Center for Children's Justice

06/19/2026

May any kiddo or worried parent or grandparent or concerned community member, have heard HOPE and found understanding that they are not alone. Healing is possible (hard but possible). What an incredible resource Real Life with Toni Reece is in Berks County.

Want to learn more about signs of childhood sexual abuse or exploitation or connect a child or family to trauma-informed services and supports, here's some resources?

• Pennsylvania Children’s Advocacy Centers - https://penncac.org/signs-of-abuse/
• PA Coalition to Advance Respect - https://pcar.org/warning-signs-of-sexual-abuse (PCAR’s affiliate in Berks County is SafeBerks - https://safeberks.org)
• PA Department of Human Services - https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dhs/resources/keep-kids-safe/about-keep-kids-safe/signs-of-abuse
• iLookOut - https://www.ilookoutproject.org/publications

PLEASE NOTE: If you suspect a child is being abused, contact ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313 or the National ChildHelp Line - https://childhelphotline.org. If you believe the child is in immediate danger, then call 911.

Cathleen Palm will be joining us in our 10 o'clock hour of Real Life with Toni Reece. She is the Founder of the Children's Center for Justice, advocating for child abuse victims. Tune in to WEEU to hear her story!

05/20/2026

If you care about vulnerable children and youth, the voters of Philadelphia have a message - voting matters. City voters showed for kids saying YES to an independent Youth Ombudsperson.

Before November ask Josh Shapiro and PA Treasurer Stacy Garrity their view on an independent Office of Child Advocate for PA kids.

Philadelphia voters refused to ignore the voices and lived experience of children and youth
Philadelphia voters overwhelmingly backed a permanent and independent Office of Youth Ombudsperson.
C4CJ-CHILD PROTECTION CHECK UP
MAY 20, 2026
https://c4cjcpcheckup.substack.com/p/philadelphia-voters-refused-to-ignore

Yesterday, City of Philadelphia voters showed up - big time - for the City's children and youth.

Philadelphia voters overwhelmingly backed a permanent and independent Office of Youth Ombudsperson.

03/22/2026

Round tables and directly hearing from youth who have been traumatized by AI-generated child sexual abuse materials is important.

But roundtables, by themselves, do not meet the urgency of this moment for Pennsylvania’s children and youth.

The most important metric of Pennsylvania’s commitment to keeping kids safe is action. Preventing harm requires more than statements or press releases; it requires intentional and timely actions.

One such action has been the strong bipartisan leadership from PA senators (Senator Tracy Pennycuick, Sen. James Malone and Senator Scott Martin). These Senators listened to youth and families and district attorneys who identified a gap in current child safety laws. Currently, adults – mandatory reporters – who become aware of minors creating child sexual abuse material of other minors do not have a legal duty to file a report with ChildLine or some investigative agency.

That gap is not inconsequential. Reporting is not about punishment – it is about stopping harm and advancing trauma-informed interventions, both for the minors harmed and those responsible.

In October 2025, every Pennsylvania senator supported Senate Bill 1050 to address this gap.

In the months since the bill has been before the House Judiciary Committee (Rep. Tim Briggs), there have been mixed messages from PA House leaders and from the Office of the Governor of Pennsylvania about whether a gap exists and if it does how it should be addressed.

Thoughtful discussions and writing the best law is critical, but so too is urgency.

Too many youth – in and beyond Bucks, Lancaster and Montgomery Counties – are working to heal while also pointing to practical solutions. They recognize a clear path forward requires closing the reporting gap, acting with urgency, and pairing accountability with trauma-informed interventions.

Youth and their families require policymakers to work together to deliver prevention-focused solutions balancing the opportunity and complexity of AI in young people’s lives.

There can be no further delay in establishing clear and enforceable guardrails surrounding AI, including when it is used to inflict harm.

03/11/2026

Keeping PA Kids Safe = Community Voices, Transparency and Accountability. Join us if you can - in Harrisburg or get the conversation going in your own county. Have questions, ideas send them to [email protected]

03/06/2026

Budget hearings can be mundane and then something grabs your attention like a state representative talking about protecting children and declaring "the fox cannot guard the hen house".

At a Pennsylvania budget hearing, a lawmaker pressed for an independent child welfare watchdog—revealing how unresolved the issue remains.

02/09/2026

What are (and should) states do to prevent and prosecute grooming of children?
High-profile cases, frustrated families, and the slow, growing state-by-state effort to criminalize the trust-building behaviors that precede child sexual abuse
C4CJ-CHILD PROTECTION CHECK UP
FEB 09, 2026
https://c4cjcpcheckup.substack.com/p/preventingand-prosecutinggrooming

Grooming is not a single bad act; it is a deliberate strategy that exploits trust, authority, and access over time. When statutes collapse grooming into corruption, they weaken prevention, obscure warning signs, and reward predators who know how to stay just inside legal blind spots. Naming grooming as a criminal offense recognizes a hard truth: by the time corruption is provable beyond a reasonable doubt, the grooming has already worked. Pennsylvania’s recent cases show the cost of continuing to pretend otherwise.

High-profile cases, frustrated families, and the slow, growing state-by-state effort to criminalize the trust-building behaviors that precede child sexual abuse

02/07/2026

Curious about the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services 2026–2027 Budget Ask?

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Secretary Valerie Arkoosh, MD, MPH provided some initial insight today.

Secretary Val Arkoosh’s briefing, in her own words

01/09/2026

Who's defining child protection in Pennsylvania?

What is it costing to explore "reform" strategies for child welfare?

Answering the questions hasn't been easy (or linear). Along the way, boy have we had a baptism by fire in how to file Right to Know requests and appeals with the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records.

"The tension rests more in the refusal to clearly disclose who is doing the work, with what authority, informed by what data and research, who beyond government staff or consultants are influencing the work product, and at what cost.

Families, stakeholders, and the public have been largely left in the dark.

Transparency is not optional; it is how trust is built or restored. In child welfare, that trust underpins decisions about child safety, family separation, and whether a family receives support well before crisis erupts."

Consultants, closed working groups, and the public’s struggle to see how child welfare policy is being reshaped

01/07/2026

Are you a community-based organization in Pennsylvania working (collaboratively and intentionally) to prevent child abuse and neglect? The Children's Trust Fund announced a request for applications this week - the turn around is fast (by 2/5/2025) so check it out. Good luck if you make the effort.

Pressure on Children and Families Is Rising—Urgency Outpaces Clarity on Prevention
Board vacancies, procurement barriers, and shifting revenue streams influence Pennsylvania’s Children’s Trust Fund
C4CJ-CHILD PROTECTION CHECK UP

Board vacancies, procurement barriers, and shifting revenue streams influence Pennsylvania’s Children’s Trust Fund

12/19/2025

We are in the season of hope, but also a time that many still doubt things can change (for the better).

Recent words and actions by Alex Adams (in service at the Administration for Children and Families - ACF), along with the Bipartisan Policy Center recent blueprint, add to the body of evidence that child welfare and earlier attempts at "reform" are in the words of Adams akin to painting sombreros on pandas.

The problems have been named. The diagnosis is clear. What remains to be seen is whether there is sustained leadership willing to act boldly—especially in ways that meet children and families at the first signal of need, rather than after crisis has taken hold.

Lots of striking points made at the 12/11 BPC briefing on child welfare financing and accountability, but this keeps resonating:

“When child protection operates under a veil of secrecy even the smartest among us is going to misdiagnose problems and push solutions that may not be relevant or effective and are based on anecdotes, partial information, and outdated assumptions.”

A bipartisan effort to reform child welfare financing, measured outcomes and accountability