Sappey bill to create permanent Office of Child Advocate passes PA House

Rep. Christina Sappey    July 1, 2024 | 3:42 PM

HARRISBURG, July 1 – State House lawmakers today passed legislation (H.B. 2175) introduced by Rep. Christina Sappey, D Chester, that would create a permanent Office of Child Advocate in Pennsylvania to help combat child abuse and child exploitation.

Created through an executive order by Gov. Tom Wolf in 2019 over concerns related to complaints of abuse of children in congregate care facilities, the primary role of the Office of Child Advocate is to prevent child abuse and neglect.

“OCA provides our state’s most vulnerable children with a direct line to assistance, serving a critical role in our government to ensure the children of Pennsylvania have a voice,” Sappey said. “Because it was established by executive order, the office ever remains in peril of being dissolved by future administrations. To better protect the children of Pennsylvania, the Office of Child Advocate should be codified as a permanent independent agency, as my bill would do.”

According to Sappey, 34 other states have created permanent OCAs. The Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Services to Children and Youth and the Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force are among groups that have recommended OCA be a permanent office.

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

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