• Demand deterrence through full enforcement of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act against the key perpetrator in sex trafficking: the buyer of commercial sex. Shared Hope has called upon the Attorney General to use this grave deterrent to purchasing sex from a trafficking victim.
• Authorized funding for services for domestic victims of sex trafficking has not been appropriated. This means that foreign nationals rescued from trafficking here in the United States receive greater protection and more services than an American citizen or lawful permanent resident who have been victimized through trafficking. 
• Evidence shows that homeless and runaway youth comprise the bulk of the sex trafficked children in our cities. As such, resources to prevent and rescue these children from victimization must be tied to the programs addressing homeless and runaway youth.
• Federal agencies must begin to compile data on trafficked American youth. Data collection can be tied to funding for state level child protective service agencies, as well as other agencies and organizations operating programs for homeless and runaway youth, drug treatment, sexual assault and molestation treatment, and other issues related to or stemming from the sex trafficking of a child. Only through a comprehensive collection of data will we understand the true scope and appropriately design protective systems and treatment for the victims of this crime.

Shared Hope is in full support of H.R. 2730 - a bill introduced in August 2011 by Rep. Karen Bass (CA-33). This legislation seeks to: 1) require HHS to develop and distribute guidelines and best practices on addressing child trafficking at the state level to child welfare agencies; 2) expand services to age 21 to children under foster care who are identified as human trafficking victims; 3) expand the definition of child care institutions under the Social Security Act so that human trafficking shelters can be included for reimbursement; and 4) require state foster plans to include information on children identified as victims of trafficking and how programs are addressing their needs or plan to address the issue of child trafficking in the future.

FEDERAL INITIATIVES

• H.R. 2730 - Strengthening the Child Welfare Response to Human Trafficking Act of 2011
       H.R. 2730 Summary
• S.596 - Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2011
       S.596 Summary
       S.596 Summary  (one page)
       Outreach and Media response
       Faith-based Community Response