Philadelphia City Hall. Photo: Shutterstock

Tempers flared at a crowded Philadelphia City Council meeting Thursday when the majority of its members voted against creating a committee to investigate the rate and methods of child removal from family homes to foster care.

The council voted 10-7 against the resolution, introduced by Councilmembers David Oh and Cindy Bass, which called for the authorization of a “'special committee on child separation in Philadelphia' to investigate child separation in Philadelphia's child welfare system and develop recommendations to ensure compliance with state State Child Protective Services Law to protect children and due process rights of families and prevent the unnecessary break-up of families.”

Philadelphia has the highest rates of child removal in the nation.

The vote was preceded by an emotionally charged and often disruptive period of public comment by family members of children in foster care. Later, as individual councilmembers explained their reasons to support or oppose the resolution, parents screamed wildly about children being taken away from them by the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, which, in their view, removed them without cause.

Several people in the gallery were removed from the meeting by sheriff's deputies as council president Darrell Clarke implored the crowd to remain calm.

When the cries died down, several councilmembers who opposed the resolution said that creating such a body would overlap with the work of existing committees and task forces.

“I want to be clear: we are not rejecting the issue of child separation,” retiring Councilman William Greenlee said, “We are rejecting this particular approach and should deal with the entities and committees set forth.”

Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown called the parents' pleas for assistance “absolutely heart-wrenching” but supported Greenlee's argument and noted that Councilwoman Helen Gym already heads a task force looking into residential placement of children.

Asked by Clarke for a status update, Gym said the task force—created one year ago—is “taking a serious look” at the treatment of children in facilities, and by September will have recommendations on how to reduce the number of children in foster care.

Oh, an outspoken critic of DHS, said not enough was being done to address the problem. He accused his fellow councilmembers of ignoring parents' cries for help.

Oh told the council the story of a grandmother who came to him with the claim that her grandchild had allegedly been raped by her mother's boyfriend, was sent to foster care, and then sent back to live with the alleged rapist after DHS determined there was no cause for an investigation. Oh said she complained to DHS, the police department and politicians, but no one would listen.

“The biggest problem is that DHS tells us there's absolutely nothing wrong with them,” Oh said. “There have been threats made, and intimations, of political consequences. And I wonder why that is when all we're trying to do is provide oversight for an agency.”

DHS spokeswoman Heather Keafer called Oh's statement's a “gross mischaracterization” of the department.

“This is a reminder that we must all listen to children, who many times cannot speak for themselves,” Keafer said in an email. “Children are abused and neglected. In most cases children stay with their families and receive support services. But sometimes children are not safe at home. In these situations, it is our mandate to remove the child until it is safe for them to return. If we have learned anything from the Jerry Sandusky and the Catholic Church scandal[s], it is that we have an obligation to believe children when they tell us they have been hurt.”

Keafer added, “DHS has been clear that we want fewer children in our care. That is evident by our 9% reduction in the number of children in placement between 2017-2018. Councilmember Oh's call for reform comes at a time when progress is underway.”

As for Oh's remarks about threats, Keafer said she had “no idea what he was referring to.”