US Prevention ProjProposal 2014-201- Web Version

!

Love146 is a registered public charity and a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Love146 can only fund registered organizations or charities.

Project Name US Prevention Education

Organization Love146

Primary Contact Kimberly Casey, US Programs Director

Type of Project Prevention
Project Location United States
Project Start Date July 2010
Project Duration July 2014 – July 2015 (ongoing)
Overall Budget of Project $335,589

1. Please provide a brief description of the proposed Project (1-2 sentences).

The Love146 US Prevention Education program will deliver a whole-system prevention response
through direct implementation and training third parties for replication. The program will provide a
multi-level, nuanced approach to reach diverse populations of at-risk youth, as well as education
components for caregivers and professionals that interact with youth.

2. Please provide a brief description of the intended outcome(s) of the Project (1-2
sentences).

The Love146 US Prevention Education program will provide a scalable, multi-level curriculum that
will equip youth with the knowledge, skills and resources to safely navigate potential and existing
exploitative situations. Caregivers and professionals that interact with youth will also be trained how
to identify and respond to vulnerabilities and exploitation.

3. Please briefly describe the motivation (and/or experience) that leads you to propose the
Project (1-2 sentences).

Aftercare becomes necessary when prevention fails—when traffickers and exploiters reach children
before we do. It is our intention to employ the lessons learned through our work to create a model
prevention curriculum that will enable our teams to improve the efficacy of our program, reach a
more diverse population of youth, and scale the program through training and distribution to third
parties.

4. Please provide the name(s) of any collaborative partner(s) involved with the Project.

Page 1 of 8

!

My Life My Choice

Dr. Nancy Niemi, Education Department, University of New Haven

Dr. Amanda Bozack, Education Department, University of New Haven

Dr. David Finkelhor, Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire

Dr. Lisa Jones, Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire

Dr. Kimberly Mitchell, Crimes Against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire


I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As with most criminal networks and activities, human trafficking and the commercial sexual
exploitation of children (CSEC) in the United States is inherently complex and difficult to measure;
however the need for a targeted, comprehensive response intensifies as scrutiny increases and
layers of exploitation are revealed. Traffickers and others who determine to exploit youth are
strategic, organized and committed in their efforts. At Love146, we believe that our approach must
be more so.

Recognizing that the abolition of child sex trafficking and exploitation will require a relevant,
strategic and comprehensive prevention response, Love146 is commited to the development and
implementation of a best practice prevention education program. The Love146 US Prevention
Education program will deliver a whole-system prevention response through direct implementation
and training third-parties for replication. The program will provide a scalable, multi-level model that
will equip diverse populations of at-risk youth with the knowledge, skills and resources to safely
navigate potential and existing exploitative situations. Caregivers and professionals that interact with
youth will also be trained how to identify and respond to vulnerabilities and exploitation.

II. PROBLEM STATEMENT

Page 2 of 8

!

According to national and international standards, a person that has not reached the age of 18 and
is caused to engage in a commercial sex act (any sex act in which anything of value is given to or
received) is a victim of human trafficking and/or commercial sexual exploitation. By this definition, it
is estimated that 100,000 children are exploited for commercial sex (e.g. prostitution, pornography
and stripping) in the United States each year (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children).


Traffickers and buyers strategically exploit the vulnerability, lack of knowledge and aspirations of
children for their own benefit. Though all youth are at risk of recruitment and exploitation, there is a
subpopulation of youth that are particularly vulnerable. This includes, but is not limited to, children in
the foster care system, runaway and homeless youth, youth that identify as LGBTQ, and those with
a history of complex traumatic stress—resulting from continuous exposure to family dysfunction,
trauma, sexual abuse and other forms of abuse (e.g. bullying).


Most hoes have low self-esteem for a reason. A pimp looks for that weakness, and if it isn’t on the
surface, he brings that motherf***er out of them. It doesn’t matter to a pimp what a hoe’s weaknesses are,
so long as they have them. Then he uses those weaknesses to his advantage. They begin to see you as
their champion, their hero – even if the weakness you rescue them from is one you created. – Ken Ivy (aka
Pimpin Ken), Pimpology

Children that have been exploited often do not recognize themselves as victims of a crime. The
manipulation strategies set in place are successful in normalizing the abuse and/or convincing them
that they are at fault. As a result, fear, trauma bonding and Stockholm Syndrome—as well as a
society’s general perception and response to ‘prostitutes’—reduce self-identification. Youth in
situations where there is no visible or active third party exploiter face similar challenges and often
receive even less support as they are not considered “victim enough”.


Through our experience with program implementation, it has become increasingly evident that
youth, caregivers, and the professionals that work with youth often have little to no understanding of
this issue. What little awareness they do have about the issue is typically limited to an international
or sensationalized perspective. Consequently, they do not have the knowledge, skills or resources to
protect themselves or the children they interact with from exploitation. These deficits contribute to
low identification and intervention for youth with acute or chronic experiences that place them at
high-risk or those who are currently experiencing an exploitative situation.


The anti-trafficking community has placed significant emphasis on female, pimp controlled
trafficking; however we’ve learned through our work, and current research indicates, that this is not
reflective of what a significant number of youth in the United States experience. This myopic
approach exludes certain populations (e.g. boys and LGBTQ youth) and forms of trafficking (e.g.
gangs, interfamilial and survival sex) and, at a minumum, can leave youth ill-equipped to protect
themselves. Perhaps more concerning is the likelihood that a youth who’s exploitative experience
falls outside this norm may not self-identify with the material or question their “eligibility” as a victim.

Existing human trafficking and CSEC prevention curricula lack rigorous evaluation; therefore
assumptions regarding program theory is best gleaned from prevention models for analogous topics
such as bullying and dating violence. Often, prevention curricula is approached from an “information
deficit” model—the belief that youth will not participate in risky behaviors if they are given details
about the dangers of that activity. Evaluation of this method has revealed it has little effect. Instead,
information must be coupled with efforts to change peer group norms and teach youth how to resist
negative influences (Jones, 2014). In addition, programs that employ a “whole-school” or whole-
system response—with engagement of all members of the school or system and appropriate

Page 3 of 8

!

III. PROJECT OVERVIEW

Page 4 of 8

!

a) IMPACT & EXECUTION : Statement of Goals / Objectives & Measurements

Goal Objective Activity Measurement

Prevent Child Trafficking and Exploitation 1.1 Increase the number of youth, professionals and

caregivers who have received prevention education. (All) a. Provide prevention education

curriculum to youth in schools, group homes, detention centers and other community settings.


Number of youth, professionals and caregivers provided with prevention education through direct and

third party implementation.


b. Provide training and support to third-party stakeholders.

Number of third-party stakeholders provided with training and support.

1.2 Increase knowledge of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) (All) a.

Identify the causes and consequences of human trafficking & CSEC. 


Pre-/Post-Exam


b. Describe the controlling and manipulative methods that traffickers employ.
Pre-/Post-Exam

1.3 Decrease participation in risky behaviors that may increase vulnerabilities.  (Youth) a.

Identify ways to safety engage in physical and digital settings.


Self-report


Create and Sustain Opportunities for Early Intervention 2.1 Increase skills to navigate potential and
existing potential and existing exploitative situations. (Youth) a. Identify personal vulnerabilities and
those of their peers

Pre-/Post-Exam


Observation of classroom engagement


b. Model how to access identified resources and supports to increase

protective capacities for personal or peer vulnerabilities.  Pre-/Post-Exam

Observation of classroom engagement

2.2 Build positive peer connections to increase healthy support systems. (Youth)

a. Simulate helping behaviors to increase positive peer connections and healthy support
systems. Pre-/Post-Exam


Observation of classroom engagement


2.3 Increase knowledge and availability of local resources. (Professionals & Caregivers) a.

Model how to access identified resources and supports.  Pre-/Post-Exam


Observation of classroom engagement


b. Improve provision of resources to support vulnerable and exploited youth.
Self-report
2.4 Create nonjudgmental and safe environment for children. (Professionals & Caregivers) a.
Create an environment that supports self-identification of vulnerabilities, risky behaviors, abuse and
exploitation.

Number of disclosures


Page 5 of 8

!

IV. PROJECT BUDGET
Available Upon Request.


V. CONCLUSION

Page 6 of 8

!

To prevent the trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children, it is critical that we reach
children before traffickers and exploiters do. Our aim is to disrupt exploitation before it occurs or at
the earliest possible moment—understanding that intervention and restoration become increasingly
difficult as exploitation progresses.

We believe that youth are often best positioned to prevent exploitation, and empowering them to
protect themselves and their peers is the heart of the program. The youth curriculum will include
three levels of intervention, and will allow for adaptation to fit group demographics. Levels one and
two will be completed by the end of this fiscal year; initial preparations for level three will begin in
the fourth quarter. Until level three is developed, we will continue to utilize My Life My Choice.


The curriculum will address exploitation of male, female and LGBTQ youth, and will deliniate various
manifestations of trafficking and exploitation including pimp controlled, gang and organized crime,
interfamilial, and survival sex. In addition to providing information, there will be a strong emphasis on
skill development as well as attitude and behavior changes.


The importance of developing a whole-system response is one that can not be discounted. We
recognize that youth will interact with our prevention curriculum for a limited amount of time, and
long-term change will require more extended engagement. It is also critical to make certain that
when children reach out for help they are received with understanding and supportive care. To help
facilitate this, our team will develop education and resources for caregivers and professionals that
interact with youth—including information on how schools can develop and/or adapt their policies
and procedures to affect change.


Since 2010, our prevention team has reached more than 11,000 youth in Connecticut, Maryland and
Texas. This experience has provided us with a proven record of program implementation, and we’ve
developed an understanding of what is required for effective prevention education. We have also
come to recognize that in order to achieve scale and meet the demand for our program, we will
need to develop a mechanism to train third-parties to replicate our program. Once levels one and
two are complete and our team has conducted a pilot and developmental evaluation, we will
establish minimum requirements for program licensing and develop a training program for third-
parties. It is anticipated that training and distribution will begin in the third quarter.


Through research and collaboration with anti-trafficking stakeholders, the US Prevention team
critically examines our approach to ensure that our programs reach at-risk populations, are culturally
relevant and represent best practice interventions. We also work with those same stakeholders to
evaluate resources for at-risk youth, and provide a comprehensive resource guide at each of our
workshops. We never want to diagnose a problem without providing opportunities for supportive
care.


When the US Prevention Education program began, we had a theory. We believed that the
trafficking and exploitation of children in the United States was prevalent, but that it was not often
identified as such. We believed that as children and the adults that interact with them were
educated, perspectives on the realities of child trafficking and exploitation would change and that
disclosures of exploitation would increase. Our work has proven our assumptions correct. There is
still much to be done, but we are convinced that prevention education is a critical component in
ending child trafficking and exploitation.

Page 7 of 8

Page 8 of 8