Trapped in Lives of Misery: Human Trafficking

Human trafficking, a multi-billion dollar, international enterprise has become a worldwide threat. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers. Human traffickers prey on the most innocent and vulnerable people, forcing them into modern-day slavery for the purpose of exploitation—prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, slavery, forced labor or service, servitude or the removal of organs.

Although human trafficking is a worldwide problem; a staggering 100,000 children are thought to be involved in the sex trade in the United States alone. Human trafficking is a growing problem right here in Ohio. The most common age in Ohio for youth to become victims of child sex trafficking is 13 years old. A recent study found that out of 207 individuals, 49 percent were under 18 years old when they were first trafficked. Research shows that youth who have been sexually abused or are repeat runaways are more likely to be victims of human trafficking. For this reason, the child welfare system is a key community partner in the identification and service of at-risk teens.  

Building upon Attorney General Richard Cordray’s Trafficking in Persons Study, Attorney General Mike DeWine launched the Human Trafficking Commission in August 2011. The Human Trafficking Commission includes elected and appointed officials, religious groups, members of local, state, and federal law enforcement, public and private social agencies, and schools. This group meets regularly to find ways to help victims and prosecute traffickers.

The Human Trafficking Commission was a major contributor in the passing of House Bill 262, more commonly known as the Safe Harbor Law. This law improves care for juvenile trafficking victims. The Safe Harbor Law increased human trafficking charges to a first-degree felony with a mandatory prison term of at least ten years. Upon release from prison, human traffickers are also required to register as sex offenders. This law also allows records of adult human trafficking victims to be expunged.

The Human Trafficking Commission can’t stop human trafficking alone. At Family & Children Services of Clark County, we make the safety and well being of children our number one concern. Citizens are encouraged to report suspected cases of child abuse, neglect, dependency or human trafficking, especially when observing the following:

• Extreme security measures locking employees in—barbed wire inside of a fence, bars covering the insides of windows.

• Individuals who seem controlled or manipulated—not allowed to speak for themselves or go out in public alone.

• At nail salons, look for sleeping bags or a living space that may indicate employees are living where they work. Another indication may be if workers at this salon are driven to the store in groups all at once.
• When communicating with workers, answers seem scripted or rehearsed.
• Workers are very young, timid or particularly submissive.

• Young children serving in a family restaurant.

• An older male checking into a hotel with a young female or females.

• The use of slang terms for “pimp,” including “boyfriend” or “daddy”.

• A tattoo of a man’s name or a slang name on the female’s neck, leg, or shoulder.

• An individual who carries multiple cell phones, laptops, etc.

To learn more about child abuse prevention, visit Family & Children Services (FCS) or the Clark County Child Advocacy Center (CAC) online.

 

Wear Blue to Support the Prevention of Child Abuse: April 10

Wear Blue Campaign

A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds.

Every year, six million children in the United States experience child abuse and neglect. The United States looses a staggering five children every day to abuse-related deaths—the highest of any industrialized nation.

Clark County Family and Children Services ask you to join us as we stand up and support the prevention of child abuse. Wear Blue is a statewide awareness campaign that takes place during Child Abuse Prevention Month, on the second Wednesday of every April. We encourage families, friends, neighbors, colleagues, organization staff, school personnel, students, volunteers and others to Wear Blue on April 10, 2013, to show their support.

History

In 2011, Stark County Job & Family Services decided to promote “Wear Blue to Work” (WB2W) day instead of holding a pinwheel planting ceremony for Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. Local businesses and partners were enlisted to encourage employees to wear blue to work on one day in April, take group photos, and publish them to the agency’s (and the company’s) Facebook page. In conjunction with the one-day event, the agency opted to use the image of a blue pinwheel instead of a blue ribbon to represent child abuse prevention.

In 2012, Public Children Services Association of Ohio and its committee of public information officers across the state adopted “Wear Blue to Work” as a statewide campaign focused on grassroots outreach to community businesses and other partners. The campaign was a huge social media success, improving the number of “likes” on agency Facebook pages, encouraging “water-cooler conversations,” and giving supporters of child abuse prevention a symbolic action behind which to rally. The campaign was successful at the state level too, as Governor John Kasich, legislators, and other officials participated by wearing blue and sharing photos with their constituents and communities.

This year, the committee has rebranded the campaign as “Wear Blue. Child Abuse Is Preventable,” and has earmarked the second Wednesday of every April for the “Wear Blue” observance going forward. In dropping “to work,” we recognize that individuals can participate in raising awareness by wearing blue anywhere—to work, to school, to a community event or meeting, and even at home.

Why Blue?

While blue has been adopted by a number of causes (see Wikipedia, the blue ribbon), it has long been associated with child abuse awareness, often using a solid light blue ribbon. Among certain advocacy organizations, the ribbon is sometimes worn as a braided bracelet by survivors of violent physical or sexual child abuse in memory of victims. Navy blue is also associated with human trafficking and sex slavery awareness. Because of the association with child abuse awareness, “Wear Blue” has become the basis of this campaign, and the second Wednesday of each April has been designated as “Wear Blue Day.”

Clark County Family and Children Services encourages you to show your support and wear blue on April 10^th—take pictures of your group and share it on our Facebook page. Together, we can bring awareness to the prevention of child abuse! 

Interview with Tracy Perks: Independent Living Program for Clark County Foster Kids | Part 2

We recently spoke to Tracy Perks, the independent living coordinator for Clark County Family and Children Services, and she shared with us a little bit about her role and how the Independent Living program helps foster kids in Clark County.

How do you determine which foster child gets independent living services?
All foster children can receive independent living services. We want to provide services to them in any way we can.

What are the services provided to 15-18 year olds?

The big indicator that helps us determine what services a child needs is how they score on the Daniel Memorial Institute Assessment.
The first category on the assessment is money management. We help the youth set up a bank account. This helps the youth start a savings account, and then when they start working they can open a checking account. We also help them make a budget.

Category 2 is food management. We try to help them realize that they can’t eat out all the time and also try to instill the value of using coupons and eating healthy meals at home.

Personal appearance is category 3. Most know how to care for themselves, but others may have developmental disabilities, and they need more help.

Health is category 4 on the assessment. We educate and train youth in foster care on finding a doctor and making medical appointments. While in the program, the youth continue receiving medical coverage. Homemaking is category 5. We emphasize the importance of how to keep a clean and safe home.

Transportation is the next category. We help the youth learn how to use the bus system, and we can help pay for driver’s education. Once the youth turns 18 and they have their driver’s license, if they have $2,000 in their savings account, we will match that amount to help the youth purchase a car. One girl we worked with had $2,200 in her savings account, and the car she was looking at was $4,500. The gentleman who was selling the car lowered the price, and the girl paid half and we paid half to help her buy her first car. The youth are responsible for paying for their own car insurance, but we assist in helping them get that set up.

In addition, we have a certain amount of money set aside in our budget for extracurricular activities at school, school trips, senior pictures and other graduation costs. It is something that we enjoy doing because we do not want our youth to miss out on those important events in a teenager’s life.

Education planning is category 7. For education planning, the big thing is getting the youth to graduate, making sure they are in the right classes, and making sure the students are receiving tutoring if they need it. I have a packet for juniors and seniors titled “How foster kids can get into college?” and it shows them what they should be doing every month during their junior and senior year to prepare for college.

We make sure school counselors are in contact with us, college applications are being filled out and financial aid paperwork is getting done. We also take the youth on college tours. We continue education planning all the way through college to achieve the best possible outcome. We would not be doing our youth justice if we stopped providing services to them, halfway.

Do you have any success stories you would like to share?

A couple girls who are sisters come immediately to mind. They came from a challenging family background and had been involved with our system for a long time along with their brothers.

Both of the girls graduated from high school with honors. One of the sisters received her LPN from Clark State. She participated in our independent living program and had her own apartment through Choices. She successfully completed the program and is working towards her RN license.

The other sister is doing the same thing. She is in the independent living program, has her apartment through Choices, works at a nursing home almost full time and goes to Clark State full time. She will graduate this year from Clark State with her LPN license.

These two girls are a big part of the reason why I do what I do. Knowing our Agency helped them achieve their goals to become successful citizens and make a change within their family dynamic. That is all the thanks I need!

Interview with Tracy Perks: Independent Living Program for Clark County Foster Kids | Part 1

We recently spoke to Tracy Perks, the independent living coordinator for Clark County Family and Children Services, and she shared with us a little bit about her role and how the Independent Living program helps foster kids in Clark County.

Can you tell us about your position with the independent living program in Clark County?
Since I started working here almost 15 years ago, I have worked in the independent living area. I was promoted to the coordinator position in June.

We are currently serving 35 emancipated and independent living youth. Emancipated youth are children who aren’t in foster care and are between the ages of 18-21 (sometimes 22). Independent living youth are those between the ages of 15-18, and we work with them to prepare them to live independently.

We work with Choices Inc. to help our youth find and stay in an apartment. The youth start paying for rent and utilities in order to get them to be able to pay for these things long-term. Our program is designed so that youth can become self-sufficient with their own apartment, furniture and stable credit. We do everything we can to help them be self-sufficient.

Can you explain how the program works?
We start with youth ages 15-21. Each of the youth completes the Daniel Memorial Institute Living Assessment for Life Skills before they begin the program. This assessment evaluates a young person’s independent living skills, and based on the results the institute gives an exercise packet to the youth and the foster parent they are living with. We then use that assessment tool to help us develop an independent living plan which consists of education, independent living classes, employment, money management, social and relationship building skills, etc.

As part of our program, the emancipated youth participate in an independent living group once a month through Choices. For independent youth, we help them find jobs and provide them with coaching. We are dedicated to helping the kids complete high school and graduate. We also encourage post-secondary education and take them on college tours and visits. We help them do the financial aid paperwork. Many of them don’t know that their status as a foster child qualifies most kids for a $5,500 Pell Grant through their FAFSA financial aid application.

Read our next post to find out more about the Independent Living Program and how it helps foster kids bridge the gap from foster care to adulthood.

Interview with Kristie Heckman: Kinship Care Offers Hope to Children and Families in Clark County

Earlier this week we spoke to Kristie Heckman, supervisor of Clark County’s Kinship Navigator Program, to learn more about the program and its role in our community. The Kinship program is a vital part of Clark County Family and Children Services. It connects children who cannot remain in their own homes with a relative or non-relative adult or family whom they have a relationship with who can care for them. Kristie shared a little bit about the program when we spoke:

What is the Kinship Program?

We provide case-management, information referral and supportive services to children who are placed with a relative or family friends when they can’t remain in their own homes.

Does Clark County Family and Children Services look to kinship care or foster care first?

Kinship has become the first resort over foster care with children, and over the last few years we have expanded on the program. If the child cannot remain with their biological parents and has to be removed from their home, we will look for someone the child has a preexisting relationship with to explore every possibility for kinship before moving on to foster care.

How many children are in kinship care versus foster care in Clark County?

We are currently servicing around 100 children in foster care and 75 children in kinship care. When our grant started in 2009 we had about 150 kids in foster care, so we’ve seen about a 35 percent decrease in the last three years.

What are the benefits of placing a child in kinship care versus foster care?

First of all, I just want to say I have the utmost respect for foster parents, and there is absolutely a time and a place for them. We definitely have a need for foster homes. But it is extremely traumatic to remove a child from their home. When you remove them and place them with someone they already have a relationship with, there is greater stability, fewer placement changes, and they are also more likely to live with their siblings.

Where does Kinship find providers?

We will look anywhere and everywhere for providers who have relationships with these children, and definitely not just in Clark County. Today we actually just put a social worker with a baby on a plane to Las Vegas. The baby is going to live with his grandma in Nevada. We’ll look anywhere to find providers.

Do you have any stories or successes to share with us from your involvement with the program?

It’s hard to pull out one or two success stories because a lot of times when children are removed they do not go home. Anytime we can provide permanency with a family member it is a success.

One special family does stand out in my mind, though. We had four children under the age of 4 who needed a safe, stable place to live. We found a provider that lived two hours away. She was a 2nd cousin to the parents, and we had to dig deep to find her. Her kids were all grown, but she stepped up and took all four children. Each had significant speech, emotional and physical delays, and the parents had a significant history of domestic violence.

The provider started out temporarily, and she came once a month to team meetings. She worked hard to coordinate with the parents, but they were not very responsive. So after a little while the caregiver willingly said that she would raise them, and we ended up closing the case. Since then the kids have just flourished. They have come so far in their development and emotional well-being. It’s so awesome! She’s just done wonders with them.

What kind of support system does the program offer for providers?

We have a partnership with the Rocking Horse Community Health Center in Springfield, Ohio. We offer a kinship support group at the center. It runs for 8 sessions and cycles often. We provide a full dinner and child care to give caregivers the night off once a week. There’s also a curriculum that Kinship works through with the caregivers. The curriculum and event provides the kinship caregivers with the support that they need.

What is your position like as supervisor?

I supervise a unit of five social workers. Four of the caseworkers carry formal ongoing cases, which means that the cases are formally open in the child welfare system. The fifth social worker guides the kinship home studies and takes care of the informal home cases. Informal cases come in through the screening process, but the cases might not meet the criteria to be investigated. Technically by law we wouldn’t have to service that child or family, but there’s still a need there. Because we have the kinship initiative, we can help in these cases. For instance, in a case where a grandma calls and says she wants custody of her granddaughter because her daughter dropped the child off and hasn’t returned in months, we usually wouldn’t screen in the case. But this could potentially become problematic down the road, and with Kinship Care we can take some steps so that the grandma can be provided case management and obtain guardianship, enabling her to enroll the kids in school.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I spend a lot of time in meetings! We do a lot of team decision making around here, and we staff a lot of cases. Any time we look at permanency or removal we decide as a team. And when people make referrals to us – whether in person or on the phone – we decide as a team whether or not to screen the case to be investigated.

Becoming A More Annoying You! (Workplace Etiquette)

Some of our employees recently attended a speakers conference where Jeff Havens presented “Becoming A More Annoying You.” This humorous take on workplace etiquette and office behavior was very funny AND very informative. We all enjoyed it, and we hope you do also.

Why We Love Pinterest!

Ok. We’ve done it! We’ve joined the Pinterest craze! This year, we launched a Clark County Family & Children Services Pinterest page to share our favorite blogs, books, crafts and more.

Check out some of our favorite boards …

Cakes

We love seeing what creative people can make with flour and sugar, and we’ve built a Pinterest board around some of our favorites. Take a peek…

Books

We all have our favorite classic kids books or new go-to reads for our own kids. Our book board gathers the best of them. … Any titles you think we should add?

Blogs

We’re also pulling in some of our favorite blog posts onto our blog board. We love how Pinterest highlights our fun photos that go along with each post. … Because who doesn’t love pictures? (Actually, there’s data to back up that we do love pictures and that a picture really is worth 1000 words: “A 2012 study by ROI Research found that when users engage with friends on social media sites, it’s the pictures they took that are enjoyed the most” -FastCompany 2012)

So if you are in on the Pinterest craze like we are, tell us: What’s your favorite board?