Odile Ruth Claude, social services executive, child and family welfare expert, and mentor, has died at 88
Known as Dr. O, she helped expand and modernize the systems that connect children and families in need with resources and people who can help them.
Odile Ruth Claude, 88, of Cherry Hill, a social services executive, pioneer in child and family welfare programs, and mentor, died Thursday, April 29, of Alzheimer’s disease at Premiere Cadbury Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.
Dr. Claude’s career in child and family social services spanned six decades and featured leadership roles in Pennsylvania, California, Ohio, and Arizona. Inspired by her own experiences as a child, her Catholic faith, and a natural inclination to help others, she created and put into action assessment tools, success scales, and other practices that modernized social services for children and families.
In 2008 in Philadelphia, Dr. Claude was founder and executive director of Asset Builder Inc,. a nonprofit that trained social workers. In the 1990s, she was executive director of Infant & Youth Care, a foster-care organization, and regional director for First Home Care Corp.
She supervised a budget at Infant & Youth Care that grew from $2.5 million to more than $5 million in five years and reorganized and strengthened the social-work outreach efforts at First Home Care Corp. In the 1970s, she was executive director of the Child Abuse Prevention Program at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.
“She built an amazing family of scientists, communications leaders, creatives, and educators, and the trajectory of her life is powerful,” said her daughter Deirdre Childress Hopkins, a former editor at The Inquirer. “Just a few years ago, at the age of 84, she still worked as an advocate for children and families.”
In the 1980s in Santa Barbara, Calif., Dr. Claude was executive director of Child Abuse Listening Mediation Inc. and helped it become a national voice in fighting child abuse. She was also director of foster-care services for the Children’s Bureau of Los Angeles, where she oversaw six regional offices and dozens of staff members.
As director of child protective services for Montgomery County, Ohio, in the 1980s, she eventually oversaw all protective services for the county. In 2001, she was in charge of child welfare training for the Arizona Department of Economic Security.
In an online tribute, a friend said that Dr. Claude, also known as Dr. O, had “a love and genuine care for children and their families.” Another said she created “a wonderful legacy to leave behind.”
Dr. Claude lived locally in Willingboro and Cherry Hill. She also worked for the Willingboro Board of Education and as a consultant to many social service organizations in Philadelphia, including the Alliance of Black Social Workers. She retired in 2018.
Born July 22, 1933, in New Orleans, Dr. Claude earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Spanish at California State University in Los Angeles, a master’s degree in social work at the University of Pennsylvania, and a doctorate in training and education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her dissertation was titled “Predicting and Prevention of Child Maltreatment in Foster Homes, Using Assessment Tools.”
She married Thomas Bullock in 1954 and they had son Tony. After a divorce, she married John W. Childress III in 1957 and they had daughters Deirdre, Claudette, and Anne-Margaret and sons John W. IV, and John T. Her second husband called her the kindest woman he ever knew.
Away from work, Dr. Claude liked literature and history and played Jeopardy! and other mentally challenging games. She cheered for the 76ers and Phillies when she lived in Philadelphia and the Lakers and Dodgers when she was in Los Angeles.
Part of a musical family, she was glamorous, had a beautiful singing voice, dressed fashionably, liked to travel, and often won at bridge, spades, and other card games. Her professionalism made her a mentor to many with whom she worked.
“You were my supervisor, work mom, mentor and friend,” a colleague said in a tribute. “I will forever cherish your wisdom, work ethic, and your style of fashion.”
Her family said she was supportive, kind, and always finding the best in others. Her son John T. Childress said: “She set the standard for achieving success by overcoming challenges.”
In addition to her children, Dr. Claude is survived by 13 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and other relatives. Her former husbands and son John W. Childress IV died earlier.
A service was held Friday, May 20, in California.
Donations in her name may be made to St. Jude’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105.