments to provide specialized and appropriate placement opportunities and maximize grants revenues to create appropriate permanent-housing opportunities for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
By continuing strategic prevention efforts to close the front door to homelessness and prioritizing the creation of additional permanent 00291 housing to open the back door out of homelessness, OSH will be a key strategic partner in ensuring the health and sustainability of Philadelphia's neighborhoods, increasing public safety, and providing consumer-service standards, practices, and accountability. Our community is capable of developing and delivering lasting solutions to the experience of homelessness, an issue that we all have a significant stake in. We must refuse to allow past successes to be sufficient and recent setbacks to recur. In Fiscal Year 2009, OSH will implement the described strategic initiatives and accountability measures to ensure quality services for all residents, including those residents living with the least. I appreciate the opportunity to testify before you today. I would 00292 be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Miss Mintz, you state in your testimony that OSH will incorporate new customer-service standards into daily operation. By setting the customer-service standard of communicating, the expected wait for an intake interview, OSH will promote efficiency and service delivery and provide effective means to respond to customer complaints -- or I'm sorry, consumer complaints and provide redress when required. How long can a wait for an interview be?
It can vary. We're currently in the process of doing a time study, but one of the standards that we want to be able to identify is what is a reasonable period of time 00293 someone should expect to wait when they come into our intake centers and are called and an interview is actually taken to identify what their issues are and how quickly we can then expedite the process for placing them. And our expectation is that we will be able to identify within all of our facilities what anyone coming in can expect, so that they would then be able to know when we have addressed the wait time that we've identified as the standard.
All right. Miss Mintz, how can telling someone how long they have to wait for an interview improve efficiency?
Because we have had the history of some clients coming in and sitting in our intake centers for a period of time that we believe is excessive. The sooner we do the interview, the sooner we're able to move forward in making the placement. 00294 So what we're actually proposing here is to increase our response to folks coming into our centers, identifying them coming in, and being able to undertake their interview in a much more expedient manner.
Can you tell us why your General Fund budget is being cut by more than $945,000?
The budget reduction is to address efficiencies within our budget. We are proposing, for example, to address and eliminate funding for organizations in which we had previously been providing General Funds, but we would secured alternative federal funds. We are also proposing to eliminate funding to a consultant that we had on board to assist us in being able to develop stronger internal processes. So we're proposing to 00295 eliminate those things. We also had an opportunity to look at how we could increase efficiencies in the relocation of our intake staff from our previous location to our new location and our relocation staff, and we have some efficiencies in the operation costs there. So those were the variety of things that make up that total reduction.
Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Madam President. Director Mintz, Deputy Director (inaudible), my first day on the job, I was sworn in, we had a wonderful reception over in the inauguration room. I came here, I had a great big party, a wonderful event, 00296 and I went into my office, and I got my first constituent-service request, which was a homeless a couple of couple who had some issues related to mental health, and I'll say that. We made a call to your office, and this was after hours; it was actually probably around 7 o'clock in the afternoon. Within a hour of that call, you had a team over that dealt with it. And I was a very new Councilperson scared to death, and I was under -- I'm a little superstitious. I figured the first constituent-service request I better solve for a positive resolution. And I just wanted to thank the both of you for being so attentive.
And making sure that those people who were facing sleeping under a bridge did not. They not only got a place to stay; they were also dealt with on other issues, and it 00297 was a whole list of treatment for them.
So I want to thank you for that on the record and publicly.
The second thing I want to ask is, you're experiencing budget cuts?
So is homelessness going away? Are there less homeless that you can afford a budget cut?
There aren't less homelessness, but one of things that we do recognize is that there is always the opportunity for us to be more efficient in how we're using our resources. So while we still are 00298 challenged by the number of homeless folks that we have to serve, we utilize that opportunity to look at how we could be more efficient in how we allocate our funding.
Now, just so you know, for the last years, I sat 9 on that of the table. 10
So I know 13 what that kind of means. So 14 quantitatively, what has been the 15 number of homeless people that you've 16 serviced over the last four years? And 17 up down, increased, decrease? 18
There certainly has 19 been an increase in homelessness and in 20 the visible street population in the last two-and-a-half years.
That increase has been at a high in the summer of 2007 of 661 persons on the street. Many of 00299 them are persons who have behavioral- health issues and who tend not to come into the existing emergency-housing system, either because of their mental health and their disability and their unwillingness to come in because those facilities do have standards of behavior, and/or because their disabilities preclude them from making a determination that they want to come in and address their issues. We have been assisting for the last three years approximately over, I would say, 3,000 placements on any given night in our shelter.
Over 3,000 placements on any given night in our existing system. That oftentimes is due to us, again, being able to place folks at any time of the day and night. And we also recognize that we do have turnover in the system. So 00300 while, on any given time, we're serving about 3,000 or a little less, we oftentimes are serving the same individuals repeatedly over the course of the fiscal year.
I already know it is not your desire to do so, so you do not have to answer this defensively. Just, in fact, do you ever have to turn people away for lack of beds?
So you do not need less money; you need more. I'll say it for you for the record. Second -- and don't even answer that; you don't have to answer that. Don't get yourself in trouble. But if you are turning people away, you need more beds, more money, more support. And I'll say that for you. The second thing is, with the increase of the housing sub prime 00301 lending and subsequent sheriff's sales, are you seeing more people who, because of the loss of a primary residence, are needing homes?
We are. And we are in a very fortunate position of being able to address that through our homeless prevention program. We have a program that is our housing retention program. It's the program I made reference to in my testimony that's trying to prevent folks from coming into our system. We have earmarked in this current fiscal year really trying to address folks who have foreclosures, and so we have four -- I'm sorry, five organizations that we subcontract with, who have designated geographical areas that they serve, who are actually working with folks who come in who have foreclosures or are facing eviction due to delinquent rent or utilities. 00302
And what kind of services do you provide them monetarily?
Monetary assistance. We will pay to bring their rent current. We will provide delinquent payment for utilities. We also provide funding to help them cover past-due outstanding mortgage payments.
And for my conservative Republican friends, the math rationale of this is that it is cheaper to keep them in their current housing situation --
Absolutely. And in addition to the realization that we don't have the capacity to house them if they were to come into our system, but in many cases, one of our primary mandates is to try to prevent folks 00303 from ever experiencing the homeless system by having to come in. And so the prevention program has been wonderful in avoiding the system for over 300 persons in this fiscal year.
You currently subcontract the housing overnight stays through several vendors.
Sure. We subcontract with 58 individual contracts. Many of at home are private, nonprofit organizations who primarily are housing providers for emergency housing, transitional, and permanent housing. It would include: Project H.O.M.E.; Resources for Human Development; 1260 Housing Development Corporation; Self, Incorporated; Travelers Aid Society, just to name a 00304 few but it's a variety.
How do -- do you determine your vendors geographically or by the amount of space in zoning that is allowed to --
No. In many cases, these are providers who have had contracts predating my appointment. We -- on a annual basis, we issue either a request for proposal in order to identify any new providers, and we will issue a request for information from the existing providers. And then every two years, we do an open RFP for all providers to be able to respond to so that we can have the opportunity to evaluate, once again, their service provision, their performance, and make determinations of either to continue to contract with them or to make changes. That's complicated by the fact that we certainly have providers who own their own facilities. And so for us to make a decision not to contract 00305 with someone means we have to have a alternative to house those families or individuals.
I understand many of those contracts are coming up soon?
Yes. We contract on the annual fiscal year basis. So we're currently in the process of reviewing all of the responses to our RFPs and our RFI's.
I would say that the vast majority of your facilities, I think, are beyond my own personal expectations. Some of them need to be looked at. And as you stated for the record, they predate you.
And I understand the challenge to take someone out of the contracting process that provides beds you have to put people in or you're going to be faced 00306 with turning more homeless people away, so I understand all of those challenges. But we have to work with you to provide decent places for people to live and stay, because at the end of the day, all of us are only a few paychecks away from being homeless, so there but by the grace of God stands I. And in some of those circumstance, I think we can do better. And I'm going to -- I want to -- as a Councilperson on the Housing and Homelessness Committee, I want to work closely with you. I believe in what you're doing.
I know it is a difficult job, I know you are up for it, so I'm offering our assistance in that committee to be a part of the solution to the problems and not just pointing the fingers. 00307 So whatever we can do to help you out -- and you do need to have that $600,000 restored to your budget, and I see the Budget Director there making notes, that if we are turning people away, how can we cut your program. And I don't think that that should happen. Thank you. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Just a couple of questions. On any given night, how many children are in the homeless shelters on average? Knowing that it fluctuates.
Over 900, okay. Well, you know, the good news is that that number has lowered in the years that I've been in City Council, so that's good news. You acknowledged in Councilman Curtis Jones question that on occasion, regretfully, you do have to turn individuals away.
It may include a family. Typically what we will do if we are at full capacity is, we will ask the family if they have any inability to make their own arrangements for that night.
If they indicate that they do, we ask them to identify who that is. It's typically a family member. We verify, by making contact 00309 on the phone, that the family member will allow that person to stay with them that night, or for whatever period of time they indicate that they can.
We will then place the family on a wait list so that when we have an opening in our capacity, we will contact them to determine if they still desire to be placed.
That has also allowed us to be able to assess whether or not the family truly did not have any other alternatives than coming into emergency housing. Oftentimes, we will have very young heads of family show up because they've had a falling-out. It's not anything that can't be repaired.
And so we have found, interestingly, that for many of 00310 the families who have had to make their own arrangements, less than a third have actually come back to being placed.
Okay. Gee whiz. A couple more questions before my closing comment. CHIP. We've given a lot of conversation with the leadership of the Health Department.
Taking some special attention with children of parents who are incarcerated.
And the same applies would apply here, children who are in homeless shelters.
So is there a connection of the dots with health and the children you have to make sure that there's health coverage for the time that they're within your 00311 care?
We are in partnership with the Health Department. I think that that is a new area for us to explore with them, and we would certainly follow up with them on that.
Okay. Just to make -- to the extent in learning today that CHIP is not an entitlement --
-- but we would certainly want to max out all available dollars for our city's children.
And, finally, I will simply say thank you for the partnership that my office has enjoyed with OESS every single year when we do our holiday piece of trying to keep children warm.
And you should know that the nonprofit Operation Warm, which is in the business of giving out coats internationally now wants to work with us and, therefore, with you.
So that we can bump up how we take care of those children for winter '09. So anticipate follow up from our office.
You're welcome. Are there any other questions? (No further questions.)
This committee will stand in recess until tomorrow, Tuesday, April 1, at a.m. 6 Thank you all very much. 7 (Proceedings end at 4:44 p.m.) 8 * * * 9 10 00314 C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings of the City of Philadelphia Council Committee of the Whole are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me on Monday, March 31, 2008, and that this is a true and correct statement of same. __________________________________ JOSEPHINE CARDILLO Registered Professional Reporter (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)