HUMAN SERVICES
Upgrading For the Citizens
The Department of Human Services is a critical part of our city’s infrastructure, and like the rest of our infrastructure, City Council has neglected to upgrade its capabilities to keep pace with our city’s growth.
Insufficient staffing levels have led to delays in completing home studies for prospective foster and adoptive parents. Our Child Protective Services division lacks an after-hours response unit. The city operates no facilities for at-risk youth, and the private organization that handles that demographic, Seton House, is frequently overwhelmed.
As the largest city in the Commonwealth, it is unacceptable to lack critical capabilities in Human Services.
Fortunately, our city is home to some very active charitable and faith-based organizations that the city can partner with to support the community.
On City Council I will fight for:
- Appropriate funding for an after-hours CPS unit, as requested but denied in the current budget proposal.
- Hire additional social workers to handle the workload that a city of half a million people creates.
- Engage in a new type of Public/Private Partnership, with charitable and faith-based organizations such as the DREAM Center and Habitat for Humanity, to provide facilities and capabilities that the city lacks for the homeless, at-risk youth, the unemployed and the underemployed.
