Child and Family Teaming Implementation for Complex Needs Youth: Commercially Sexually Exploited Children/Youth (CSEC, CSEY)

This introductory, one-day Child and Family Team Process class is designed to help provide training to all system of care staff that could participate on or support the implementation of a Child and Family Team process and the Integrated Core Practice Model. These system of care staff come from Child Welfare agencies, Juvenile Probation agencies, Mental/Behavioral Health agencies, the Court, Family and Youth-Driven agencies and contracted community-based organizations across California.

Foster youth are at a higher risk of exploitation and this class will help staff understand issues related to Commercially Sexually Exploited Children or Youth (CSEC, CSEY), risk factors, signs of exploitation and how to support youth who have been CSEC victims. The class will also focus on prevention and crisis response. Emphasis will be on engagement, impact of trauma, identifying risk factors, building the best team, recognizing signs of exploitation, and lastly identifying opportunities to support youth who are/were/or could be CSEC victims. Engaging CSEC victim’s unique needs must be discussed and planned around in the Child and Family Teaming process. This workshop will help improve knowledge and understanding of the stages of change and the key assessments and support to meet the complex needs of youth and their families affected by CSEC.

Participants will be able to:
  • Define Commercially Sexually Exploited Children
  • Describe and practice skills related to engagement including understanding culture and impacts of trauma-related to exploited youth
  • Identify basic legal issues related to CSEC
    • Basic elements of human trafficking laws
    • Elements of the commercial sexual exploitation of children
    • How human tracking laws relate to exploited children
    • Mandatory reporting
    • The intersection of CSEC, DMST, and the juvenile justice and child welfare systems
  • Describe the practice of building the best team for a CSEC involved youth.
  • Interpret acronyms of commonly used terms and agencies/initiatives involved in combating human trafficking
  • Identify common physical and behavioral indicators of commercial sexual exploitation as well as risk and warning signs
  • Describe how societal factors contribute to demand for commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth
  • Identify tools that can be used in the identification and assessment of victims of trafficking

This course will provide a framework for understanding the issues around CSEC as well as how to identify, address treatment and service needs for youth and develop a response to it within your community and agency.
Course Code
505683