2023 San Diego Foster Youth Education Summit – Promises 2 Kids

This year’s theme, “You Are Not Alone in Helping our Most Vulnerable Population. Leverage Community Resources”, welcomes K-12 educators and school administration, social workers, education advocates, attorneys, CASA’s and others responsible of the education of foster children K-12, to come together to learn how we, as a community, can ensure foster youth are not only reaching educational milestones, but also thriving with the support from educators, community members, mentors, and those they trust and rely on. Event will be held in person at Hotel Circle on February 27, 2023 9:30 AM – 2:45 PM PST

Register for free here

Preventing Teen Dating Violence in Schools by Teen Leaders for Schools

This February for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Teen leaders will be addressing questions and sharing insights about today’s teen dating violence (TDV). How can adults and school staff better support teens? How TDV affects teens? How TDV happens online? Join us to learn more.

Register here

Youth Transitioning out of Foster Care to See Increased Support – County News Center

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to accept recommendations from Child Welfare Services (CWS) to increase funding to support foster youth for up to three years as they transition out of care. The vote provided $2.7 million in state funding over the next three fiscal years for housing and wraparound services for young adults 18 to 25 years old.

Access details here

San Diego County Partners with City to Open New Homeless Shelter at Old Central Library

The shelter will be operated by NAMI, the National Alliance for Mental Illness, and provide case management, access to social services and housing support. It will be open through the night for any female who shows up at the door requesting a bed, regardless of the hour.

Learn details here

Out-of-the-Shadows Human Trafficking Awareness – San Diego Public Library and the San Diego Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition

Join us for an important presentation on Human Trafficking Awareness. Please come and learn the facts about Sex- Trafficking and its victims, and how you can help to identify signs and to bring awareness to this crisis. 5:30 pm – Pizza and refreshments, 6:00 -7:00 pm – Presentation and Q. & A. For ages 16 and up. For youth under 18 years old, please bring a parent or guardian. March 21, 5:30 at the Tierrasanta Branch Library: 4985 La Cuenta. No registration is required.

Film Screening: “Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic”

Please join the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and SDPD for a film screening of Maria Demeshkina Peek’s, “Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic,” on Thursday, February 23, 2023, at 6:00 p.m., at the Rock Church, Pt. Loma Campus.  A Panel Discussion will follow the film. Anyone interested in learning more about sextortion. Families are welcome to attend.  Youth are encouraged to be in 6th – 12th grade and accompanied by an adult.

Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic tells the story of an investigation into the world of online grooming and sextortion–a present-day reality for one in seven children online. By unsealing the federal case of a top-gun pilot with hundreds of victims, and interviewing survivors and their parents, this true-crime piece exposes an often-overlooked crime against children, the tactics of online predators, and the voices of parents and law enforcement poised to stop online child exploitation in its tracks.

Register for the event here

Institute on Violence and Trauma (IVAT) Career Opportunities in San Diego

Join the IVAT team and help us support survivors of trauma and abuse and build violence-free communities. We are currently looking to fill the following positions: Forensic Psychologist, Post Doctorate Fellowships, and Clinical and Forensic Internship and Practicum Positions in San Diego.

Job descriptions and applications here

San Diego County County Awards $29 Million for Affordable, Supportive Housing Units

The notice of funding availability was made in July of 2022 and awards are now complete. More than 600 units of affordable and permanent supportive housing will be made available for low and extremely low-income people and their families.

Project and awardee details here

STAT! Salutes our Mission Heroes Event

STAT! Soroptimists Together Against Trafficking invites all to join them as they salute people and organizations that are making a difference in the fight against human trafficking. These people and organizations have stepped forward and found unique ways to help victims, reduce demand, and raise awareness about modern-day slavery. Space is limited, early registration is encouraged. The event will be held on Friday, March 3, 2023 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Registration details here

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Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) FY 2023 Anti-Trafficking Funding Opportunities Overview

Join OVC’s Human Trafficking Division for a webinar that will provide an overview of the office and planned FY 2023 anti-trafficking funding opportunities offering direct services, multidisciplinary task forces, youth-focused initiatives, a fellowship, and training and technical assistance. During the webinar, OVC will provide high-level information about nine planned anti-trafficking funding opportunities and eligibility. Participants will learn about resources and tools to help successfully prepare in advance of the release of this year’s anti-trafficking grant solicitations. The event will conclude with a brief question and answer session.

Access registration information here

National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s (NCOSE) Law Enforcement Training Aims to Create Accountability for Sex Buyers 

NCOSE’s Equipping Law Enforcement to End Trafficking (ELEET) Initiative includes a session that is designed to equip and empower law enforcement to combat sex buying. This section of the ELEET training shares the latest hard data on sex buyers and how sex buyers contribute to other crimes, reviews a 15-point typology of demand reduction tactics used by law enforcement highlights current efforts across the country to combat sex buying and helps law enforcement overcome challenges in carrying out enforcement activities.

Access resource here

Eyes on the Future: Survivor-Partnered Research in the National Survivor Study – Polaris

The findings of the National Survivor Study (NSS) tell the story of survivors after they exit their exploitation – and it’s the first time this story is being told at this depth and scale. What led us here was not a regimented and narrow research goal. Instead, it was humility, flexibility, and the willingness to step back, listen, and let a diverse group of survivors lead.

Access study here

Administration for Children & Families Assistant Secretary Visits National Human Trafficking Hotline to Recognize Achievements and Explore Opportunities for Growth 

Earlier this month, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families January Contreras visited the National Human Trafficking Hotline Visit disclaimer page (Hotline) in recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Visit the disclaimer page Assistant Secretary Contreras observed operations firsthand to better understand the Hotline’s operational scope, successes and challenges, and local and national partnerships with ACF programs and other services and crisis intervention hotlines.

Read press release here

Agency Self-Assessment Tool for Law Enforcement Victim Support – COPS Office Resource Center 

Victim-centered, trauma-informed approaches to crime can support victim recovery and engagement with the criminal justice system. These approaches enhance victim and community safety while helping law enforcement solve and prevent crime. The Agency Self-Assessment Tool for Law Enforcement Victim Support is designed to assist law enforcement agencies in reviewing practices related to victim response – specifically the integration of victim-centered, trauma-informed practices into the overall operating philosophy and culture of the agency – through reviews of policy and practices and interviews with sworn and professional staff.

Access training resources here

New SchoolSafety.gov Child Exploitation Resource Page

Schools are uniquely positioned to support students facing exploitation. Because of the regular interaction between educators and students, school personnel can help identify and report suspected cases of trafficking and exploitation and connect affected students to critical services. The new page features information from government agencies as well as non-profit organizations and outlines ways members of the K-12 school community can help identify, prevent, and respond to the victimization of students.

Access the resource page here

National Human Trafficking Prevention Month: Resources for School-Based Professionals – Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) 

School-based professionals have a critical role in preventing and responding to human trafficking among students. Educators and other staff are uniquely positioned to identify the barriers that students from underserved communities may be experiencing and to recognize situations or changes in student behavior that may indicate human trafficking or increased risk for human trafficking. Because they interact with students many hours a day and for many years, school-based professionals can help identify and report suspected trafficking and connect affected students to critical services. Access tailored resources that will prepare school-based professionals to detect and reduce their students’ risk for experiencing human trafficking.

Access OTIP announcement here 

Ukrainian Public Service Announcement (PSA) Video co-created by HEAL on Protecting Migrants from Exploitation

Check out this Public Service Announcement (PSA) in Ukrainian, co-created by HEAL Trafficking, aimed at protecting migrants from exploitation. This PSA, sponsored by the International Organization For Migration (IOM), provides a quick snapshot of the steps migrants should take while traveling to avoid being trafficked. It also serves as an excellent educational tool for health care, public health, and anti-trafficking organizations and workers on the front lines of trafficking.

Watch the Ukrainian PSA video here

8 Ways the Wage and Hour Division is Combating Human Trafficking – U.S. Department of Labor Blog 

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is a committed partner in implementing the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking. Here are eight important actions the Wage and Hour Division is taking on this critical effort. First, it focuses on preventing human trafficking from happening in the first place. Second, they direct efforts toward the protection of human trafficking victims. Lastly, they detect and refer cases to federal partners who investigate and prosecute trafficking.

Read blog here

Justice Department Observes National Human Trafficking Prevention Month 

The Justice Department commemorated National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and renewed its commitment to investigating and prosecuting human traffickers, protecting victims, and preventing human trafficking from happening in the first place. The Justice Department recognizes this work is done in collaboration with interagency partners and external stakeholders.

Read press release here

Identifying and Securing Funding for Victim Response Efforts – COPS Office Resource Center 

Effective victim response requires multilayered strategies to meet crime victims’ individual needs. To carry out these strategies, law enforcement agencies and their partners must identify and secure appropriate funding. Funding ensures that victim response and services are consistent, available when needed, and sustainable; by strengthening their abilities to write grant applications and manage funding, law enforcement agencies strengthen their capacities for effective victim response.

Access training resources here

Administration for Children & Families Partnering with Healthcare Organizations to Prevent Human Trafficking

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) established the Office on Trafficking in Persons in 2015 to strengthen connections between health and human service programs, and learnings from public health research reinforce the importance of this coordinated response to human trafficking. Contrary to popular conceptions, studies indicate that the majority of individuals experiencing human trafficking have engaged one or more healthcare providers while still in their situations of exploitation. Healthcare providers are in critical positions to identify and support survivors during and after their experience. Over the last several years, partnerships within HHS have worked to develop the capacity of healthcare providers to increase knowledge and skills to create changes to be more responsive to the needs of survivors of trafficking and patients at increased risk for trafficking.

Read press release here

National Human Trafficking Prevention Month: Resources for Healthcare and Behavioral Healthcare Providers – Administration for Children & Families 

Healthcare and behavioral healthcare providers and their critical responsibility to provide appropriate medical and mental healthcare to patients who have experienced human trafficking and prevent trafficking among those at risk were highlighted by ACF. Additionally, healthcare administrators, procurement professionals, suppliers, and other decision-makers in the healthcare and public health sector may be positioned to address forced labor concerns in supply chains through product procurement and labor contracting practices. Below are tailored resources that, coupled with other foundational resources Visit the disclaimer page, healthcare, and behavioral healthcare providers can use to strengthen their support for those in their care at risk for, currently experiencing, or who have experienced human trafficking.

Access resources here

Literature Review of Children Exposed to Violence (CEV): A product of the Model Programs Guide – Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention 

This literature review examines the prevalence and consequences of CEV; describes definitional challenges for researchers and program providers; reviews risk and protective factors related to CEV; summarizes approaches to preventing, reducing, and addressing the consequences of CEV, such as trauma-informed care; and provides outcome evidence related to interventions that seek to prevent or address CEV. Throughout the literature review, there is an emphasis on delinquency and juvenile justice–related outcomes. Because studies of ACEs and studies of CEV often examine similar experiences and because some research on CEV does so through the lens of ACEs, relevant research on ACEs also is included in this literature review.

Access the literature review here

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) National Gang Center Blog Discusses Mentoring in Youth Gang Violence Intervention 

OJJDP’s National Gang Center has posted a new blog focusing on the importance of mentoring as a component of youth gang violence intervention. The blog discusses the benefits of mentoring relationships between youth violence intervention professionals and youth impacted by or involved with gangs. The blog describes how intervention professionals serving as mentors can support youth with gang-related concerns and life challenges, such as self-esteem, school, conflict, and trauma. The blog also highlights OJJDP-funded projects that are successfully implementing mentoring as part of their youth violence intervention efforts.

Read blog here

Practice Profile: Youth-Initiated Mentoring for Youth Development – National Institute of Justice (NIJ) 

Youth-initiated mentoring involves a hybrid approach in which youths are empowered to identify, develop, and strengthen natural mentoring relationships from their existing social networks, rather than being assigned a new mentor through a more formal mentoring relationship. The practice is rated Promising for improving psychological, health, school/academic, and social outcomes, and rated No Effects for cognitive functioning outcomes.

Access the practice profile

Peer Support Groups for Individuals Who Have Experienced Human Trafficking and Substance Use Disorder Exploratory Brief – National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center 

For this brief, NHTTAC conducted two literature reviews on the implications of adapting peer support models for individuals who have experienced trafficking and Substance Use Disorder (SUD). NHTTAC also partnered with Survivor Alliance to complete focus groups and interviews with 19 individuals with lived and professional experiences to explore perceptions of peer support groups among survivors of trafficking.

Read brief here

The Directors of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Share their Collective Vision on Criminal Justice Research 

In The Criminologist article “Selling the Science: Our Collective Visions for the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics,” NIJ Director Nancy LaVigne and BJS Director Alex Piquero, who got their start in criminology, discuss the importance of sustained support for applied criminology. They note that such scientific research isn’t meant just to generate evidence but to produce knowledge that improves the safety and well-being of all Americans while ensuring a justice system that is truly just and equitable. In the article, the Directors point to their key priorities on how research is conducted.

Read article here

Forensic Interviewing of Children In-Person Training – National Children’s Advocacy Center

Participants will be introduced to the evidence-based literature that supports the National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC) Child Forensic Interview Structure. This webinar includes lectures, skill-building activities, guided discussions, reflections, and an interview practicum in a supportive environment with assessment and feedback provided by experienced interviewers.

Register for different dates here: May 1-4, June 12-15, July 10-13

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Webinars

• It Takes a Village: Addressing Behavioral Health Disparities in the Black Community
  • Date: February 16, 2023 at 8:00 am (PST)
  • Hosted by: National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health
  • Description: In honor of Black History Month, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is hosting a virtual roundtable featuring speakers with lived experience, community leaders, and practitioners to discuss behavioral health challenges in Black communities. Through personal stories and innovative programs, speakers will highlight the often untapped cultural resources that lessen the burden of disease and promote resiliency. This roundtable will showcase unity among the community in celebration of culture and history.
• Internet Safety: Protecting Children from Online Predators
  • Date: February 23, 2023, at 12:00 pm (PST)
  • Hosted by: Free to Thrive
  • Description: Trafficking Collaborative (HTC) will host Lisa Ringel, from the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (SDICAC). Lisa will lead us through a lunchtime webinar highlighting the latest tactics and best practices for Internet Safety. This free training will arm parents and caregivers with tools to protect their loved ones online. Lisa Ringel is a popular and lively presenter on the realities of our behaviors online and how to safeguard ourselves and our families from internet predators. Speaking to schools, parents, and community groups, Lisa has presented to over 370 schools with more than 29,992 attendees. She knows how to hold our attention and leave us with practical tools we can immediately put to work!

  Linking Trauma-Informed Screening and Assessment Practices Across Child-Serving Systems

  • Date: March 2, 2023, 11:00 am (PST)
  • Hosted by: National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence
  • Description: The presentation begins with an overview of trauma-informed screening for children and adolescents, including definitions and rationale and describing the essential components of trauma-informed screening, including creating a structured process, establishing emotional safety, family engagement, addressing secondary traumatic stress, cultural and developmental considerations, and data-driven decision-making. The presenters will then link the trauma-informed screening practices with a complex trauma framework and outline some of the key elements of a trauma-informed assessment process. Finally, the presenters will outline several implementation strategies designed to ensure that screening practices are sustained effectively over time and within the given system.
• Culturally Responsive Housing Programs Webinar
  • Date: March 8, 2023, 11:000 am (PST)
  • Hosted by: Freedom Network USA Housing Training and Technical Assistance (HTTA) Project.
  • Description: During this webinar, featured presenter Crystal Bennett, LMSW, will be sharing the importance of creating housing programs sensitive to cultural differences that are inclusive of all survivors of human trafficking. Organizations will be better equipped to serve individuals from various backgrounds and meet their individualized needs by developing a culturally responsive program.
• Child Abduction Response Team Training (CART)
  • Date:  March 21-23, 2023 Arizona (Deadline to Register: February 21, 2023)
  • Hosted by: National Criminal Justice Training Center
  • Description: Take steps toward implementing a successful CART by bringing together a team of experts whose knowledge, skills, and abilities will be beneficial in a child abduction case. Join us to learn how to develop a multidisciplinary CART for responding to endangered, missing, or abducted children. Hear about the impact a child abduction has on the family and learn the fundamentals of developing an effective responsive CART team. Examine incident command considerations, search and canvassing operations, CART activation, and resources to improve the response, investigation, search, and canvass activities associated with missing children investigations.
• Multidisciplinary Team Facilitator Peer Forums
  • Date:  May 2, 2023, 11:00 am (PST)
  • Hosted by: Regional Children’s Advocacy Centers
  • Description: These forums allow multidisciplinary team facilitators to connect with their peers across the country doing similar work. Each forum starts in a large-group format to review a topic related to multidisciplinary team facilitation. Then participants are placed in Zoom breakout rooms for self-facilitated, smaller group discussions and resource sharing. In the end, participants are brought back together in one large group for a question-and-answer session with regional staff. These forums are open nationally to individuals with primary or shared responsibility for facilitating the success of multidisciplinary teams at a children’s advocacy center. Only child abuse professionals who serve in the role of a multidisciplinary team facilitator for a children’s advocacy center are eligible to participate in these forums.
• National Briefing Call: Responding to Human Trafficking through the Child Welfare System
  • Recorded
  • Hosted by: Administration for Children & Families
  • Description: This national briefing call discussed new resources available from the Administration for Children and Families to assist child welfare, states, schools, nonprofit organizations, and practitioners in responding to concerns of human trafficking among children and youth, including those connected to the child welfare system.
• Educational video on labor trafficking experiences as told by survivors
  • Recorded
  • Hosted by: HEAL Trafficking
  • Description: Hear from survivors of labor trafficking about their interactions with healthcare professionals, while being trafficked, and how these critical encounters helped save their lives. Video co-produced by HEAL Trafficking and sponsored by Lush and Give Way to Freedom.
• Review Boards, Male Bonding and Commercial Sexual Exploitation- Peter Qualliotine
  • Recorded
  • Hosted by: National Center on Sexual Exploitation
  • Description: Review boards are like “Yelp” for prostitution, where sex buyers who identify as “Hobbyists” promote the exploitation of women through their posted reviews. Men use forums as these to confirm to one another their identities as “mongers.” Misogyny, sexism, and homophobia are linked closely to their sex buying and are central to their performance of masculinity and their relationships with each other. This happens within the context of power dynamics that operate between “novices” and experienced, or senior, mongers. Learn about the role of review boards in promoting toxic masculinity and sustaining gender inequality; explore the role of “the Hobby” as a form and driver of commercial sexual exploitation and gender-based violence.
• Human Trafficking Webinar Series – Part 2: Engaging Families in Preventing and Addressing Human Trafficking
  • Recorded
  • Hosted by: U.S. Department of Education
  • Description: On behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Safe and Supportive Schools and in recognition of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE) invites you to join the second of a two-part miniseries focused on the roles of families in human trafficking, including participation, prevention, and intervention, Engaging Families in Preventing and Addressing Human Trafficking. During this webinar, subject matter experts offered a variety of approaches for school personnel to work with families to build protective factors in their children to lessen the risk of victimization and approaches to support students who have been trafficked.

Conferences

• International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Fighting for Change – Poster Submissions Requested
  • Hosted by End Violence Against Women International
  • Submission Deadline: February 28, 2023
• 2024 International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and the Cycle of Justice – Proposal Requested
  • Hosted by End Violence Against Women International
  • Submission Deadline: May 8, 2023

• Sheltered Conference 2023
  • Hosted by: National Trafficking Sheltered Alliance
  • Conference in Pleasant Grove, Utah: March 28 – 30, 2023
• 2023 International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Fighting for Change
  • Hosted by End Violence Against Women International
  • Conference in Chicago, Illinois: April 11-13, 2023
• Freedom Network USA Human Trafficking Conference
  • Hosted by Freedom Network
  • Conference in Washington, DC: April 17 – 18, 2023
• 20th Annual Hawai`i International Summit on Preventing, Assessing & Treating Trauma Across the Lifespan
  • Hosted by Institute on Violence and Trauma
  • Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii: April 24 – 28, 202
• National Institute of Justice Research Conference
  • Hosted by National Institute of Justice
  • Conference in Arlington, VA: May 23 – 25, 2023
• 28th San Diego International Summit on Violence, Abuse and Trauma Across the Lifespan: Promoting Resilience Amid Global Challenges
  • Hosted by: Institute on Violence and Trauma
  • Conference in San Diego, CA: August 27-30, 2023
• 2024 International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and the Cycle of Justice
  • Hosted by: End Violence Against Women International
  • Conference in San Diego, CA: April 2-4, 2024
• International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference and Exposition
  • Hosted by the International Association of Cheifs of Police
  • Conference in San Diego, CA: October 14-17, 2023

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