HB 1573 — An Act amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), known as the Human Services Code, in children and youth, further providing for availability of services, providing for purposes and further providing for statistics and assistance for research.

PRINTER'S NO.    1861

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1573
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY SHUSTERMAN, HOHENSTEIN, HANBIDGE, DOUGHERTY, HILL-
        EVANS, KHAN, D. WILLIAMS, SANCHEZ, WARREN, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ AND
        MAYES, JUNE 6, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH, JUNE 9, 2025


                                    AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31, No.21), entitled "An
 2      act to consolidate, editorially revise, and codify the public
 3      welfare laws of the Commonwealth," in children and youth,
 4      further providing for availability of services, providing for
 5      purposes and further providing for statistics and assistance
 6      for research.
 7      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 8   hereby enacts as follows:
 9      Section 1.    Section 701 of the act of June 13, 1967 (P.L.31,
10   No.21), known as the Human Services Code, is amended to read:
11      Section 701.    Availability of Services.--(a)   The department
12   shall assure within the Commonwealth the availability and
13   equitable provision of adequate public child welfare services
14   for all children who need them regardless of religion, race,
15   settlement, residence or economic or social status.
16      (b)   At least once every three years, the department shall
17   conduct an inventory of programs and services to address
18   delinquency across all counties of this Commonwealth. The
19   following apply:
 1      (1)    The inventory shall be conducted in coordination with
 2   local judges, county officials and relevant stakeholders across
 3   all counties of this Commonwealth.
 4      (2)    The results of the inventory shall be collated and
 5   disseminated publicly.
 6      Section 2.    The act is amended by adding a section to read:
 7      Section 701.1.    Purposes.--(a)     The purposes of this article
 8   are to:
 9      (1)    Protect children from abuse and neglect.
10      (2)    Provide for the care, protection, safety and wholesome
11   mental and physical development of children for whom 42 Pa.C.S.
12   Ch. 63 (relating to juvenile matters) applies or who are
13   receiving services in accordance with this article.
14      (3)    Preserve the unity of the family whenever possible or
15   provide an alternative permanent family when the unity of the
16   family cannot be maintained.
17      (4)    Consistent with the protection of the public interest,
18   provide programs of supervision, care and rehabilitation for
19   children committing delinquent acts. The programs shall provide
20   balanced attention to:
21      (i)    The protection of the community.
22      (ii)    The imposition of accountability for offenses
23   committed.
24      (iii)     The development of competencies to enable children to
25   become responsible and productive members of the community,
26   including ensuring access to a quality education.
27      (5)    Achieve the purposes in a family environment whenever
28   possible, separating a child from the child's parents only when
29   necessary for the child's welfare, safety or health or when
30   necessary for public safety.

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 1      (b)   In accordance with the purposes specified in subsection
 2   (a) and the mandate of 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 that the court, upon
 3   finding a child to be a dependent child, shall enter an order of
 4   disposition that is best suited to the safety, protection and
 5   physical, mental and moral welfare of the child, the department
 6   shall prioritize the following objectives:
 7      (1)   To increase the use of nonplacement services designed to
 8   prevent child abuse and neglect and to strengthen families so
 9   that the safety of children is increased and the risk to
10   children is minimized.
11      (2)   If placement is necessary, to use kinship care as the
12   first priority and, if kinship care is not available or
13   appropriate, to use family foster care as an alternative.
14      (3)   To ensure that the use of congregate care living and
15   institutional placement is short-term and only as long as
16   necessary to stabilize a child so the child can return to a
17   family-like setting.
18      (4)   To improve permanency for children to reduce the
19   duration of out-of-home placement.
20      (c)   In accordance with the purposes specified in subsection
21   (a) and the mandate under 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 that the court, upon
22   finding a child to be a delinquent child, shall enter an order
23   of disposition that is consistent with protection of the public,
24   the imposition of accountability for offenses committed and the
25   development of competencies to enable the child to become a
26   responsible and productive member of the community, the
27   department shall prioritize the following objectives:
28      (1)   To increase the use of in-home services when consistent
29   with the protection of the public and the rehabilitation needs
30   of delinquent children.

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 1      (2)    With respect to the placement of delinquent children:
 2      (i)    To encourage use of the in-home services when consistent
 3   with the protection of the public and the treatment,
 4   supervision, education and rehabilitation needs of delinquent
 5   children.
 6      (ii)     To operate and encourage the development of placement
 7   resources that are consistent with the protection of the public
 8   and the treatment, supervision, education and rehabilitation
 9   needs of delinquent children, and to ensure that these
10   placements are used only for the duration needed to protect the
11   public.
12      (iii)     To encourage the use of community-based residential
13   resources as alternatives to institutional placements when
14   consistent with the protection of the public and to support the
15   treatment, supervision, education and rehabilitation needs of
16   delinquent children.
17      (iv)     To encourage the development of services and
18   programming to facilitate the successful transition of
19   delinquent children to their communities from periods of
20   residential placement.
21      Section 3.     Section 722 of the act is amended to read:
22      Section 722.     Statistics; Assistance for Research.--(a)   The
23   department shall gather, collate, interpret and disseminate
24   statistics and reports relating to the problem of juvenile
25   delinquency and to the treatment of juveniles. It shall also
26   assist counties and local public and private agencies to study
27   the causes and methods of prevention of juvenile delinquency.
28      (b)    The department shall develop, in collaboration with the
29   Juvenile Court Judges' Commission and any stakeholders as the
30   department deems appropriate, a publicly accessible data

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 1   dashboard that includes the following real-time information:
 2      (1)    Updates on population in placement, disaggregated by
 3   race, gender, ethnicity, disability status and sending county.
 4      (2)    Facility bed capacity.
 5      (3)    Facility staffing ratios.
 6      (4)    Facility programming offered, including education.
 7      (5)    Average length of stay in each facility.
 8      (c)    With respect to placement instability statistics:
 9      (1)    For those children committed by the court to an
10   institution, youth development center, camp or other facility
11   for delinquent children operated under the direction or
12   supervision of the court or other public authority under 42
13   Pa.C.S. § 6352(a)(3) (relating to disposition of delinquent
14   child), the department, in collaboration with the Juvenile Court
15   Judges' Commission and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
16   Prevention Committee, shall gather, collate, interpret and
17   publicly disseminate each year statistics and reports on the
18   following:
19      (i)    The number of children who are rejected or denied
20   admission.
21      (ii)    The number of children who are ejected or removed after
22   admission.
23      (iii)     The average total length of stay in placement for
24   children who are rejected or denied admission or who are ejected
25   or removed after admission.
26      (2)    The statistics and reports under clause (1) shall be
27   used by a multidisciplinary task force to review the challenges
28   of placement instability and the movements among children
29   subject to out-of-home placements during the course of
30   delinquency cases for the purpose of establishing a more

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1   comprehensive policy.
2      Section 4.   This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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