Page 8 - ODJFS Human Trafficking Response Summary 2017-2018

From quarter to quarter around 75% percent of youth served identified as White (non-Hispanic/Latino), 18% Black/African American, 10% Mixed Race/Ethnicity, and 8% Hispanic/Latino. The disproportionality within this service population must be investigated further. Among possible contributors to the disparity are differential responses to youth by professional points of contact on the basis of race. The other factor may be related to a lack of culturally reflective care environments and insufficient resources for non-english speaking youth.
High-Risk Factor Composite Profile:
Accounting for natural quarterly variances in indicated risk-factors across cases, certain general interpretations can made (Fig. 5). Of the factors most commonly exploited by traffickers and therefore the most indicative trafficking risk are a history of child sexual abuse, non-consensual labor, and CPS involvement - with CPS involvement incapsulating a number of identified historical risk-factors including home/family instability and the abuse itself. Secondary indicators of significance include truancy, juvenile court involvement, posting pictures and meeting
others online - which are present in nearly half of all cases. Other common vulnerabilities are present in a third of all cases including mental health needs and drug use. The intersectionality of these factors should also be considered. in particular, individuals with untreated mental health challenges may be inclined at the individual-level towards patterns of self- medication. Qualitative discussion and prior clinical work experience may indicate that while drug use may not be a significant predictor of initial trafficking, vulnerabilities present due to mental health status and the use of drugs to control youth by traffickers may be predictive of potential re-trafficking risk. Further investigation is needed in the coming year, with focus given to partnerships with addiction specialists for such potential cases. Lastly, as more data is gathered certain indicators with higher than expected variance may see dominant trends emerge. Of particular interest will be homelessness and runaway behaviors which have varied in prevalence between 6% to 50%.
Services Provided:
The vast majority of youth referred for services through CACs receive forensic interviews, victim advocacy, and case tracking. Additional service provisions emphasize stabilization and trauma recovery. As such, approximately 3 out of every 4 children will receive a medical screening, a trauma screening, and subsequent mental health treatment. Some consistent areas for further development include abuse assessment for those not referred for forensic interview, substance abuse treatment, faith-based care, and stable housing referrals. Many of these low frequency services depend on partnerships and resources in the local community. Efforts will continue over the next year to further develop such services in conjunction with other transition-age care including employment and education based stabilization services.
Lessons learned and Recommendations:
Safe Harbor Implementation:
The majority of CACs work with their local coalitions or task forces reporting that in 90% of all cases CPS/JFS/CSB were actively involved. Similar findings were found for local law enforcement or the sheriff’s department. While collective engagement with law enforcement is present in the majority of cases, Safe Harbor Laws are not implemented in over half of all cases. This occurs largely due to disproportionate responses to youth over 16 years of age and the lack of adequate housing or trained foster care. Thus youth are commonly remanded - largely in counties which do not have safe harbor diversion courts - to juvenile justice facilities. However, these centers offer little or no additional safety and may be contributors to secondary peer recruitment. It is recommended that training be developed
Fig.5