November 11, 2026
Dominique Johnson/Flickr, City of Philadelphia
Mayor Cherelle Parker will appoint a 15-person committee to create a report recommending changes to Philadelphia's foster care system.
Mayor Cherelle Parker has ordered a holistic review of Philadelphia's foster care system following the death of Jalayshia "Malayshia" Alford, the 10-year-old foster child who was found dead in the trunk of a car in South Jersey last week.
Parker signed an executive order Tuesday that establishes a 15-person Child Welfare Review Committee comprised of experts in child advocacy, social work and related fields who will review how city agencies coordinate with each other and local foster care agencies to prevent abuse-related injuries and fatalities of children.
Committee members will evaluate the foster care selection process, oversight procedures, licensing, visitation requirements and other related matters. A report on the findings is ordered to be submitted within 120 days after the group is established.
Recommendations for how city officials can "better ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children in foster care" will also be included in the report, according to the order.
Alford's death is also subject to a separate interdisciplinary review from the city's Act 33 Team, which is required by state law to investigate every death or near-death incident that occurs in the foster care system.
"This is a crisis of unimaginable proportions," Parker said in a statement Tuesday. "The death of Malayshia Alford has shaken me and our city to its core. The review required by law must take place, but I am requiring the city to do more. We must examine our foster care system thoroughly and independently, identify where it must improve and act to better protect our children."
Alford was last seen alive the morning of Thursday, Oct. 22, at her home on the 500 block of North Simpson Street. She was reported missing by her foster mother, Caprice Williams, the following Monday.
Alford's remains were found in the trunk of a car in Lindenwold, New Jersey, last week, nine days after she was reported missing. Surveillance footage from Monday, Oct. 26, showed her body being moved from her home in a bag, officials with the city's District Attorney's Office said. Medical examiners ruled her death a homicide by blunt force trauma.
Williams, a fifth grade teacher in the Philadelphia School District, has been charged with murder, endangering a child, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and other charges in relation to Alford's death.
A police report also found that in the days after Alford was reported missing, Williams impersonated the girl and sent text messages to herself implying that Alford's biological parents had taken her, the Inquirer reported.
Williams had a long track record of abuse as a foster parent, according to police reports acquired by the Inquirer. Witnesses told law enforcement that she would withhold food from Alford for as much as a week, beat her with a phone cord and threw her down the stairs.
Williams was the subject of another investigation in 2021 after allegations surfaced that she severely injured a 4-year-old child in her care. Investigation into the incident never moved forward, CBS reported.
"We will leave no stone unturned as we seek answers for what happened in this case, to understand more fully how it happened and to make any changes necessary to ensure that it never happens again," Parker said Tuesday. "We grieve Malayshia Alford's loss. Every child matters in Philadelphia."
