In Partnership with Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
National Child Abuse Prevention Month
Pa Family Support Alliance (PFSA) and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recognize April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month and is committed to working with professionals, families, and communities across Pennsylvania to advocate and educate for the prevention child abuse and neglect. Through collective and strategic partnerships, we believe that communities can be strengthened to help protect children and support families.
Throughout April PFSA will host several events and activities during the month to call attention to the prevalence of child abuse and how private organizations, public entities, and individuals can work together to prevent and stop it.
Children are our most precious resource, and they deserve to be loved and protected and grow up in an environment that is free from abuse and neglect. That is why we have designed all our events and activities to not only elevate the ongoing work that our organization and child advocates are undertaking but also educate attendees and participants so that they leave feeling empowered to protect Pennsylvania’s children.
From hosting in-person events to engaging with various communities across the commonwealth to sponsoring virtual speakers, we invite you to work with us and help #ProtectPAKids!
Overview of April Events and Activities
Annual Flag Planting
On April 1, PFSA will once again sponsor this in-person event. From Front Street to the steps of the Capitol, PFSA staff, board of directors, statewide and local advocates, officials and corporate supporters will plant 4,756 blue flags to represent the number of substantiated child abuse cases and 60 black flags to represent the number of child deaths due to child abuse in Pennsylvania over one year.
Flag planting will begin at 9:00am at the corner of 3rd & State Street in Harrisburg, PA.
PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Ceremony
The symbol for child abuse prevention is the Blue Ribbon. PFSA will honor PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids from across the Commonwealth who have gone the extra mile to protect PA children. These individuals are recognized for their exceptional contributions as we continue to make every effort to prevent child abuse and neglect throughout Pennsylvania. Legislative leadership, elected and appointed officials of the administration will join us in recognizing our PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids award recipients!
The award ceremony will take place on April 1 at 10:30am in the Main Rotunda of the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg, PA.
Turn Pennsylvania Blue
Blue is the national symbolic color of child abuse prevention. PFSA will call on Pennsylvania-based reporters, on-air media personalities, celebrities, influencers, and elected officials to “Turn Pennsylvania Blue” on April 1. Although April 1 is Turn Pennsylvania Blue Day, every day in April is a great day for sporting the color blue.
Spotlight Speaker: Virtual Event
Stay tuned for details about this year’s virtual Spotlight Speaker event!
Children’s Memorial & Data Map
PFSA will display child abuse and neglect data from Pennsylvania’s statewide report on an interactive map accompanied by memorial video honoring the children who were lost due to child abuse and neglect. Check out the Children’s Memorial section to view this information and video.
Engaging Communities Across the Commonwealth
PFSA will work directly with individuals and child welfare organizations, like county children and youth service agencies, across the state on local activities that will publicly raise awareness about abuse prevention. By working together at a grassroots level, PFSA believes that all of us will be stronger together and better equipped to combat the future needs of our children.
CBCAP Network
PFSA’s Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) Network is a diverse group of local organizations providing a wide range of prevention services and programs to anyone who may be in a parenting or caregiver role. Check out the CBCAP Network section to learn more about this powerful network.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which serves as a reminder that there is much work to be done to help protect our children. Our PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids movement is a call to action to get involved, to strengthen and support families, to watch out for the safety of children in your neighborhood, and to learn how to report child abuse.
Each April, Pa Family Support Alliance (PFSA) honors individuals from across the Commonwealth who go above and beyond the call to #ProtectPAKids from abuse and neglect. These individuals are recognized as PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids for their exceptional contributions and efforts as we strive to prevent child abuse and neglect throughout Pennsylvania. PFSA is excited to honor four distinguished individuals in 2025 as PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids.
Child abuse is a public health crisis – but it is preventable. Each of us must play a role in child protection. Because every child needs a champion. If you suspect abuse, report it to ChildLine, the state’s 24/7 reporting hotline at 800-932-0313.
2026 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winners
2026 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winner
Jane Kim
Director of Client Engagement and Initiatives
Mission Kids Child Advocacy Center
2026 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winner
Ernie Morris
Detective
Limerick Township Police Department
2026 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winner
Shana Orlic
Supervisor of ParentWISE Program
Wesley Family Services
2026 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winner
Kristen C. Streightiff, M. Ed.
Director of Student Services
Mount Union Area School District
Many thanks to our judges for the 2026 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids event!
Past PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winners
2025 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winners
LaKeisha Berry
Joanne M. Godfrey
Hailey E. Houk
Tyler Smay
2024 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winners
Crystal Long
Nancy Reitzel
Kimberly Saltsman
Lisa K. Wilcox
2023 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winners
Jessica Crouse
Michelle McDyre
Christina Roland
Chief Charles T. Streightiff
2022 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winners
Robin Boyer
Daniel Goldstein
Jennifer Wildermann
Deborah Willett
2021 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winners
Lisa Gartner
Leslie Holt
Lauren Lazzari
Jeanine Rasky
Casey Stokes
2020 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winners
*Event cancelled due to COVID-19
2019 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winners
Patricia Kosinski
Daniel J. Dye
Rick R. Wess
Jerry Figart
2018 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winners
Megan King
Jen Spry
Joyce Seitz
Darryl Gibbs
Jo Ciavaglia
2017 PA Blue Ribbon Champions for Safe Kids Award Winners
Reuben Martin
Jan Harris
Sarah Pesi
Carlene Nicholas
Emily Huggins
PFSA is excited to host its annual Spotlight Speaker Series as part of National Child Abuse Prevention Month! We invite you to join us for this virtual event scheduled throughout April, where we will host special guest speakers to present on a topic relevant to all parents, caregivers, and professionals working with families. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness of child abuse prevention efforts across systems and to educate other professionals on the impact that child abuse prevention can have for individuals, organizations, systems, and communities.
Registration is FREE
2026 Spotlight Speaker Series
Schedule of Events
Emerging Trends in Online Safety & Prevention
Date & Time: April 16, 2026 @ 11am-12:00pm (EST)
Registration: Register Here
Presentation Overview: Join Sarah Bean, Director of Research and Programs at the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI), for an insightful examination of the latest developments shaping online safety for children and families. In this forward-looking session, Sarah will explore emerging digital trends, evolving threats, and the rapidly changing landscape of online risk—from new social platforms and AI-powered technologies to shifting patterns of harm and protective design. Drawing on recent research and real-world examples, she’ll highlight key opportunities and challenges for caregivers, educators, and safety advocates seeking to foster safer digital experiences. Attendees will walk away with a deeper understanding of what’s on the horizon in online safety and practical strategies for staying ahead in a complex digital world.
Speaker Info
Sarah Bean, Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI)
Sarah Bean is the Director of Research & Programs at the Family Online Safety Institute. Sarah joins FOSI after nearly two decades in public media, most recently as Vice President, Education Content and Innovation at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. At CPB, Sarah provided strategic leadership and analysis to maximize the impact of CPB’s education investments in a changing media environment. Sarah began her career managing training and development for a coffee house franchise.
Sarah has a Master of Arts in Education and Human Development from The George Washington University’s Educational Technology Leadership program and a Bachelor of Arts from the College of William and Mary.
Diving Deep: Online Child Sexual Exploitation & Prevention
Date & Time: April 29, 2026 @ 12pm – 1pm (EST)
Registration: Register Here
Session Overview: Join leading anti-trafficking expert Laila Mickelwait, founder of the Traffickinghub movement and national bestselling author, for a compelling and urgent session on the online exploitation of children in today’s digital world. Drawing on over 15 years of frontline work researching and combating sex trafficking, Laila will unpack how modern digital platforms have created new avenues for the sexual exploitation, distribution, and monetization of child abuse material and trafficking operations. Attendees will gain insight into the mechanics of online risks—from unregulated user-generated content and inadequate age verification to real-world impacts on victims and families—and explore practical strategies for prevention, digital safety, and advocacy. Through powerful survivor stories and expert analysis, this session equips caregivers, educators, and professionals with the knowledge needed to protect children online and catalyze systemic change.
Speaker Info
Laila Mickelwait, Justice Defense Fund
Laila Mickelwait is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Justice Defense Fund, the Founder and leader of the Traffickinghub movement supported by millions around the world, and the national bestselling author of Takedown: Inside the Fight to Shut Down Pornhub for Child Abuse, Rape, and Sex Trafficking (Pengiuin Random House, 2024). She has been researching and combating the injustice of sex trafficking since 2006 and is a leading expert in the field.
Laila received her Master of Public Diplomacy degree from the Annenberg School of Communications and the Dornsife School of International Relations at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State. Her work has been featured in hundreds of news articles worldwide, in outlets such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, BBC News, The Times, CNN, Bloomberg, Reuters, AP, CNBC, Fox News, The Washington Post, USA Today, Newsweek, The New York Post, The Guardian, Business Insider, and many others.
Painting for Prevention, a program created by the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance (PFSA), gives individuals, families, and communities an avenue for demonstrating their commitment and unity around child abuse prevention efforts. Each year, a new statewide design is released and hundreds of Painting for Prevention kits are distributed and shared across communities in Pennsylvania during Child Abuse Prevention Month. Painting for Prevention projects strengthen communities and unite community members in the common goal to prevent child abuse and neglect. Additionally, they also serve as a symbol for awareness and hope to support children and families within and around our communities.
The blue ribbon is always featured in the design of each Painting for Prevention project. The blue ribbon serves as a national symbol to remind us of the seriousness of child abuse and the need for prevention. The blue ribbon is also used as a personal reminder that we are all individually responsible for protecting the children in our lives. #ProtectPAKids!
NEW!
CLICK HERE to download this year’s Painting for Prevention design to print from home and participate.
Be creative! Our only request is that you keep the ribbon blue for child abuse prevention awareness. Upon completion, please consider uploading a photo of your masterpiece on social media using the hashtag #ProtectPAKids.
Here are our previous Painting for Prevention designs, also available to download and print!
THANK YOU for your participation in this year’s Painting for Prevention project!
Interactive Data Map
This interactive data map represents child abuse fatality data gathered from the 2024 Annual Child Protective Services Report, which is produced annually by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (the annual report for 2025 has not yet been finalized). A total of 60 child fatalities and 82 near fatalities due to child abuse were substantiated statewide during 2024. This number is broken down by each county on the map below.
To view the child abuse fatality data by county, place your cursor over any county on the map. Click on the county to reveal more specific data related to the number of substantiated cases, fatalities, and near fatalities for that county.
2024 Event Photos
At the center of PFSA’s mission sits the family-serving, community-based organizations across Pennsylvania that we have had the privilege to partner with over the years. The Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) Network is a diverse network of local organizations, providing a wide range of prevention services and programs to anyone who may be in a parenting or caregiver role.
These partnering organizations create a strong and united statewide network that, together, promotes positive, safe, and healthy family development within the local communities. PFSA is proud to provide support and resources for this network year after year, including professional development opportunities, technical assistance, programming expansion, and a variety of resources for local families and communities. This ongoing relationship helps to create a positive impact on caregivers, families, and children all across the commonwealth.
PFSA works with individual CBCAP agencies on a variety of collaborative projects, virtual programming, relevant publications, and resources, as well as remote learning webinars and training opportunities. All of this effort supports the pathway toward a safe and healthy future for Pennsylvania families and children.
If you are a community-based agency with a focus on supporting families and preventing child abuse, PFSA invites you to learn more about the CBCAP Network and the opportunity to partner. Click the document to the right to gain insights on the work ahead, membership benefits, and how you can get involved. To submit an interest form for joining PFSA’s CBCAP Network, click here.
If you have any questions regarding PFSA’s CBCAP Network, contact our Director of Prevention Programs, Justin Donofrio, at [email protected].
In Partnership with Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
