Pa Family Support Alliance, the state’s leader in child abuse prevention, has awarded Casey Stokes-Rodriguez with the Blue-Ribbon Champion for Safe Kids award. This award is given to five Pennsylvanians who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to support and protect Pennsylvania’s children.

Stokes-Rodriguez serves as a licensed social worker at the Harrisburg School District where she is the School Culture, Climate, and Trauma Resource Specialist. She works to ensure that students have a safe environment and is dedicated to preventing abuse, a press release said. She also provides trauma-informed supports and interventions to high school students and their families, as well as faculty members within the district. She understands the gravity of what occurs when a child has endured abuse and works to address their unique needs.

“Casey is on the frontlines working to prevent abuse and works tirelessly to ensure that children have a safe space at school,” Angela Liddle, president and CEO of the Pa Family Support Alliance, said in the release. “She is deeply dedicated to her community and has helped countless children and families navigate extremely challenging situations.”

In honor of this accomplishment, the Pa Family Support Alliance is debuting a video on its Facebook page today that will feature Stokes-Rodriguez receiving the award. The video can be found here.

The announcement is in lieu of what is normally a ceremony in the Capitol rotunda to honor its Blue-Ribbon Champion recipients. Because of the pandemic, the organization is sponsoring a virtual month-long awareness campaign to honor the champions and generate awareness about ways individuals can work together to prevent and report child abuse.

As part of this campaign, the Pa Family Support Alliance will debut video messages and photos featuring the Department of Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller and Deputy Secretary Jonathan Rubin of the Office of Children, Youth, and Families, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Secretary of Education Noe Ortega, Second Lady Gisele Fetterman, state Sens. Judy Ward and Maria Collett, as well as state Reps. Sheryl Delozier and Pamela DeLissio.

Miller will announce in her video the Blue-Ribbon Champions recipients and will thank Stokes-Rodriguez for her steadfast commitment to supporting Harrisburg-area children.

From Penn Live, April 15, 2021