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Partners:
With all the misinformation out there about child sex trafficking these days, we are pleased to share with you a brand new 3-minute animate from our friends at Texas Christian University that accurately, succinctly, and artfully describes the realities of child sexual exploitation and how we can help survivors heal. Please help us distribute it far and wide to help us educate and empower the public to engage effectively in the fight!
View the Animate
In this edition of the newsletter, we are also highlighting our new grant awards, new grant applications, lots of new resources, and, as always, success stories from partners!
Also, during this season of thanks, we want to express our sincere gratitude for all of you who are in this fight against human trafficking and exploitation with us. Together, we can protect, recognize, recover, support the healing of, and bring justice for Texas' children and youth!
Sincerely,
CSTT
Last month, CSTT announced 54 new grants totaling $19.4 million to further implement Texas’ Model for Addressing Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Youth (CSEY). Programs funded provide prevention activities, short and long-term residential services, and CSEY advocacy and case management for survivors of human trafficking in Texas.
Next month, new requests for applications will be released targeting these same kinds of programs for FY 2022 as well as county programs that enhance prevention, investigations, and prosecutions of trafficking. Grant applications will be due in February 2021 for grants starting on October 1, 2021. Potential applicants should contact their local Council of Government for grant application updates.
New! CSTT Website Page with Research Summaries Curated by CSTT and Recorded Webinars!
On our newly designed page, CSTT offers information resources to enhance expertise and promote research-based programs and practices that prevent child sexual exploitation, help survivors heal and thrive, and bring exploiters to justice:
- A webinar series addressing trends, lessons learned, and promising practices. Sign up to receive information about upcoming webinars, and visit our archive of recorded webinars.
Curated articles and relevant research from peer-reviewed journals supporting CSTT’s five overarching goals: protect, recognize, rescue, support healing, and bring justice. View our latest research edition: 2020 Research Volume 2.
For Schools and Child Serving Agencies: PROTECT Texas Prevention Education and Training
3Strands Global Foundation is partnering with the Child Sex Trafficking Team to generously offer Texas schools and youth-serving organizations free access for one year to online training modules to help those working with youth better identify and respond to human trafficking. Participants completing the training will also have access to an age-appropriate, trauma-informed curriculum to teach youth. PROTECT recently launched an additional training for Texas school board members to meet the requirements of HB 403. These resources are available for free through February 2021, and individuals will need a work e-mail account with a school or youth-serving organization to register.
For Parents: Parent Connect
Join the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children for Parent CONNECT, a free five-part virtual child safety series every Tuesday, starting November 10 at 7pm ET.
Designed for busy parents, discussing online trends and safety risks facing children today, each 30-minute session will focus on a child safety topic, and feature NCMEC contributors and community-based organizations.
Participating organizations including The Bivona Child Advocacy Center, Finger Lakes Community Health, The FBI Child Exploitation Task Force, PFLAG, Embrace Civility, and the Office of Children and Family Services, will share information, resources, and practical advice that can be implemented at home.
Parent CONNECT Series Topics:
• November 10 - COVID 19 and Online Safety
• November 17 - Talking to Teens about Sexting
• November 24 - Live Streaming and Online Enticement
• December 1 - Cyberbullying
• December 8 - Child Sex Trafficking
For Anti-Trafficking Organizations: OVC - Human Trafficking Capacity Building Website
Operated by the Office for Victims of Crime, the Center seeks to strengthen human trafficking victim services in the United States by delivering free coaching, mentoring, and a resource library for organizations and federally recognized tribes looking to start, sustain, or grow their anti-trafficking work. The Center offers help in a number of areas, including financial management, community partnerships, delivery of victim services, and more.
Watch the Human Trafficking Capacity Building Center video, and visit the Center's new website to learn more.
Grantees and partners are helping us move toward our vision of a state where children and youth are free from sexual exploitation.
Protect
Fort Worth ISD is one of only 8 school districts nationwide that received a federal grant from the Office on Trafficking in Persons for human trafficking prevention education. The District is partnering with grantees Unbound and 3Strands Global Foundation to provide the PROTECT TEXAS curriculum to District educators, staff, and students.
In the meantime, PROTECT TEXAS is providing online prevention education training to educators and child serving agencies for free through February 2021 (see above for more detail) and have already trained 1283 educators in 41 Texas school districts and 51 service providers in child serving agencies!
One of many testimonials by teachers: "I know that since researching and learning more about the world of human trafficking, I have felt a new urgency on my heart to share knowledge and educate others. To think that this is so widespread in our world and that this agenda operates on secrecy, fear, and power makes me realize how important it is to uncover this darkness. I am so glad that Texas is taking such a strong stand and making this a new priority in the education world. We can make a huge difference by just becoming aware, educating our staff, parents and students. I am ready to do my part in moving forward in the fight against such a troubling aspect of our society." Educator after completing HT 101-103
Recognize
CSTT partners with Allies Against Slavery to develop Lighthouse, a data collection and visualization tool that will empower stakeholders in the anti-trafficking fight to see what human trafficking, and our responses to it, more clearly. Phase 1 of Lighthouse has launched and work on phase II has started. To learn more, join our monthly webinar mentioned above and check out the recorded virtual launch event.
Support Healing
The following response to a client survey that CSEY Advocacy agency Harvest House received shows how youth feel about CSEY advocacy. The question was “What does having an advocate mean to you?” The response:
"Somebody who can help with your problems and somebody who is like another family member but like a best friend at the same time. Somebody who can help you with things you need help with and somebody who you can talk to when you need somebody there for you. Somebody to help you get through life."
Bring Justice
Grantees McLennan County Sherriff’s Office, Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, and Collective Liberty conducted a proactive law enforcement operation to arrest 21 men for solicitation of prostitution in Southeast Texas. Half of the men, who ranged in age from 26 to 65, and included two medical doctors, thought they were buying a minor for sex.
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