Recognizing and honoring Chris Kirchner on the occasion of her retirement as Executive Director at the Philadelphia Children's Alliance.

WHEREAS, Chris Kirchner holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Temple University and has been working in the field of child welfare for 36 years. Alongside her colleagues, Chris helped create the premier organization in Philadelphia for representing children and families. She represents and oversees investigations into 3,000 reports of child sexual abuse annually; and

WHEREAS, Chris is the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Children’s Alliance, known as PCA, which is a non-profit organization that allows children to tell their story while also providing forensic interviews, victim support, and counseling services; and

WHEREAS, PCA offers a team-based approach to child advocacy, by working with the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, the Philadelphia Police Special Victims Unit, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, to provide a rapid response to all children who have been sexually abused; and

WHEREAS, Chris worked tirelessly over 28 years at PCA to make sure that every child had access to protection and healing. When she first started at PCA, the facility was so small that only one child and family were able to be helped at a time. With Chris’ help, PCA moved to a bigger facility, which now serves forty to fifty children every week; and

WHEREAS, Chris helped PCA change the way abused children are served and cared for in Philadelphia, by offering a one-stop program with a coordinated investigation and all necessary follow-up services; and

WHEREAS, Chris helped PCA become a national model that not only supports children here in the City of Philadelphia but also serves other agencies by helping them create their own children’s advocacy centers. Chris oversees PCA’s federal project,

the Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center, which provides training for communities in the northeastern United States that are interested in developing or maintaining a child advocacy center; and

WHEREAS, Chris received many awards and honors for her three decades of child advocacy work ensuring protection and healing for children who have been sexually abused. Her recent honors include the 2015 Alan Lerner Child Advocacy Award from the Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice and Research, and the 2019 Rite Aid KidChamp Award, which earned PCA a $10,000 donation from the Rite Aid Foundation; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, THAT THE CITY COUNCIL OF PHILADELPHIA, Does hereby recognize, congratulate, honor and celebrate Chris Kirchner for her commitment for promoting healing and justice for victims of child sexual abuse in Philadelphia.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to the Chris Kirchner as sincere respect and admiration of this legislative body.

End