Creation of Statewide Network

A private, nonprofit membership organization, PCADV is dedicated to ending domestic violence and helping battered women and their children re-establish physical, social, and economic dignity.

PCADV ensures the availability of effective and appropriate services to victims through training, program development, and monitoring of programs for compliance with federal and state requirements as well as the Coalition´s comprehensive program standards.

Since 1976, PCADV´s statewide network has grown from nine to 65 community-based domestic violence programs that offer a lifeline to safety in every county of the Commonwealth without regard to age, sex, race, religion, physical ability, sexual orientation/identity, or economic status.

These programs serve more than 100,000 victims of domestic violence each year more than one million since 1976 through intervention services that are provided free of charge and include 24 hour hotlines, crisis centers, individual and group counseling/support, shelter, assistance in filing PFA petitions, court accompaniment, children´s programs, and referrals to other community resources.

PCADV also works to eliminate the crime of domestic violence through public education and school-based programs as well as training and technical assistance to organizations, communities, and policy-makers.

PCADV advocates on behalf of battered women through the promotion of public policies and the development of legislation that strengthens their legal protections.

Since the enactment of the PFA Act in 1976, PCADV has successfully advocated for the passage of PFA Act amendments in 1978, 1988 and 1994; the Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Services FundingAct in 1982; the Spousal Sexual Assault Act in 1984; the Probable Cause Arrest Statute in 1986; child custody amendments in 1990; a marriage license fee increase to support domestic violence services in 1990; the Stalking Law in 1993; the federal Violence Against Women Act in 1994; and amendments to the Unfair Insurance Practices Act to prohibit insurers from discriminating against battered women, as well as Jen and Dave´s Law, which increases legal protections for children involved in custody cases, in 1996.