CLEARFIELD – Among the grants awarded recently by the Clearfield County Charitable Foundation is one for the Child Advocacy Center of Clearfield County.
The CAC-CC is an ongoing project providing services and support for children who have suffered physical and or sexual abuse, according to information provided by the center.
It opened in August of 2016 after a three-year long effort to start a facility in the county.
Clearfield County has a high number of child abuse reports and is often higher than Pennsylvania as a whole.
Between 2011 and 2015, the numbers of annual child abuse reports in Clearfield County increased by more than 120 percent.
In 2017 there was another increase with a total of 373 reports with 5.6 percent substantiated, illustrating how important the CAC is to the area.
At the grand opening, District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr., who was key to establishing the center, thanked PCCD (Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency) Chairman Josh Shapiro, now Pennsylvania Attorney General, for his assistance in obtaining the grant funding for the center.
“Without the partnership of Cen-Clear and the stewardship of PCCD Chairman Josh Shapiro our community would be without this very valuable tool to fight child abuse,” Shaw said.
Prior to the establishment of the CAC, child victims and their families would have to go to either Brookville or State College.
At the CAC, victim interviews are conducted “in a child-friendly, private room by a trained interview specialist. The rest of the team observes and records the interview from another room.
This allows the team to hear the child’s disclosure and address any investigative and protective concerns at one time,” according to the CAC.
The CCCF’s grant will go to supplying educational/outreach materials, replacement toys and furnishings and provide snacks for the victims and their families.
The CCCF is a local charitable endowment that funds charities within Clearfield County allowing them to grow and benefit the local community forever.
It provides a simple way to fulfill multiple charitable interests while keeping administrative expenses to a minimum. All funds go to the local charities.
Currently the foundation has 43 different funds including many local charitable groups and 12 scholarship funds.
As of December of 2018, the foundation’s assets have a market value close to $6 million.
Contributions to any of the foundation’s endowment funds may be made at the Web site www.clearfieldcharitablefoundation.org through Paypal or can be mailed to: P.O. Box 1442, Clearfield PA 16830.
Anyone interested in starting a fund can call 814-592-7331.