Chris Kirchner: Breaking Silence and Building Safer Futures for Children

About Chris Kirchner: Chris Kirchner, MSW, is the Executive Director of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Pennsylvania and has worked in the field of child welfare for thirty-four years. For twenty-eight of those years, she served as Executive Director of the Philadelphia Children’s Alliance, an accredited children’s advocacy center where she oversaw collaborative investigations of an average of 160 child sexual abuse cases per month. She also led a federal project funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to provide training and technical assistance to northeastern communities working to improve their response to child abuse cases. In her statewide role, Chris continues to support existing and developing programs across Pennsylvania, bringing her passion for child advocacy and her commitment to ensuring children and families receive the coordinated care and resources they need to heal after abuse.

In this episode, Ben, Jennifer, and Chris Kirchner discuss:

• The evolution and purpose of Children’s Advocacy Centers in responding to child abuse
• How multidisciplinary teams coordinate across child welfare, law enforcement, medical, and mental health providers
• Trauma-informed practices in forensic interviewing and child-centered investigations
• The growing focus on prevention, awareness, and long-term healing support for survivors

Key Takeaways:

• By videotaping forensic interviews, Children’s Advocacy Centers reduce the need for children to repeat their stories in court, sparing them retraumatization while also strengthening the integrity of evidence used in both criminal and civil proceedings.
• Extended forensic interview protocols were developed to meet the needs of children who are too fearful or hesitant to disclose abuse in one sitting, allowing trust to build gradually over multiple sessions at the child’s pace.
• Pennsylvania’s investment in CACs, supported through birth certificate fee revenue and the Penn State Sandusky settlement, has expanded access to telehealth, evidence-based mental health treatment, and prevention initiatives that would otherwise be underfunded.
• With over 10,900 children interviewed in Pennsylvania’s CACs in 2024—nearly 8,000 for sexual abuse—data underscores both the scope of abuse and the critical role CACs play in coordinating investigations and connecting survivors to long-term healing resources. 

"When there’s an allegation of sexual abuse, kids have to be interviewed by child welfare, law enforcement, prosecution, medical, mental health, and those agencies inadvertently might cause mor