Adjudicated youth entrusted to Catholic Social Services’ Saint Gabriel’s System (SGS) by Philadelphia Family Court are graduating at one of the highest rate in 30 years. 

Saint Gabriel’s Hall, a residential program with a dedicated on-campus high school, graduated 24 young men last week, while the Saint Gabriel’s System day treatment program at De LaSalle Vocational will graduate 18 this week.  These numbers are in addition to the young men who graduated in January:  32 young men from Saint Gabriel’s Hall and 39 from De LaSalle Vocational, making a grand total of 113 graduates this school year.    

The young men enrolled at “Saint Gabe’s” and “DelVoc”, as they are affectionately called by faculty as well as students and their probation officers, often come with serious gaps in their education, relational skills, and family/community support systems.  While getting up to grade level with their academics, students enroll in career technical training to earn industry-recognized certifications in the culinary arts, building maintenance, auto repair services, Microsoft Office, and landscaping/horticulture.  The academic curriculum is fully aligned with that of the School District of Philadelphia to ensure a seamless return to public schools for those who do not graduate from the SGS programs.

Also of note, rearrests of students from these programs during the community reintegration period are below 10 percent and the number of youth absent without notice is in the single digits. Both benchmarks put the Saint Gabriel’s System of Catholic Social Services well ahead of the pack among service providers to this challenging population of young people. 

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Editor’s Note:  Established in 1899 by the De LaSalle Christian Brothers as the Philadelphia Protectorate for Boys, Saint Gabriel’s Hall is a residential program located in Audubon, Montgomery County, serving young men ages 10 to 18 adjudicated by the Philadelphia court system. Today, dedicated lay people inspired by the LaSallian mission continue to provide a structured setting where 200 youth receive transformative therapeutic and educational support. Residential treatment employs a team approach to rehabilitation with educators, child care workers, social workers, psychologists and counselors working together to provide an individualized treatment plan for each client in care.

De LaSalle Vocational is a day treatment center of the St. Gabriel’s System located in Bensalem, Bucks County, where educational, vocational and behavioral support services are offered to court-adjudicated youth. The program educates 100 young men each year in academics as well as Carpentry, Auto Mechanics, and Culinary Arts, and boasts excellent job placement rates due to comprehensive career development assistance.