Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a new Pennsylvania law creating a dedicated fund for the state's 41 Children's Advocacy Centers, paid for entirely by fees on convicted offenders.
Shapiro approved House Bill 2443 on Thursday, Oct. 22, making it Act 84 of 2026, according to the Pennsylvania legislative record. The law establishes the Child Victim Recovery Fund, which will charge mandatory fees to people convicted of, pleading guilty to, or entering diversion for offenses involving child victims.
The fees are $1,000 for a felony, $400 for a misdemeanor and $250 for diversion. People on probation or parole for covered offenses will also pay a $15 monthly surcharge. The fees are expected to generate between $3.6 million and $3.9 million per year, according to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), as reported by the Times Leader. The fees take effect in April.
The PCCD will distribute the money to accredited centers through a formula-based grant. Centers can use the funds for forensic interviews, medical evaluations, trauma-focused mental health services and victim advocacy, according to the law.
The legislation has local significance because the Children's Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania, which serves Lackawanna and surrounding counties, stands to receive grant funding. The center conducted more than 650 forensic interviews with children last year, the Times Leader reported.
Meghan Lennox Gagorik, the center's executive director, said the new funding will help staff focus on services rather than fundraising.
"Every bit of time that we aren't dedicating to creating funding sources, we can repurpose into building up our team better and serving our clients better, and so I mean that's really the core of why we're there," Gagorik told the Times Leader.
State Reps. Kyle Mullins, D-Lackawanna, and Jim Rigby, R-Cambria, co-sponsored the bill. Mullins said in a news release that centers have been chronically underfunded, limiting their ability to expand mental health services and manage growing caseloads, especially in rural communities.
The bill passed the state House unanimously, 203-0, on Wednesday, Oct. 21. The state Senate approved it the same day, 47-3. Senate Republicans had objected to an earlier provision that would have let judges waive fees based on a defendant's ability to pay. House Democrats agreed to drop that provision to reach a deal, the Times Leader reported.
Statewide, the centers receive about $2 million per year from birth-certificate fees, roughly $50,000 per center. An analysis by Children's Advocacy Centers of Pennsylvania found the centers collectively need $14.5 million annually from non-state sources to be fully funded, according to the Times Leader.
The centers coordinate forensic interviews, medical care, therapy and victim advocacy under one roof so children do not have to recount their experiences to multiple agencies. About 70% of referrals involve suspected sexual abuse, and the centers serve roughly 14,000 children per year statewide, according to Children's Advocacy Centers of Pennsylvania.
