In June 2025, a Philadelphia youth placed at Pinkney’s Vineyard of Faith Ministries, a mother-baby group home in Red Lion, Pennsylvania, contacted the Office of the Youth Ombudsperson (OYO) with concerns about inadequate language access services for Spanish-speaking youth. The youth reported that facility staff relied on Google Translate instead of qualified interpreters and required youth to read and sign documents written in English.
What followed was an almost year-long assessment process involving OYO and the Philadelphia Department of Human Services’ Performance Management & Technology (PMT) team. The review included site visits, interviews with youth, staff, and facility leadership, and an examination of facility policies, procedures, and practices related to language access.
As Philadelphia’s independent youth oversight agency, OYO examined whether youth with limited English proficiency (LEP) were able to meaningfully understand, access, and participate in services affecting their care while placed at Pinkney’s Vineyard. OYO also reviewed how PMT, the agency responsible for monitoring provider performance and responding to service concerns, assessed and addressed the allegations.
In DHS’ rebuttal to our report, they assert that the OYO should have independently interviewed Pinkney’s staff after being unable to join PMT’s interview during the site visit. However, OYO has historically operated under guidance from DHS leadership and the Law Department that the Office serves an oversight role and is not responsible for conducting the assessments performed by contracting or licensing authorities. As a result, the OYO relied on the joint monitoring process to assess concerns while avoiding duplicative investigations and unnecessary interview fatigue for youth and staff.
The review also identified concerns regarding the facility’s language access infrastructure at the time of assessment. While DHS reports in their rebuttal that bilingual staff were present during two monitoring visits, PMT did not independently verify whether those staff were indeed responsible for providing interpretation and translation services, nor was there an assessment of how language assistance was actually delivered to youth beyond descriptions provided by facility leadership. In addition, both these visits occurred after PMT closed out the assessment process and decided not to validate the language access service concern. The OYO continues to assert that bilingual staff were only present during the March 2026 visit.
OYO’s concern extended beyond the presence of bilingual staff. Even if bilingual staff were available on all shifts, such staffing would address only a specific language need. Meaningful language access requires written policies, staff training, and access to qualified interpretation and translation services to ensure that youth with limited English proficiency can fully understand and participate in services affecting their care, regardless of the language they speak.
Additionally, DHS asserts that youth at Pinkney’s denied needing language access services and stated that they fully comprehend the English language during interviews with PMT and OYO. This is entirely inaccurate. All interviews with Spanish-speaking youth occurred in Spanish with the support of a qualified interpreter. Youth were consistent throughout interviews that bilingual staff were not available across all shifts, and they often waited until bilingual staff were back on shift to discuss any needs they had, as Google Translate led to confusion and misunderstandings. They also shared instances of when staff yelled, ignored or mocked them when they could not understand their attempts at speaking English.
DHS also argues that Pinkney’s leadership asked youth at intake if they understood English or needed language access support and that the youth allegedly stated they did not need language assistance. OYO calls this into question. It is unknown how Pinkney’s leadership asked youth this question and whether they used a formal interpreter to ensure full youth understanding. Finally, our report lays out how it is not uncommon for immigrant youth to state they do not need language assistance or understand English more than they may in efforts to not inconvenience staff or out of fear or shame.
At the time of PMT’s assessment, the facility did not maintain a language access policy, language access training materials, or a language services contract for interpretation and translation services. In OYO’s view, the absence of these safeguards, combined with the lack of independent verification regarding how language assistance was being provided in practice, raised legitimate concerns about whether LEP youth could consistently and meaningfully access services.
The case also raised broader questions about cultural responsiveness, facility accountability, and the limitations of relying solely on technical compliance standards when evaluating youth well-being. OYO’s report concludes that stronger language access protections, clearer expectations for providers, and more robust verification practices are necessary to ensure that all youth can fully access services while in care.
In response to OYO’s findings, DHS reported taking several steps to strengthen language access expectations for providers, including issuing guidance to contracted agencies, incorporating language access considerations into provider evaluations, coordinating with the City’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, and exploring additional interpretation and translation resources for providers.
Notably, after PMT completed its assessment of the original complaint, OYO received a subsequent complaint raising similar language access concerns at the facility. OYO is currently working with PMT to review and respond to those allegations.
The full report highlights why meaningful language access is more than the presence of bilingual staff. It requires systems, training, accountability, and oversight to ensure that every youth—regardless of English proficiency—can safely, meaningfully, and fully participate in decisions affecting their care.
