IMPACTREPORT 2023
2023 AT A GLANCE
Total Training Sessions 142 Total People Trained 5,514 Total Facilitators 40 New Facilitators Trained 7 Community Collaborations 26 Organizations Pinwheels Distributed 350 from Heal PA Total Donations 200+ Items to CSS
Outreach Impact 500+ Individuals What is Safe
is a two-part training for adults that provides basic facts on the roles in prevention. It also provides an overview of Archdiocesan reporting requirements for suspected child abuse and Pennsylvania Child Welfare Laws.
SAFE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING
Environment training? This
The OCYP is proud to say that we have been dedicated to supporting child abuse prevention for 20 years.
Since 2003, over 300 Safe Environment Coordinators have been designated in Archdiocese of Philadelphia(AOP) parishes, schools and youth serving ministries to ensure compliance with laws and policies. Within the AOP, over 150,000 adults have received training to recognize, respond to and report child abuse.
Over $27 million in education and training has been invested from the AOP since 2003.
The OCYP offers services to individuals who were child victims of sexual abuse by a representative of the Archdiocese and their family members, as well as parishioners and members of our school communities in the aftermath of sexual abuse within the church. Our professional victim advocates have a sincere commitment to the emotional and spiritual well-being of individuals who have been impacted by this crime and are here to help.
We hope to prevent future child abuse and support our community for many years to come.
Thankyoutoeveryonewhosupportsand advocatesforchildabuseprevention.
ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA STATISTICS
Total Population 1,022,718 Registered Households 355,642 Parishes 214 Priests Assigned 268 Education Programs 32,743 Sacraments, Services& Worship 35,060 Parish School Enrollment 45,072
OFFICE FOR CHILD & YOUTH PROTECTION
STAFF
Leslie Davila, Director
Rezerta Gjeci, Accounts Payable Clerk
Britney Kelly, Administrative Assistant
Kevin Kirby, Compliance Auditor
Grant May, Compliance Auditor
Judith Snyder-Rothman, Victim Associate
Hailey Stack, Prevention Education Coordinator
ARCHDIOCESE VOLUNTEERS
19,648
Volunteers within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia play a critical role in supporting child abuse prevention efforts.
Thank you to everyone who assists, supports, and advocates for child abuse prevention.
ONLINE & IN-PERSON
This year’s educational events brought together more than 500 community members across the archdiocese of Philadelphia to increase knowledge - and awareness- for our mission and the importance of promoting reconciliation, healing, accountability, and the prevention of future acts of child abuse. These events empower our community to create a brighter future for the children in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Thank you to all who participated, promoted, hosted, and supported our
A Rosary for Healing & Protection Internet Safety Webinar Blue Monday Body & Emotional Safety in Kids Children’s Advocacy Center Info Session Protecting Children & Adults with Disabilities Parents as Partners In Prevention Understanding the Spiritual Impact of Abuse in a Church Context
2023 events.
APRIL
11, 2023
“Protecting God’s Children”
Together, the Archdiocese Office for Catholic Education and the Office for Child and Youth Protection with Saint Pio Regional Catholic School came together to demonstrate our commitment to creating safe environments for our children. 315 students participated by planting pinwheels.
Let’s continue to Protect God’s Children and raise awareness for the prevention of child abuse.
In 2008, Prevent Child Abuse America® introduced the blue pinwheel as the national symbol for child abuse prevention. The pinwheel represents the great childhood that every child deserves, and the role we each play in providing a loving and supportive environment for the children in our lives.
Pinwheels donated by:
PEOPLE SERVED PROTECTING GOD’S CHILDREN
ProtectingGod’sChildrenᵗᵐ Total Facilitators 40 New Facilitators Trained 7 Total Sessions Held 142 Sessions Virtual Sessions 58 Sessions In-Person Sessions 84 Sessions
abuse
Pennsylvania
Laws.
What is Safe Environment training? This is a two-part training for adults that provides basic facts on the roles in prevention. It also provides an overview of Archdiocesan reporting requirements for suspected child
and
Child Welfare
CHILD ABUSE LESSONS FOR STUDENTS
UPDATED CURRICULUM
The Office for Child and Youth Protection are pleased to offer a complete updated edition of Kid Talk, a child abuse prevention program for children in elementary schools. The curriculums for religious education programs and high school students were updated in previous years.
This curriculum was created exclusively for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia based on input and feedback from teachers, directors of religious education programs, and professionals in the field of child protection, as well as taking a hard look at the real-world challenges facing our students.
This new curriculum recognizes the rapid pace of technological advancements and developments in today’s culture. Every year the Archdiocese of Philadelphia provides more than 100,000 children ageappropriate abuse prevention education in our schools and religious education programs.
Once the 2023 edition of Kid Talk was completed, 5 informational presentations were offered throughout the Archdiocese with 90 school staff in attendance to receive education on our free resource.
All curricula are available online:
https://childyouthprotection.org /docs/lesson/Kid-Talk-completebinder.pdf
FOR EVERYONE
AVAILABLE NOW
New trauma informed resource guides are now available online. These three resource guides offer tips and insight on the importance of being trauma informed while empowering those with the right language to encourage future prevention.
Written by Leslie Davila, the guides were created after the OCYP had given a series of presentations on the newest edition of Kid Talk, a religious educational curriculum, and had received requests to turn the presentation into a written resource.
VIEW THE GUIDES HERE:
FORTEACHERS FORPARENTS
On April 25, 2023, the Child Abuse Prevention Conference for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia took place at St. Elena Parish in Blue Bell, PA. With 80+ diocesan registrants, the conference devoted an entire day to educate Archdiocesan personnel and bring awareness to the child sexual abuse epidemic. Attendees of this event included safe environment coordinators, facilitators, office admin, principals, and clergy.
VSC Community Education Supervisor Jessica Carson presented on preventing sexual abuse of children with disabilities. Beth Tyson, from Beth Tyson Trauma Consulting, presented on Trauma Recognition and Response.
In collaboration with Beautiful Beginnings at Catholic Social Services we accepted baby wipes and diapers as donations. In total we received 200+ diapers as donation.
Heal PA generously donated pinwheels to the event that were planted to symbolize the great childhood that every child deserves, and the role we each play in providing a loving and supportive environment for the children in our lives.
OCYP PRESENTATION
The Office for children and Youth Protection were blessed with the opportunity to participate in the 2023 National Conference to Protect America’s Children as presenters on Educators' Perspectives on Policies that Protect Children in Schools. Director represented the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on a discussion panel on the topic.
Hosted by the Beau Biden Foundation, the national conference was attended by 316 professionals and hosted more than 60 presenters.
This conference gave professionals the opportunity to join forces with one another from across the country. Participants from this conference left with expert advice and new plans on preventing and responding to child abuse in communities.
This conference was geared towards...
School Personnel
Child welfare workers
Law enforcement
Youth-serving organizations
Medical and mental health professionals
Lawmakers
Attorneys
Faith leaders
Researchers
Parents
Caregivers
HISTORY OF OCYP
THE ARCHDIOCESAN INVESTMENT IN ABUSE PREVENTION AND VICTIM ASSISTANCE
The tables below demonstrate the financial commitment of over $38 million made by the AOP over the past two decades to assist survivors on their paths to healing and to support education and prevention initiatives that aim to ensure that the safety of the young people entrusted to the Church’s care.
Victim Assistance Program
FY 2002 No Data Available
FY 2003 216,866
FY 2004 210,753
FY 2005 117, 228
FY 2006 345,709
FY 2007 699,576
FY 2008 1,072,613
FY 2009 1,227,853
FY 2010 1,131,421
FY 2011 1,593,409
FY 2012 1,755,891
FY 2013 1,405,138
FY 2014 1,515,934
FY 2015 1,695,082
FY 2016 2,361,159
FY 2107 2,859,837
FY 2018 1,823,023
FY 2019 1,421,289
FY 2020 1,553,951
FY 2021 1,661,024
FY 2022 1,597,823
FY 2023 1,721766
Total 27,987,345
Safe Environment Initiatives
(Includes costs paid throughout the Archdiocese for background checks and training programs)
FY 2002 No Data Available
FY 2003 No Data Available
FY 2004 370,000
FY 2005 400,000
FY 2006 223,029
FY 2007 254,849
FY 2008 413,489
FY 2009 324,974
FY 2010 305,748
FY 2011 369,557
FY 2012 304,735
FY 2013 430,026
FY 2014 492,870
FY 2015 851,285
FY 2016 475,840
FY 2017 692,285
FY 2018 424,236
FY 2019 827,497
FY 2020 890,904
FY 2021 757,036
FY 2022 888,759
FY 2023 705,707
Total 10,402,826
OUR COMMITMENT TO
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sexual abuse affects 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys in their childhood.
It is our mission to provide support for victims of sexual abuse through reconciliation, healing, accountability, and prevention of future acts of abuse. Over 100,000 adults have received training to recognize, respond and report child abuse since 2003. Nearly 35,000 adults have received mandated reporter training. Over 100,000 children receive age-appropriate child abuse prevention education each year. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has invested over $2.4 million in education and training since 2006.
We hope that our services help community members find peace with past sexual abuse and offer empowering knowledge to prevent future abuse.
Sincerely,
LeslieJ.Davila
If you are a survivor of sexual abuse, we want you to know that the abuse was NOT YOUR FAULT. You did not cause it and you are not to blame in any way. If you would like assistance, please call us at 888.800.8780 or email us at philavac@archphila.org.
We would like to take a moment to express our sincere thanks to the following individuals for the acts of community service on behalf of the Office for Children and Youth Protection:
Candice Savarese
Facilitated 12 Protecting God’s Children Sessions
Attended all events including the Facilitator Regional Meetings and CAP Conference
Father DeLacy
Led our Rosary for the healing and protection of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. St. Helena Parish- Blue Bell
Hosting our 2023 CAP Conference
Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish; Saints Simon & Jude Parish
Hosting our 2023 Facilitator Regional Meetings
The Office for Child and Youth Protection
222 North 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
If you are or have been a victim of sexual abuse by a cleric, religious, lay employee, or volunteer of the Church, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia understands that you have been hurt by the experience and that you may have lost your trust and faith in the Church. Please consider reporting the abuse as a first step in the healing process. To report abuse, call the Office of Investigations at (888) 930-9010. We also encourage you to report the abuse to law enforcement.
If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call ChildLine at 800-932-0313. If the abuser is a representative of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, please also contact the Office Investigations at (888) 930-9010.
For more information about our services please visit www.childyouthprotection.org
