Girls Inc. is in peril

Shanaya Ball wants to be a fashion editor.

First, she needs to pass English - not her strongest subject, she readily admits - and stay out of trouble.

Teachers at Girls High focus on the former; the 16-year-old from South Philadelphia counts on Girls Inc. to help with the latter.

"I'm doing something positive, instead of going home and running the streets," the outgoing Girls High sophomore said late Monday afternoon as she goofed with friends and put together a poster at a pregnancy-prevention program at Girls Inc.'s Center City headquarters. "I love coming here."

For the moment, it is an open question whether Girls Inc., an agency that in one form or other has mentored local girls for almost 50 years, will continue to be there for her.

Long reliant on public funding, Girls Inc. of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey has taken a significant hit just as it tries to reinvent itself as a more self-sufficient, regional agency. More than 65 percent of its budget will be lost because of changes at the city's Department of Human Services.

Now, with its future imperiled, even the $40 monthly water-cooler fee is on the table.

"We are at a crossroads," said Girls Inc. board president Lori Schneider. "We are desperately raising new funds. We have a full-court press to raise awareness of what we do. What I won't do is imagine we won't be here."

Girls Inc. has a long and winding history in Philadelphia.

At its roots is Teen Aid, a nonprofit launched in 1961 to mentor girls in the juvenile justice system or heading there.

Teen Aid became Big Sisters in 1978 and expanded beyond delinquent girls. When Big Sisters merged with Big Brothers in 2002, the local affiliate joined the Girls Inc. network to keep its girls-only focus.

Girls Inc.'s core mission is helping girls ages 6 to 18 build self-esteem and life skills to be successful adults and to avoid pitfalls such as teen pregnancy and delinquency.

While the group's message is appropriate for girls of all backgrounds, those from poorer urban homes have been its chief benefactors, in part because of the agency's city-centric past.

Much of Girls Inc.'s funding has been predicated on serving that population. Of its current $1.1 million budget, $730,000 is from DHS to serve families with children at risk of abuse or neglect.

But DHS has restructured its operations in light of the case of Danieal Kelly, who died of neglect while under supervision of DHS and a private provider. DHS is now using fewer private providers and ones offering more services than Girls Inc. Girls Inc.'s contract will not be renewed in June.

In August, the agency lost another DHS contract worth about $400,000 to do violence-reduction work.

Those dramatic cuts have come just as Girls Inc. has been trying to reduce its reliance on public funding while expanding the reach of its services to girls around the region.

Recognizing its shortcomings, the organization has undergone an intense self-examination and has put together an ambitious strategic plan.

"We had been taking baby-steps," said Schneider. "We have been training staff. We hired a new CEO, developed a more regional board. We had envisioned this taking two to three years. Now, we have to do it tomorrow."

Much of the hard work falls to Jan Figueira, Girls Inc.'s ebullient chief executive officer. Hired in 2006, Figueira was supposed to be spending this time instituting the strategic plan.

Instead, she is preparing to lay off staff and is looking for trims in her budget. Girls Inc. has 17 staffers. Two are to be let go next month. Two more go part-time in April. Eight more face layoffs in June.

Monday through Friday afterschool programs are down to two days a week.

"I'm just trying to keep the doors open," Figueira said.

To help in the effort, the Girls Inc. board has put together an ad hoc committee that brainstorms Thursdays, searching for new funds, corporate sponsors and more efficiencies.

When talking about the situation, board members and Figueira will use words such as dire and desperate. But just as frequently, there is opportunity.

"In a way, this is the gift we have been looking for," said board member Anne S. Hopkins. "It is just the kick in the pants we need to get us where we need to go."

Figueira is just as firm in her resolve.

"We are one of the few that specializes in what we do," she said. "We work with the most needy, at-risk girls in Philadelphia. We have to be here."

Shanaya Ball would agree.