[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 18, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6598-S6599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH:
  S. 1518. A bill improving outcomes for youth at risk for sex 
trafficking, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, there is an epidemic of abuse that is 
taking place in America today. Recent reports estimate that hundreds of 
thousands of children and youths are at risk of domestic sex 
trafficking.
  Individuals on the frontlines in the fight against domestic sexual 
trafficking of children report that instances are on the rise. They 
tell us former drug dealers have moved on to sex trafficking. They also 
tell us technological advances have made this type of trafficking 
easier as smart phones and other devices provide distance and increased 
levels of anonymity. Certain Web sites that post classified ads 
soliciting sexual partners also help facilitate trafficking.
  The risk of sex trafficking is compounded every year for up to 30,000 
young people who are ``emancipated'' from foster care. Too many of 
these emancipated youth turn 18, pack their few belongings in a trash 
bag and are driven to a homeless shelter, leaving them vulnerable and 
exposed to traffickers and other predators.
  While in foster care, children and youth are also at increased risk 
for trafficking.
  In July of this year, the FBI's Innocence Lost National Initiative, 
which combats domestic sex trafficking of minors, launched Operation 
Cross Country, a 3-day effort. Operation Cross Country recovered 105 
children and arrested 152 traffickers. The efforts of the Innocence 
Lost National Initiative and the results of Operation Cross Country are 
laudable. However, they also revealed a disturbing element of our 
Nation's child welfare and foster care systems. According to some 
reports, up to 60 percent of sexually exploited children are recruited 
out of the child welfare and foster care programs. That is an 
unbelievable statistic, but it is apparently true. Because of the 
trauma and past abuse suffered by children and youth in these systems, 
they are particularly vulnerable to traffickers.
  FBI officials involved in Operation Cross Country report:

       Law enforcement refers to these young children as 
     ``children with a void.'' Once the

[[Page S6599]]

     pimp identifies that void and makes every attempt to fill it, 
     a dependency between the child and the perpetrator develops.

  Law enforcement officers also report:

       The most vulnerable victims forced into sex trafficking 
     range in age from 13 to 16. Most of the children come from 
     either foster care homes or are considered runaways.

  In order to combat domestic sex trafficking and improve outcomes for 
children and youth in foster care, systemic changes need to be made in 
the current child welfare system.
  Therefore, today I am introducing the Improving Outcomes for Youth at 
Risk for Sex Trafficking Act of 2013. The short title of the bill is I 
O Youth.
  We do owe these youth. These are our country's most damaged and most 
vulnerable children. Yet most kids who age out of foster care face 
negative outcomes such as homelessness, teen pregnancy, drug addiction, 
and trafficking. We ought to do better.
  This legislation I am introducing today addresses some of the 
widespread conditions in the child welfare and foster care systems that 
make these children and youth particularly vulnerable to being sexually 
trafficked. I am sure most Americans would be surprised to learn that 
most child welfare agencies will not serve trafficked children and 
youth who are not in the custody of a biological or foster family or 
living in a group home.
  Often these children, who are not legally able to give consent for 
sex, are arrested for prostitution and referred to the juvenile justice 
system. In many States, the courts and the juvenile justice system are 
ill-equipped to deal with the trauma these children and youth have 
endured.
  My bill requires that States provide services to youth who have been 
trafficked or are at risk of being trafficked. The bill also redirects 
resources to improve the current court system to better identify and 
address needs of trafficked youth.
  Many youth in foster care are routinely denied the opportunity to 
participate in normal age-appropriate activities and social events such 
as playing sports, participating in afterschool activities, and 
enjoying a social life with friends. This lack of contact and 
engagement in healthy and meaningful activities deprives young people 
of important social connections. Preventing youth from having normal 
experiences impairs their healthy development and contributes to 
isolation and loneliness, which in turn makes them vulnerable to 
domestic sex trafficking, homelessness, drug abuse, poor educational 
outcomes, poverty, and, of course, other negative outcomes.
  My bill includes a number of provisions to encourage, enhance, 
support youth in foster care, facilitate their participation in age-
appropriate activities and social events. I hope these provisions will 
promote healthy development, increase meaningful opportunities to form 
meaningful connections, reduce the risk of vulnerability to domestic 
sex trafficking, and other negative outcomes.
  Another major risk factor for vulnerability to sex trafficking and 
other negative outcomes for older youth in care is a continued reliance 
on congregate care facilities. These facilities are routinely targeted 
by traffickers and are often warehouses for youth who are rarely, if 
ever, allowed to engage in healthy age-appropriate activities and 
social events.
  I understand that many of the children and youth in foster care are 
deeply traumatized and present with many acute physical and mental 
conditions. Some of these children and youth need intensive treatment 
to help them manage or overcome these conditions. I am pleased to 
report there are many good providers who are doing this work who 
support the legislation I am introducing today.
  I O Youth refocuses Federal priorities of connecting vulnerable youth 
with caring, permanent families. For those remaining in congregate care 
facilities, my legislation requires that youth have improved access to 
normal, age-appropriate activities.
  Youth in foster care report that they feel uninvolved, unaware, and 
disconnected to any planning around their care or their future. They 
are not informed of their rights while in foster care. This can lead to 
a sense of disenfranchisement and a lack of connection to siblings, 
relatives, or other caring adults. In many cases, this lack of 
connection contributes to the void so often preyed upon by traffickers.
  My bill requires that State child welfare agencies provide ongoing 
family finding for older youth in foster care. I O Youth, this bill, 
also requires greater participation of youth in planning for their 
future and encourages States to find individuals willing to be involved 
on an ongoing basis with the youth in foster care.
  Individuals who work with victims of domestic sex trafficking tell us 
the single biggest challenge with access to these victims is the lack 
of accessible and affordable housing. For older youth who have been 
emancipated from foster care, not having a place to sleep is often a 
reason why they enter into the sex trade. In order to improve housing 
options for these at-risk youth, my bill redirects funds from the 
social services block grant in order to provide housing to trafficked 
and other vulnerable youth.
  We live in very contentious times. There are fierce policy and 
partisan divides on many political issues. Domestic sex trafficking of 
children and youth from foster care is not one of those issues. If 
there is any issue under the Sun that is without controversy, it is 
this one.
  Last June, the Senate Finance Committee heard from a courageous 
survivor of domestic sex trafficking. She told us that she had been 
sold:

       to several other pimps that had sex with me and forced me 
     to have sex with other men. My story is sad, but it's common. 
     And, girls like me are all around, but people don't see them 
     so they remain victims.

  This young gentlelady went on to change her life, hold a regular job, 
and to testify against some of these so-called pimps. What a courageous 
young woman.
  It is time for us to pay attention to these girls and to all the 
children and youth in the foster care system.
  I expect my legislation to have broad, bipartisan support in the 
Senate. I am pleased that a number of organizations already support the 
bill, and I am particularly gratified that organizations that work 
directly with young people have come out so strongly in support of my 
legislation. I have received letters from support for I O Youth from 
FosterClub, Children's Home Society of America, the National Network 
for Young People in Foster Care, the National Center for Housing and 
Child Welfare, Covenant House International, Human Rights Project for 
Girls, The Children's Village, National Children's Alliance, and the 
International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. I am hopeful the 
Senate can come together to act quickly on my legislation. We owe these 
youth that much.
                                 ______