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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Senator John Rafferty Supports District Attorneys Association's Call to Use Penn State Endowment to Fund Children's Advocacy CentersSenator John Rafferty (R-Montgomery) today joined the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association in urging Penn State University to use the endowment established by the NCAA consent decree to provide a steady funding stream for Pennsylvania's Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs). In a letter written earlier this month to Penn State President Rodney Erickson and NCAA President Mark Emmert, the Association said that it believes supporting CACs most effectively fulfills the NCAA directive that the endowment be used to support programs preventing child sex abuse and assisting its victims. Rafferty seconded that recommendation. "As the people on the front lines of prosecuting child sexual offenders and helping victims, I believe the District Attorneys Association knows best how to use these funds most effectively to help victims and hold abusers accountable for their crimes," Rafferty said. "This endowment provides us with a perfect opportunity to fund CACs across Pennsylvania, ensuring that specialists in child abuse and prevention can prosecute criminals and help victims and their families." Rafferty said CACs provide a critical one-stop resource – allowing child sexual abuse victims to receive all the services they need, from medical examinations, to mental health counseling and health care services. They use a multidisciplinary team composed of prosecutors, police, child protective services workers, medical personnel, and mental health counselors who are specialized in child abuse prevention and treatment. "CACs also play a critical role in preventing and detecting child abuse and ensuring that child sexual abusers are prosecuted for their crimes," Rafferty said. "Unfortunately, these centers lack a dedicated funding source and depend on government contracts, grants and fundraising to operate. Providing them with endowment funds will ensure that they can help more victims and more offenders will be brought to justice."
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