Editorial l Jessie's Place receives grant for human trafficking training in schools

THE ISSUE:

For the second year, the Citrus County Community Charitable Foundation (CCCCF) has awarded a grant for human trafficking training for students and the community. It will be conducted by Jessie's Place, Citrus County's Child Advocacy Center, for fourth-graders and for middle schoolers, grades 6 through 8. Sessions will also be offered in the community.

Since the CCCCF was established, there has been discussion regarding its grant process. The nonprofit foundation's mission is to “award grants to groups and organizations that establish programs, research, or initiatives that promote the health or satisfy the medical needs of the residents of Citrus County.”

The question has been asked, is human trafficking really a health issue? And do we really need to talk about it to school-aged children? The answer is a resounding yes, for several reasons.

Florida was the first state in the nation, in 2019, to require schools to teach K-12 students about child trafficking prevention. According to the state's Department of Education, “Florida is third in the nation for numbers of reported cases of human trafficking, and the average age of trafficked youth is 11 to 13 years old.” Nearly 20 percent of trafficking cases involve minors, the DOE said, and up to 70 percent of sex trafficking and exploitation begins with predators connecting with youth online.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, the voice behind this year's controversial school-related enactments, said at the time, “Tragically, human trafficking is an epidemic in our country. Children of all ages need to know and understand the hazards of human trafficking and how to protect themselves from dangerous predators.”

Trafficking is trauma. It could be sex trafficking or labor trafficking, but it's all child abuse. Numerous studies demonstrate that trauma and toxic stress among minors – known as adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs – disrupt the developing brain and organ systems. ACEs increase the likelihood of having cancer, heart disease and diabetes as an adult, as well as potentially causing sufferers to experience chronic depression, be addicted to drugs or alcohol, or to attempt suicide.

Nearly 90 percent of Americans believe that being abused or neglected as a child has an extremely or very important impact on health as an adult. Social determinants of health – non-medical factors in the environment where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship and age – have an outsize effect on health, functioning and quality-of-life outcomes.

Citrus County is leading the way with this CCCCF funding that helps Jessie's Place educate students on how to recognize and prevent falling prey to trafficking overtures and traffickers – who can be other youth. It's not just sleazy middle-aged men, as participants in the evidence-based student and community education sessions will learn.

The county is also out in front by having Health in All Policies in its comprehensive plan. Preventing child abuse and neglect is a community issue, and having a health mindset among policymakers is important.

Finally, it is time for an update of the Community Health Needs Assessment. This year the CCCCF is taking the lead (previously it was the county's health department). Since they began, assessments have spotlighted mental health as a focus area where we need work. That's tied to ACES and all the conditions that make for vulnerability to trafficking. Let's focus on this and end trafficking, especially among children.