Children's Advocacy Centers of Pennsylvania

11/04/2026

This week is Forensic Nurses Week, and we’re taking a moment to honor the extraordinary healthcare professionals who bring compassion, specialized expertise, and trauma-informed care to child abuse survivors across Pennsylvania. 🩺💙

Forensic nurses (including Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners / SANEs) play a vital role on Children’s Advocacy Center Multidisciplinary Teams (MDTs). When a child or youth experiences severe abuse or trauma, forensic nurses perform age-appropriate, specialized medical exams in a gentle, child-friendly environment.

Their work bridges the gap between healthcare and justice:

🩺 Delivering Trauma-Informed Medical Care: Ensuring the immediate health, safety, and physical well-being of the child is always the top priority.

🔍 Meticulous Forensic Evidence Collection: Gathering critical medical evidence with precision and care to support investigations and protect survivors.

💬 Providing Comfort & Reassurance: Serving as a steady, compassionate presence for children and non-offending family members during difficult moments.

To all the forensic nurses and SANEs across Pennsylvania’s CAC network: thank you for your steadfast dedication, empathy, and commitment to keeping our children safe and supported on their path to healing.

11/03/2026

November is Family Court Awareness Month, which provides an opportunity to shine a light on the critical need for child-centered, trauma-informed practices within judicial systems nationwide. ⚖️💙

When families navigate custody and family court proceedings involving domestic violence or child abuse, prioritizing the emotional and physical safety of the child must always come first.

It is vital that decision-makers are equipped with trauma-informed training to recognize coercive control, protect children from post-separation abuse, and center custody decisions on a child’s well-being.

Here is how communities, advocates, and local leaders can participate this month:

📜 Pass a Local Proclamation: Use official proclamation toolkits to encourage mayors, county commissioners, and local officials to declare November as Family Court Awareness Month in your municipality.

🤝 Support Coordinated Care: Help connect local legal and judicial professionals with specialized trauma training through local Children’s Advocacy Centers.

Every child deserves safety, protection, and a voice in every space where decisions about their future are made.

Learn more about Family Court Awareness Month, download proclamation toolkits, and access advocate resources:
🔗 https://www.barron-foundation.org/proclamation-toolkit (shorten)

11/02/2026

What can understanding an offender's behavior teach us about protecting children?

We're bringing internationally recognized criminologist Dr. Graham Hill to the 2026 Child Protection & Justice Conference!

A former senior detective and the founding Head of Behavioural Analysis at the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, Dr. Hill brings decades of investigative experience and specialized knowledge of those who s*xually abuse children.

He'll deliver our Day 2 keynote, Child Sexual Abuse: The Perpetrator's Perspective, along with sessions exploring evidence-based policing and investigative interviewing.

For law enforcement, prosecutors, forensic interviewers, and child protection professionals, this is training you won't want to miss.

📍 Mount Airy Casino Resort
📅 November 16–17, 2026
🎟️ Register: https://cacnepa.org/child-protection-justice-conference/

10/30/2026

Behind every child and family who begin their path to healing is a community that steps up to support them. 💙

At PennCAC, we deliver vital training, operational tools, and statewide advocacy to 41 Children’s Advocacy Centers across Pennsylvania, ensuring local teams can focus on providing compassionate care to child victims of abuse.

Your support helps us keep kids safe and build trauma-informed communities statewide.

✨ Give today to support a stronger response for children:
🔗 penncac.org/donate/

10/30/2026

One week later, we’re still celebrating the passage of House Bill 2443, which establishes a Child Victim Recovery Fund to support the healing work of Pennsylvania’s Children’s Advocacy Centers. The fund is paid for by fees on child s*x offenders.

H.B. 2443 establishes a sustainable, guaranteed funding stream for Pennsylvania’s network of accredited CACs. These centers coordinate child abuse investigations and provide support services—such as victim advocacy, medical care and trauma therapy—to child victims and their families.

The fund is expected to generate between $3.6 and $3.9 million annually. The new fees imposed by H.B. 2443 will go into effect in April.

Many, many legislators and their staff worked hard to get this bill across the finish line, including, but certainly not limited to, Rep. Kyle Mullins, PA State Rep. Jim Rigby, Rep. Tim Briggs, Rep. Matt Bradford, Rep. Rob Kauffman, PA State Rep. Kate Klunk and Rep. Joanna McClinton, and Sen. Kim Ward , Senator Lisa Baker, Senator Scott Martin and Senator Joe Pittman.

Read more about H.B. 2443 from Spotlight PA’s Jaxon White: https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/10/child-victim-recovery-fund-s*x-offender-fine-pennsylvania-capitol/

Photos are from our CAC tours earlier this year. Legislators and their staff were invited to tour centers in Cumberland, Lackawanna and Allegheny counties to learn about the services and support provided by CACs.

10/29/2026

"Nudify" apps are exploding in popularity, and studies show that middle and high school girls are the people most often affected.

With a single photo and a few clicks, these tools create realistic, non-consensual n**e images that can harm a young person's mental health, sense of safety, and reputation.

In this Culture Reframed article, Dr. Eric Silverman breaks down how these apps work, how the apps are reaching kids, and what parents and educators can do to prevent and respond to harm.

Read the article here:

In this new series, “Hot Topics,” our team of researchers digs deep into the latest trends around po*******hy and the impact it’s having on young people. We break down what it is, how it works, why it’s trending, and what adults can do to minimize the harm to youth.

10/29/2026

Happy National Cat Day to our favorite furry, four-legged friends! 🐾✨🐱

Did you know that pets play a huge role in comforting children and helping them feel safe? Research shows that interacting with calm, friendly animals can lower stress, reduce anxiety, and help kids feel more grounded during difficult moments.

At Children’s Advocacy Centers across Pennsylvania, creating a cozy, comforting, and non-intimidating environment is always our top priority. Whether it’s a friendly facility dog, a quiet room, or simply talking about a beloved pet at home, these warm connections help children feel at ease so healing can begin.

Today, we’re celebrating all the pets who bring joy, comfort, and unconditional love to Pennsylvania families. 💙

Got a cat at home who brings a smile to your face? Share a photo of your feline friend in the comments below! 👇🏼

Learn more about how Keystone CACs create child-friendly spaces to promote healing: penncac.org

10/27/2026

Last month, we hosted SHINE, an incredible event that brings survivors, advocates, and our community partners together to raise awareness for the problem of child abuse and to celebrate the healing work that is done inside the walls of CACs across the state.

Sarah Klein was our featured speaker, sharing the podium with Dr. Mary Tatum, Meghan Lennox Gagorik, MBA, and Lackawanna County DA Brian J. Gallagher.

225 individuals and 13 sponsors supported SHINE by walking with us or donating, often doing both! Thank you for making this year's SHINE extra bright!

2026 SHINE sponsors included Mount Nittany Health, CenClear, PA Health & Wellness, Andreozzi + Foote, UPMC, Bob's Discount Furniture, d'Vinci Interactive, Penn State Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, Geisinger, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Wawa , D&H Distributing (D&H Cares) and The TRUST Project.

10/26/2026

True systems change in child advocacy starts with listening to those who know the journey towards healing firsthand. 💙

For four years, our Lived Experience Expert Lunch & Learn Series has placed survivors at the center of our response to the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC). Our featured lived experience experts ask our CAC professionals and multidisciplinary team to challenge their assumptions so we can transform how we support young victims.

This year's included:
🔹 Aja Houle, who shared how, where and why peer recruitment happens
🔹 Tiffany Parker, who helped us identify and address spiritual abuse and coercion
🔹 Josie Feemster, who reframed "resistance" by asking, "What does safety look like from this young person's perspective?"

Learn more about our Lunch and Learn Series 🔗 https://penncac.org/putting-lived-experience-at-the-center-of-csec-response/

10/23/2026

PennCAC was able to support 12 multidisciplinary investigative team members — including law enforcement, CYS caseworkers, coordinators, and district attorneys — with scholarships to attend the premier Dallas Crimes Against Children Conference in August.

Here's what our MDT members had to say:

🔍 “Within the first day back to work, I was able to use training I learned at the conference to assist our department in an ongoing investigation which led to an arrest. I am thankful for the opportunity to attend, learn and network with people who all share a common goal.” — Detective Joseph Krammes, Pottsville Police Department

💙 “Coming from a small rural county, trainings often feel like they don’t “apply” or logistically make sense for us, but that was the complete opposite with the Dallas Crimes Against Children Conference. Every session had a skill that every provider at every level could take away from it.” — Kelsey Lowrey-Drolsbaugh, Ongoing Unit Supervisor, Juniata County

We are thrilled that we could connect our CAC partners with subject-matter experts and peers nationwide who are dedicated to work that protects children and supports families.

PennCAC continues to nurture growth, collaboration, and professional development so that collaborative, trauma-informed services are accessible to children and families across Pennsylvania through a CAC and MDT.

Read more about the conference 🔗

This year, Children’s Advocacy Centers of Pennsylvania (PennCAC) provided scholarships for 12 multidisciplinary investigative team (MDIT) members from counties without a Children’s Advocacy Center to attend the Dallas Crimes Against Children Conference. MDIT members from Juniata, Mifflin, Schuyl...