Department of Human Services
Best Practices Institute (BPI)

BPI’s mission is to accelerate reform of Philadelphia’s child welfare system by offering practical solutions and viable strategies to practitioners in the field.

PMHCC established the Best Practices Institute (BPI) in 2001 to support and advance ongoing reform efforts of Philadelphia’s child welfare system. BPI conducts best practices research, evaluation, program planning and development, and training and technical assistance for projects and initiatives that result in tangible benefits for Philadelphia’s most vulnerable children and their families. It seeks to improve how both public and private sector actors operate.

The DHS “Blueprint for Excellence: An Agenda for Reform” set the framework for improvement of Philadelphia’s child welfare system. This comprehensive document is an ambitious improvement plan that aims to:

• Develop an outcomes-driven, comprehensive, accessible and community-based child family-services network;
  
• Integrate planning and services delivery with other system partners; and
  
• Institutionalize the reduction and prevention of child abuse, neglect and delinquency as a child welfare system priority.

Research and Evaluation

To harness the most current knowledge available locally and nationally regarding effective programming, BPI maintains the ability to identify and inform key actors in the child welfare system about promising practices that have applicability to needs in Philadelphia. BPI also has the capacity to evaluate specific approaches and programs currently being utilized in Philadelphia to determine their effectiveness, how they can be enhanced and their potential for replication.

Program Planning and Development

BPI provides direct support to re-engineering existing programs and designing new initiatives of public and private actors in the child welfare system.

Training and Technical Assistance

To assure that public and private sector agencies are ready and able to implement new and re-engineered programs, BPI provides training and technical assistance focused on activities directly related to the execution of BPI program planning and development activities.

PMHCC provides administrative supports to the BPI in terms of fiscal, personnel, property and information system services.

Behavioral Health

In 2007, BPI expanded its range of support to the Department of Behavioral Health and Mental Retardation Services (DBH/MRS). The staff is guided by the goals and recommendations outlined in Philadelphia’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Children’s Behavioral Health, under the auspices of the Philadelphia Compact. Staff provides support to guide the transformation of the local children’s behavioral health system (mental health and addiction services) by creating opportunities in child-serving systems for children, youth and families to participate in all aspects of decision-making, including design, assessment, planning, service delivery, treatment and service transitions. Staff also provides support to advance workforce development within the behavioral health system in Philadelphia and to expand training opportunities both within the DBH/MRS and external to DBH/MRS for those who interact with children and youth.