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In the neighborhoods of Philadelphia, a secret had been whispered about for years.
The agency watching over the city’s children was heavy-handed, people said. It was easy for a family to lose its children into foster care, it was rumored.
Carolyn Hill heard the stories, then she became one of those people. The mother of five had taken in her two nieces in 2011, and a year later, she watched them walk out of her house with a social worker, right in the middle of the family s dinner.
The Pennsylvania State Capitol building.
Driven by job losses, changes in federal rules, and an increased focus on health care during the coronavirus pandemic, enrollment in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program has swelled by more than 400,000 people over the last year, according to statistics from the state.
Enrollment in the state s Medical Assistance program increased by 14.7% between February 2020 through March of this year, the most recent statistics available.
In addition to pandemic-driven economic hardship, some of the large enrollment numbers are likely fueled by federal rules that say once an individual is enrolled in Medicaid, they can stay enrolled, with limited exceptions, state human service officials said. That keeps people from leaving the program if their income rises, and fewer people are being removed due to failure to submit renewal paperwork or related processing errors that would often kick people off the program before the pandemic struck.
Greg Spizer for the plaintiff
PHILADELPHIA - A federal lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Delaware County, the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center and the Child Guidance Resource Center alleges child abuse and assault.
According to the complaint filed on April 14 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the allegations come from an anonymous parent and child, CB and SB.
The suit outlines a history of sexual, physical and psychological abuse at the Detention Center, which was ordered closed in March due to concerns for the children s wellbeing.
The minor child plaintiff SB was admitted to the center four times between June 2020 and February 2021 at the age of 16. The plaintiff alleges that she endured abuse the entirety of her stay, including being held down and punched in the face, denied medical attention, excessive force, denial of mental health treatment, derogatory language, roach and insect infestations and
AP A number of human service organizations are asking legislators for additional federal funds that will be coming to the state.
Billions of dollars in federal aid will soon be flowing to Pennsylvania as part of the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan, and a number of human service providers in the state are calling for a multi-million one-time payment, as well as additional Medicaid funds, to help them cover increased costs from COVID-19 pandemic.
“To put it plainly, the safety net for our health and human services system is nearly disintegrated,” said Richard Edley, who heads the Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association. The group s members provide services in mental health, drug and alcohol addiction, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and other fields.
In the neighborhoods of Philadelphia, a secret had been whispered about for years.
The agency watching over the city’s children was heavy-handed, people said. It was easy for a family to lose its children into foster care, it was rumored.
Carolyn Hill heard the stories, then she became one of those people. The mother of five had taken in her two nieces in 2011, and a year later, she watched them walk out of her house with a social worker, right in the middle of the family s dinner.
“I just bought their Easter dresses,” Hill said.
They had just begun to understand what it felt like to be loved and safe. Before the girls moved into Hill s home, they didn’t know they were sisters, separated into different foster homes and bounced around.