Experiences of Child Welfare Workers in a Child Sex Trafficking Training

Author: Burruss-Cousins, Karen; Harmon-Darrow, Caroline; Mallon, Neil; McTavish, Gavin & Finigan-Carr, Nadine

Abstract: Child welfare workers are serving victims of child sex trafficking (CST) more frequently in their daily interactions, but they are ill-equipped to understand CST as a phenomenon or how to meet the needs of minor victims. Specialized training targeted to teach child welfare workers about various aspects of CST including risk factors, identification of victims, local and state laws about CST, and services for victims exist but are not readily available or consistent. The current study is a qualitative examination of child welfare workers’ perspectives on CST training in a Mid-Atlantic state. Focus group participants identified 17 key ideas within four themes about the challenges of working with survivors of child sex trafficking, the strengths and value of training, training improvements and ongoing needs, and missing resources for survivors. Policy implications include further child trafficking training for workers, and more specialized income and housing resources for survivors, toward the United Nations goals of empowering women and girls, and building a more just, peaceful, and inclusive society.

Keywords: child sex trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation of children, child welfare, training, workforce development