1. Collaboration and Coordination
At least 24 states have legislatively created task forces, steering committees or director positions to improve stakeholder collaboration for responses to human trafficking. Many of the entities are charged with addressing trafficking generally, while at least eleven states have groups charged with addressing child trafficking specifically. Legislation assigns these groups many duties, including the authority to: study trafficking and make policy recommendations; administer, assist and coordinate the efforts of anti-trafficking stakeholders; and improve public awareness of trafficking crimes.
Maryland legislators in 2015, for example, created the “Workgroup to Study Safe Harbor Policy for Youth Victims of Human Trafficking." The group’s charges were to evaluate the needs of youth survivors, identify current available public and private survivor services and develop recommendations for new legislation, data practices and funding. In the workgroup’s December 2015 report, they issued 10 recommendations, including calling for prosecutorial immunity for youth involved in the sex trade, establishing statewide protocols for addressing runaway and missing children and expanding the state’s definition of child abuse to include sex trafficking. In 2016, legislation extended the group’s operation so they could further study legal protections and services for trafficked youth. The Commission’s final report was issued in December 2016.
Maryland’s Workgroup to Study Safe Harbor Policy for Youth Victims of Human Trafficking
Maryland’s workgroup was comprised of 24 members, including: two survivors of trafficking; state legislators; and professionals that specialize in mental health, human resources, juvenile justice, judicial operations and survivor services. Membership for many trafficking committees is similarly diverse, as the goal is draw on the experience and expertise of all anti-trafficking stakeholders.
Also in 2015, Texas legislators directed the governor to create a child sex trafficking prevention unit within the state’s criminal justice division. The unit’s directive is to assist agencies in leveraging state resources to combat child sex trafficking. Their specific duties include collecting and distributing research on child trafficking, referring survivors to rehabilitation services and developing biennial reports for making improvements to the state’s child trafficking prevention strategies. Washington has a similar group, the Missing and Exploited Children Task Force, charged with assisting law enforcement agencies with cases involving missing or exploited children. The task force also is charged with facilitating information sharing amongst law enforcement and social services agencies, as well as, maximizing the efficiency of state resources.
At least two states, Minnesota and Mississippi, have created special positions with the authority to lead their state’s anti-trafficking initiatives. In Mississippi, lawmakers created a statewide human trafficking coordinator position to evaluate their efforts to combat human trafficking. The coordinator collects trafficking data, promotes human trafficking awareness and develops rules for the use of the state’s survivor fund. In Minnesota, the legislature created a similar position, the director of child sex trafficking prevention, to lead the state’s safe harbor program.
2. Decriminalization or Diversion for Actions by Trafficked Youth
In order to prevent child survivors of trafficking from entering the justice system, states have enacted laws to provide prosecutorial immunity for certain crimes as well as opportunities for diversion to survivor services. Proponents of immunity and diversion policies contend that they keep youth from continued trauma in the justice system and prevent them from compiling criminal records that can make it difficult to pursue future housing, employment and education opportunities.
Twenty states and the District of Columbia have legislated prosecutorial immunity for trafficked youth, meaning children cannot be charged with certain statutorily specified crimes. Laws differ in that some states provide criminal immunity to every person under 18, while other states require proof that the child is a trafficking survivor. The majority of states that provide criminal immunity do so for prostitution, but some state laws also extend immunity to other crimes committed as a result of being trafficked.
Kentucky, Montana, North Dakota and Oklahoma, for example, require proof that a child is trafficked before they can benefit from criminal and/or juvenile court immunity. Kentucky provides immunity to trafficked youth for status offenses, crimes like truancy and underage drinking, if the child committed the act as a result of being trafficked. Montana’s law provides youth with immunity from prostitution, promoting prostitution and non-violent offenses if they were being trafficked at the time of the offense. Oklahoma’s law requires that any criminal charges filed against a youth be dropped if, at a preliminary hearing, it is found to be more likely than not that the youth is a victim of human trafficking or sexual abuse. In addition to prostitution, North Dakota’s law provides trafficked youth with immunity from misdemeanor forgery, misdemeanor theft, credit offenses and controlled substances crimes, if they committed the acts as a direct result of being trafficked.
Tennessee’s law, on the other hand, provides that if police determine that a person suspected of prostitution is under 18 years of age, they automatically become immune from prosecution for prostitution. Alabama also prohibits sexually exploited children from being prosecuted for prostitution. The state defines a sexually exploited child as any child who is a victim of human trafficking or any child that has engaged in prostitution.
At least 29 states and the District of Columbia provide diversion opportunities for youth. Diversion provides officials with the ability to divert trafficked youth away from the justice system to programs and services that address their underlying needs. Laws vary on which officials have the authority to divert, whether youth must first admit guilt or be charged with a crime before they can receive services and whether the child will be designated as a youth in need of services. Proponents of immunity provisions contend that diversion, specifically diversion contingent upon an admission of guilt, harms youth by treating them as an offender in the justice system rather than as a survivor of trauma.
Washington’s law, for example, provides prosecutors with the ability to divert juveniles charged with prostitution for the second time into programs that provide safe housing, chemical dependency treatment, trauma treatment, employment training and other services. Utah’s law requires police to refer children engaging in prostitution to the Department of Child and Family Services. The department is required to provide the child with services and the youth cannot be subjected to delinquency proceedings. Florida’s law similarly provides that if law enforcement has probable cause to believe that a child has been sexually exploited, they should be considered a dependent child and taken to the Division of Children and Families where they may be placed into short-term safe housing. In New York, children ages 15 and under cannot be prosecuted for prostitution. For 16- and 17-year-olds, diversion is available if, after a guilty plea, the judge, with consent of counsel, converts the youth’s charge to a person in need of supervision proceeding where the youth can receive social services.
Eighteen states and the District of Colombia provide both immunity and diversion opportunities for trafficked youth. Vermont’s law prohibits anyone under 18 from being charged in adult court for prostitution, but allows them to be considered a juvenile or referred to the Department for Children and Families for treatment. In Nebraska, the law provides prosecutorial immunity to juveniles arrested for prostitution. When police take trafficked youth into custody, they must immediately report them to the Department of Health and Human Services, which then must initiate an investigation into their needs within 24 hours.
3. Funds for Anti-Trafficking Efforts and Survivor Services
At least 25 states have created funds in their treasury to pay for anti-trafficking efforts. The funds are supported by legislative appropriations, fines and forfeited proceeds from trafficking crimes. Funding is used for many purposes, including to arrest and prosecute child sex traffickers, to provide services to survivors and at-risk youth, and to fund training for state personnel. At least 6 states have funds created specifically to address anti-child trafficking efforts while many others have funds that apply to all trafficking activity.
For example, California’s law distributes 50 percent of forfeited funds from trafficking crimes to the Victim- Witness Assistance Fund and the other 50 percent to the agency administering the forfeiture. During each of the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 fiscal years, California appropriated $256,500 from the Victim-Witness Assistance Fund, and $200,000 in federal VOCA dollars, to services for sex trafficked youth. The funds helped to provide 120 child trafficking survivors with in-person crisis intervention services, 67 with counseling sessions and 120 with support and referral services. California’s budget also allocated $10 million for the human trafficking victim assistance program (fiscal year 2016/2017), $250,000 for the minor victims of human trafficking program (fiscal year 2015/2016), which provides support to community-based organizations for comprehensive treatment and referral services to minor victims of human trafficking, and just over $1 million for the human trafficking advocate program (fiscal year 2015/2016). The advocate program reported that previous funds (fiscal year 2014/2015) were used to hire 26 victim/witness advocates to assist in providing direct services to human trafficking victims and that, as a result, 399 victims of sex and/or labor trafficking were identified.
In Minnesota, fines for trafficking crimes are distributed to the Safe Harbor for Youth Account. The state reported that between 2012 and 2015, a total of $63,217 was transferred to the account. In addition to these funds, in 2016 Minnesota appropriated $820,000 for grants to state and local units of government to support new or existing multijurisdictional entities to investigate, provide technical assistance for and train law enforcement on sex trafficking crimes. Minnesota also appropriated $800,000 per year for fiscal years 2016 and 2017 to fund emergency shelters, transitional housing and long-term housing beds for sexually exploited youth and youth at risk of sexual exploitation. Furthermore, the state appropriated $700,000 per year for fiscal years 2016 and 2017 for the continued operation of the state’s safe harbor program. The money will be used for general operating costs, to train professionals who engage with exploited or at-risk youth, and for implementing statewide protocols and best practices. Overall, since 2011 Minnesota has invested over $8 million dollars into their safe harbor program.
About the Crime Victims Fund
The federal Crime Victims Fund, established by the Victims of Crime Act, assists victim service providers with funding. According to OVC, the fund is financed by fines and penalties paid by convicted federal offenders.
Louisiana established the Exploited Children’s Special Fund, which is financed by legislative appropriation. The law enables the fund to pay for services and treatment administered by the Department of Children and Family Services including residential housing, health services, and social services. Funds can also be used to develop child trafficking training for law enforcement and to provide grants to other service providers.
Illinois similarly created the Specialized Services for Survivors of Human Trafficking Fund to make grants to nongovernmental organizations for the purpose of providing specialized trauma-informed services associated with prostitution and human trafficking. Priority services include community based drop-in centers, emergency housing, and long-term safe homes. State officials are required to consult with prostitution and human trafficking advocates, survivors, and service providers to identify priority service needs in their respective communities. In 2016, Illinois lawmakers appropriated $100,000 into the fund.
Montana created a human trafficking education account in the state special revenue fund for the purpose of preventing and detecting human trafficking. Funds are used by the Department of Justice to raise awareness about human trafficking and to educate the public and law enforcement on how to prevent and detect human trafficking in the state.
4. Provision of Services to Youth Survivors
State laws may also set requirements for the types of services that child survivors of trafficking receive. Providing treatment to trafficked youth can be challenging, because they may be in need of diverse services including housing, mental health, medical treatment and substance abuse.
Texas law, for example, requires the governor to create a program that provides comprehensive, individualized rehabilitation and treatment services to child sex trafficking survivors. Each victim is provided a caseworker who coordinates with local service providers to create a customized package of services to fit the victim’s immediate and long-term rehabilitation and treatment needs. Services provided under the program must address all aspects of medical, psychiatric, psychological, safety and housing needs. Texas estimates that operating the program will cost $2 million in general revenue each year through 2020.
In 2016, Alabama enacted a law requiring all social and community services to be made available to child trafficking survivors. Services can include forensic evidence collection, counseling, shelter, substance abuse treatment, medical and mental health treatment and legal and education services. Michigan law requires agencies currently supervising a child to give special attention to information that may indicate they are a trafficking survivor. If the child is a trafficking survivor then the supervising agency shall place the child in a setting that provides mental health services, counseling, or other specialized services that are necessary.
In 2013, Minnesota began funding the “No Wrong Door initiative,” providing services to sexually exploited youth for many different trafficking related issues, including homelessness, domestic violence and sexual assault. They also established additional services focusing on trauma-informed care and culturally specific services and housing.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, No Wrong Door is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and multi-state agency approach to serving trafficked youth. It ensures communities across Minnesota have the knowledge, skills and resources to effectively identify sexually exploited and at-risk youth. Youth are provided with victim-centered trauma-informed services and safe housing. In 2016, Minnesota lawmakers raised the upper age of eligibility for services under No Wrong Door from 18 to 24.
5. Increased Penalties for Child Traffickers
Every state has criminal penalties for traffickers, and at least 44 of them have increased penalties for those who commit these crimes, or related offenses, against children. For example, in Pennsylvania, the trafficking of adults is a second degree felony, while the trafficking of minors is a first degree felony. Under Mississippi law, it is a misdemeanor to solicit a prostitute, but if the person solicited is under 18, then the solicitation is a felony. Delaware raises labor trafficking from a class C to a class B felony when committed against a minor.
Nevada lawmakers in 2015 created graduated penalties for soliciting a child for prostitution. For a first offense, a person soliciting or buying sex from a child is guilty of a category E felony and a fine of up to $5,000. For a second offense, they are guilty of a category D felony (one to four years and $5,000 fine), and for a third offense, the punishment is a class C felony (one to five years; up to $10,000 fine). The court is also prohibited from granting probation or suspending the sentence of a sex solicitor, which would normally be available for a Class E felony. Massachusetts law makes labor trafficking punishable by between 5 and 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000. If the person being labor trafficked is under 18 years of age, the punishment can be life in prison.
Nebraska law makes sex and labor trafficking of a minor a class IIA felony (20-year maximum sentence), unless the trafficker uses overt force or the threat of force or the minor is 15 years of age or younger. Then the penalty is a class II felony (50-year maximum sentence, one-year minimum). When adults are trafficked, the penalty is a class III felony, or a class IIA felony if force is used.
In California, trafficking an individual for labor or sexual servitude is a felony punishable by imprisonment between 10 and 20 years and a fine of up to $100,000. If the crime is committed against a child, who was also coerced or deceived into being trafficked, then the offender must be imprisoned between 25 and 50 years, but the fine remains the same.
6. Training to Recognize and Respond to Trafficking Crimes
To better identify and respond to human trafficking survivors and situations, legislation has created training programs and requirements for various state personnel. At least 38 states and the District of Columbia have enacted trafficking laws with training requirements and 15 of those states and D.C. specifically address training regarding the trafficking of children. Training laws implemented by states have specified who must be trained, who must be involved in the development of training programs, appropriate coursework, risk assessment indicators for victim identification and collaboration standards between state agencies.
The District of Columbia requires all law enforcement officers, case managers and social workers in the District to receive a minimum of four hours training on human trafficking. The training must address the legal protections and services available to survivors, as well as the legal duties that police, social workers and case managers have in trafficking cases. The training also must include survivor identification techniques and instruction on the specific needs of trafficked youth. To develop the training, District personnel are required to consult with community organizations that conduct trafficking training or that provide survivor services.
Connecticut law enables the Commissioner of Children and Families to provide training to law enforcement officials regarding child trafficking. The training must address child trafficking laws, methods to identify survivors, and the availability of specific child services. In 2016, Connecticut also became the sixth state to require trafficking training for members of private industry. Effective Oct. 1, 2016, the owner of each hotel or lodging service is required to provide all employees with an educational training program and refresher course on the identification and reporting of suspected human trafficking situations. In California, when police officers come into contact with a child that has engaged in a commercial sex act, the officer is required to assess numerous factors to determine if indications of trafficking are present. Signs officers must look for include: trauma, fatigue or injury; fear to speak; living and working in the same place and debt bondage.
Washington law requires the office of crime victim’s advocacy to establish a statewide human trafficking training program for criminal justice personnel, including police, prosecutors, and court officials. The training must cover Washington’s anti-trafficking laws and investigation methods for sex trafficking cases. The training must be designed to encourage interdisciplinary coordination, build cultural competency and develop an understanding of diverse victim populations. The crime victim’s advocacy office is required to provide a biennial report to the legislature on the effectiveness of the statewide training program. Washington law recently added a similar training requirement for physicians, with specific instruction on recognizing trafficked youth.
Policy Effectiveness and Process Evaluations for Safe Harbor Laws
In November 2015, a National Institute of Justice funded report, “Identifying Effective Counter-Trafficking Programs and Practices in the U.S.,” was released, detailing the effect different state policy choices had on trafficking arrests and prosecutions.
Findings from the study identified benefits related to several safe harbor provisions. The report stated that the creation of task forces was the policy with the strongest overall link to successful state trafficking prosecutions. The report also noted that granting prosecutorial immunity to minors benefited prosecutions. Authors speculated that minors may be more likely to cooperate in investigations given safe harbor guarantees.
Another important prosecutorial tool identified by the study is granting survivors a civil cause of action, or other means of financial recovery, against their traffickers. While not considered an aspect of safe harbor, these provisions similarly facilitated survivor cooperation with investigations. The report also stated that research on the impact of trafficking policies had previously been sparse given that many of the enactments and implementation efforts have been recent.
Additional national research, supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, is underway to evaluate safe harbor laws. Research conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health will specifically focus on analyzing how safe harbor laws have affected arrests for sexually exploited children, affected justice outcomes for youth survivors and altered stakeholder responses to exploited youth. A separate evaluation conducted by Development Services Group, Inc. will assess both the process and impact of implementing safe harbor laws on the provision of services to victims of commercial sexual exploitation.
Research has also evaluated the services provided to child trafficking survivors and identified potential improvements. An evaluation of three service programs funded by OVC was conducted by the Research Triangle Institute. The resulting 2015 report, “Evaluation of Services for Domestic Minor Victims of Human Trafficking,” made several recommendations including:
- Improved collaboration amongst service providers.
- More extensive training for staff.
- Diversified services to target specific vulnerable groups (e.g. male and LBGTQ youth).
In addition, the authors mentioned the need for more resources and echoed the importance of treating youth as survivors of trafficking and not as criminal offenders.
At the state level, the Minnesota Legislature requires biannual reports on the status of the state’s No Wrong Door/Safe Harbor initiative. The first report was issued in 2015 and produced results and process recommendations similar to the federal evaluation of OVC sites.
Recommendations in the report included:
- Increased funding for services.
- Creation of more housing and 24-hour care options.
- Creation of services targeted at specific groups of trafficked youth.
- Training for service providers and other state personnel.
- Increased collaboration among service providers.
- Raising the age of safe harbor protections and services.
Conclusion
State legislators continue to evaluate and implement policies to address the criminal and human service challenges presented by child trafficking. Research on the effectiveness of different safe harbor approaches is in its early stages, but some positive evidence is emerging. For example, collaboration and criminal immunity for survivors are among the state policies that have been identified as having a beneficial correlation to the successful prosecution of traffickers. However, little is known about the effectiveness of specific survivor services. Research is underway to better understand the overall impact that different safe harbor policies have on outcomes for child survivors of trafficking.
Selected Resources
REPORTS
An Analysis of Safe Harbor Laws for Minor Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Implications for Pennsylvania and Other States, The Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research University of Pennsylvania, March, 2016.
Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, National District Attorney Association, March 2015.
Office for Victims of Crime Snapshot Report Data Summary From OVC’s Trafficking Information Management System (TIMS) January 1 through December 31, 2012. Department of Justice, March 2016.
Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States, Institute of Medicine and National Research Council of the National Academies, 2013.
Evaluation of Services for Domestic Minor Victims of Human Trafficking. Deborah Gibbs, Jennifer L. Hardison Walters, Alexandra Lutnick, Shari Miller, Marianne Kluckman, National Institute of Justice. January 2015.
JuST Response State System Mapping Report A Review of Current Statutes, Systems, and Services Responses to Juvenile Sex Trafficking, Shared Hope International, March 2015.
Safe Harbor First Year Evaluation Report, Julie Atella, Laura Schauben, Emma Connell. Wilder Research. September 2015.
Human Trafficking in Georgia: A Survey of Law Enforcement Assessing Georgia Law Enforcement’s Awareness of and Involvement in Human Trafficking Activity. Meredith Bailey, Jennifer Wade, May 2014.
An Analysis of Human Trafficking in Iowa January 1, 2016. Sarah Johnson, Iowa Department of Human Rights Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning Statistical Analysis Center.
Identifying Effective Counter-Trafficking Programs and Practices in the U.S.: Legislative, Legal, and Public Opinion Strategies that Work Author(s): Vanessa Bouche, Ph.D., Amy Farrell, Ph.D., Dana Wittmer, Ph.D. Document No.: 249670 Date Received: January 2016
Unsafe Harbor, Lauren Jekowsky, Human Trafficking Center. March 2014.
Jessica A. Pingleton, Finding Safe Harbor: Eliminating the Gap in Colorado’s Human Trafficking Laws, University of Colorado Law Review. 87 U. Colo. L. Rev. 257. Winter 2016.
VictimLaw, https://www.victimlaw.org/, Office of Justice Programs.