Native American Youth Impacted by Commercial Exploitation – Listening Session

Join us for a Listening Session on the Development of a Desk Guide for Social Workers on the “Commercial Exploitation of Native American Youth”

Register By Emailing Melissa.Gomez@cfpic.org (Due to limitation of spots, the registration link will be sent to you upon approval that you meet criteria of attendance – see below)

The Issue:

California has the largest population of Native American people in the United States and is home to one of the largest populations of youth with involvement in both the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice systems. Native youth, being disproportionately represented in these systems, face increased vulnerability and are at specific risk of victimization of human trafficking and commercial exploitation. Despite changes to law and policy in California that recognizes commercial exploitation as child abuse, service providers continue to face challenges when supporting Native communities, families and youth who are at risk or have been exploited.

*Who should Attend:

There may be future listening sessions, but this one, is reserved for tribal leaders and staff, county agency CSEC Program Coordinators and/or social workers who have direct experience in working with native youth and/or youth who have been impacted by commercial exploitation (sex and/or labor trafficking).

The Goal:

The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL), with the support of Child and Family Policy Institute of California’s Preventing and Addressing Child Trafficking (PACT) Project, Sovereign Bodies Institute, and diverse consultants, have partnered to develop a CSEC desk guide for California child welfare social workers.

The Desk Guide aims to:

• Provide education on the dynamics of exploitation, within the context of the history of Indigenous peoples in CA and the impact of generational trauma.
• Highlight culturally responsive resources and supports available in CA
• Identify promising practices to support Native Youth experiencing commercial exploitation.
•  Support California child welfare social workers to better serve Native Youth at risk of, or who are experiencing commercial exploitation.

Your Role/The Ask:

To inform this work and to gain your perspective and feedback, we will host two listening sessions on this topic. We ask you to bring your lens in working directly with both Native American youth and youth who have experienced commercial exploitation to participate in a conversation around existing barriers, promising practices and proposed solutions. We will also be asking questions around how to format the desk guide to best support social workers’ needs.

You can sign up to participate in one virtual 90-minute listening session on the following dates and times.

Register By Emailing Melissa.Gomez@cfpic.org (Due to limitation of spots, the registration will be sent to you upon approval that you meet criteria of attendance)