GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The POCC is committed to the prevention of child abuse and the victimization of children and youth through child-centered services and strategies. While retaining its commitment to be child-centered, the POCC fully recognizes that a child’s safety, well-being and permanency are directly impacted by the stability and strength of the family — the confidence and competence of a child’s parent or primary caregiver.

The POCC remains a forum open to all, but its decision-making has been guided by individual advocates and organizations that have endorsed an agreed-to set of Principles that include:

• All children and youth need and deserve to live free from abuse and violence in their own homes, schools, and communities.
• Positive child development, which includes staying safe, requires connection to caring adults and an understanding that a child’s wellbeing is shaped by a variety of factors.
• Preventing child abuse and other forms of child victimization must be a higher and sustained priority throughout our Commonwealth.
• Adequate public resources must be directed toward prevention services within the government systems that serve Pennsylvania’s children and families.
• The development of and investment in proven prevention strategies is a responsibility that extends beyond government and requires the participation of community and faith-based organizations, educators, health care practitioners, law enforcement and parents.
• When a child victim discloses abuse she/he should be believed.
• All interventions should encourage disclosure through a safe, stable and responsive environment.
• Comprehensive, ongoing, and timely services must be available to victims upon their courageous disclosure.
• Child abuse investigations and interventions should strive to insulate the child from further trauma.
• The integrity of evidence must be preserved through multidisciplinary and child-focused interventions.
• Perpetrator accountability should reflect and incorporate an understanding of the life-long consequences child victims confront and strive to overcome.
• Recognizing that disclosure often does not occur until the child victim is well into adulthood; survivors of child sexual abuse deserve the opportunity to hold a perpetrator accountable beyond the time of the abuse.
• Reporting suspected child abuse is a step toward assuring a child is safe.
• Mandated child abuse reporters are essential to reporting suspected child abuse and they require access to proven, effective training funded adequately with public resources to fulfill their legally established role.
• Timely, coordinated and comprehensive responses by Commonwealth authorities and their public and private community partners must be implemented and practiced throughout the reporting and investigation of abuse and any resulting judicial proceedings with such responses adequately funded with public resources.
• All reasonable and appropriate efforts should be made to allow children to safely remain in their homes so that out-of-home placement is utilized with less frequency and where it is in the best interest of the child to respond to emergencies, situations where a child’s safety cannot be assured, or to provide custodial care intended to be temporary.
• When dependent children are placed in foster care, there must be a commitment to reduce the reliance on congregate care and to guard against disruptions, multiple out-of-home placements.
• Dependent children and youth, regardless of age, deserve the permanency which is often better achieved in a permanent family that provides the least restrictive environment where they can achieve legal permanency and connectedness to a nurturing support system.

ENDORSED BY:

Juvenile Law Center * Mary Achilles * Children's Advocacy Center of Lawrence County * Children's Alliance Center of Berks County * Family Design Resources * Family Support Policy Board * Heads Held High Inc. * Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania * Maternity Care Coalition * National Association of Social Workers – PA Chapter * Network of Victim Assistance (Bucks County) * PA Chapter of Child Advocacy Centers and MDT's * PA Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics * PA Coalition Against Domestic Violence * PA Coalition Against Rape * PA Community Providers Association * PA Council of Churches * Cathleen Palm * PA Social Services Union/ Local 668 SEIU * Pathways PA * Philadelphia Children’s Alliance * Pressley Ridge * Public Citizens for Children and Youth * Sexual Assault Resource & Counseling Center of Lebanon/Schuylkill (SARCC) * Support Center for Child Advocates * United Way of Southeastern PA * United way of Westmoreland County * Women Organized Against Rape * Rev. Karl Jones * KidsVoice * PA Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Association * Fight Crime: Invest in Kids