by Dennis Tivey, Communication & Outreach Coordinator
Children and youth are trafficked for sex every day in Santa Barbara County, according to the District Attorney's (DA) office. This commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a type of human trafficking: the illegal movement of people for the purposes of forced or coerced labor. January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month—an opportune time to learn more about how CSEC affects our area, and how Child Welfare Services (CWS) fits into the countywide response to the problem.
California is one of the top four human trafficking destinations in US, and the Central Coast is a natural transit corridor for trafficking between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the DA's office says.
In 2013 the DA established the county's Human Trafficking Task Force, with over 50 members including CWS, Probation, Behavioral Wellness, law enforcement, nonprofits, and faith-based organizations. In 2015, the task force secured funding from the Santa Barbara Foundation to conduct a needs assessment of CSEC in the County, looking at years 2012-14 and ages 11-18.
The study found 45 confirmed survivors of CSEC in our County, 80 more strongly suspected but unconfirmed, and over 400 at risk. Since 2015, CWS has used a screening tool (the CSE-IT) to assess children and youth in foster care placements, and to assess abuse reports, thereby identifying several more victims and dozens of children at risk of CSEC.
CSEC negatively impacts children's development and well-being. It can increase the risk of drug addiction, suicide, post-traumatic stress, depression, social isolation, teen parenthood, sexually transmitted diseases, poor school performance or absence, unemployment, and homelessness.
Risk factors for CSEC involvement include a history of abuse and/or neglect, foster care placement, running away, homelessness, and involvement with the juvenile justice system; however, involvement is not limited to children with those factors.
Traffickers prey on children and youth with low self-esteem and minimal social supports, luring them with promises of love, home, money, or protection; and then use intimidation and violence to ensure compliance. Often, teens lure other teens into "the life." Victims are groomed to think of these predators as friends, protectors or providers, making it psychologically difficult to leave. They may be moved frequently from city to city, preventing victims from forming local connections outside the trafficking ring.
CSEC prevention strategies include educating high-risk populations on healthy relationship building, sexual health, internet safety, and reducing vulnerability to intimate partner violence; as well as targeting buyers and pimps.
Efforts to fight human trafficking in our county are numerous, collaborative and strong.
The Human Trafficking Task Force continues to serve as a venue for members to network and receive training, and to develop strategy and collaborative services.
The Interagency Protocol Workgroup, led by CWS, sets forth agency roles and responsibilities for identification and assessment, first responder and crisis intervention, and ongoing service provision through a multi-disciplinary team approach.
The RISE (Resiliency Interventions for Sexual Exploitation) program, implemented by Behavioral Wellness, provides trauma-informed crisis intervention, comprehensive and inclusive treatment planning and development, and bio-psycho-social treatment for victims. RISE program staff also provide education, training, and outreach to both agency providers and the community.
The HART Court (Helping Achieve Resiliency Treatment) is a treatment-focused program for youth who have been arrested and found to have engaged in prostitution, who have disclosed commercial sexual exploitation after arrest on other charges, or who are highly suspected to be victims of sex trafficking. This collaborative, multi-agency initiative was spearheaded by the DA's office and is held biweekly at Santa Maria Juvenile Court. So far, eight young people have graduated from the HART Court and 16 are going through the process.
The Sheriff and the DA's Victim Witness program work closely together to fight CSEC. The law enforcement side investigates and identifies victims, traffickers, and buyers. The victim-witness side, together with service providers, reaches out to victims to offer services and break the cycle of abuse. In 2016, Santa Barbara County was awarded a three-year $1.34 million Department of Justice grant, shared between the two. Funding is being used to provide a full-time human trafficking investigator at the Sheriff's office, and a specialized victim assistance advocate in the DA's office, and to improve data collection and sharing among Task Force members to enable data-driven system improvements.
CSEC and other forms of human trafficking present complicated problems requiring coordinated solutions. Santa Barbara County's multi-agency response—including law enforcement, Child Welfare, community agencies and more—can serve as a model for jurisdictions grappling with these issues.