US: When foster care kids are sex trafficked, some states fail to figure it out

Ohio Capital Journal – November 24, 2023

Foster care children are especially vulnerable to sex trafficking, and a 2014 federal law requires state authorities to screen missing children when they are found to determine whether they were sexually exploited. But a federal audit suggests that some states are failing in that duty, missing opportunities to connect kids with help and prevent further harm. The report last year on five states (Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Texas) by the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found no evidence of a screening in 65% of the 413 case files of returned children between 2018 and 2019. The auditors selected those states because they reported the most runaway or missing children in 2018.

When foster care kids are sex trafficked, some states fail to figure it out