Order aims to boost efforts to address human trafficking in Arkansas – Texarkana Gazette

• LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has issued an executive order aimed at boosting efforts to prevent human trafficking and to protect children and youth in Arkansas.

Although the Arkansas State Police Child Abuse Hotline has accepted 243 reports of human trafficking involving minors since August 2017, Arkansas lacks a consistent, uniform screening and identification process of human trafficking, which has resulted in underreporting of this criminal action, according to tthe executive order that the Republican governor signed Tuesday.

Sanders said it's the policy of her administration to pursue a coordinated and integrated approach to safeguard children and prevent human trafficking in Arkansas by supporting victims and prosecuting human traffickers to the fullest extent of the law.

Within six months, the secretary of the state Department of Human Services is required under the executive order to present to the governor the following:

• A recommended standardized screening tool that may be implemented by state agencies, non-profit groups and private industry to help identify victims and provide the necessary resources to assist them.
• Updated human trafficking training and educational materials for local school districts.
• An analysis of current state law and department rules related to the confidentiality of victim records, including recommended revisions to ensure that agencies can share data and information across systems to better prevent, identify , and serve victims.
• Updated state protocol for assisting victims of human trafficking to apply for federal and state benefits and services, which shall be made publicly accessible and shall be shared with the governor's Cabinet.