July 2002

The City of Philadelphia released "Report Card 2002: The Well-Being of Children and Youth in Philadelphia" on June 20, 2002. Produced by Philadelphia Safe and Sound in collaboration with City government, this is the third annual report card.

"The process has multiple levels of activity, which engage scores of service providers, community organizations and policy makers," says Safe and Sound President Naomi Post. "The report card guides the City's efforts to manage human services to improve conditions for children and youth. When analyzed alongside its companion document, the Children's Budget, the report card also helps the City direct resources to effective solutions to deeply entrenched social problems. At its essence, the report card is a process of action, reflection and refined responses."

The companion 2002 Children's Budget, which depicts government spending on child-related issues, will be released in late September.

Mayor John Street, when releasing the report card, noted that it reflected some gains and declines in the conditions of children's well being in Philadelphia. The most gains were made in the category of "Children Are Born Healthy, Thrive and Are Ready for School." Indicators for this category - including the rate of infant deaths, the percentage of babies born at low birth weight, the number of women receiving inadequate prenatal care, the number of first graders being promoted and child care for children up to age five - all improved.

"This promising news is tempered, however, by the disturbing lack of progress in many other key areas of children's health and safety, such as youth violence, substance abuse, academic achievement and sexually transmitted diseases," said Mayor Street.

The report card explores what children's programs and services have proven to be effective and therefore should be continued. It also sheds light on areas in need of improvement. As a result, populations that are not doing as well as others can be immediately identified and a strategic response can be formulated. In response to the challenges outlined in the report card, the City has implemented a number of responses, for example:

• The funding and opening of the first 11 Beacon programs, unique collaborations between schools, provider service agencies and community residents that address problems ranging from declining academic achievement to juvenile crime.
• The funding of 101 after-school programs to address a host of issues, including literacy and substance abuse.
• The opening of the first two special "Teen Centers" as an intervention for adjudicated youth who need a steady, guiding hand back to the right path.
• The collaboration between the Departments of Health and Recreation to offer free sexually transmitted disease screening tests.

"This spirit of inter-agency collaboration is a direct by-product of the lessons learned from the Report Card and Children's Budget," says Post of Safe and Sound. "The most encouraging development with the report card has been its widespread use and application. Private non-profit organizations have used it to guide their planning. Schools, researchers and those in state and federal government have been referencing the report card as well. In a very practical sense, this process has been courageous and has helped to set the tone for a new way of addressing issues of children's health, safety, education and overall well-being in Philadelphia."

The entire 2002 report card can be viewed in pdf format at http://www.philasafesound.org/redesign3/2002_rc.pdf. To request a copy, call Philadelphia Safe and Sound at 215-226-2501 or submit your request via e-mail to reportcard@philasafesound.org.

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