Our Mission

Philadelphia Children’s Alliance (PCA) leads a coordinated response to achieve safety, healing, and justice for children and families impacted by child sexual abuse, exploitation, and violence.

We also offer prevention trainings and resources to all caregivers, our partner organizations, and our communities.

PCA provides victim advocacy, medical services and support, trauma therapy, a forensic interview, caregiver support, and court accompaniment to every family who walks through our doors at no cost to families. 

We stand by victims every step of the way, so that our children can reclaim the joy that they deserve.

PCA, founded in 1989, was an outgrowth of the Philadelphia Law Enforcement Child Abuse Project which was concerned about the increasing number of child sexual abuse reports.

Since its creation PCA has expanded the number of 0 — 18 year-old children it serves from 30 a month to more than 170; increased its staff from 4 to 48; grown its facilities from a 3,300 foot office space with one interview room to a 40,000 square foot building which houses not only PCA staff, but also PCA’s multidisciplinary team members, the Police Department’s Special Victims Unit, the Department of Human Services Sexual Abuse Unit, and District Attorney staff; and added mental health therapy, a medical clinic in partnership with St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children andChildren’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and services for criminally sexually exploited children to its forensic interview and victim advocate programs to its programs. 

PCA is the first and only Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in Philadelphia, PCA became a full member of the National Children's Alliance (NCA) in 1992, and was accredited by NCA in 2001 and re-accredited in 2006 and 2011.

Today, the organization meets all NCA standards, is respected as a best standards model for peer agencies nationally, and serves as the Northeast Regional Children's Advocacy Center to provide training opportunities and support for the replication of the model in nine states in the Northeast United States.