Allford was found dead last week in the trunk of a car in Lindenwold, New Jersey. Authorities have charged her foster mother, Carprice Williams, a Philadelphia school district teacher, with the killing.

In a statement, Parker said the child's death has shaken the city and that a legally required review is not enough.

"The review required by law must take place, but I am requiring the city to do more," Parker said. "We must examine our foster care system thoroughly and independently, identify where it must improve and act to better protect our children."

The committee, which will advise the mayor, is tasked with reviewing how children are placed in foster care and how foster homes are selected, oversight of foster homes, licensing and visitation requirements, and other policies and practices that could affect child safety. Parker's order calls for appointing up to 15 members, including child advocacy professionals, social workers, and medical and legal professionals. The committee must report its findings within 120 days.

The executive action follows calls from City Council members for a full review. Councilmember Curtis Jones has questioned why Williams, who allegedly had problems with previous foster children, was given Allford in the first place.

"The tragedy is the death and loss of a tender-aged youth is bad enough," Jones said. "But for us as a city to take her into the system of Child Protective Services, telling the parents that you are not capable of caring for your child and we can do it better, and then for us to fall short, is a problem."

According to a criminal complaint, Williams is accused of verbally and physically abusing Allford before she was killed. Juvenile witnesses said Allford was denied food and water, forced to walk up and down stairs while wearing a weighted vest, and struck with a phone cord. The complaint also alleges Williams tried to cover up the crime by texting Allford after her death and asking for her location, then allegedly responding from Allford's phone that she was with her family and did not want to be adopted.

Jones is also proposing that social service workers wear body cameras during in-home visits, similar to Philadelphia police officers.

"When police officers have to have body-worn cameras, shouldn't social workers going into people's houses memorialize that visit?" Jones asked. He said the video could show whether a child was safe and living in adequate conditions fairly and impartially.

Other City Council members are expected to submit additional review proposals in response to Allford's death.

At the home on the 500 block of North Simpson Street where Allford lived with Williams, balloons and stuffed animals filled the yard and porch in memory of the child. A police officer stood framed by the memorial.

The case has raised urgent questions about how the city protects children in its care and whether oversight of foster placements is adequate. Parker's order aims to answer those questions within four months, while Council members push for additional safeguards.