Connecticut said it had informed other states of its intention to move its kids out by Sept. 15, though the facility remains open. Philadelphia moved its three clients in November.
Despite a changeover in management and a spate of improvements at DHS, the Lake Grove files illustrate how the agency still struggles to ensure the safety of vulnerable children placed in out-of-state treatment facilities.
Some of Philadelphia's most psychologically troubled children, sent outside the state for treatment and care, have been killed, sexually assaulted, sent to emergency rooms with broken bones, and entrusted to staff who are former convicts, according to records, lawsuits and interviews.
Since 2000, five children from Philadelphia have died in out-of-state homes or institutions - one of them after an overhaul that began 18 months ago, when The Inquirer revealed the agency's poor record in protecting vulnerable children.
Since then, DHS has undertaken the most sweeping changes in its history. Officials have rechecked kids under their care, cleared out poorly performing contract agencies, and raced to arm caseworkers with better methods to assess when children face danger at home.
And last week, members of an oversight board said DHS had made much progress in how it tackled safety. But some board members, and the state's welfare director, said the city had a way to go to keep kids safe in far-flung institutions.
"This is an issue we're going to take a look at," said Carol Spigner, who leads a DHS oversight panel.
Even today, Philadelphia has kids in a Colorado facility where DHS inspectors found that youngsters were kept in isolation rooms and strapped into a "restraint chair" - the same model that the U.S. government uses to force-feed suspected terrorists in the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
