April has been observed as Child Abuse Prevention Month since 1983. Lehigh Valley-based and national groups attempt to prevent child abuse in institutional and community settings. Experts have been warning for years that hypervigilance tends to lead to reports that turn out to be unfounded, so a new approach—centered on trust and support—is needed.

For area educators, building relationships of trust with students helps ensure that problems see the light of day. Actual prevention happens when families have access to support from community groups. Northwestern Lehigh School District Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Holman notes that her staff are trained not only in child abuse recognition, but also in “trauma-informed care, youth suicide awareness and prevention, and supporting students experiencing homelessness.”

This approach includes some of the components that child advocacy professional Matt Anderson recommends. Anderson, who spent 11 years running the largest foster care program in North Carolina, is now the CEO of Imagination Factory, Inc., a firm dedicated to “imagin[ing] and creat[ing] a more just world for families.” It is his experience-based belief that child abuse prevention is undergoing a long-overdue shift from “waiting for families to be in crisis to get support” to a world in which supportive entities “partner with families on the front end.”

Child Protective Services (CPS) reports made to the state of Pennsylvania fall into the categories of physical abuse, sexual abuse or serious physical neglect. Unlike other states, Pennsylvania also receives General Protective Services (GPS) reports; these are non-abuse referrals including truancy, homelessness and parental substance abuse.

County and regional offices follow up on reports. CPS reports can be “founded” (judicially adjudicated that abuse took place), “indicated” (judged by a county or regional staffer as supported by substantial evidence that abuse took place), or pending (under active investigation after a 60-day period). GPS reports can be validated (substantiated as true), invalidated (not substantiated), or screened out (not formally investigated).

In 2024, the most recent year for which data is available, the Pa. Dept. of Human Services (DHS) handled 41,070 CPS reports, of which only 4,756 were substantiated. There were 176,496 GPS referrals that year, of which 39,561 were substantiated. Pennsylvania has roughly 2.6 million children; most substantiated CPS reports apply to children ages five through nine. Northampton County and Lehigh County accounted for 100 and 77 substantiated CPS reports, respectively. Additional data is available from Pa. DHS online (https://www.dhs.pa.gov/docs/Publications/Pages/Child-Abuse-Re¬ports.aspx).

Institutional

prevention

Efforts to prevent child abuse at the institutional level are guided in part by state law, notably the mandated reporter and background check legislation passed after the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State. School districts and other organizations that work with youth and vulnerable adults may also place safeguards in addition to those required by law.

Pa. Act 153 requires paid and voluntary workers who have routine contact with minors to obtain three different clearances: a state criminal history check processed by Pennsylvania State Police (PATCH); a state child abuse history check processed by the Pa. DHS; and a federal criminal history check processed by the FBI using fingerprinting at officially designated locations. Clearances must be re-performed every 60 months.

Holman provided a statement on behalf of the district, noting that the district “takes the safety and well-being of our students very seriously and has multiple safeguards in place to help prevent abuse and support students who may be experiencing it.”

The statement lists the required clearances, explaining that the process for employees and volunteers “requires disclosure of prior employment history and any investigations related to sexual misconduct or abuse.” Additionally, as required by state law, school employees are mandated reporters, “trained to recognize and report signs of suspected abuse. Staff members complete required training on topics such as child abuse recognition and reporting, staff-to-student misconduct prevention, Title IX compliance, trauma-informed care, youth suicide awareness and prevention, and supporting students experiencing homelessness.”

The Diocese of Allentown requires that all employees and unpaid volunteers who work with children or vulnerable adults comply with state law, including an FBI background check, state criminal history check, and state child abuse check, as well as a national sex offender registry clearance. These clearances apply to all paid and unpaid workers in schools, including volunteers who do not work directly with children. All clergy, employees, and volunteers must also formally sign off on the diocese’s safe environment policies.

People working with minors and vulnerable adults are trained in preventing, recognizing, and responding to abuse through a program called VIRTUS/Protecting God’s Children, created by the National Catholic Risk Retention Group. “Vulnerable adults” is a category that includes “anyone who by any physical or cognitive impairment, age, or disability” is considered vulnerable, explains diocesan Secretary for Catholic Health and Human Services and Youth Protection Pam Russo. An example is an elderly individual who receives the Eucharist at home from an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion; these ministers are background-checked and trained by the diocese.

“We make people aware of the elder abuse hotline at the state level,” Russo says, “as well as making sure they know that if someone is at imminent risk of harm, they should contact law enforcement immediately.”

At present, only staff and volunteers working directly with youth and vulnerable adults receive the Protecting God’s Children training, but in June, it will be required for all diocesan staff and volunteers. “Even an office volunteer would need to complete the training,” explains Executive Director of Communications Nick Gibboni.

Gibboni also clarifies that the diocese’s safe environment norms are binding “Particular Law,” which means that they are promulgated by Bishop Alfred Schlert under the Code of Canon Law. “They’re not voluntary guidelines,” Gibboni emphasizes. “They’re enforceable within the diocese.”

Community-

focused prevention

Any student in Northwestern Lehigh SD experiencing abuse or trauma at home or in the community receives protection and support within the district. Holman’s statement explains that the district is “supported by a team of professionals who work directly with students, including school counselors, school psychologists and other specialized staff who assist students facing a wide range of challenges.” Additionally, the district maintains partnerships with outside agencies, including the Pa. State Police and the Lehigh County Office of Children and Youth Services (OCYS).

The district’s statement adds, “Our goal is to create a safe, supportive learning environment where students can focus on learning and growth. Protecting students is a shared responsibility, and the district remains committed to maintaining systems that promote awareness, reporting, and timely intervention when concerns arise.”

Yet another tool available to students and Northwestern Lehigh SD community members is the statewide Safe2Say Something program, “which allows individuals to anonymously report concerns about potential threats, abuse, or other safety issues directly to trained professionals who can coordinate a response. As part of this effort, the district provides age-appropriate training and education to students to reinforce the importance of recognizing warning signs and ‘seeing something, saying something,’ empowering them to report concerns and support one another.”

The Diocese of Allentown also provides abuse prevention training to students from kindergarten through high school, using a program called The Circle of Grace, developed by the Archdiocese of Omaha. “It’s age-specific,” Russo explains, “and we send a preview and a letter each year to parents, so they know that their child will have this training.” The diocese makes the program materials available to interested parents for their own use.

Prevention through proactive support

National efforts to prevent abuse by family members and close associates are changing; one emerging way of understanding child abuse prevention is promoted by registered 501(c) 3 organization Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America), led since 2019 by CEO Melissa Merrick, PhD.

Founded in 1972, PCA America views child abuse prevention as intertwined with social justice. In an interview with podcaster Matt Anderson in 2025, Anderson explained that child abuse prevention is in the process of shifting from “waiting for families to be in crisis to get support” to a world in which supportive entities “partner with families on the front end” so that “they never touch our downstream systems.”

PCA America has created a “blueprint for family well-being,” which includes four pillars: “loving and secure family relationships supported by foundational life skills,” “access to formal and information family supports,” “mental and physical well-being across the lifespan,” and “financial stability and economic mobility.”

With these four pillars in place, PCA America contends, families are less likely to be in the condition of fragility that can lead to abuse and serious physical neglect. “For me,” Merrick told Anderson, “prevention is making sure families have what they need when they need it, delivered with love and trust and respect, and without stigma, before they’re in crisis.” Merrick stresses the collective approach that is necessary for this strategy to work.

Systemic challenges to accessing help

Lawyers from Community Legal Services (CLS) Philadelphia, speaking with The Press, point out challenges to PCA America’s approach posed by today’s surveillance-focused environment. One CLS attorney notes that the legislative creation of mandated reporters has made it more difficult for parents in challenging situations to ask for help without triggering an investigation.

Medical professionals, teachers, members of the clergy, and social workers—all of whom might seem like reasonable people for an overwhelmed, under-resourced parent to ask for help—are all mandated reporters. According to the Pa. Dept. of Human Services, mandated reporters “are required to report suspected child abuse through the Child Welfare Portal or by calling … if they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is a victim of child abuse.”

Pennsylvania law designates the following roles as mandated reporters: licensed/certified health professionals; medical examiners, coroners, and funeral directors; employees of licensed health care facilities; school employees, including teachers; childcare facility employees who have direct contact with children; clergy members of every faith; paid, independent contractor, or voluntary workers who have regular direct contact with children; social services workers who have direct contact with children; members of law enforcement; public library employees who have direct contact with children; foster parents.

Attorneys are the only individuals barred by law from reporting clients to CPS unless there is an imminent threat to someone’s safety; however, individuals only have relationships with attorneys if they are consulting with them about specific legal problems, so the one safe avenue to find support is not open to most families in situations conducive to abuse or serious neglect. (Even some attorneys are mandated reporters. According to Pa. Dept. of Human Services, “An attorney affiliated with an agency, institution, organization or other entity, including a school or regularly established religious organization that is responsible for the care, supervision, guidance or control of children” is a mandated reporter.)

Specific family needs outlined by PCA America in its “Theory of Change” document—the result of design sessions, interviews, and surveys in partnership with Healthy Families America (HFA)—include families having home visiting support when they need them; families being connected with informal support groups in their communities, including churches and neighborhood groups; families having at least one parent employed full-time, year-round; and families living in stable housing. In order for support to be realistic possibilities for families, they must be designed with transportation and work schedule concerns in mind.

In the short term, PCA America’s own aims include items like changing the idea of child welfare to reframe CPS as only one component of the child welfare system, and building the recognition that child abuse prevention that works involves more than the child welfare system. Medium-term goals include forging active partnerships with HFA-affiliated sites to create policy change around the country.

“The healthiest kids are ones who come from loving homes,” Merrick says, “and overwhelmingly—osverwhelmingly—parents love their children.”