Support Center for Child Advocates Newsletter


Buy Your Anniversary Benefit Reception & Auction 
Tickets Today!




Join us on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 to celebrate 40 years as a leading pro bono legal and social services agency advocating for abused and neglected children.

For our 40th Anniversary, we proudly recognize "40 for 40" - forty friends, volunteers and community leaders who make our work with children possible. Click  HERE for the list of 2017 Distinguished Advocates. Check back soon for more about each of our honorees!

Click HERE to view sponsorship opportunities. 

Board News

Congratulations! We are so proud of our Board President  Mark Gittelman (pictured on the right with Executive Director, Frank Cervone)  on his Outstanding Directors Award from Philadelphia Business Journal! You truly are outstanding, Mark!


Child Advocates is proud to announce Shelley R. Smith  has joined our Board of Directors. Shelley joins the other members of the Board as a passionate and ambitious advocate of the nation's oldest and largest pro bono legal and social services agency serving abused and neglected children.

Shelley is a Partner in the Philadelphia office of Archer Law, where she counsels clients in commercial litigation and labor and employment matters. Ms. Smith joined the firm following a distinguished career in public service for the City of Philadelphia, most recently as the longest-serving City Solicitor. Welcome, Shelley!

Click HERE to register for the 38th Annual Philadelphia  Bar Association 5K Run/Walk. TODAY is the last day to take advantage of our early bird special. Register HERE to take advantage of the $5 discount!

The Philadelphia Bar Association 5K Run/Walk attracts more than 1,300 runners and walkers each year and is one of the oldest and most respected events of its kind in the City of Philadelphia! The Run/Walk format provides the opportunity for athletes of all levels to participate in this charity event organized by the Philadelphia Bar Association to spotlight its concern for the children of Philadelphia and to benefit the Support Center for Child Advocates. Participants will enjoy fun, family-friendly activities, including the Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Kids Dash, the Caesar Rivise Team Competition, Face Painting, Balloon Animals and more!



REGISTER BY THE END OF 
TODAY AND RECEIVE... 

YOUR RACE REGISTRATION.
CLICK HERE TO ACTIVATE COUPON!


Barry Kassel, Senior Staff Attorney, speaks to attorneys at the first of a five-part brown bag lunch training series for Child Advocates Volunteer Attorneys. 

Upcoming Brown Bag Lunch Trainings:
Permanency Hearings: Thursday, March 30th
Educational Advocacy: Thursday, May 25th
Aggravated Circumstances/Child Abuse Hearings: Thursday, September 28th
Termination of Parental Rights Hearings: Thursday, November 30th

Register  HERE   for any/all of the brown bag lunches!

All sessions will be held from 12:30-1:30pm at the Support Center for Child Advocates (1617 JFK Blvd., Suite 1200, Philadelphia).  Attendees can earn 1 CLE credit or 1 CEU credit per session. Each session is free to volunteers with open cases and those who sign up to take a case on the day of the training. Attendees should plan to bring a lunch. Water, coffee, and cookies will be provided. 
 
Older Youth Matters: Tips and Strategies to Effectively Engage in Transition Planning Monday, March 13th from 2:30-4:30pm 
This training, co-sponsored by the Juvenile Law Center and the Support Center for Child Advocates, is open to anyone who practices in Dependency Court. The training will take place at Family Court of Philadelphia (1501 Arch Street, Philadelphia).

General Registration is free  ( includes option for 2.0 CEU credits).
$25.00 Nonrefundable fee for CLE 2.0 (1.5 Substantive and 0.5 Ethics) credits**
**CLE credit is free for current Child Advocates  Volunteer Attorneys with active cases**

Register HERE.

Take A Stand!
Our need for volunteer attorneys is ongoing. Our next "How to Handle a Child Abuse Case" Volunteer Training Workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, April 26th, from 9:00am-4:30pm at the Philadelphia Bar Association 11th Floor Conference Center (1101 Market Street, Philadelphia).  Register  HERE.

In This Issue
Our Press
Our Board
Board of Directors 

Mark Gittelman, President
  
Deborah Baird, Vice President 
Susan Rubinovitz, Secretary  
 
Joe DeSimone, Treasurer

Board Members
 
Jeffrey Bagley 
 
Barbara Beckman


Erica Rae Cline
 
Deborah Cohen 


Paul Finigan

Dena Goldberg

Dr. Heather Green

M. Stroud Hellebusch  
 
Rosemarie Hoslyn
The PFM Group 

Sarah Keating
Keating Consulting

Scott Lempert
  Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll
 
Janie Mershon
 
Jane Robinson
Catherine Rothenberger

James Steigerwald

Kelley Tate
 
Dr. Ilene Wasserman

Jennifer Welding
Upcoming Events
Who We Are
The Support Center for Child Advocates provides legal and social services advocacy to our most vulnerable children. It is our mission to advocate for victims of child abuse and neglect with the goal of securing safety, justice, well-being and a permanent, nurturing environment for every child.
 
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Visit us at www.SCCALaw.org

Thank You

 
 
The Support Center for Child Advocates receives a "Hope for Children" grant award from the Delaware County Community Foundation for our training series presented in their region through our Center for Excellence in Advocacy! We are so very grateful to the Trustees for their ongoing support of our initiative, through which we improve the knowledge and skills of professional and lay caregivers of children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems!


Word cannot express how grateful we are to the following funders for their support!

The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation... for our Child Victim Assistance Project!  Each year, the Foundation ranks among our top five donors -- an extraordinary and most generous contribution that has helped us improve the lives of thousands of children and youth!

Patrick and Anna M. Cudahy Fund... for our Child Victim Assistance Project, which serves children and youth who are in protective foster care and/or involved as victims in criminal proceedings!

Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation...for the production of our 2016-2017 Bi-Annual Report!

The Thomas Skelton Harrison Foundation...for one of our newest initiatives, Representing Youth Transitioning to Adulthood, through which we address the collateral legal needs of older youth who may need public benefits, transition planning, re-entry into the child welfare system under Act 91, and protection from abuse orders!

Innisfree Foundation...for supporting the work of our Law Fellow, Pam Ende, who advocates in court for the safety of our children and the services  they need to recover from physical and emotional trauma!

Philadelphia Bar Foundation...for generous and longstanding General Operating Support!

Our sincerest and most heartfelt thanks go out to these most generous foundations and their trustees for their commitment to our organization and to making life better for so many vulnerable young ones!