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DHS Adopts Recommendation to Protect Children from Abuse

By Department of Auditor General

Dec 02, 2020
PA Auditor General

HARRISBURG – Continuing his fight to protect children from abuse, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) has adopted his recommendation to better monitor contractors hired by counties to provide in-home services to children.

“In 2016, I warned DHS that county contractors were not being monitored to ensure they have undergone the background checks and clearances required by state law,” DePasquale said, noting that those contractors provide the vast majority of in-home services such as prevention, reunification, and aftercare.

Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law (CPSL) requires criminal background checks and child abuse history clearances to be performed for all contracted or subcontracted employees and direct volunteers providing in-home services to children.

After DePasquale notified DHS of his concerns, the agency subsequently informed counties of the need to monitor this issue and, in 2019, made it part of the formal rules that county Children and Youth agencies must follow.

“DHS said that it will review documentation to prove compliance during its on-site reviews of county Children and Youth agencies,” DePasquale said. “My team kept at it and repeated this recommendation in audit after audit, and their tenacity is resulting in changes that will help to protect kids.”

Following his 2016 audit of DHS, DePasquale produced two reports aimed at protecting children. His 2017 State of the Child special report detailed the strengths and challenges of Pennsylvania’s child-welfare system; in 2018 he released his State of the Child Action Plan.

Learn more about the Department of the Auditor General online at www.PaAuditor.gov.

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