State says Philly DHS spied on its investigation into abuse at child detention center, downgrades agency’s license
Workers at the city agency accessed a confidential database, state regulators said in placing the department on a provisional license.
State regulators have revoked and downgraded the license of Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services, accusing the agency of accessing a confidential child-abuse database to spy on its investigation into allegations of child abuse at the city’s juvenile detention center.
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services placed the city DHS on a provisional license just a month after it similarly downgraded the license of the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center, the main detention center that houses about 150 young people awaiting trial or transfer to a secure state facility.
That action followed a riot during a boxing event there earlier this year that left several children injured, officials said. The state said the city failed to provide records necessary for its investigation.
State officials, in licensing documents published this week, said unauthorized staff at Philadelphia DHS accessed confidential child welfare records and attempted to use the information system “to peer into the Department’s investigation of the county operated juvenile detention facility.”
In a statement, City Solicitor Renee Garcia said officials are “confident that the Philadelphia Department of Human Services did not violate any state law or regulation.” Garcia said the city intends to appeal the state’s decision to issue a provisional license.
“The basis for the state’s action has nothing to do with the care of children; the care and safety of children has always been and will remain our utmost priority,” she said. The city is fully cooperating with the state’s investigation and “has timely produced over 20,000 pages [of records] in response,” Garcia said.
A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services made clear that the state agency does view the breach as pertinent to child welfare.
“When an agency fails to meet standards of care or breaks protocol, the Department may take action to hold that agency accountable and establish plans of correction, as it did in this case,” the spokesperson said in an email.
The licensing report alleged that the city improperly accessed the Child Welfare Information Solutions portal, which contains detailed and highly protected data on child-welfare histories for kids across Pennsylvania.
Cathleen Palm, founder of the Center for Children’s Justice, said the allegation of misusing access to child-welfare databases raised serious concerns — not only because it could expose kids’ confidential information, but also because it could out whistleblowers.
She noted that child-welfare information breaches have resulted in criminal prosecutions in other counties.
“What’s curious to me is whether or not they’ve turned this over as a legal matter [to law enforcement]. This isn’t just a licensing issue.”
City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier said in a statement that she was “extremely disturbed and disappointed” by the city’s course of action. She said she has been working with the city for years to improve the conditions inside the facility.
“This is a major step backward,” she said.
Along with the license downgrade, Michael Scott, the executive director of the detention center, was “detailed” to a new job in the city’s public safety office, according to Associate Deputy Mayor Jessica Shapiro. She declined to answer questions about the reason for Scott’s reassignment or whether a search for a replacement is underway.
Scott is now working with the Philadelphia Office of Safe Neighborhoods’ Community Crisis Intervention Program, the city said. He has retained his $133,555 salary.
Attempts to reach Scott were unsuccessful Wednesday: His city-issued cell phone was not connected, and his email returned an out-of-office message.
Scott’s JJSC post currently is vacant. A DHS deputy commissioner oversees operations at the West Philadelphia facility.
The city had denied many of the state regulator’s findings on the January riot. The state, in turn, accused Philadelphia DHS of withholding critical information, including several camera angles showing video of the incident, documentation of its response, and sections of its policy manual.
An Inquirer investigation published in January found widespread violence within the facility, including assaults instigated by staff members who then rewarded the assailants with cheesesteaks. Philadelphia’s youth ombudsman also published a report in January describing frequent and illegal use of punitive isolation within the facility.
Philadelphia DHS was last on provisional status in 2007, after a series of independent evaluations and reports by The Inquirer showed the agency failed to protect the children in its care from abuse and neglect.
Philadelphia’s child-welfare agency is one of five across Pennsylvania operating under provisional licenses, amid what administrators have acknowledged is a crisis fueled by staffing shortages.
Margot Isman, policy director of the Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project, a nonprofit that provides legal assistance and advocacy to young people charged with crimes, said the situation highlights why abuses within Pennsylvania institutions have become so entrenched.
“The best way to keep kids from getting harmed in chaotic and violent institutions is to keep them out of those institutions, and that’s really what [both state and city] DHS should be focused on.”