Whereas, human trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world, it is also on the rise
here in the United States. According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, California had
the nation’s highest number of reported incidents of human trafficking with one third being Commercial
Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) minors and other forms of labor trafficking in the country;
Whereas, advocates are identifying and restoring victims of this heinous crime, and whose work
is recognized as vitally important both locally and nationally;
Whereas, in 2016, PROTECT was established as a collaborative between three non-profits
focused on IDENTIFYING AND PREVENTING the crime of human trafficking through education and
the development of a multi-grade level curricula, as well as the earliest form of intervention;
Whereas, through the creation of the human trafficking PROTECT program these nonprofits, the
Office of the Attorney General of the State of California, and the California Department of Education
have worked in partnership to deliver this program;
Whereas, CSEC is a form of human trafficking and child abuse, where the child is treated as a
commercial sexual object, involving the exchange of sexual activity for money or something of value;
Whereas, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports that the fast growing
criminal industry of commercial sexual exploitation affects 100,000-300,000 children a year nationally,
with children between the ages of 11-14 being the most common of victims coerced into the industry.
Children connected to the foster care and/or the juvenile justice system are disproportionately represented
as exploited youth;
Whereas, children are forced into various forms of labor exploitation in the state of California;
Whereas, exploited children endure complex trauma that negatively affects their psychosocial
development, physical health, and academic engagement, which may manifest in chronic absenteeism,
low academic performance, and increase the probability of school dropout;
Whereas, trauma is the result of human trafficking and has been known to cause high levels of
suicide ideation, substance abuse and shorter life expectancy;
Whereas, PROTECT’s funding is subject to availability of existing resources and contingent on
community partners including government, corporate, and non-profit organizations; now therefore, be it
RESOLVED, PROTECT recognizes that this is a priority of counties and localities and we
encourage schools to engage their local communities to invest in identification and prevention;
RESOLVED FURTHER, that the PROTECT coalition’s vision is to infuse awareness,
identification, prevention, and early intervention into all applicable counties beginning in 2016-2017;
RESOLVED FURTHER, the PROTECT coalition, in partnership with the Office of the Attorney
General of the State of California and the California Department of Education in solidarity with all state,
county, and local agencies is working to address and eliminate the human trafficking crisis that exists in
California; and
RESOLVED FURTHER, Counties will collaborate in the PROTECT model with the goal of
providing identification and prevention education in every school in their jurisdiction. A pilot that targets
schools with the highest chronic absenteeism will begin in 2016-17, and be expanded every year
thereafter. This program will include, but is not limited to: (1) 5th grade education (2) 7th grade education
(3) 9th grade education (4) 11th grade education.
RESOLVED BY STATE STAKEHOLDERS OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, Who take
great pleasure in honoring, commending and supporting the PROTECT collaborative for their outstanding
leadership and humanitarian commitment to providing human trafficking identification and prevention
education throughout the State of California.
Dated this 16th day of March, 2016