Child Trafficking Victims: Legal Reform to Help Assure Identification & Services by Child Welfare Agencies

1. Child Trafficking Victims:Legal Reform to Help Assure Identification & Servicesby Child Welfare Agencies Howard Davidson, J.D. Director, ABA Center on Children and the Law American Bar Association 202/662-1740 davidsonha@staff.abanet.org

2. How Can CPS Agencies Do Better in Identifying and Serving Child Trafficking Victims? • From 6/14/10 U.S. State Department Annual Trafficking in Persons Report (information in the report on the U.S.A.): “Extensive programs…also assist (the trafficked child) population, as do child protective services agencies in all states and territories…. It is not clear to what extent these programs identify andassist child trafficking victims among the children they serve (but NGOs reported that) these…agencies require training to better identify and work with trafficking victims.”

3. From Shared Hope International’sSex Trafficking Policy Recommendations Four-Point Overhaul of Child Protective Services Required • [CPS] regulations & protocols are sorely outdated and ill equipped to respond to the sex trafficking of America’s children • Nonetheless, a majority of trafficked children have had contact with CPS in some degree -- Many are current wards of the state or were in foster care or group homes at the time of their recruitment and victimization through pornography and prostitution 

4. CPS is underfunded and overstretched and desperately needs the training and resources to better protect their clients  • Each state should review their [CPS] statutes and regulations to ensure that specific protections for children who are sex trafficked are included --  Connecticut’s and Florida’s examples are models for change that other states should consider

5. Connecticut DCF Policy on Intake and Investigative Response to Human Trafficking of Children • Policy 31-10-6.1 eff. 1/13/10 (http://www.ct.gov/dcf/cwp/view.asp?a=2639&Q=453920) • Provides a “human trafficking” label for child abuse hotline reports, which generates a Critical Incident report to DCF authorities • Describes CPS investigator responsibilities in following up on a human trafficking report (to work jointly with law enforcement whenever possible), and requires consult with legal staff

6. If non-U.S. citizen involved, worker must consult with Eligibility Certification Coordinator to identify a child trafficking specialist or knowledgeable victim advocate • An NCMEC referral is required (to see if child has been reported as missing) • Policy urges caution to be sure that traffickers are not posing as parents or caretakers • For non-citizen children, ORR will be contacted to “obtain the necessary letters of eligibility and certification” for the child (these are described) as is what services non-citizen child will be eligible for • A range of appropriate placements are listed, as is the repatriation option, and elements of what should be in the child’s “case plan” are specified

7. Florida DCF Procedures on Intake and Investigative Response to Human Trafficking of Children • May 1, 2009 policy directive addresses how state hotline will handle child trafficking reports and CPS staff will handle suspected trafficking situations • Special law enforcement coordination & multidisciplinary case staffings • Describes process of getting “certification” for non-citizen child trafficking victims from HHS/ORR, and appropriate services for this population • Makes it clear that out-of-home care is available for both citizen and non-citizen child victims • Says that aid will be given for safe repatriation

8. Training on human trafficking issues has been provided to some representatives of Florida DCF through the DCF Protections of Child Victims of Human Trafficking Working Group, focused primarily on aiding foreign national victims of both labor and sex trafficking -- but some information about domestic minor sex trafficking is included • The DCF Working Group also created human trafficking training for Florida’s Abuse Hotline employees and for a mixed group of providers, including child protective investigators, community based care agencies, guardians ad litem, mental health professionals, child protection teams, child welfare services, child victim advocates, child welfare attorneys and refugee services providers • See: www.dcf.state.fl.us/initiatives/humantrafficking/

9. New York State OCF Directive on Serving Child Victims of Trafficking • Issued on 1/7/09-- www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/policies/external/ocfs_ 2009/adms/09-ocfs-adm-01 new york state anti-trafficking statute.pdf • Upon referral, local child welfare agencies “would be expected to assess the minor’s individual needs and circumstances and take the appropriate legal and/or service delivery mechanism(s) that will provide both safe haven and be responsive to the minor’s status as a victim and his/her culture” • A local child welfare agency “is required to serve” referred minor human trafficking victims • Lists potential placement options, including ORR/URM referrals

10. What Should All Child Welfare Agencies, Through Law, Policy, and Training, be Doing to Better Address Trafficking Issues Involving Immigrant Children? Twelve child measures that should be in state child welfare law and policy: • References to immigrant children, including unaccompanied immigrant minors • References to immigrant parents, documented and undocumented • References to children or families being in U.S. under refugee, asylum, or other protected immigration status

11. References to child/family’s immigration status confidentiality/non-disclosure • References to “Special Immigrant Juvenile Status” (SIJS) • References to child and protective parent eligibility for special VAWA protections • References to agency having to make contact with the child and family’s national consulate, when a child is taken into custody (Vienna Convention) • References on notice to, and possible foster care or kinship care placement of child with, relatives, documented or undocumented, in U.S. or elsewhere

12. References to child trafficking victims or child victims of serious crimes (T and U visa issues) • References to language & nationality determinations and provision of language-appropriate & culturally-appropriate services • References to process of checking on safety and suitability of possible return of child (repatriation) to another country (i.e., out-of-country home studies) • References relating to referral of immigrant children and families to legal services programs or immigration attorneys

13. Models for Intervention • Not Treating ImmigrantChild “Victims” as Offenders:U.S.-ratified Optional Protocol to CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, Art. 8 & Trafficking Victims Protection Act, Section 107 & 2005 additional language on use of special residential facilities for child trafficking victims • Providing Every Immigrant Child an Advocate for their Court Cases, ideally an Attorney: The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) requires states to provide a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL), Attorney, or Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for every child involved in an abuse or neglect related juvenile court proceeding (attorneys are appointed in all but 11-12 states)

14. Eight Suggested Principles for Law and Policy on Providing Child Welfare Services to Child Immigrant Victims of Trafficking Child immigrants victimized by abuse, neglect, or abandonment, or otherwise fleeing violence in their families, should be served by child welfare agencies as a child protection case, without constraints on agency/caseworkers providing all services/referrals the child needs that should be available to U.S. citizen children State/county child welfare agencies should be required to serve immigrant children & families regardless of immigration status, and accept prompt custody (including foster care if needed) of unaccompanied or separated children to assure child’s safety, permanency, and well-being

15. Child welfare agencies should provide culturally-sensitive support and language-appropriate services to immigrant children and families, using resources of grass roots immigrant community resources For unaccompanied/separated immigrant minors, child welfare agencies should facilitate prompt inquiries/decisions on the safety of repatriation, including -- after diligent family-finding efforts -- expeditious checks on the suitability of a child’s parents and relatives as placements for the child, both within the U.S. and in other countries

16. If a state/county child welfare agency decision is made to repatriate a child, that should only be done through close coordination with child welfare authorities in the country of return, with special attention given to the child’s safety Child welfare agency attorneys should, where appropriate, promptly institute legal actions (including juvenile court proceedings that provide the predicate for SIJS status or that find a child to be a victim of family violence or trafficking) that can help unaccompanied or separated children remain in-country, when appropriate for their safety, permanency, and well-being

17. Child welfare agencies should not institute termination of parental rights (TPR) proceedings against deported or immigration-detained parents without giving them full opportunity to be present and participate actively, through competent counsel, in such proceedings, and deportation/detention should not itself be used as a basis for TPR Child welfare agencies should promptly follow the consular notice requirements of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations as soon as it takes a foreign national child into child protective custody or institutes a state court action that could affect parental rights, but consult with counsel if doing so could subject the child or family to danger

18. Want to be more involved with child trafficking immigration issues? • Join the interdisciplinary www.americanhumane.org/protecting- children/programs/child-welfare-migration Lots of material available there on the child welfare agency-immigration issue link, including: • A Social Worker’s Toolkit for Working with Immigrant Families • Wellbeing and Immigrant Families: The Intersection of Migration and Child Welfare • Children of Immigrants in the Child Welfare System: Findings From the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being • The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on Child Welfare