Posts tagged 23:11:45
Effective Case Management with Human Trafficking Survivors

Even though the case management credo is to walk along survivors toward healing and restoration, many advocates are not familiar with how to effectively work with survivors from the beginning of the professional relationship to the end. Even when the general practice of case management is understood, effective and successful case management with human trafficking survivors is not well understood. This session will provide case managers and those that desire to work directly with survivors with key information to increase your level of knowledge, decrease your doubts, and increase your potential to be more successful in your work with survivors.

Presentation Objectives:

· Discuss the components of case management practice with human trafficking survivors

· Describe the barriers and fears of many case managers working with human trafficking survivors and how to counter those

· Explain the components leading to more successful outcomes with survivors

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Human Trafficking in Children: Myths vs. Reality!

Human trafficking has been increasingly recognized worldwide as a major public health problem. It is a crime based on exploitation of the most vulnerable and marginalized individuals of any community and is a violation of human rights. Children are especially at risk of victimization and may experience considerable physical and mental health consequences. Adding these problems to pre-existing vulnerabilities and adversities makes human trafficking a complex health issue that needs to be addressed by a multidisciplinary team including health care providers. Professionals working with children have the responsibility to screen and report suspected child trafficking and offer services as appropriate. This presentation will focus on what makes children, in particular, vulnerable for being trafficked and how to prevent trafficking in children. It will help the attendees recognize child victims of human trafficking and address their needs in a trauma sensitive approach. It will also focus on what the medical evaluation entails and why it is important in high-risk children to address the health consequences of being trafficked. It will be case based, and attendees will learn from different examples and cases throughout the session.

Presentation Objectives:

· Define human trafficking, specifically in children

· Describe child victims of human trafficking

· Explain the health consequences of human trafficking

· Identify tools for medical providers to use for victim identification and assessment

· Explain the health care needs of child victims

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A Case Study of Community Organizing Efforts: Project Homeless Connect (PHC)

Homelessness is a complex issue, affected by individual, familial, social, and structural factors (Mago et. al., 2013). To be effective, interventions should be customized to address individuals’ needs (Woodward & Johnston, 2008). Such customization requires coordination among social services agencies. This presentation will describe a successful community organizing effort in a rural/suburban county to provide services to the homeless population. Starting in 2013, agencies and community groups in the county utilized an Asset Based Community Development framework to collaborate in developing Project Homeless Connect (PHC). For this annual event, area service providers collaborate to serve individuals/families in need and to raise awareness of homelessness among community members. PHC has helped the community and service providers to foster stronger relationships, work interdependently, and have a positive impact on each other. Nearly 50 community agencies participate in PHC to serve 300 homeless and at-risk clients/year. The average age of participants was a little above 40 years, 75% of them were White/Non-Hispanic, approximately 70% were females, 42% were single, 18% had previously been evicted, 29% did not have reliable transportation, 18% reported having criminal records, and the average number of services that participants wished to be connected to was 5. Evaluation of PHC indicates that clients are helped during the event and throughout the year via referrals to community services. The event also has impacted community organizations, with 62% of providers reporting that their understanding of homelessness has changed as a result of their participation in PHC.

Presentation Objectives:

· Describe common challenges experienced by homeless individuals in a rural/ suburban geographical area

· Identify strategies to connect homeless population to various resources utilizing PHC model

· Utilize theoretical framework to engage community and various stakeholders in the community organizing initiative

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Youthful Offenders Gain Pro-Social Skills through Restorative Justice Intervention

Juvenile delinquency continues to be a concern for parents, schools, communities, and the various systems (criminal justice, behavioral health, child welfare, and education to name a few) that collaborate to support, rehabilitate, and develop healthy, productive young adults. One method that many consider, although others question its effectiveness, is a restorative justice approach to juvenile criminal matters. Restorative justice intervention can directly contribute to the youth’s ownership of behavior and harm to others and the community. As youth discover new skills through restorative justice intervention, they learn how to more appropriately respond to various stressful, pressured, or unhealthy situations and avoid re-offending behavior in the future. There is room at the table for alternative approaches to be considered as youth and their families should not be “boxed into a one size fits all approach”. One goal of this research was to understand how youth internalize positive change in behavior. The various stakeholders: youth, parents, community members, and the legal system, will gain alternative avenues that support youth long-term in developing pro-social skills. This can also be helpful to justice practitioners working in organizations that try to help offenders following an offense.

Presentation Objectives:

· Review how youth gained pro-social skills as a result of the intervention

· Examine the case studies and data gathering instruments

· Discuss the structure for conflict mediation with youthful offenders and their victim(s)

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Preventing the Surge of Children in Street Situations: The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria’s Oil Producing Communities

The purpose of this presentation is to critically examine multinational oil companies’ (MOCs) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the impact of its global memorandum of understanding (GMoU) on the surge of children in street situations in the oil-producing communities. A total of 2,400 respondent households were sampled across the communities of the Niger Delta. The results from the use of a combined propensity score matching (PSM) and logit model indicate that GMoU interventions generate significant gains in the household struggle against the surge of children in street situations, and if enhanced, will lift many children out of the street. It implies that if the host communities do not feel that the GMoU interventions will create sustainable child welfare and social service systems, they will keep neglecting household members taking to the streets, which breeds violence and creates a hostile environment for multinational enterprises (MNEs). This research adds to the literature on child abuse and neglect from a CSR perspective and rationale for social projects demands by host communities in developing countries. It concludes that businesses have an obligation to help in solving problems of public and global concerns.

Presentation Objectives:

· Show the mapped out spread of street children along sex and age across the cities of host communities

· Examine the level of interventions of the multinational oil companies (MOC’s) CSR in providing welfare in the cities of host communities

· Analyze the impact of MOC’s CSR on reducing the surge of streets children in the host communities

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Legal First Responders: Closing the Justice Gap for Human Trafficking Survivors

Human trafficking survivors face a diverse range of legal obstacles that arise from the circumstances of their exploitation, including criminal record impediments, family law obstacles, and immigration challenges. Yet, they often lack the knowledge and the financial means to secure skilled legal representation. Known as the “Justice Gap,” this inability to secure legal assistance often impedes survivors from moving toward a brighter future. In this presentation, Nate Knapper discusses the urgent need to close the Justice Gap through the establishment of a national network of “Legal First Responders” -- an army of attorneys committed to servicing the legal needs of human trafficking survivors on a pro bono basis.

Presentation Objectives:

· Familiarize attendees with the most prevalent legal needs of human trafficking survivors

· Describe the severity of the Justice Gap among the survivor population

· Propose a solution that will close the Justice Gap among survivors wherever they are encountered

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How to Create a Labor Trafficking Protocol for Law Enforcement: A Work in Progress

A persistent challenge in addressing labor trafficking is the lack of training and awareness among law enforcement of how to identify and effectively respond to potential labor trafficking cases. Minnesota is building on its strong track record in addressing sex trafficking by improving its response to labor trafficking and working with law enforcement as a key component of that response. The Minnesota Human Trafficking Investigators Taskforce (MNHITF) is in the middle of a multi-year project to develop a protocol for state and local law enforcement on responding to and investigating labor trafficking. In collaboration with a working group of law enforcement, prosecutors, civil enforcement agencies, victim advocates, survivor leaders, service providers, and researchers, the MNHITF is drafting a protocol including materials for patrol officers, investigators, and administration. The presentation will explore the process of developing the protocol and the content of the protocol itself. Presenters will share the challenges and successes of the working group and how they were addressed. The presentation will also provide a look forward at the implementation stage where the working group will analyze how the protocol was used in a pilot case. Participants will use the framework of the Minnesota process to evaluate how they could conduct a similar process in their own community.

Presentation Objectives:

· Discuss how Minnesota is working to develop a labor trafficking protocol for law enforcement

· Identify the key stakeholders, issues, and lessons learned during the process

· Provide space for attendees to evaluate how a similar process could work in their own communities

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Increasing Human Trafficking Awareness Through a General Education Course: Collaborating with Community Partners

While raising awareness is an important step to ending human trafficking, little is known about the extent of public awareness of the phenomenon. A Google search reveals no data, only the push of anti-trafficking campaigns to increase awareness. General education courses, a degree requirement for most colleges and universities, offer a unique opportunity to raise awareness about human trafficking among undergraduate students. Additionally, anecdotally, undergraduate student interest in the topic has greatly increased in the past two decades, creating a perfect condition for offering such courses on college and university campuses. A global studies, general education course on human trafficking was developed to meet these needs. While meeting the university’s requisite student learning outcomes for such courses, it additionally promotes student understanding the type and scope of human trafficking globally, the biopsychosocial impacts on persons who have been trafficked, and ways students can address this complex human rights and social (in)justice issue. An unintended consequence is increased student interest in working in the anti-trafficking field. This presentation will describe the process of developing the course (e.g., research, informational interviews with service providers and students), review the course format and content, explore opportunities for educators and community providers to collaborate on public awareness efforts, and share students’ reactions to the course and materials. Presenters include the instructor, a Graduate Teaching Assistant from the class, and two community provider guest speakers. Each will provide her perspective of the collaborative experience of co-creating these awareness opportunities and the value of such content.

Presentation Objectives:

· Provide an overview of course development

· Describe course content and learning modules

· Discuss collaborations with community partners

· Share student reactions to the course and content

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