Foster Children and Human Trafficking: A Unique Risk

By Jeanie Thies, Ph.D.

America’s foster care system has long served an essential role in helping protect children from abusive or neglectful homes or for whom no responsible guardians exist. Yet formal systems of care in the U.S., which can be traced back to the mid-19 th century, have also been fraught with controversy. These institutions have undergone a number of transitions over the years. The changes and points of controversy include, among other things, the relationships between family courts and child protective service agencies; licensing and training standards for prospective foster parents; and monitoring of foster families. A current challenge is how to best address the intersection of human trafficking and foster care.

Foster care can be seen as a double-edged sword in relation to human trafficking. On one hand well-trained, nurturing foster families can play a critical role in recognizing and disrupting the human trafficking pipeline, effectively rescuing children at ongoing risk for trafficking. On the other hand, though, inadequately vetted, unscrupulous foster care providers may act as gateways to trafficking.

A 2013 report from the FBI revealed that 60% of sex trafficking victims recovered across 70 cities had spent time in either foster care or group homes, or both. This overlap is seen repeatedly in samples of trafficked children, and in fact, some estimates suggest as many as 98% of trafficked children had contact with child welfare agencies during their lives.

Not surprisingly, children who enter foster care have some of the key attributes that increase vulnerability to trafficking: history of repeat trauma, few support resources, residential instability, economic hardship, and often, mental health issues. Some of these children may be overly trusting and over-reliant on foster parents prone to exploiting them, and consequently fail to reach out to other adults for help. Conversely, children caught in a web of exploitation prior to entering care may be inherently distrustful of adults and disinclined to share their victimization experiences with foster parents who are trustworthy.

Solutions for halting the foster care-to-trafficking pipeline are complex and long-term, and mirror the remedies often proposed to reform foster care and protect vulnerable children. These run the gamut from prioritizing kinship care (when appropriate), more rigorous screening and tighter licensing protocols for prospective foster parents, using innovative technological advancements that can help track missing foster children or connect them with multiple resources should they feel endangered, strengthening legal advocacy for youth entering foster care, and keeping child welfare court records open until children reach the age of legal adulthood. More broadly, efforts to educate all professionals who work with children in any capacity – –from direct workers such as child protection, juvenile justice and court workers, to teachers, law enforcement officers, and healthcare providers — remain vital if we are to ameliorate the problem. If these persons are equipped with the necessary skills to recognize red
flags and intervene with trafficking victims, we can eventually make significant inroads into preventing further trafficking, rescuing current victims, and aiding them on the way to recovery and survivorship.

Sources:

Finding And Stopping Child Sex Trafficking : NPR
Disrupting the Foster Care to Human Trafficking Pipeline | The Center for Public Justice
Survey of Youth Currently and Formerly in Foster Care at Risk for Human Trafficking: Final Report | The Administration for Children and Families