Philadelphia Children'S Alliance

The Philadelphia Children's Alliance (PCA) coordinates a multi-agency, interdisciplinary response to promote healing and justice for victims of child sexual abuse in Philadelphia. PCA was founded in 1989, became a full member of the National Children’s Alliance (NCA) in 1992, and was accredited by NCA in 2001. Today, PCA meets all NCA standards and is, in fact, a national best standards model for peer agencies nationwide. Over the past 20 years, the Philadelphia Children’s Alliance has advocated for a team-based approach, built cooperative relationships, introduced efficiencies in the system providing rapid response, and effectively changed how abused children are served and cared for in Philadelphia. Team coordination has increased; we work in partnership with Philadelphia’s Police Special Victims Unit, the Department of Human Services, the District Attorney’s Office, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Support Center for Child Advocates, Women Organized Against Rape, and the JJ Peters Institute. PCA’s most recent Strategic Plan calls for capacity-building so that by 2015 we will have the capacity to respond to 100 percent of alleged sexual abuse reports in Philadelphia. As the only primary intervention organization in Philadelphia working with child victims of sexual abuse, this mandate to increase capacity is driven by a critical need for PCA’s services to help protect the children and families we serve.