child-abuse

Pennsylvania Capitol Building. May 24, 2022. Harrisburg, Pa. (Photo by Amanda Berg, for the Capital-Star).

Experts say a bill to restrict where sexual predators can live in Pa. misses the mark

BY: - September 13, 2023

The state House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday heard testimony on a bill that would place restrictions on where sexually violent predators could live in Pennsylvania. But experts testified that such restrictions have been struck down on constitutional grounds in the past, and address a perceived problem not based on evidence.  House Bill 77 is co-sponsored by […]

COMMENTARY

Why are states turning back the clock on child labor laws? | Opinion

BY: - June 28, 2023

The move comes nearly 8 decades after the U.S. government took kids out of the workforce.

Sunlight streaming through church window

States weigh child abuse reporting vs. clergy’s duty of confidentiality

BY: - May 15, 2023

Some bills would require clergy to disclose knowledge gleaned through religious rites such as confession.

COMMENTARY

Ohio GOP’s attempted erasure of a 10-year-old rape victim is sick and disturbed | Opinion

BY: - July 15, 2022

This is a matter of basic human decency, good faith and sensitivity on the most fundamental level of society.

COMMENTARY

Pinwheels are a reminder of the work ahead of us during Child Abuse Prevention Month | Opinion

BY: - April 15, 2022

Protecting our children from abuse is a collective responsibility. We have to remember it every day.

Advocates again call on Pa. Senate to open two-year window for child sex abuse survivors

BY: - April 4, 2022

If it weren’t for an advertising error made last year by the Department of State, a proposed constitutional amendment authorizing the window for child sex abuse survivors would have appeared on the May 2021 primary election ballot.

Legislation suggests a new way to support Pa. Children’s Trust Fund | Five for the Weekend

BY: - March 19, 2022

The bill was introduced by state Rep. Pamela A. DeLissio, D-Philadelphia, who is the minority chair of the PA House Children and Youth Committee and state Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland, who is the committee’s majority chair.

Ten years after Sandusky case, more work needed to protect Pa.’s kids, advocate says

BY: - November 15, 2021

In 2017, Pennsylvania received more child abuse reports than any other year on record, according to state data

COMMENTARY

After pandemic drop, advocates fear spike in child abuse reports this fall | Tuesday Morning Coffee

BY: - October 12, 2021

The number of child abuse reports received dropped about 22 percent between 2019 and 2020, state data show.

Pa. child abuse lawsuits held up due ‘systemic failures’ in Dept. of State, report says

BY: - May 26, 2021

In a report released Wednesday, the state Inspector General found no evidence of “intentional malfeasance” in an advertising error that delayed a Pennsylvania constitutional amendment to allow survivors of childhood sexual abuse to sue their abusers. Instead the report pointed a finger at an informal and unwritten process for tracking and overseeing constitutional amendments in […]

‘Do your job’: Abuse survivors call on Senate to pass stalled lawsuit reform bill

BY: - May 24, 2021

(*This story was updated at 11:24 a.m. on Tuesday, 5/25/21 to clarify the role of Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office and its interactions with Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward’s staff) Cindy Leech’s voice broke, then it broke again, as she talked about the lives ruined, and the lives lost, to childhood sexual abuse — including […]

COMMENTARY

This is the true ‘gold standard” for child protection in Pa. | Opinion  

BY: - April 30, 2021

It’s time for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to stand up for survivors. It’s time for lawmakers to start protecting survivors over sexual predators.