News

Contact Your Senator Today and Ask Him/Her to Fully Fund the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)

Originally enacted in 1974, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) is the only federal program exclusively dedicated to the prevention, assessment, identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect. CAPTA protects vulnerable children by providing critical funding for programs that aid healthy child development and reduce the likelihood of more serious problems in the future. CAPTA helps children and families in all 50 states through services such as evidence-based voluntary home visiting programs, early childhood and child care programs, mental and substance use services, family resource centers, and respite and crisis care, among many other valuable resources. CAPTA is also the only legislation that addresses universal primary prevention capacity building at a local level, supporting services essential to healthy and thriving communities.

Prevent Child Abuse America Announces Successful Re-chartering of Iowa & Mississippi Chapters, Environments for Innovation and Collaboration

Chicago—Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America) announced today that Prevent Child Abuse Iowa (PCA Iowa) and Prevent Child Abuse Mississippi (PCA Mississippi) are the most recent chapters to successfully complete the organization’s rigorous re-chartering process.

“State chapters are the lifeblood of our work,” said PCA America President & CEO Dan Duffy. “We’re fortunate to work with such a talented and dedicated network of experts, and we’re grateful to the leadership and staff at PCA Mississippi and PCA Iowa who enable us to broadly extend our efforts and positively impact the lives of children, families and communities nationwide.”

During the re-chartering process, formally called the Building Capacity Chartering, PCA America chapters undergo an in-depth assessment that evaluates criteria such as the demonstration of a strong mission and consistent brand identity, documentation of sound operational infrastructure and financial resources and evidence of leadership in the statewide scope of influence and activity in child abuse and neglect prevention.

“These criteria help ensure consistency across the network, which in turn provides a solid foundation for innovation, allowing us to really focus on the needs of our core audiences,” stated PCA Iowa Executive Director Liz Cox. “For example, in 2015 we developed Connections Matter, a tr

Prevent Child Abuse America Announces New Board Member, Appointments

Chicago—Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America), the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the primary prevention of child abuse and neglect, announced today that Steven Harris, a partner at the Chicago-based law firm McDonald Hopkins LLC, has joined its national board of directors. The organization also announced the following new appointments on the board: Andrea Robertson, retired group executive, corporate treasurer of MasterCard Worldwide (chair); Robert Mayo, co-founder and vice chairman emeritus of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (co-vice chair); and Dr. Bruce Perry, senior fellow at the ChildTrauma Academy (co-vice chair).

“Ensuring happy, healthy childhoods requires a team effort, and I’m thrilled to have such a talented roster of respected leaders guiding what we do,” said PCA America President & CEO Dan Duffy. “Each of these individuals brings deep and specific knowledge to our work, and their combined expertise in finance, governance, business, medicine, research and other fields will bolster our continued and strategic growth as an organization, allowing us to effectively and efficiently reach more children and families across the country and realize our collective vision of no child ever being abused or neglected.”

Harris, who served on his firm’s executive committee, has a national reputation as an advisor to business and professional organizations, counseling privately owned corporations and healthcare clients on contractual and regulatory issues, succession planning and related transactional matters. His civic duties include acting as mayor of the Village of Deerfield, Ill., and as a director of the Illinois State Tollway Authority.

Robertson, who has served seven years on PCA America’s

In Recognition of Jim McKay

Our State Chapters are the lifeblood of our organization, and we are proud to have a network of experts and dedicated advocates on staff in chapters across the country. Recently, one of those staff members were honored with a “Partner in Courage” award and we wanted to add our voice to the chorus of congratulations for Jim McKay.

“Lessons From Behind Barbed Wire”: A TEDx Talk From PCA America Lifetime Board Member SuEllen Fried

In this TEDx Talk, Prevent Child Abuse America lifetime board member SuEllen Fried discusses a prison program that she co-founded in 2001 that has has reduced recidivism rates in Kansas from the national average of 50–76% to just 8%.

Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect With the Power of Relationships: Continuing the Conversation Between Oprah and Dr. Bruce Perry

“We all have the power to change someone’s life through our relationships.” That is a key takeaway from this past Sunday’s 60 Minutes segment on childhood trauma where Oprah interviewed Dr. Bruce Perry, Senior Fellow of the Child Trauma Academy and member of the board of directors of Prevent Child Abuse America.

Announcing Bart Klika as Our New Chief Research and Strategy Officer 

Prevent Child Abuse America is thrilled to announce that Bart Klika, MSW, PhD, is joining our national office staff as our new Chief Research and Strategy Officer. A father of two young daughters, Bart is currently re-locating his family from Montana to Chicago and will be officially officially joining our National Office on June 26.

Congresswoman Jackie Walorski (R-IN) Visits Healthy Families America Program in St. Joseph County, Indiana

While visiting Family & Children’s Center in South Bend, IN, Congresswoman Walorski met with parents who have benefitted from the Healthy Families St. Joseph program as well as the dedicated staff who spend their days

Chairman Adrian Smith Visits Local Family Support Program in Nebraska to Learn About the Importance of Federal Home Visiting Program

A top GOP lawmaker visited a program in his district on Monday, March 6, to learn more about the importance of federally funded home-visiting programs that are currently set to expire in September 2017.

In Memory of Fred Riley

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our national board of director’s chair Fred Riley, who died of complications from kidney cancer. Fred tirelessly focused on bringing a sense of urgency to the work of prevention while also guiding the development of the organization’s ongoing strategic vision.