The CYD is responsible for investigating all reports of suspected child abuse or neglect.

Depending upon the particular needs of children and families that become involved with the Department, DHS provides a variety of services through its network or private providers. Services include: foster care, Services to Children in their Own Homes (SCOH), adoption, and other community-based services that address the well-being of the entire family.

The Division of Juvenile Justice Services (JJS) is responsible for the supervision, care and rehabilitation of delinquent youth. Programs and services in this Division address both the needs of community safety and youth rehabilitation.

This Division has two fundamental components: the Youth Study Center,  Philadelphia's detention center for youth awaiting a court hearing and/or transfer to a long-term placement, and Court and Community Services.  Within the Youth Study Center, delinquent juveniles are provided with medical, mental health and other social services.  Although most of the youth remain in the center for less than 20 days, the City is committed to avoiding any interruption in their education.  Accordingly, the Philadelphia Board of Education maintains a full-time school curriculum and schedule for all school-age youths in the Youth Study Center. The Court & Community Services Unit is responsible for developing, contracting, and monitoring service delivery to delinquent youth. This is accomplished through collaboration with the Family Court, private service providers, and other key juvenile justice stakeholders to identify needs and gaps in services to delinquent youth.

The Division of Community-Based Prevention Services (CBPS) was established in 2001 to integrate and better coordinate the Department's wide array of services designed to prevent the abuse, neglect and delinquency of children in Philadelphia. The CBPS Division is responsible for planning and implementing the DHS goal of " front-loading" services to families at risk in order to prevent subsequent DHS interventions, due to child abuse or neglect. Prevention programs originally implemented by the Children & Youth and Juvenile Justice divisions were brought together in this administrative unit to allow for more coherent planning and efficient use of resources.

The Division of Contract Administration and Program Evaluation (CAPE) is responsible for integrating, enhancing, and better coordinating contract and performance evaluation functions in the divisions of Children and Youth, Juvenile Justice, and Community-Based Prevention.  In addition, CAPE provides contract development and preparation assistance to the Department's Administration and Management division.

With 82% of the Department's budget allocated to purchased services, the contracting and performance evaluation processes are critical to the accomplishment of the DHS mission to ensure the safety, permanency, and well being of children and families in Philadelphia.

This division will be responsible for a) translating the Department's goals and objectives into service provision contracts, b) centralizing the process of evaluating what works and which providers have consistently achieved optimal performance, and c) assuring all contracts contain performance standards that monitor achievement and assist DHS in making well-informed decisions about services funded by the Department.