Philadelphia Children’s Alliance Receives 2020 GSK IMPACT Award

PCA recognized for excellence in “Family and Social Support” by GSK and Philadelphia Foundation

PHILADELPHIA (November 20, 2020) – The Philadelphia Children’s Alliance (PCA) announced today that it has been selected as a recipient of a $40,000 grant from the GSK and Philadelphia Foundation’s annual IMPACT Awards. The award recognizes non-profit organizations working to improve their communities across six categories representing the social determinants of health. PCA was chosen for its work to bring healing and justice to victims of child sexual abuse in Philadelphia in the ‘family and social support’ category.

“We are proud to have been chosen by GSK and the Philadelphia Foundation for an IMPACT AWARD and honored to be included among this outstanding roster of awardees in the Greater Philadelphia area,” said PCA Interim Director Paul DiLorenzo. “Of all the years to be recognized for our work, 2020 holds special significance as a year when a global pandemic posed the biggest challenge we have faced in over 30 years and yet we still provided uninterrupted services to children and their caregivers.”

The Philadelphia Children’s Alliance is the sole agency in the City of Philadelphia equipped to provide a collaborative response to more than 3,000 reports of child sexual abuse each year. PCA works with partners at the Philadelphia Police Department's Special Victims Unit, the Department of Human Services Sexual Abuse Investigative Unit, St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Philadelphia District Attorney staff. Under the umbrella of the Philadelphia Safety Collaborative, victims of child sexual abuse receive support, counseling services and forensic interviews all under one roof in a child-friendly facility.

Despite even the greatest challenges posed by COVID-19, PCA adapted its processes so that it could continue to provide support and healing for children and families in Philadelphia. When stay-at-home orders began in March, PCA staff worked tirelessly to continue virtual outreach to families, making significant technical upgrades to allow video interviews and counseling.

PCA leverages a network of mental health services throughout the city to ensure all children coming to them get the support they need, expanding the base of trauma-related counseling and therapy that could otherwise be provided solely in-house.

PCA is a leading Child Advocacy Center (CAC) center both regionally and at the national level, continually evolving to develop best practices and host conversations about child sexual abuse and policies needed to address this issue. PCA leads the National Regional Children’s Advocacy Center (NRCAC), which provides training and technical assistance for state chapters, children’s advocacy centers, and multidisciplinary teams in nine states in the Northeastern United States.

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The Philadelphia Children’s Alliance is an independent non-profit organization that promotes healing and justice for sexually abused children in Philadelphia. Using a multidisciplinary approach, we collaborate with our partners in child protection, law enforcement, and medical and mental health services to provide forensic interviews, victim support and counseling services at the Philadelphia Safety Collaborative, a co-located child-friendly facility.