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As a child, Cathleen Palm spoke up about the sexual abuse she experienced. But she was dismissed rather than supported.
That indifferent response stuck with Palm, and for 30 years, she’s fought to make sure abused Pennsylvania kids get the attention and help she didn’t.
In 2003, Palm founded the Center for Children’s Justice, a Berks County nonprofit that advocates for policies to protect Pennsylvania youth from abuse.
That work earned her a nomination for our PA Local Heroes series, sponsored by Ballard Spahr.
The organization started in 2002 as the Protect Our Children Committee, a political action committee that sought to change a Pennsylvania law that allowed accused people to confront witnesses in court. The PAC argued this could endanger children who testified.
At the time, courts did not allow video testimony or for a child witness to be in a room next door.
The PAC helped change that, throwing their support behind a proposal to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution. The amendment was eventually approved by voters, so now children that are abused or witness a violent crime have testimony options beyond appearing in court.
After the PAC’s success, the group decided to form the Center for Children’s Justice and stay in the fight.
Palm is known for doggedly holding public officials and agencies accountable.
“She's the constant advocate,” said pediatrician Frank Maffei. He praised “her ability to sort of track and follow where we are in our response to what is essentially a silent epidemic, not only across the commonwealth but the country, and that's child abuse. She's relentless.”
The two met in 2019 when an interdisciplinary group was convened to discuss how Pennsylvania’s child protection efforts could be improved.
Palm speaks often with experts like Maffei, as well as child welfare workers and providers, judges, and reporters. She sees herself as a bridge between families, the people working inside and monitoring the child welfare system, and state agencies and lawmakers.
In the past, Palm has spoken with Spotlight PA for stories on the state government’s oversight of child welfare, which she often argues is lacking. That watchdog work is essential, she argues.
“Our role is just to help make sure the spokes stay connected on the wheel,” Palm said.
Palm said her work is proactive as much as responsive. She doesn’t just advocate for victims after the abuse but also encourages honest investigations of how it happened. Probing circumstances such as parents’ mental health, substance use, and access to resources are as important as holding them accountable, she thinks.
Maffei said Palm’s comprehensive approach to child protection also benefits clinicians. She keeps him and other providers up to date on things like what counties have rising child abuse reports and the status of legislation that might affect kids — even on issues that might not seem directly related, such as bills proposing to legalize recreational marijuana.
“She looks at all these things through a very consistent lens that is always [asking] ‘Are children being protected?’ — whether it be from abusers or from perhaps legislation that is going to remove resources,” Maffei said.
Palm said she tells people that the Center for Children’s Justice is broke, so they owe no allegiance to anyone other than the kids and families they fight for in Harrisburg. That lets them make noise and ask hard questions without fear of losing funding or support.
“I want every child who today is being physically or sexually harmed in their own home, in their school, in their little league games, whatever, I want them to understand … there's life beyond the moment you're living there,” Palm said.
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