POLICY ANALYSIS 16
Policy Analysis – Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act
Sara Halvorsen, Jessica Scharfenberg, Brittney King, Ashley Elwell, and Lauren Smith
MPH 525: Health Policy and Analysis
October 20, 2014
Introduction
The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act sets forth to protect at-risk children within the welfare system; specifically foster children. Foster care is a system set up to care for children after they have been removed from their caretaker’s custody or surrendered to the state by their parents (CASRE, 2013). The system places children in the home of relatives, non-relatives, or institutions in exchange for a monetary stipend. Although foster care is supposed to be a short-term placement, with hopes of reuniting the children with their family, the average length of stay in the system is two years (CASRE, 2013). As of September 30, 2013, there were 399,456 children in the United States foster care system, and over 100,000 of them were waiting to be adopted (CASRE, 2013).
Human trafficking is an illegal, criminal business that enslaves human beings for sexual servitude and forced services. The industry is the fastest growing worldwide industry, and is second in size to drug trafficking (CASRE, 2013). The size and complexity of the human trafficking arena can be attributed to the lucrative nature of the business. It does not only involve organized crime networks, but also wealthy business people, as well as husband and wife teams (Sciortino, 2013). In the state of California, 72% of victims identified were from the United States, with average age of exploitation for males being eleven to thirteen years of age, and the average age of females being twelve to fourteen years of age (CASRE, 2013).
The link between the foster care system and sex trafficking is the fulfillment of needs. Sex traffickers offer love and protection to children who lack those items in everyday life (CASRE, 2013). Many of the children within the foster care system feel abandoned and lonely. They come from homes where love and affection were not shown, and in place, abuse and hatred were. Children are enticed by traffickers that promise to fill those voids.
In 2012, Florida law enforcement arrested a network of traffickers that targeted and recruited teen girls from foster-care group homes throughout the state (Sciortino, 2013). Also in 2012, a trafficker in Orange County, California was arrested after recruiting foster children through social networking (Sciortino, 2013). This trafficker would communicate with the foster children offering them modeling careers. After he got them hooked, he would send them bus tickets to bring them to his home (Sciortino, 2013). Experts state that it takes street gangs as little as fries, a cheeseburger, and a soda, to recruit homeless girls into the trafficking rings (Sciortino, 2013).
A New York Times series, in 2009, found that many of the children taken into the trafficking industry are not even reported missing (Sciortino, 2013). Many of those not reported are runaways or children that have been lost in the foster care system, also known as throwaways. The justice department estimates that there are nearly 1.7 million run away and throwaway children each year, with only 357,600 being reported (Sciortino, 2013).
Throwaway children think that nobody cares that they are gone, and they feel unloved and unwanted. Traffickers come along and offer the children love, affection, money, and a home. The child undoubtedly accepts, not knowing they will face a life of sexual servitude and labor.
Sex trafficking legislation works towards strengthening the foster care system, which will in turn prevent foster children from being enticed into the trafficking industry. The act will work towards finding permanent families for children and supporting youth who age out of the foster care system. The welfare system is going to be held responsible for collecting data of children that were trafficked, while providing them with appropriate services. More importantly, the system will be held responsible for reporting runaway children to law enforcement. All aspects of the legislation aim towards normal lives for foster children (Preventing Sex Trafficking, n.d.).
Overview of the Legislation
Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act was signed in to law on September 29, 2014, by President Barack Obama. The bill was sponsored by Dave Camp, a representative from Michigan, and serves the purpose of attempting to prevent sex trafficking of children in foster care, as well as increase adoption rates (Preventing Sex Trafficking, n.d.). The first steps this bill takes to decrease instances of sex trafficking, center around identification of foster children who could be at risk. The following steps track and protect the at risk individuals.
Through this new piece of legislation, states are now given the option to identify and document any individual under the age of 26, whether they were a part of the foster care system or not. This allows states to have information on individuals in their state who fall under the prime age for victims of sex trafficking. The state is also now required to document all of their attempts to protect and track foster care individuals who are at risk of becoming victims of sex trafficking (Preventing Sex Trafficking, n.d.).
One way tracking is completed is by immediately reporting runaways from the foster care system. Once they are reported, the state is mandated to take every possible step to locate these individuals and return them to safety. Another requirement in this act is for states to take necessary steps to decrease the number of runaways from the foster care system. States are doing this by taking steps to build long-term relationships between the foster care children and their foster-parents, in the hopes of leading to permanent adoptions (Preventing Sex Trafficking, n.d.).
Permanent adoptions are being encouraged through adoption incentives that supplement some of the costs endured by adopting a child, such as the child losing federal funding. These incentives make adoption a less costly option, which then becomes more appealing to foster families who do not have extensive financials (Preventing Sex Trafficking, n.d.).
Runaways are being discouraged by now giving foster children more power in their own cases, based on their age, as well as better preparing 18-year-olds for leaving foster care when they reach their state’s age requirement for adulthood. Data is being collected by including sex trafficking data in the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, with hopes of identifying trends (Preventing Sex Trafficking, n.d.).
Specific provisions
In general, this act puts in place better ways to track victims, screen for potential victims, collect and share data and guarantee a safe and beneficial environment for children in the foster system, as well as make it possible for them to go into safe permanent placement. There are many specific provisions included in this act. The following is a summary of the provisions included in the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (Preventing Sex Trafficking, n.d.).
Under Title I: Protecting Children and Youth at Risk of Sex Trafficking:
Subtitle A: Identifying and Protecting Children and Youth at Risk of Sex Trafficking
The state agency has one year from enactment to show that they have developed policies and procedures for identifying, documenting, and determining appropriate services for any child or youth that the state agency has responsibility for placement; and that is at risk of being a sex trafficking victim or any individual younger than 26. They have two years from enactment to implement these policies and procedures. Reporting to law enforcement must be done no later than 24 hours after getting information on youth, who are identified as a sex trafficking victim. The total number of youth who are sex trafficking victims must be reported to the Secretary of Health and Human Services annually. This will then be reported by the Secretary to Congress and the public via the website of the Department of Health and Human Services. Sex trafficking data will be included in the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. Specific protocols will be developed and implemented for locating children missing from foster care, finding out why that child ran away or went missing, and responding to these reasons in current or future placements. Investigation will also take place as to what happened to the child while missing, including if they were a sex trafficking victim. A report will be written by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, including information on children who run away from foster care and their risk of becoming sex trafficking victims, and submitted to Congress.
Subtitle B: Improving Opportunities for Children in Foster Care and Supporting Permanency
The Secretary of Health and Human Services will provide the state with best practices; assisting foster parents to apply a parent standard to protect the child, but also allow them to have normal and beneficial experiences. An authority in each state must be established that will be in charge of standards for foster family homes and childcare institutions. Children, who will likely be in foster care until they are 18 years old, will have consistent opportunities to participate in age/developmentally-appropriate activities.
If a child is going to be placed in another planned permanent living arrangement, there must be documentation of failed efforts to have the child placed with their family. The foster care system must ask the child what they would like for a permanent outcome; have a judicial determination explanation as to why the arrangement made is the best permanency plan for the child, and show support for engaging in age appropriate activities and social events. Children fourteen years old and older will be consulted when developing changes to their plan. They can choose up to two members of the case planning team who are not foster parents (if this person is not believed to act in the best interest of the child the state may reject the chosen individual). The child will receive a document describing their rights, and it will be explained at an age-appropriate level. The child will be asked to sign an acknowledgment that this has been provided. States will also have to ensure that children have a birth certificate, social security card, health insurance information, medical records, and a driver’s license or identification card.
Subtitle C- National Advisory Committee
A national advisory committee on sex trafficking of children and youth in the United States will be established. The secretary, attorney general, and National Governors Association will appoint at most 21 members with experience and background that allows them to give a balanced point of view. At least one member will be a former sex trafficking victim and two members will be a state governor, one from both the Democratic and Republican parties. This committee will advise the Secretary and Attorney General on practical and general policies to improve the response to sex trafficking of children and youth in the United States. They will also provide best practices for states to address sex trafficking; including training material, protocols, and screening tools to aid in identifying and serving victims. The secretary and attorney general will report each state’s implementation.
Title II- Improving Adoption Incentives and Extending Family Connection Grants
Subtitle A- Improving Adoption Incentive Payments.
There is a timely adoption award for finalizing adoptions in less than 24 months. The period is increased to 36 months for time in which incentive payments are available for expenditure. Money that is saved from phasing out eligibility requirements, for adoption assistance, must be spent on providing the children services that will help sustain positive permanent outcomes for children that would end up in foster care. A child’s eligibility for kinship/guardianship assistance payments, in the event that the relative guardian were to pass away or not be able to provide care, will be preserved. Data will also be collected pertaining to a child that ends up in foster care, due to a failed adoption or legal guardianship. A parent of a sibling, who has legal custody of the sibling, must be notified when a child is removed from parental custody (Congress.gov, 2014).
Subtitle B- Extending the Family Connection Grant Program
This program allows universities to be eligible for matching grants. It calls for public and private agencies to increase their knowledge of people willing to be foster parents for youth that have their own children.
Title III- Improving International Child Support Recovery
This allows a central authority to enforce child support recovery in foreign reciprocating countries. The states can require individuals in a foreign country to apply for child support enforcement services in these countries. Past due support from federal tax refunds can also be collected if enforcement services are established (Congress.gov, 2014). Tribal access will be allowed to the federal parent locator, and an Indian tribe or tribal organization will be considered a state. The separation of a child from their parent does not end the responsibilities of the parent toward the child. This encourages making parenting time arrangements when collecting child support, benefitting parent-child relationships with appropriate safeguards. These efforts will be funded by the state with existing sources, including child support incentives, access and visitation grants, and healthy marriage promotion and responsible fatherhood grants. It also ensures that there are efficient data exchange standards for improved interoperability.