Advocates call for state child welfare office to be established by law
Advocates for child welfare reform rallied in the Capitol Monday to urge the legislature to establish a permanent child advocacy office that is not subject to the whim of a governor.
The commonwealth’s child advocate currently exists only by executive order of the governor; having the office established under law by the legislature would be “enabling it to operate continually throughout the changes in administrations,” said Rep. Christina Sappey, D-Chester County, the sponsor of a bill to do so.
The position of Child Advocate was created in 2019 as part of the Office of Advocacy and Reform, under an executive order issued by former Gov. Tom Wolf. Maryann McEvoy currently serves as both Child Advocate and the office’s executive director.
The Office of Advocacy and Reform had a staff of about nine people working on child welfare under Wolf, McEvoy said Monday, and Gov. Josh Shapiro has pledged a similar effort under his administration.
But the fact that the agency is an arm of the governor’s office means it could go away with the stroke of a pen, advocates said, and the state needs an independent office to exist statutorily in order to ensure consistency over time.
Establishing the office as a statutory entity would be a big step toward making it “a priority for our children to be seen, to be heard, and to be protected,” McEvoy said at Monday’s rally, which also highlighted Child Abuse Prevention Month.
