The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute (PDAI), and the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Pennsylvania (PennCAC)  jointly announced the updated release of the Model Set of Standards for Pennsylvania’s Multidisciplinary Investigative Teams (MDITs). The standards provide counties with standardized guidance and best practices on how to investigate child abuse cases, and an accompanying webinar, “Introduction to MDITs,” which can be found on PDAI’s website.

Per the Child Protective Services Law, each county is required to form an MDIT, which is a group of professionals, convened by a district attorney, who work together in a coordinated and collaborative way to investigate child abuse cases. The goal of the MDIT is to work together during a child abuse investigation to avoid duplication of fact-finding efforts and interviews and to minimize the trauma to the child.  

The original set of Model Standards was developed in 2013, just prior to the passage of several major changes to Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law.  The revised Model Standards reflect the amendments that were made to the law and include more references to in-state resources available to assist in the development of the MDIT and its protocols in the handling of child abuse cases.  

The webinar accompanying the release of the Model Standards is designed to provide a high-level overview of what an MDIT is, the role it plays, and the duties and responsibilities each of its members perform.  It is intended to be used to introduce and educate new team members to the MDIT model and process.

“The investigation of child abuse is very much a team effort,” PCCD Executive Director Mike Pennington said.  “As such, PCCD is very thankful for PDAI’s educational efforts over the years to support these teams – particularly the development of the “Introduction to MDITs” webinar and the hosting of the multiple MDIT symposiums held across the Commonwealth.  Collectively, we believe these efforts will ultimately result in minimizing trauma to children and bringing more perpetrators of child abuse to justice.”

“The importance of professional collaboration when responding to a report of suspected child abuse cannot be overstated,” PennCAC Executive Director Chris Kirchner said.  “These resources will assist counties to create and maintain a coordinated response that puts the needs of the child first, and ensure that law enforcement, child welfare, prosecution, and medical professionals are collaborating throughout the life of a case. These Standards encourage development and use of a Children’s Advocacy Center to support a team response, which by national best practice should also include a child-friendly facility, victim advocacy, forensic interviews, therapeutic services, and case coordination. PennCAC is available to assist counties as they strive to bring an evidence-based, trauma-informed, and collaborative response to protect the children in their communities.”

Both the webinar and symposiums were financially supported through Federal Children’s Justice Act funding made available by the PA Department of Human Services (DHS).  More information about PCCD’s efforts to address child abuse can be found on its Children’s Advocacy Center Advisory Committee (CACAC) webpage.  More information about PDAI and its educational offerings can be found on the Institute’s website.  More information about PennCAC and the technical assistance it provides to MDITs and CACs throughout Pennsylvania can be found on its website as well.

Following state Rep. Joe Ciresi’s Capitol press conference on charter school accountability reform, Governor Tom Wolf applauded the legislators for their commitment and repeated his call for the General Assembly to pass the fair and bipartisan plan to improve charter schools in Pennsylvania.

The governor and legislators unveiled a plan last year that protects students by holding low performing charter schools accountable, protects taxpayers by reining in skyrocketing charter school costs and improves the public trust by increasing transparency of for-profit companies that manage some charter schools.

According to the governor, “Every student needs an education that prepares them for success in life, which is why charter schools should be focused on students – not profits. This is not about cutting funding. This is about ensuring taxpayers are not overpaying charter schools and draining money from traditional public school classrooms. We must ensure that every school, both charter and traditional, has the resources to give students the education they need.”

As per a subsequent press release, uncontrolled charter school costs are causing public school district program cuts and property tax increases. Charter schools have little public oversight and no publicly elected school board, despite being funded by taxpayers.

The governor’s bipartisan proposal would make the following improvements:
-Protect taxpayers by modernizing how Pennsylvania funds charter schools to match actual costs rather than forcing school districts to overpay.
-Protect students by creating charter school performance standards that hold low-performing charter schools accountable.
-Protect the public trust by requiring charter schools to have policies to prevent nepotism and conflicts of interest, so leaders do not use charter schools for their own financial benefit. Charter schools and their leaders would follow requirements of the State Ethics Commission since they are public officials.

The release also states that real school choice means quality learning. While some charter schools provide a great education, many charters, especially cyber charter schools, have poor educational outcomes. A 2019 Stanford University report found overwhelming negative results from Pennsylvania’s cyber schools and urged state reform.

In addition to supporting charter school reform legislation sponsored by Rep. Ciresi and other legislators, the governor’s administration has proposed six new regulations for charter schools to help provide much-needed consistency, transparency, and accountability, while preserving school choice.

To view the press release by clicking here.