There is a “growing body of research” documenting human exploitation being uncovered during disaster events, or displaced persons being exploited during the post-disaster recovery efforts. Our State and Federal emergency management agencies are trained and prepared to respond to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, and pandemics. But they are not suitably trained to identify and respond to the criminal element that seeks to prey on the displaced and vulnerable victims of the disaster. This presentation will review illustrative case studies indicating trafficking activity related to Hurricane’s Katrina (2005) and Harvey (2017), The Haitian earthquake (2010), and the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. The presenters will highlight how disasters can create or exacerbate victim vulnerabilities; how traffickers are quick to exploit these weaknesses; how emergency management agencies can better prepare to identify and respond to this threat through education out-reach and recovery contract review; and identify developing/emerging best practices by specialized task forces in pre-exploitation disaster environment intervention. Participants will gain a deeper appreciation for the interplay between disaster events and exploitation as well as emerging best practices for pre-exploitation disaster environment intervention.

Presentation Objectives:

· Articulate how traffickers exploit vulnerabilities during/post natural disasters

· Identify how emergency management agencies can prepare, respond, and protect vulnerable people from exploitation

· Identify basic awareness and identification of potential HT victims in a disaster

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Child welfare (CW) agencies are working to create a continuum of care to address the needs of commercially sexually exploited youth (CSE) and youth at risk of CSE. A key aspect of this has been the development of residential services that specialize in serving CSE or at-risk youth, including shelter, foster, congregate, and residential treatment care facilities. The Families First Prevention Services Act has furthered efforts to define what high quality service standards are for residential settings and has created an opportunity for states to invest in programming that supports CSE youth and prevents initial or subsequent victimization. In interviews of two providers that serve CSE youth combined with a review of research on CSE programming responses that included 128 additional providers were used to answer the following question: What does it mean to provide quality supportive services in congregate care settings to children and youth who have experienced or are at risk of sex trafficking? The findings of this analysis focus on 4 main areas: 1) the impacts of sex trafficking on survivors, 2) challenges in defining a target population, 3) considerations for defining program standards for congregate care settings serving young people who are survivors or are at risk of sex trafficking, and 4) coordination by state actors. In addition to reviewing the research findings, this presentation also includes a comprehensive discussion on how this information is being utilized in the development and implementation of child welfare policy and practice related to standards of care in specialized residential facilities.

Presentation Objectives:

· Create understanding of the impact of Families First Prevention Services Act on specialized residential facilities for CSE youth

· Provide an overview of a study on standards of care and aspects pertaining to specialization in serving CSE youth in specialized residential settings, including methodology and findings

· Discuss the implications of this study on the development and implementation of child welfare policy related to standards of care

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The restavék system is a form of forced child labor practices and child trafficking (Kennedy, 2015). Children in domestic servitude are also often deprived of food, have poorer education, worse sleep quality, do not have time to play or do their homework, and are forced to perform excessive labor (Cooper et al., 2012). In the worst-case scenarios, they are victims of physical and sexual violence (Cooper at al., 2012). As a result, restavék children are likely to experience worse mental health outcomes than children not in domestic servitude (Kennedy, 2014). The presenter will explain the need for more detailed research surrounding causes and outcomes of restavék populations. Haiti Now is a non-profit organization that focuses on supporting the needs of restavék children and understanding the underlying roots of the rise in restavék children. This presentation not only describes the programming that Haiti Now has accomplished, but also Haiti Now’s current research project investigating the following areas: domestic abuse, access to education, mental health, access to healthcare, and socioeconomic factors impacting the growth or decline of children in the Restavèk’s system. The presenter will explain how this research will contribute to the development of a residential school to support restavék children. Attendees will walk away with an understanding of the damage that results from the restavék system, some of the ways in which Haiti Now and other organizations have already intervened, and next steps for addressing this problem.

Presentation Objectives:

· Discuss the impact of the restavék system on youth educational and health outcomes

· Explain the root causes of the restavék system and challenges to intervening

· Describe how the development of residential schools could improve youth outcomes in Haiti

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Dr. Navdeep Kang is a psychologist and thought leader for clinical best practices in mental health and addiction medicine. His experience leading teams within hospital systems and in specialty healthcare provide a well-rounded perspective on assessing acuity, managing care transitions, and ensuring long-term success for patients. Mental health and addiction are intricately interwoven with experiences of human trafficking, with substance use or mental illness frequently presenting as symptoms of trauma. People with past trauma, especially survivors of human trafficking, often face a multitude of psychological, social, and biological issues. Treatment modalities for survivors of human trafficking should include, at the very least, a full assessment of mental health and substance use treatment needs. It is also important to understand that psychological, relational, and social wounds are often chronic and rarely solved with a short-term program alone. Ongoing support and treatment are frequently the best way to ensure long-term success for patients after trauma. The objectives of this presentation are to: 1) empower audience members to identify symptoms such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, panic disorder, and substance use disorder that are common diagnoses of trauma survivors, 2) assist the audience in managing the care transition to evidence-based providers with long-term plans for patients, 3) highlight appropriate language when working with this population to reduce stigma, and 4) introduce some concepts from addiction medicine to help survivors understand their legal rights, create support systems, connect with local resources, and rebuild relationships post trauma.

Presentation Objectives:

· Discuss trauma and mental health issues as they relate to human trafficking and post rescue

· Describe Substance Use Disorders and why they are so connected

· Explain trauma signs and best practice treatments for MH and SUD issues

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Learn from the only former Pimp willing to speak out, has transformed his life, and is now dedicated to helping sex trafficking survivor advocates and others from going down his same path. Across the United States, awareness for sex trafficking is spreading like wildfire. With this new awareness, a new criminal element has been identified and laws are becoming stricter on the “Trafficker”. With this new awareness comes many questions that have remained unanswered. With unanswered questions, many experts have come up with their own answers and hypotheses to fill the void. The problem with this is the answers and conclusions that these “experts” have come to are incomplete and oftentimes misleading and/or over-sensationalized. This presentation brings a voice to the table that has gone unheard during this time of awareness. A voice that needs to be at the table if we, as a whole, are going to fully combat domestic sex trafficking. This presentation on domestic sex trafficking will finally enable the listeners to dispel the myths on this issue that have been put out and have gone undisputed. Listeners will be able to go into the mind of a trafficker, gain knowledge to better combat the issue, and be able to move from awareness to action.

Presentation Objectives:

· Describe how the “Trafficker/ Pimp” enters the life of being a trafficker and why they do what they do

· Discuss the start of the epidemic and the true current state of domestic sex trafficking

· Help attendees identify the myths and their own subconscious bias when it comes to domestic sex trafficking, survivor advocacy, and the trafficker

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Service providers or caregivers to people with the lived experience of human trafficking need tools to effectively manage their own trauma. Often, the service providers have lived experience, and many times, they are allies that do not have the experience. In either case, the toll that is taken on service providers as well as the individuals themselves can leave them depleted, which often leads to burn-out or vicarious trauma. You love what you do, but you need to take care of yourself to re-energize for the next level. This session will help you identify where you are and give you tools to re-enforce and rebuild your personal resilience. You cannot feed anyone from an empty plate. It is important for you to learn how to digest what you hear, manage the effect it has on you, and develop a plan to recover. Self-care is not a luxury, it is an absolute necessity. The American Psychological Association published “Self-care has never been more important” in July 2020 encouraging service providers to take care of themselves. The first line on the National Association for Mental Health’s page titled “Taking Care of Yourself” states - “To be able to care for the people you love, you must first take care of yourself”. We often overlook self-care or think it is unimportant. Building personal resilience is a must to help us keep moving forward and providing effective care. You need to take make taking care of yourself a priority.

Presentation Objectives:

· Describe the stages of Compassion Fatigue

· Explain the importance of self-care

· Provide instruction, examples, and tools to establish a self-care program/routine

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Anecdotal reports from the front lines of the COVID-19 tell of a spike in human trafficking due to the pandemic. This analytic research explores the intersection between human trafficking and COVID-19. The main research questions are how to measure the impact of COVID-19 on human trafficking, which changes from the pandemic are changes are temporary (e.g., a spike in homelessness) and which are long-term (e.g., more online recruiting), and how to adjust policies and programs to respond to these changes. Much of the literature published so far, such as a special issue of the Journal of Modern Slavery, offers views from experienced experts (UNDOC) and anecdotal reports from field workers (G. Byrne, et. al., 2020), but little hard data. In this study, a data-driven approach compares year-over-year changes in human trafficking in the United Stated with the pre-COVID baseline to assess the impacts. Changes in key drivers due to the pandemic are analyzed to assess their impact on trafficking. The study finds that drivers of human trafficking most affected by the pandemic include increases in poverty, disproportional impact on marginalized communities, affluence and financial support for trafficking, and commoditization of labor and debt bondage. Housing instability has decreased during the pandemic, temporarily reducing this driver. In conclusion, COVID-19 has worsened human trafficking through financial disruption resulting in more victims, a temporary rise in online sexual exploitation, and likely permanent increases in online recruiting, selling, criminal funding, and management. Focus is needed on locations with the greatest increases and developing resources for the growing online marketplace for trafficking.

Presentation Objectives:

· Use a statistical analysis to show attendees what groups of people are most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

· Show which risk factors have been aggravated by the pandemic

· Discuss which consequences of the pandemic should be short-term and long-term

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IN OUR BACKYARD (IOB), a national anti-trafficking nonprofit that links arms across America in the fight against human trafficking, was established in 2009. IOB operates seven programs focused on education, mobilization, and partnership. Bringing awareness to four million people daily was accomplished through one of IOB’s seven programs, Convenience Stores Against Trafficking, which equips communities to respond to and prevent human trafficking in 49 states. IOB developed the Convenience Stores Against Trafficking program in 2015 to drive over 500,000 IOB Freedom Stickers now placed across all 50 states. Freedom Stickers contain the National Human Trafficking Resource hotline to reach survivors safely inside a public restroom. Together, IOB links arms with convenience stores, government agencies, law enforcement, partner nonprofits, and the local community to stop this atrocity through its cost-free programs. Communities across America are invited to link arms with IOB to prevent and respond to human trafficking through industry-specific strategies such as Convenience Stores Against Trafficking to reach over half the U.S. population daily.

Presentation Objectives:

· Discuss why convenience stores care

· Provide documented recoveries through convenience stores

· Explain how to implement a community outreach through Freedom Stickers

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