Children at Risk: Foster Care and Human Trafficking

In recent years, federal and state laws have recognized that children are vulnerable to human trafficking, especially commercial sexual exploitation. Youth in foster care have experienced a number of traumatic experiences that make them particularly vulnerable to being trafficked. In response to federal and state legislation, promising practices and system interventions have been developed to better identify and provide services to trafficked, exploited, and vulnerable youth in foster care. Effective system responses are multi-disciplinary, survivor-centered, and flexible to the needs of vulnerable and exploited children and youth.