Since taking office in 2003, Richman has begun the Integrated Children's Services Plan, which aims to coordinate services for mental health and mental retardation, child welfare, juvenile probation, and drug and alcohol treatment. So far, counties have been asked for their plans to reorganize youth and adult programs so that families have one-stop access to help.

"The devil is in the details," remarked George Kimes, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Community Providers Association. "Bureaucracies are slow to change, regardless of the dynamic vision that's in front of them."

But Richman is "very directed in achieving that vision," said Bernadette Bianchi, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services.

"[The state Department of Public Welfare] is not a department. It's six departments," Richman noted ironically, referring to the different offices that provide youth services, employment services, mental health and substance abuse treatment, services for those with mental retardation, and social programs. "They need to work together."

As director of Philadelphia's social services, Richman investigated human services programs for families and found them to be difficult to navigate.

"Some [families] had 12 to 13 case managers," she observed. "How can anybody get better with 12 case managers?" Families had different case managers for housing, child services, mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, and elder care services.

Richman was awarded the Good Housekeeping Women in Government Award in 1998 for her innovative solutions to Philadelphia's social problems that saved the city millions of dollars.

Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are Demand Treatment! partners.