St. Vincent’s Home
nears the end

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

St. Vincent’s Home, which has served children in need since its founding by St. John Neumann in 1855, is in the process of transferring youngsters from its longtime Tacony location to community-based group homes.
For the past year, St. Vincent’s, at 7201 Milnor St., in particular has provided support at its campus setting to adolescent girls unable to live at home because of abuse, neglect, poverty or lack of support. But Catholic Social Services, an outreach division of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is following a growing trend of moving such services and children to group homes in neighborhood settings.
Archdiocesan spokesman Kevin Mulligan said the transition to those homes is expected to be in place by June 30. Additionally, St. Vincent’s day-care program will be discontinued by the same date, which marks the end of the school year.
"One of the key things is that none of the services will change, only the location of those services," Mulligan said.
Monsignor Joseph A. Tracy, president of the board and secretary of Catholic Human Services, said the "decision to transition from the campus model to one focused on community-based group homes was necessary to align the services provided by St. Vincent’s Home with the delivery preferences of government funders and referral sources."
Those preferences increasingly call for a reliance on community-based programs that lessen the need for placement of youngsters outside their homes. But when placement is deemed necessary, the goal these days is to offer those children services and care in residential settings that keep them close to their families.
The St. Vincent’s transition will have a disappointing aspect, at least for some of the staffers. In the months ahead, about 62 of the home’s 156 staff members are likely to receive layoff notices and severance packages, though efforts will be made to help those employees find other jobs.
That expected staff reduction has been attributed to a drop in the number of girls being cared for at St. Vincent’s, the result of fewer referrals. The city’s Department of Human Services has been the primary referral source for St. Vincent’s, which has opened its doors to young girls dealing with family friction, emotional distress or, in some cases, pregnancy.
Tracy said that administrators will work with the archdiocese to consider other uses for the St. Vincent’s campus along Milnor Street. If the site is ultimately sold, the proceeds will be used to support St. Vincent’s services to its youngsters, he added.
The mission right now is to find locations for the group homes. One such site under consideration by Catholic Social Services is the former convent at St. Joachim’s parish in Frankford. The residence, at 1509 Church St., could be a community-based home for 16 dependent girls between 12 and 17 years of age.
James Amato, the Catholic Social Services deputy secretary, told members of the Frankford Civic Association in December that the girls would receive a full array of services while social workers reached out to their families to help resolve issues.
A supportive counseling service is part of the program. The girls also would receive life-skills training designed in particular to possibly reunite them with their families or prepare them for independent living, and they’d attend school in the community. The average length of stay in the group home would be about six months.
"Living in a community makes it easier for transitioning, for getting into habits they need to return to their family or independent living," Amato told the civic group.
Catholic Social Services is looking at several properties throughout the archdiocese that can be leased to accommodate a total of about 40 girls. Part of the process will be to gain community approvals of the concept.
The June 30 transition also will bring an end to St. Vincent’s day-care program. It has been timed to coincide with the end of the school year, and administrators expect to give parents a list of area providers that can fulfill those day-care needs. ••
For more information, visit www.stvincenthome.org
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com