Frank Keel, a spokesman for DHS, wrote in an e-mail, "We don't know why the previous DHS administration did not close intake on Germantown Settlement.

"It could have been for a variety of issues, including capacity. These kinds of situations won't be an issue for this agency now or going forward, as evidenced by the recent disciplinary actions DHS took against providers."

In interviews, DHS officials and other experts acknowledged that the system was designed simply to roll over contracts year after year.

They said they were reluctant to fire providers, even those that were deemed incompetent, for fear of disrupting services to families or losing capacity if more children suddenly needed care, DHS officials said.

"The bench is thin," said Cervone, head of a group that provides free legal assistance to children involved with DHS. "There is not a surplus of providers or workers. So they don't want to lose providers.

He added: "Obviously, that can't be an excuse for tolerating bad performance or poor care."

At least five Philadelphia children, ranging in age from 2 months to 14 years, have died since 2003 in households receiving social-welfare help from DHS contractors.

Because the city refuses to release details of cases, it's unknown whether those contractors might have been able to prevent the deaths.

However, a state review of 80 SCOH cases released this month showed that DHS and its private providers failed to keep children safe in 21 of those cases.

What constitutes keeping a child safe takes volumes of manuals to describe, but evaluations are based on how quickly the department or provider investigated abuse allegations; how well they assessed risk and documented claims, such as taking photographs; and whether they took action to prevent future abuse.

The state evaluation gave DHS's entire $30 million SCOH program a failing grade on all counts.

Part of the problem is that although DHS pays more than a half-billion dollars a year for services from outside companies, it budgets only about $3 million to make sure they perform the work.

Of the more than 1,600 DHS employees, only about 15 evaluate private providers.

That small group reviews not only the 40 SCOH providers, but 250 or so other contractors that perform work for DHS.

DHS auditors spend three to five days randomly sampling case files. Among other checks, the auditors make sure caseworkers have at least a bachelor's degree. Typically, analysts will call a family or DHS caseworkers only if something seems amiss in the records.

Even the association of private providers agreed that the current system of evaluating contractors was flawed.

"Performance standards say nothing about the quality involved. You may have one five-minute contact that is a breakthrough, but that's not reflected in a report." said Bernadette M. Bianchi, executive director of the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services.

Relying less on paperwork and more on interviews with clients, Evans said, will strengthen the oversight system.