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State creates funding stream for child advocacy centers

Legislation signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro will create a new funding stream for child advocacy centers across Pennsylvania – including Warren County's.

Earlier this year, House Bill 2443 was introduced by Rep. Kyle Mullins, D-Peckville, and Rep. Jim Rigby, R-Johnstown, to create the Child Victim Recovery Fund. The legislation was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Shapiro. The Child Victim Recovery Fund will be funded by fees paid by offenders, not taxpayers.

"At a time when politics so easily divides us, standing up for child victims is a cause that must always unite us. Young survivors of sexual assault deserve justice, compassionate care, and a safe space to heal," said Mullins. "Enacting House Bill 2443 ensures that our Children's Advocacy Centers have the financial means to deliver these vital services."

The fund will be supported by a Mandatory Child Victim Recovery Fee assessed when an individual is convicted of, pleads guilty or nolo contendere to, or enters diversion for an offense involving a child victim. The fee will be $1,000 for a felony, $400 for a misdemeanor, and $250 for diversion. Individuals on probation or parole for covered offenses will also pay a $15 monthly supervision surcharge.

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency will administer the Child Victim Recovery Fund by distributing financial resources to accredited CACs through a formula-based statewide grant. CACs will use the funds to support their forensic services and medical evaluations, and to expand services including trauma-informed mental-health care and family advocacy.

"Anyone who pleads guilty to or refuses to contest an allegation of child abuse and/or exploitation of children fully deserves to pay for their crime, and Act 84 [formerly House Bill 2443] requires them to do so in a literal sense," said Rigby. "I'm honored to work across the aisle with Rep. Mullins and co-author legislation that will support victims of these horrendous crimes. Pennsylvania's 41 CACs provide an invaluable service, and the funding derived from these criminal acts will help support their efforts."

Mullins said CACs are an important part of the response to child sex abuse crimes, providing forensic interviews, medical exams, trauma-informed therapy, and victim advocacy, as well as coordination with law enforcement, prosecutors, child-welfare agencies, and medical and mental-health professionals. All these services are coordinated under one roof, so a traumatized child is not forced to detail and relive their trauma numerous times.

"Despite their essential role, CACs have remained chronically underfunded, limiting their ability to meet accreditation standards, expand mental-health services, and manage growing caseloads, especially in rural and underserved communities," Mullins said.

Such a fund could benefit the Warren Child Advocacy Center. A 2023 report by the state court system showed a nearly 30% increase in sex offender registrations in Warren County from 7 in 2018 to 20 in 2022. Cases then continued increasing. The Warren County Child Advocacy Center has averaged about 42 interviews over the center's first six years, but the numbers have been increasing each year. The center has a two-person staff and spends much of its time raising money.

"At Children's Advocacy Centers, we ask children to do something that would be difficult for any adult: tell someone about the worst thing that has ever happened to them. We owe them a process that protects them from further trauma and care that helps them feel safe again," said Meghan Lennox Gagorik, executive director of Children's Advocacy Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania. "That is why CACs exist, bringing forensic interviews, medical care, advocacy, and therapy together around the child. We want every child to know that what happened was not their fault and does not define their future. They have already carried a burden that never should have been theirs. Requiring offenders to help fund their recovery is part of accountability," Gagorik continued. "I'm grateful to Reps. Kyle Mullins and Jim Rigby for leading this effort, and especially proud that Kyle, from my own hometown, listened to the needs of the children we serve and fought to get this done."