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Effective: 12/5/2022

4.55.3 Survivors and Those at Risk of Human Trafficking

Legal Authority

Introduction

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​This standard of practice (SOP) establishes requirements and provide instructions for staff when children/youth who are in the custody of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS/Cabinet) are believed to be survivors or at risk of human trafficking. The level of DCBS involvement will be individualized and in correlation to the assessed safety threats and risk factors of the child/youth.

Kentucky enacted legislation in 2007 and again in 2013 to address human trafficking, with a focus on protecting children/youth through Safe Harbor provisions and improving strategies in addressing child/youth trafficking. This legislation provides a framework for child-serving agencies to institute child/youth trafficking initiatives by providing access to services and protections for victims. This SOP was implemented to enhance interagency collaboration, improve coordinated community response, and ensure high-quality services from assessment to treatment that address the individualized needs of trafficking victims.


Practice Guidance

Children/youth who are survivors of huma​n trafficking often do not perceive the inherent risks or see themselves as victims. The Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) will ensure the screening of children/youth who are at high-risk of trafficking and provision of trauma-informed services. Because of the potential dangers to the child/youth, if the child/youth’s SSW has reason to believe the child/youth is a victim of human trafficking, the SSW is to consider the event as requiring intensive intervention. Rapid screening of children/youth at high-risk of trafficking will guide both investigation and service planning for the child/youth. A child/youth who has a positive rapid screener for human trafficking is appropriate for services regardless of investigative outcome. 

The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) designates a specialized residential treatment setting which provides high-quality residential care. This residential setting provides supportive services to children/youth who have been found to be, or are at risk of becoming, victims of sex trafficking. Kentucky has defined those children/youth who are at risk of sex trafficking as having at least one of the following indicators: 
  • ​A history of child/youth missing from care;
  • Previous/current allegations of human trafficking; or 
  • Previous or current Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) committment. 
​Specialized residential treatment programs must meet guidelines and requirements to be designated as specialized in service provision to children/​youth who have been or are at risk of being trafficked. 

Procedure

The SSW:

  1. ​Ensures the completion of the rapid screener for human trafficking utilizing the following guidance1:
    1. ​The SSW administers the rapid screening tool immediately upon a child/youth or youth's entry into out-of-home care (OOHC) when a child/youth is being referred or recommended for residential placement2; 
    2. The SSW administers the rapid screening tool when a child/youth who is placed with a relative or in a DCBS foster home is being referred or recommended for residential placement2; 
    3. The private child-placing (PCP) behavioral health provider administers the rapid screening tool: 
      1. ​Within seven (7) calendar days of placement;
      2. After incidents of child/youth missing from care;
      3. As part of discharge planning if residential treatment is being considered;  and
      4. Any time other risk factors are identified3;
    4. The private child-caring (PCC) behavioral health provider administers the rapid screening tool:
      1. ​After incidents of child/youth missing from care;
      2. As part of discharge planning if residential treatment is being considered; and
      3. Any time other risk factors are identified3;
  2. ​Completes the following steps when screening results indi​cate administration of an in-depth human trafficking screener is needed: 
    1. Follows procedure detailed in SOP 2.15.9 Investigations of Human Trafficking;
    2. Shares the results of the rapid screening with the behavioral health provider for children not served by a PCC/PCP4;  
    3. Forwards the rapid screening results to the human trafficking lead in the Child Protection Branch;
    4. Updates the rapid screener results into TWIST; 
    5. Documents rapid screening results in TWIST5; 
    6. Shares rapid screening results with the recruitment and certification(R&C) worker and/or PCC/PCP case manager, based on placement; and
    7. Ensures administration of the in-depth human trafficking screener by the child’s behavioral health provider within seven (7) calendar days of placement6. 
  3. ​Considers the results of screening when determining if the child/youth has immediate or ongoing needs that will impact placement and/or treatment.;
  4. May consult with the FSOS and regional staff to discuss the needs of the child/youth  from information provided on the placement summary request. 
  5. Will discuss with the  FSOS  in monthly case consults following screening results being provided.;
  6. ​​Ensures the completion of or update to the Comprehensive Standardized Assessment by the child’s behavioral health provider to guide treatment planning and therapeutic services;
  7. Ensures selection of the special population indicators in TWIST if any of the following are present:
    1. Victim of labor trafficking;
    2. Current or previous alleged victim of sex trafficking;
    3. History of child/youth missing from care;
    4. Youth is pregnant; or
    5. Parenting youth (including fathers).
  8. Assesses the child’s risk of harm from a trafficker or subsequent commercial exploitation. 3 If SSW determines that the child/youth is at high-risk, then SSW shall convene a family team meeting (FTM) to develop or modify the case plan to include a prevention strategy based on the child’s individual risk factors.8 The case plan shall describe in detail, including phone and internet access, how an effective level of supervision will be provided to the youth during the following routine activities: 
    1. SSW will have a discussion with the youth regarding the prevention strategy and the safety measures that the child/youth will take if they have any contact with the trafficker or with another person acting on behalf of the trafficker. Any specific tasks for the child/youth regarding his/her safety shall be included in the child’s case plan. SSW will document the discussion with the youth in TWIST contacts;
    2. When planned supervision is required in the placement, SSW shall discuss the required supervision with the caregiver/facility staff and document the details of the planned supervision in TWIST service recordings;
    3. When planned supervision is required in the school setting, SSW shall contact applicable staff at the child’s school to share information relating to the child’s unique needs and ensure that school staff are aware of safety threats and risk factors. SSW will document, in TWIST service recordings, the details of the communication with school staff . SSW will obtain all required signatures on the DCBS-1 Informed Consent and Release of Information and Records and/or DCBS-1A Informed Consent and Release of Information Records Supplement form regarding the youth who requires planned supervision;
    4. When planned supervision is required for the youth to participate in recreational or community activities, SSW shall discuss the required supervision with the caregiver/facility staff and document the details of the planned supervision in TWIST service recordings. SSW will obtain all required signatures on the DCBS-1 Informed Consent and Release of Information and Records and/or DCBS-1A Informed Consent and Release of Information Records Supplement form regarding the youth who requires planned supervision.
    5. Termination of the human trafficking prevention strategy on the child’s case plan will be determined at an FTM.8 The FTM participants must consider the following factors when assessing the need for an ongoing prevention strategy on the case plan regarding risk of harm from a  trafficker or subsequent commercial exploitation:
      1. The youth’s current behaviors and behavioral changes, including the youth’s ability to monitor and manage his/her behavior and his/her safety effectively;
      2. The youth’s support network; and
      3. The amount and type of contact, if any, the youth has with the trafficker or another person acting on behalf of the trafficker.



​​Contingencies and Clarifications

  1. For this SOP, victims of human trafficking include all children or youth in the custody of DCBS, including those between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty-one (21).
  2. If the child/youth has disclosed trafficking, then the rapid screening tool is not completed. The comprehensive assessment should be completed instead. 6
  3. Children who have been or are at risk of being trafficked should be placed in the most appropriate, least restrictive placement type if a child/youth is initially unable to be placed with a noncustodial parent or a relative;
  4. If a prevention strategy is necessary and urgency dictates that a plan be implemented  prior to the scheduling and development/modification of a case plan, then SSW will follow the procedure outlined in SOP 7.4 CPS Prevention Planning;
  5. Given the risk of a child/youth who has been trafficked meeting up with or being abducted by their trafficker, the child’s safety should be given careful consideration when making placement decisions. If the child/youth is moved to a new placement, strict confidentiality (only those individuals who absolutely need to know the location of the new placement should be informed) is necessary to avoid the trafficker(s) obtaining information on the child’s whereabouts. Consideration should be given to the role of those in contact with the cjo;dyouth and the specific reason why he/she would need to be made aware of the youth’s new placement location. Every measure possible should be taken to protect the privacy and identity of child/youth victims to ensure their safety and security. In rare cases, it may be necessary to move the child/youth prior to discussion regarding placement change, and to communicate openly with the child/youth once they are established safely in the new location. Consideration should be given to whether the child/youth who has been trafficked, and by extension other children/youth at the facility or placement, should be informed of where the child/youth who has been trafficked is being moved. 
  6. If a child’s behavioral health needs warrant treatment in a residential setting and they are a survivor or at risk of human trafficking, the child/youth should be placed in a corresponding specialized treatment program when possible.
  7. Considerations for when a child/youth who has been or is at risk of being trafficked in a human trafficking specialized residential treatment program as an emergency after hours placement and without a referral through the Children's Review Program (CRP):
    1. If the child/youth is a survivor or at risk of sex trafficking and placed in a human trafficking specialized program that is also a qualified residential treatment provider (QRTP), no QRTP assessment is required.
    2. If the child/youth is a survivor of labor trafficking and placed in a human trafficking specialized program that is also a QRTP, a QRTP assessment is required.


​Footnotes

  1. SSW ensures that the child’s developmental age is consistent with their chronological age when determining if screening is appropriate. 
  2. Vera Institute of Justice Trafficking Victim Identification Tool (TVIT) Short Version.
  3. Reference Human Trafficking: At Risk Populations, Indicators, and Protective Factors.
  4. If the child/youth does not have an established behavioral health service provider, SSW refers the child/youth for behavioral health services and shares the results of the rapid screener with the provider. 
  5. Document the date and results of the screener in the appropriate TWIST (Case Composition, Special Services, Human Trafficking Screening).
  6. Vera Institute of Justice TVIT Long Version.
  7. Survivors of sex trafficking may have significantly more intense medical needs than a typical child/youth in OOHC, particularly reproductive health needs. Survivors will need timely access to medical providers to address reproductive health needs (e.g. sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy, abortions) and other health needs including injuries, infections (e.g., tuberculosis, scabies), malnutrition, and untreated chronic conditions. 
  8. FTMs should  follow the procedure outlined in SOP 4.18 Ongoing Case Planning​.

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