Human Trafficking Prevention in PWCS
History
After receiving an initial grant from the Potomac Health Foundation in 2013, PWCS developed a human trafficking prevention program and from 2016 on, the program has been funded by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services with funds made available to the Commonwealth of Virginia from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. Since 2018, PWCS has fully funded the program and a human trafficking prevention specialist position.
Program Components
Prevention
- Over 47,193 high school students have participated in an interactive 90 minute lesson taught in ninth grade Health and PE programs since the inception of the program in 2013.
- Following the lesson, 1,083 PWCS students have come forward and met with a school social worker regarding concerns about themselves or their friends.
- Overall, students consistently demonstrated large gains (56-72%) in perceived knowledge about human trafficking based on pre/post testing.
- Since 2013, 255 PWCS students have been identified as having been sexually assaulted, groomed, or victims of trafficking.
- The average case load includes 50 juvenile trafficking cases per academic year with approximately 20 new cases identified annually. As of the 2022-23 school year, 60 cases are being case managed by the human trafficking prevention specialist.
Response
- School social workers in collaboration with the human trafficking prevention specialist, assess the individual needs of the student and utilize community-based resources to get students the help needed to begin the healing process.
- The Family and Assessment Planning Team (FAPT) partners with PWCS to provide Children's Services Act (CSA) funding. FAPT collaborates with case managers–which can be PWCS Comprehensive Child Study (CCS) social workers–and families to develop individualized service plans for referred youth.
- Referal to the Prince William County Multi-Disciplinary Team (which includes case collaboration with state, federal, and local agencies).
For more information please contact:
Tiffany DiBenedetto, MSW
Human Trafficking Prevention Specialist & Foster Care Liaison
dibenetm@pwcs.edu
Virginia Human Trafficking Response Campaign
For more information and resources on human trafficking, visit the Department of Criminal Justice Services Human Trafficking Response webpage.
Human Trafficking in Virginia
Department of Criminal Justice Services