By Abigail Meharg, Attorney, Gateway Alliance against Human Trafficking Program Committee Member
The ultimate goal of the foster care system is to provide stable family environments for children and youth; foster care is meant to end once the parent or another relative can raise the child, or it is determined that the family cannot or will not care for the child. Foster care is usually divided into three categories of placement: 1) kinship care (when children in foster care are placed with their own relatives); 2) Non-kinship care (when a vetted and trained foster family that is dedicated to caring for children steps in temporarily); and 3) group care (this involves specialized homes and other institutional settings). In the United States, more than 400,000 children are in the foster care system on a given day.
Unfortunately, the foster care system is deeply flawed in a number of ways. Because this system is often underequipped to provide adequate protections for children, they can become easily accessible targets for sexual abuse. In short, the system is overwhelmed and underfunded, creating a perfect opportunity for predators to take advantage of our population’s most vulnerable individuals. In fact, it has been estimated that sixty percent of all child sex trafficking victims have histories in the child welfare system. One study even found that leaving a foster care placement was the most common pathway to experiencing sex trafficking.
Additionally, many foster care youths have had traumatic experiences in or negative interactions with the child welfare system, making these youth more likely to become runaways or homeless. Runaways are especially vulnerable to becoming victims of human trafficking, since traffickers often exploit their situation by making false promises of love, safety, and affection. These predators often take advantage of the victim’s need for necessities.
Adolescents decide to leave foster care homes for a number of reasons. Trauma often plays a significant role; when children are moved around from home to home, it creates a sense of instability. As a result, children in foster care sometimes lack the ability to form protective relationships with supportive adults, such as their foster parents, or supportive institutions, such as the child welfare system. Moreover, while child welfare systems rely on frameworks that promote safety, permanency, and wellbeing, many children in foster care find themselves in unsafe environments or unstable living situations. Trauma only exacerbates these issues, which children in the foster care system are more vulnerable to. Statistically, children who have experienced trauma or abuse are more likely to be trafficked.
Further, some youth may normalize unhealthy relationships if that is all they have ever known. Specifically, past or current sexual abuse can make children particularly vulnerable to abuse by traffickers since abuse may normalize certain sexual behaviors. Traffickers who are aware of this use it to groom at-risk youth, such as those in the foster care system, by securing their trust before exploiting them sexually or for unpaid labor. Love—or, at least, abuse masquerading as love—is a powerful weapon often utilized by traffickers.
In recognition of the vulnerability of children in the foster care system, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (PSTSFA) was passed in 2014. This act was designed to help improve the foster care system’s response to child sex trafficking; it requires state agencies to screen all children in their custody for sex trafficking, to document those numbers, and to connect these children with appropriate services. Further, under the PSTSFA, state agencies are required to report any child missing from care within twenty-four hours to both the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the FBI. Additionally, in 2015, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (JVTA) modified the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to require that child welfare agencies report, to the maximum extent practicable, the number of children who are victims of sex trafficking to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System.
Federal legislation like the PSTSFA and JVTA has established critical safeguards to better protect children in foster care from sex trafficking, but laws alone cannot eliminate the risks these vulnerable youth face. Continued vigilance, proactive screening, and strong partnerships among agencies remain essential. Just as importantly, building supportive relationships and stable environments for children in foster care can serve as powerful protective factors, reducing their vulnerability to exploitation. By combining robust policy with compassionate, community-based support, we can work toward a future where every child in foster care is safe, supported, and given the opportunity to thrive.
Sources:
Child Welfare Information Gateway. “Human trafficking and child welfare: A guide for child welfare agencies.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau. Apr. 2023, https://cwig-prod-prod-drupal-s3fs-us-east-1.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/trafficking_agencies.pdf?VersionId=AsPy7dEfBXOqjszIQysX8WXfJL4XQfmX.
“Foster Care.” The Policy Circle, https://www.thepolicycircle.org/briefs/the-failures-and-future-of-the-u-s-foster-care-system/.
Gillespie, Halley. “Child Sex Trafficking: How YOU Can Spot It.” National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 11 Jan. 2024, https://www.missingkids.org/blog/2024/child-sex-trafficking-know-the-signs.
“Responding to Human Trafficking among Children and Youth in Foster Care and Missing from Foster Care.” Administration for Children & Families, 1 Dec. 2022, https://acf.gov/archive/policy-guidance/responding-human-trafficking-among-children-and-youth-foster-care-and.
Romero, Jr., The Honorable John; Vafa, Yasmin; Frundt, Tina. The Disturbing Connection Between Foster Care and Domestic Child Sex Trafficking. National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, 11 Nov. 2019, https://www.ncjfcj.org/webcasts/the-disturbing-connection-between-foster-care-and-domestic-child-sex-trafficking/. Webinar.
United States, Congress, House. Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act. Congress.gov, https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4980. 113thCongress, House Resolution 4980, passed 29 Sep. 2014.