Congressman Fattah Announces $1 Million Grant for Philadelphia Children's Alliance

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), the leading Democratic appropriator for the U.S. Department of Justice, today announced that the Philadelphia Children's Alliance is receiving a $1,058,946 grant.

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Fattah announced the grant during tour of the Children's Alliance's newly expanded offices in Center City Philadelphia. The grant comes from the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention under the Victims of Child Abuse Act.

The Children's Alliance, which deals with child sexual abuse, has doubled its space in the new facility, increasing the number of child victims it can serve.

"The Children's Alliance can continue its excellent work in this vital and sensitive field," Fattah said. "We have an obligation to use federal as well as local resources to serve and protect these vulnerable children."

Congressman Fattah is the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce Justice Science and related agencies, which oversees funding for the Department of Justice. DOJ provides significant funding for the Children's Alliance. 

The Children's Alliance is a Child Advocacy Center that handles the forensic interviews for child sexual abuse victims and provides victim advocates to help families through this exceptionally difficult time in their lives. The Children's Alliance works closely with Philadelphia's police, human services staff and prosecutors to deliver a coordinated response to allegations of child sexual abuse.

"This funding allows the Children's Alliance to be a regional leader for other Child Advocacy Centers so they may become as robust and as strong of a program as we are here in Philadelphia," said Chris Kirchner, Philadelphia Children's Alliance Executive Director.

"In 20 years we have come a long way -- We now have the capacity to serve 100 percent of child sexual abuse victims in the city and are working to ramp up our funding and staff to be able to accommodate this," Kirchner said. "We are very grateful to Congressman Fattah for recognizing how crucial our work is for these children and their families at this difficult time in their lives. He is focused on children's well-being across the Commonwealth and is a great leader and supporter of child abuse issues."

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah