Q.  Are you closing St. Vincent’s Home?

A.  No. We are not closing St. Vincent’s Home.  Our services for children will continue, but in a different form.  St. Vincent’s Home will continue to serve children as it has done for more than 150 years.  However, the preference for how services are rendered has changed.  Government agencies and other funding sources are now focused on providing community-based services, while also decreasing the number of youths in placement.

Q.  Why are you relocating the services at St. Vincent’s Home?

A.  We must realign the way we deliver services to children to keep pace with current approaches preferred by government and other funding sources.  Today’s preference encourages community-based programs which try to prevent placement outside the home.  When placement is required, “best practices” seek to provide services to children in neighborhoods close to their families.

Q.  Will St. Vincent’s Home name change?

A.  As we move from a central campus to a residential setting, we will eventually be known simply as “St. Vincent’s Home,” since we will no longer be physically located in Tacony.

Q.  Where will the new residences be located?

A.  We expect to lease residences as we locate appropriate facilities and obtain the necessary community approvals.

Q.  What will happen to the campus St. Vincent’s Home now occupies in Tacony?

A.  We will seek alternate uses for the campus in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and other interested parties. If there is a disposition of the property, all proceeds would accrue exclusively to St. Vincent’s Home and be used to support its ministry to “at-risk” girls.

Q.  Will any of the services St. Vincent’s provides change?

A. No. Only the locations where these services are offered will change. We will continue to provide services but in group home settings rather than at a central campus.

Q.  What kinds of girls does St. Vincent care for?  What are their backgrounds?

A.  The girls who are referred to St. Vincent’s Home come to us through Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services.  Typically, they come from homes where the family is troubled by various issues.  The girls need help to get their lives back “on track.”  Some of the adolescents we care for are pregnant.  Our goal for all the girls is to work with them to help them resolve troubled situations and, wherever possible, to reintegrate them with their families.  Our residents stay with us on average 6 to 9 months.

Q.  Will there be any employee layoffs as you transition from a campus model to a community-based model of service provision?

A.  Unfortunately there will be.  Over the next several months, as we transition from one service model to another, we anticipate we will lay off about 40% of the current 156 staff members.  The census at St. Vincent’s Home has been decreasing steadily because our referrals are falling.  We will be providing severance to those employees who are laid off and job placement assistance to those  who seek employment elsewhere at other human service agencies (like those of Catholic Human Services, for example).

(For Daycare Parents)

Q.  Where can I take my child for daycare once St. Vincent’s Home closes?

A.  We will provide you with a list of daycare providers in the area, and we will assist you in applying for access.  With this notice, parents have nearly six months to identify a new daycare provider.  We have timed the closing of the daycare program with the ending of the school year to ensure the children will continue to have access until then.

Q.  St. Vincent’s Home was the only affordable daycare provider.  What if I cannot afford daycare in another facility?

A. We will work with you to identify affordable daycare providers, and we will assist you in applying for funding assistance, if appropriate, to help defray the cost.

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News - St. Vincent’s Home is in Transition