Kim Marcantonio
Manager of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) Programming
Kim’s path has always led her to serve the most vulnerable…
Kim is our Manager of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) Programming. That means she leads PennCAC’s initiatives to fight child sex trafficking and other crimes involving the abuse of children for economic gain. An experienced attorney with a strong social work background and extensive experience with Children’s Advocacy Centers, Kim has always been professionally committed to serving vulnerable children and families.
Kim started her career as a social worker in Manhattan, with the New York County District Attorney’s Office. There, she assisted victims of all types of crimes but felt strongly drawn to helping victims of sexual assault and working with families. Building on this client-focused foundation, Kim transitioned to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office in New Jersey, where she coordinated the multidisciplinary team investigating sex crimes, including child abuse. In that role, Kim developed interagency protocols and ensured a collaborative response that met the needs of child victims and families. She also helped establish the first Children’s Advocacy Center in Morris County, which opened in 1994.
Helping to bring into existence the CAC in Morris County was a milestone for Kim. Since then, she’s focused exclusively on serving child victims of abuse. As a Deputy Attorney General with the New Jersey Division of Law, Kim spent the next two decades representing the Division of Child Protection and Permanency. Having worked in four counties, Kim has first-hand experience in every aspect of case procedure: complaints, motion practice, trials, hearings, client counseling, family mediation, protective service actions, guardianship actions, and appellate practice.
Relocating to the Keystone State, Kim joined PennCAC in 2022 and uses her deep knowledge of the Child Advocacy Center model to support multidisciplinary teams throughout Pennsylvania as they develop specialized response protocol for local cases involving child trafficking.
Kim has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Seton Hall University and earned her J.D. from Rutgers School of Law.
A Conversation with Kim
Did you have a defining moment that set you on your current path?
I had just started working out of college when the Glen Ridge rape case happened, not far from where I grew up. The victim was a 17-year-old with developmental disabilities. There was a lot of media attention and it was the first case of sexual assault that I heard about and followed. The public discussions around that case influenced my professional desire to help victims who were especially vulnerable.
What inspires you to work on behalf of child victims?
Not everyone can work with children directly, but if you can then I think you should. It’s funny, my sister and I both started out as social workers. Except my sister works with geriatric clients, and I was drawn to kids. She will say “I could never work with children,” and I would say the opposite, that I could never work with older people. That just goes to show how everyone is gifted differently. You find where you fit.
Did you ever find yourself doing something totally unexpected?
Yes! In 1993, I was one of six professionals selected nationally to participate on a trauma intervention team that traveled to Bosnia and worked with refugee families. I was assigned to the children’s groups, and provided crisis counseling to 1,200 victims in empty railway cars, schools, camps. It was a very unique opportunity.
Do you have a quote/saying/image that you draw inspiration from?
“Life is better when I assume that people are doing their best.“ Brene Brown
I have learned to tell myself this when I get frustrated with a client or a service provider. We’re all doing our best, including victims and agencies that are there to help victims. But access to resources can be difficult, and it’s helpful to be reminded that people are doing their best within challenging circumstances.
What is your favorite way to relax?
Spending time at the Jersey Shore. I love the water, the sand, and the boardwalks. When I was a kid my family rented a house every few years. I spent those summers running the beach, building fires, crabbing and fishing…some of my happiest memories are there!
Anything unique about you that people might not expect?
I have a pet pig named Fiona. She is house trained, yes! She has twenty different sounds that she makes, and they all mean something different. She is one of the best parts of my life!
What’s on your bucket list?
Egypt!