Honoring Alba E. Martinez.

WHEREAS, Alba E. Martinez was appointed by Mayor John F. Street as Commissioner of the Department of Human Services (DHS) on February 1, 2000; and

WHEREAS, Alba E. Martinez directs the Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice and Community Based Prevention programs for the City of Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, As Commissioner, Ms. Martinez oversees 1900 employees and contracting with 325 non--profit organizations and its network of partner agencies provide services to the most vulnerable children and families of Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Martinez created DHS’ Blueprint for Excellence: A Roadmap for Reform which has guided DHS work towards improving permanency outcomes for children in foster care; expanding and enhancing community-based prevention services and developing research, data and outcome measurement tools to evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives and programs; and

WHEREAS, Alba E. Martinez vision of a self-correcting, self-critical, and continually improving child welfare system has yielded a myriad of systemic and practice improvements in Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, Among the most notable improvements have been implementation of a performance based contracting in Philadelphia foster care, creation of the Achieving Independence Center, specialization of a sex abuse investigation unit that works with the Philadelphia Police Department and the creation of the Division of Community Based Prevention Services to address the underlying problems that lead to abuse, neglect, delinquency; and

WHEREAS, Commissioner Martinez was instrumental in the development and support of programs for compromised caregivers including mothers with mental illness and mental retardation, women in substance abuse treatment, families affected by domestic violence and incarceration; and

WHEREAS, Alba E. Martinez helped with the creation of the Parenting Collaborative, a network of over 70 parenting skills enhancement programs for families involved with DHS, Family Court and the behavioral health system, as well as parents and caregivers at highest risk; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we recognize Alba E. Martinez for her commitment and dedication to the citizens of Philadelphia and most of all commend her for her tireless effort to protect those who need protecting the most, our children.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Alba E. Martinez further evidencing the sincere respect and admiration of this legislative body.

End