About the Commission

The Philadelphia Children's Commission (The Commission) is committed to improving the health, safety, well-being and development of the children and youth of Philadelphia, and to ensuring the implementation of sustained policy that recognizes that attention to the needs of children and youth as a city priority. The Commission is an independent body comprised of leaders from the city's public, private, corporate and philanthropic communities.

The Commission's purpose is three-fold: 1.) to act as a champion for the children of Philadelphia by focusing on priority issues that most impact the city's children and youth; 2.) to provide leadership on issues affecting children and strategies to improve their well-being including the implementation and use of data, the identification of best-practice solutions and the promotion of proven interventions; and 3.) to engage high-level stakeholders together with all citizens in this vital endeavor.

Established in 2000 by executive order, since its inception, the Commission has become a catalyst for positive change and a leadership voice for the children and youth of Philadelphia.

Thus far, the Commission has convened quarterly meetings and offered a series of recommendations designed to improve the lives of, and outcomes for, Philadelphia's children and youth. The Commission assessed the state of Philadelphia's children and youth using the annually produced Children's Report Card, and measured the city's expenditures against its needs using the city-produced Children's budget.

In addition to recognizing and supporting the need for the development and use of research and data that can demonstrate how children are faring, the Commission has focused, and will continue to focus, on the need to develop and support out-of-school time as a strategy to ensure child and youth safety, academic success and re-engaging older youth; the importance of increasing safety and reducing youth violence in the Philadelphia's neighborhoods, schools and streets; and the need to support strong families and communities.

Recently, the Commission named W. Wilson Goode Sr. and Jeremy Nowak as its new co-chairs. Dr. Goode has been a leader in Philadelphia's civic and religious communities for nearly four decades. In 1983, he became the first African American elected Mayor of Philadelphia. Jeremy Nowak is President of The Reinvestment Fund, and active on numerous boards. Goode and Nowak replace outgoing chairs Lynne Honickman and Naomi Post, who served as co-chairs since the Commission's inception.