Help for Victims of Abuse
- Pennsylvania ChildLine – If you suspect child abuse, call 1-800-932-0313 immediately.
- National Child Abuse Hotline: – Call 1-800-4-A-CHILD for information or resources to confront child abuse.
- Crime Victim Center of Erie County – Call 814-455-9414 or 1-800-352-7273 for help for sexual assault victims and their families and friends.
- Adult Protective Services dhs.pa.gov Do you suspect elder abuse or abuse of an adult with a disability? Call 1-800-490-8505
- Older Adult Protective Services GECAC.org Call 814-459-4581 Ext. 205 or After Hours 814-451-1520
Preventing Child Abuse
- Know Your Rights – A Guide for Youth in Substitute Care – A guide for youth in substitute care in Pennsylvania from the Juvenile Law Center and KidsVoice.
- Safe Kids Pennsylvania – An organization working to promote the prevention of childhood injuries in Pennsylvania through education, collaboration and advocacy.
- Prevent Child Abuse Pennsylvania – A program of the American Academy of Pediatrics Pennsylvania Chapter, the group works to raising happy, healthy kids and preventing abuse before it happens.
Support for Families
- Stepping Up for Kids- What Government and Communities Should Do to Support Kinship Families – Examines the challenges and rewards of providing kinship care and makes suggestions to improve the circumstances in kinship families to promote better outcomes for children.
- Kinship Care in Pennsylvania – Support for Families with Grandparents and Other Kin Raising Children – Published by The Pennsylvania State University, 2005.
- Pennsylvania Children’s Trust Fund – The Pennsylvania Children’s Trust Fund investments are intended to develop innovative and creative child abuse and neglect prevention programs. Specific emphasis for funding is placed on primary prevention programs that focus on the prevention of abuse before it occurs for the first time. The Pennsylvania Children’s Trust Fund was established pursuant to ACT 151 of 1988, the Children’s Trust Fund Act.
Legal Help and Other Information
- Northwestern Legal Services – Call 814-452-6949 or 1-800-665-6957. Northwestern Legal Services assists low income individuals and families by guiding them through the legal system.
- Megan’s Law – Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law, 42 Pa.C.S § 9799.32(1), requires the Pennsylvania State Police to create and maintain a registry of persons who reside, or are transient, work/carry on a vocation, or attend school in the commonwealth and who have either been convicted of, entered a plea of guilty to, or have been adjudicated delinquent of certain sexual offenses in Pennsylvania or another jurisdiction.
- Child Welfare Information Gateway – Child Welfare Information Gateway promotes the safety, permanency and well-being of children, youth and families by connecting child welfare, adoption and related professionals as well as the public to information, resources and tools covering topics on child welfare, child abuse and neglect, out-of-home care, adoption and more.
- Postpartum Help – Call the National Postpartum Depression Hotline at 1-800-PPD-MOMS