Delta Community Supports, Inc./Family Services Division

Delta Community Supports, Inc./Family Services division was founded in 1995 by a group of social service professionals as part of an effort to provide support that would help children and families involved in the child welfare systems of Philadelphia, Montgomery and Bucks Counties. While the agency originally focused on families with open cases at the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, Delta began to build a menu of additional programs that could provide aid to an even broader community of vulnerable youth. Today, Delta provides a wide range of support to youth including foster care services; general, kinship, medical, and therapeutic services; Supervised Independent Living (SIL) for youth between the ages of 17 and 21; and a full range of adoption services to help foster youth move into permanent families. Delta also serves as an approved sub-contractor for Community Umbrella Agencies (CUA's) designated by the Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS).

By creating an internal professional environment that promotes positive outcomes, Delta has built a strong and dedicated staff recognized for attaining excellent program results for youth in its care. To carry out its work, Delta engages in partnerships with community organizations across the Delaware Valley including Cradles for Crayons, Northeast Treatment Centers, Turning Points for Children, Wordsworth, Tabor Northern Community Partners, and Catholic Social Services. Most children served by Delta are currently living in foster homes located within the Philadelphia city limits. They typically attend schools in the neighborhoods where their family of origin lives. The agency’s long time involvement with these at-risk youth has propelled Delta’s entry into the delivery of school-based services, using the evidence based TOP® model as a strategy for helping more of Philadelphia's highly at-risk students equip themselves for creating a brighter future.

Delta’s system of supports for youth and families is continually evolving to keep pace with changes occurring in the lives of those we serve. The proposed Teen Outreach Program (TOP®) program -- originally developed and evaluated by the Wyman Center in St. Louis, MO -- represents one more step in the development of Delta's approach to improve the quality of life among at-risk youth in the region. In 2014, Delta became Wyman’s first Pennsylvania partner for the delivery of Teen Outreach Program® (TOP®) services. TOP® is a comprehensive, evidence-based youth development strategy that promotes the positive development of adolescents through a combination of curriculum-guided group discussion and volunteer service learning. Goals of the TOP® program include helping at-risk youth: 1) enhance their life skills, 2) develop a sense of purpose, 3) adopt healthy behaviors, and 4) reduce engagement with violence. The goals of the TOP® program, like those for our other initiatives, are aligned with Delta’s mission of "creating individualized, positive change in the lives of those we serve."