Human trafficking will never be overcome without first dealing with the demand side of the equation, where statistics show that buyers are predominantly men. After spending 10 years fighting trafficking with Fierce Freedom, Jenny Almquist made a radical choice to do something different in the struggling fight against demand. This session will discuss her decision to hire John Pulley, a former buyer, to find new ways to fight demand as well as the surprisingly effective impact that has had in reaching men and getting them involved in the fight. Attendees will discover the benefits gained from getting inside the mind of a reformed buyer and how this can assist you in our mission to eradicate human trafficking. After this session, attendees will leave with new strategies to communicate effectively with men and get them actively involved in the fight, will understand the impact a reformed buyer has had on legislators and law enforcement officials, and will know the right questions to ask of yourself and your organization before engaging with a former buyer.

Presentation Objectives:

· Challenge agency leaders to resource former buyers to fight demand

· Offer a space where practical questions can be discussed regarding organizational programming with a former buyer

· Give real life examples of challenges and successes

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This presentation will cover the “why” and “how” of collecting data on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (SOGIE) with trafficking survivors. Participants will review the importance of providing clients with the opportunity to discuss SOGIE, emerging practices on how to respectfully ask about this topic, sample SOGIE questionnaires, and common challenges to implementation. Meaningful opportunities to discuss SOGIE and collect data are rare among systems of care. This workshop is based on a multi-year collaborative partnership across three systems – child welfare, juvenile justice, and homeless youth services. In turn, this initiative is founded on the direct input of young people with lived experience. The presenters want to provide other jurisdictions around the country with the opportunity to share in their lessons learned. This session moves beyond basic LGBTQ+ competency training to focus on talking to youth about SOGIE and collecting data on it. The presentation is based on the work of the eQuality Project at the Center for Children & Youth Justice, which has partnered with juvenile courts, child welfare, and homeless youth service providers across Washington state to implement SOGIE data collection. The presentation is interactive and relies on pair and group work to review materials and for discussion. An emphasis is placed on application, so that participant’s leave with a clear idea of how to implement lessons learned once they return from the conference.

Presentation Objectives:

· Explain the importance behind providing youth the opportunity to discuss SOGIE and collecting data from those discussions

· Identify promising practices for discussing SOGIE with youth and collecting SOGIE data

· Identify strategies for addressing challenges related to SOGIE data collection

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This presentation focuses on older adolescents with intellectual disabilities involved in child welfare systems and their risk of sexual victimization during transition to young adulthood. Limited studies have pointed to elevated rates of intellectual disabilities among adolescents who are sex trafficked (Reid, 2018). Using a weighted sample of adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19.5 years, a secondary analysis of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II) was conducted. Two research questions were posed: 1) What factors are associated with transitioning adolescents experiencing sexual assault? 2) What factors are associated with transitioning adolescents engaging in transactional sex? Using a weighted sample of 334 adolescents ages 18 to 19.5 years, logistic regression analyses examined the relationships between sexual victimization and levels of intellectual ability, social supports, and neighborhood cohesion. Results indicate 2.5% of the adolescents experienced a sexual assault in the past 12 months and 3.9 % had engaged in transactional sex in the past 6 months. Being female was associated with greater odds of experiencing a sexual assault in the past 12 months. Higher intellectual ability scores were associated with lesser odds of engagement in paid sexual activity in the last 6 months. Caregivers, case managers, and youth can be trained to recognize the signs of sexual assault and exploitation. Prevention of sexual victimization through enhanced supports and community connections is explored in light of the Family First Prevention Act of 2018 and the Prevention of Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act of 2014.

Presentation Objectives:

· Provide an overview of the NSCAW II study and new information concerning adolescents with disabilities exiting child welfare systems

· Describes the current research on the sexual victimization of adolescents with disabilities involved in child welfare systems

· Discusses the research findings of this study and implications for social work practice during transition from child welfare services

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This presentation describes best practices for making the most effective use of data, statistics, analysis, and other research to support human trafficking programs. Both new and existing research and analysis on human trafficking can be a powerful tool to strengthen a wide variety of organizations and programs. These resources support programs through more accurate identification of victims and perpetrators, identifying the most effective practices and actions, developing supporting statistics for grant proposals, fostering data-driven decision making in your organization, and engaging with volunteer statisticians. Presented at an introductory level and designed for people without analytic experience, this presentation helps program leaders and volunteers make the most of research and analysis on human trafficking. Capabilities and best practices are illustrated using Polaris data summarized by state and year, available for public use on their website. These raw data will be used to demonstrate some of the different ways data and analytics can be applied for maximum impact. Examples include a non-technical overview of how these data were used to identify risk factors for human trafficking, a description of analytic decision making showing how these data are being used to advise on legislation, and creating charts and maps to tell how the risk of becoming a victim is higher in some places and situations. These examples will show how to move from analytics to action to help find victims, strengthen programs, and guide organizations in the fight against human trafficking.

Presentation Objectives:

· Describe different kinds of research and analysis and how they can be used

· Discuss best practices to partner with researchers to support your program

· Illustrate some of the ways researchers can help, including managing data, new research, and help in developing grant proposals

· Help program leaders, managers, and supporters become more data-driven in their decision making

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