Philadelphia Mayor Signs Executive Order To Create Office Of The Youth Ombudsperson

Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney signed Executive Order 5-22 establishing an Office of the Youth Ombudsperson (OYO) within the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The OYO will provide additional oversight over the City of Philadelphia’s child welfare, juvenile justice, and behavioral health systems with respect to youth who are residing in Residential Treatment Facilities (RTFs) with a goal of continuing to improve the safety and quality of services.

Youth residential placements, also called “congregate care,” include group homes, psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (RTFs), state-run detention centers, and other similar facilities for youth in the fields of child . . .