Child Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation Taken up at State and Federal Levels

Topic of Child Trafficking & Sexual
Exploitation Taken up at State and
Federal Levels
Last week, two informational hearings were held on the
issue of child trafficking and the commercial
exploitation of minors. On Tuesday the 14th, the
California Senate Human Services Committee held a
special hearing to review the issue, which included
testimony from a series of experts, a presentation from
the County Welfare Director’s Association and a well-researched briefing paper, which states that as many as
90 percent of victims are or were part of the child
welfare system. The research also found that as many
as 100,000 children are commercially exploited
nationally and that early adolescence (age 11 to 14) is
the most common time for children to fall prey to
exploitation.

On Thursday, May 16th, the issue was taken up by the
Congressional Caucus on Foster Care and the Senate
Caucus to End Human Trafficking. This informational
hearing featured leaders from the child welfare field,
including testimony from Presiding Judge of Los
Angeles County’s Juvenile Court Michael Nash, who
also serves as the President of the National Council of
Juvenile and Family Court Judges.

The Obama Admininstration's Federal Strategic Action
Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking was
presented at the hearing. Public comments on the plan
are due this Friday, May 24th and can be submitted by
following this LINK.

Unspoken voices club at SCC

Let Your Voice Be Heard! Help the kids.

The National Foster Care Coalition: Our
Eyes and Ears in D.C.
With May being National Foster Care Month, it’s a good
time to consider joining the National Foster Care
Coalition. Based in Washington D.C., the Coalition has a
front-row seat to policy issues playing out in the federal
government, including the role of the child welfare
system in the implementation of Affordable Care Act
implementation, immigration reform and much more.
The group is led by John Sciamanna, formerly with the
Child Welfare League of America, who distributes an
informative weekly policy update, the Capitol View on
Kids.

According to Amy Lemley of the John Burton
Foundation, joining the Coalition is an opportunity to
increase California’s influence in the federal child
welfare policy arena. “Despite the fact that California
has the nation’s largest child welfare system, our
voices are not loud enough in the federal policy
conversation,” said Lemley. “The National Foster Care
Coalition can play an important role in bringing our
state agenda to the federal level.” For more information
about the Coalition, follow this LINK.

Chafee Update

Sequestration Hits College Bound
Foster Youth
Last week the California Student Aid Commission
(CSAC) released a special alert regarding the reduction
of funding for the Chafee program as a result of
Sequestration, the across the board cuts imposed by
Congress earlier this year. The Chafee program, which
relies in part on federal funds, provides up to $5,000 for
foster youth participating in post-secondary education.
Fewer youth will have access to these awards as funds
will be reduced for award year 2012-13 by $233,000
and by $412,000 for award year 2013-14.

Students who have already received a reward in
previous years will continue to be prioritized over new
applicants. It is still vital however, that all eligible foster
youth apply for these funds even with the reduction in
funding. New awards are likely to be issued even with
funding reductions, and establishing eligibility early
increases the likelihood of receiving an award in future
years. Greater numbers of denied applicants also
provide valuable evidence to support advocacy efforts
to increase the Chafee funding allocation.

Thought you should know.

Hello all
I created this blog for a class project and my class is now comming to a end. But no worries! I have decided i love this space i have created and will continue my postings and rambles. I am always here to talk and if you need a resource that you cant find let me know and ill do everything i can to find it for you. If there is not one out there maybe its time we creat it huh? Peace out guys

Hello Everyone

I just wanted to wish you all a good friday, have fun and be safe out there tonight.

Awesome News!! From college blueprint

Creating a Blueprint: Supporting Current and Former
Foster Youth in Higher Education

Mark your calendar and save the date for California
College Pathway's Blueprint conference on Wednesday,
October 23, 2013. This professional development
opportunity will include more than a dozen workshops
designed to highlight essential strategies that support
foster youth to turn their dreams into degrees. The
conference is open to all those who support foster
youth success in higher education including
administrators, educators, campus support program
staff, policy makers, advocates, child welfare
professionals and community-based providers.
Content relevant to providers from outside of California
will also be featured at the conference.

The conference will take place at the California
Endowment Center for Healthy Communities in Los
Angeles, located at 1000 North Alameda Street.

A pre-conference reception open to conference
attendees will be held the evening of October 22nd at
the Omni Hotel.

Registration will open mid-summer so watch your e-mail for further announcements or visit our website at
www.cacollegepathways.org.

Did You Know?

Only 1% of foster youth graduates from college and only 54%  graduate from high school.