PA Task Force on Child Protection, post-Sandusky

The Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection has been meeting for 10 months with experts in all facets of child care and protection, tasked with reviewing the commonwealth’s laws and procedures protecting children, and where and why they fail. Formed in response to the crime spree of child sexual abuse perpetrated by Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and what’s been called the “conspiracy of silence” by other Penn State administrators, the panel is recommending (link to pdf) that Pennsylvania create and fund a children’s advocacy center within a two-hour drive of every child in the state, among other reforms. Joining us to discuss the task force and its findings are its governor-appointed chairman, Bucks County District Attorney DAVID HECKLER and Dr. CINDY W. CHRISTIAN, director of the “Safe Place” program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and another appointee to the task force of Governor Tom Corbett. Plus, we’ll hear from DAVID CLOHESSY, executive director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, about what he feels the Task Force left out of their recommendations.

Photo by Flickr user Piers Nye