Feb. 10, 2016
HARRISBURG – Today the House voted 127 to 53 in favor of legislation authored by Rep. Marcy Toepel (R-Montgomery) to restore critical funding to child advocacy centers that Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed from the 2015-16 budget.
House Bill 1802, which passed with bipartisan support, would restore $1 million for centers across the Commonwealth.
“This funding is a public safety issue, and nothing is more important than us, as legislators, doing everything we can to insure the safety of the most vulnerable constituents we represent,” Toepel explained. “Today was a victory for them, and I am thankful to each person who voted in favor of the most innocent among us.”
Child advocacy centers provide a location for a team investigation of child abuse cases so children must only go through the harrowing experience of recounting their trauma once. A specially trained forensic interviewer conducts the conversation to maximize its usefulness for police departments and in court while minimizing the distress forced on the child.
Mission Kids is the child advocacy center serving Montgomery County. In addition to providing essential services to assist in child abuse cases, the center offers sexual abuse prevention education for parents and professionals who work with children.
“There are few things more heinous than child abuse, but eliminating funding to help the children through the assaults they have endured is despicable, as well,” Toepel said. “Getting money out to these centers was the obvious solution to the governor’s line-item veto, and we moved that forward today.”
As the bill passed in the House, it now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Representative Marcy Toepel
147th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Alison Evans
717.260.6206
aevans@pahousegop.com
RepToepel.com /
Facebook.com/RepToepel