Transcript for Webinar 2: Trafficking of Youth with Disabilities: What Human Trafficking Service Providers Need to Know JODY HASKIN: Welcome, and thank you for joining us today for this important webinar on the intersection of human trafficking and youth with disabilities. I'm Jody Haskin. And with me is Jae Jin Pak. We are with the International Organization for Adolescence or IOFA. And we will be co-presenting the training today on the trafficking of youth with disabilities. This webinar is brought to you as a partnership between IOFA, the National Human Trafficking and Disabilities Working Group, the National Resource Center for Reaching Victims, and Vision 21. This is an Office of Victims of Crime funded project. We're so happy you're joining us today. And we'd like to take a moment now to introduce ourselves and our work on the topic of today's webinar. My role at IOFA for the past seven years has focused on youth who have experienced sex or labor trafficking. My work centers on partnering with direct service organizations and helping them to build capacity to be better equipped to understand human trafficking, identify young people who might be trafficked, and to provide appropriate services or referrals for young people. JAE JIN PAK: Ready? Hi, there. My name is Jae Jin Pak. I've worked in the areas of gender-based violence prevention, crisis intervention, disability, cultural competency, and anti-trafficking. And I'm grateful to be the project coordinator for this project. I also am a person living with multiple disabilities-- vision impairment and epilepsy. Working with people with disabilities is very personal to me. JODY HASKIN: We all understand that human trafficking is a complex crime and addressing it requires communities to work together in ways that they may not have before. No single agency can do it alone. This project is a collaboration of a few organizations with varying areas of expertise, including addressing the trafficking of children and youth, working with persons with disabilities, and addressing violence and crime. Jae Jin and I represent IOFA, a US based non-profit organization, working globally since 1999 to address human trafficking and exploitation, and also the National Human Trafficking and Disabilities Working Group. The Working Group's mission is to prevent the trafficking of individuals with disabilities and deaf individuals and to advance the health and well-being of those who've experienced trafficking with disabilities and deaf survivors of trafficking through research, policy, analysis, technical assistance, and training. This presentation was created in collaboration with survivors of trafficking, those who've experienced trafficking, advocates, and self-advocates in the disability community. As a result of participating in this webinar today, we hope that you'll gain the following-- an increased understanding of the role of human trafficking provider who serves youth with disabilities, an increased awareness of disabilities, an improved ability to identify and support potential or confirmed youth survivors of human trafficking with disabilities, and an increased understanding of the intersection between human trafficking and disability. Now, you may be wondering why providers serving youth who have experienced trafficking might need to learn about youth with disabilities. What's the connection there? So through our conversations with trafficking providers across the country, we began to hear more and more cases of youth with disabilities who have been trafficked. Because this intersection hasn't widely been a focal point for research and data, however, there is little awareness and guidance about identifying and serving young people with disabilities who may have been trafficked. Without a bigger movement to highlight how trafficking impacts youth with disabilities, we may be missing an entire community of people who may need services. For those young people who are seeking services, anti-trafficking programs and agencies may be unintentionally creating barriers for the youth to fully participate or to even find their services. The reality is that while all youth are vulnerable to being exploited by traffickers, youth with disabilities are at a higher risk for being targeted for a number of reasons, which we will discuss at more length as we move forward with this presentation. It is important for service providers serving traffic youth to be aware of targeting, grooming, and abuse that is unique to young people with disabilities. Some human trafficking providers may have limited experience working with youth with disabilities and perhaps even less experience serving youth with disabilities who have experienced trafficking. It's important for you as human trafficking service providers to learn how to ensure that your program is prepared to screen, assess, serve, and refer trafficked youth with disabilities appropriately. As service providers, many of the youth you serve may have a disability that requires certain accommodations in order to access services and supports that they're entitled to under the law. When we talk about risk factors for trafficking in this presentation, when we talk about in the context of a disability, we want to be clear that individuals with disabilities are often at risk because our systems and society fail our young people. And youth with disabilities are often left unsupported. Traffickers often target youth who may be let down by larger systems that should be supporting them. Another note to keep in mind throughout the presentation is that you'll hear the term youth, children or child, and minor. For the most part, we will be using the term youth because this is the broadest way for us to define young people with regard to the population that we serve. We know that young people of all ages are trafficked. And the guidance we're giving today, however, will most likely fit best with a definition of youth that includes young people from grade school-aged all the way up to their mid 20s. We will use the term minors to describe youth under the age of 18. As we know, this is an important term when defining youth sex trafficking. JAE JIN PAK: All youth are at risk of being exploited by traffickers. However, research indicates that youth with disabilities at least three times more likely than children with without disabilities to be sexually abused. Children with intellectual and mental health disabilities appear to be the most at risk with 4.6 times the risk of sexual abuse as their peers without disabilities. Many of the same factors that put young people at risk for sexual exploitation also puts them at risk for trafficking. Researchers agree that there is a growing number of sexually exploited and trafficked children with disabilities in the United States. Yet, few programs emphasize the unique experiences and needs of this population. We understand through anecdotal evidence and from some research from the field that trafficking is happening in our disability communities. We know the risk factors. We know the traffickers are targeting young people with disabilities. But we are still at the formative stages of research identification and programming for youth with disabilities impacted by trafficking. A literature suggests that although the number of exploited children with disabilities is increasing, we still have very few programs that can adequately and confidently meet the unique care and service needs of this population. That is where you come in. This training will provide you with guidance on understanding what trafficking is, how it impacts young people, and how to support children and youth with disabilities who are also survivors of trafficking. To start with, we'll describe the crime of human trafficking and talk about how it works in terms of youth with disabilities. To help get a better understanding of what disability is-- to help get a better understanding of what disability is and how it may be a risk factor in trafficking, we will start with a few true or false questions. As I ask the question, you can jot down your answer to compare with the answer. The first statement is, in the United States, the term disability has a clear definition that is used across all disability service organizations, government agencies, and policies and within cultures. Take a moment and consider whether this statement is true or false. Now we'll will reveal the answer. The answer is false. Reality is that there are many different definitions of disability. We'll move on the statement 2. The second statement is, all youth with a disability are required to take social classes, such as sex ed in school. Take a moment to consider whether this is true or false. Now we'll reveal the answer. It's false. Youth who participate in special education classes are often overlooked for classes on relationships and sex education and may miss out on important information, such as learning about consent. Often youth with disabilities are considered by peers and adults as asexual, which is untrue. Let's try one more statement. Finally, we have statement number 3. Some youth with disabilities do not know they have a disability, whether they've been diagnosed or not. Again, take a moment to consider is this true or false. Now we'll reveal the answer. Which is true. Some youth do not know they have a disability. They may not know what an IEP is. And an IEP is an individualized education plan. Or they may not know if they receive an SSI check. An SSI check is social security supplemental income, which is additional income that many people with disabilities qualify. Again, now, if you didn't get answers to all these statements correctly, we hope you learned something new. Now, let's learn exactly-- talk about what disability is. How do we define disability? So the ADA or the Americans with Disabilities Act is the legal way to define disability. It is, as bullet 1, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. Additionally, it can be having an individual having a record of such an impairment. Or thirdly, can- - a person is regarded to having such an impairment. So the definition of the ADA is included here just so you have the language, but also to serve as a reminder that the ADA is the source at the federal level for all guidance that serves-- service providers have a legal responsibility to follow in support of persons described on this slide as having a disability. So additionally, another definition of disability is the social model of disability. And the social model disability defines disability as a social construct based upon social structures and expectations. It is these structures, both physical and intangible, that limit a person with functional differences rather than an impairment, which is simply a part of the individual. So for example, if buildings were built with ramps rather than stairs, a person requiring a wheel, who is using or requiring a wheelchair for mobility, would not be functionally limited in that particular space. So again, this idea of how if we-- the social model looks at the idea of attitudes and policies that are more adaptive and inclusive. Again, disability can be physical, mental, emotional, sensory, sensory-related, or the result of a social construct. What is most important to recognize is that we are all unique. And a youth's individualized support needs should be identified and respond to. So moving on, additionally, in addition to the social model of disability, there is the medical model disability. And in considering this, it is important that you will not-- excuse me. You will want to not only make sure that your own organization is inclusive and accommodating, but also that any providers that you refer a youth to can accommodate any unique support needs they have. For example, a safe house may not be built to accommodate a wheelchair or work with a youth who requires medicines to be administered by injection. So it's important to keep this in mind. Now, as-- in terms of what's on the slide is that we're also looking at the category of physical and mobility impairment, or mobility disabilities, which are characterized by movement is functionally limited. A person may use a mobility base such as a cane or a wheelchair or a walker. And it can also be a partial-- someone with partial paralysis or full paralysis or one with an amputation. Kind of highlighting mobility and physical. Another type of disability is also sensory impairments. Sensory impairments are characterized by one or more senses that are functionally limited. That person may use an adaptive device such as glasses, hearing aids. Examples could be the person who is blind or deaf. But sensory disabilities could also include people who have no sense of touch or smell. Another category or type of disability is developmental and/or intellectual. These are characterized by physically-- physicality. Either a person's body has physically developmental differences. Learning differences or learning disabilities. Behavior or communication may be functionally limited. Depending on their disability, the needs will be very different and will vary. Examples of these include cerebral palsy or the autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, again, another type of disability, category or type, is mental and/or emotional, categorized by functional limitations, like mental processing or cognitive ability is-- or the ability to monitor their behavior or emotional state can be limited. And again, depending on their disability, their needs will vary. Examples of mental health or emotional disabilities could be mood disorders. Eating disorders, Personality and/or behavioral disorder. Talk about the aspects of society that contributes to making youth with disabilities a higher risk target for traffickers. I'm going on the idea why are youth with disabilities at higher risk for trafficking? In the first box, you'll see that youth with disabilities are socialized to follow an able-bodied authority. A common message sent to use is that able-bodied adults and peers know better, and you should trust their judgment simply because they are able-bodied while you are not. There are also a number of myths and stereotypes, myths and negative stereotypes, surrounding the disability community. A negative picture of dependency is often painted of these individuals, and this reinforces the incorrectly that people with disabilities are somehow less than they're typically able peers. And will require an able-bodied person to care of them. Another concerning this is that youth with disabilities don't need to be taught about their bodies because they will not be sexually active. This is often can mean that a youth will have never been taught about body autonomy. 97% to 99% of abusers are known and trusted by their victims. So not informing all use of their rights and boundaries is incredibly dangerous. Myths, stereotypes, also serve to promote the othering of disability, which allows for disabled youth be seen as an outsider that is different from and should be ignored by society. This brings me to the third factor, which is social powerlessness and isolation. Social powerlessness is a concern with all youth, but is especially problematic in youth that have been disenfranchised or historically viewed and treated as less valuable to society than their typically able peers. Society does not often see youth, especially those with intellectual disability or developmental disability, as having power. This may lead to overall experiences of social powerlessness, which might be exploited by the trafficker or may be responsible for the youth not reporting their situation because they have been socialized in a climate where they are often not believed or told that their situation is, quote, normal, unquote, because of their disability. The continued promotion of powerlessness and the lack of a voice may lead to a youth with disabilities to be isolated by peers, providers, and even family. If they have communication differences as well, this may lead to further lack of social integration and increase the risk of experiencing powerlessness. To speak up something being wrong or becoming more isolated and less likely. To be identified by anyone. So risk factors in terms of gaps in education. So one of the ways that we can look at risk factors around education is as, now considerable gaps in education have been identified that are known to and exploited by traffickers. The boxes you see here list the main areas where we do not adequately provide for youth with disabilities. Traffickers know this gap and exploit them. Let's talk about the implications of each first. Let me ask this quick. Let me ask this. How many of you feel that the youth you have-- you serve have a solid understanding of personal safety? Do you currently, at your agency, provides specific teaching to used on safe touch, body autonomy, physical boundaries, or self defense? Or do you think that youth with disabilities have access to this information? Other topics that should be covered or how to keep their money safe, how to avoid physical injury, and how to reach out to or for help if an injury does occur. All individuals with disabilities are simply that-- individuals. It is vital that we do learning-- that we do learning needs assessments and develop or seek out accessible learning materials that can meet the learning needs of each individual served. A youth that knows not to interact with strangers or how to exit a situation that feels uncomfortable will be considerably more protected. The next box is on online safety, and the importance of this type of training cannot be overstated. We know that youth use the internet, and it is often unsupervised. Do the youth you serve know how to be safe online? Do they know how to share passwords or personal identification and keep it safe? Traffickers specifically look for people that share locations, other information and details of their personal life that can be used to exploit the person during the grooming process or connect and bond with the youth. Youth with disabilities, like any other youth, should be taught to navigate social media. Education. We cover topics like what images are safe to share, how to make an account private, and when to report inappropriate behavior. This leads to topic of healthy relationships, both online and off. Traffickers very often will target youth online in chat rooms, discussion boards, and social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. Youth with disabilities may have the-- may use the online or physical world to reach out in either setting. A young person must be taught what a healthy relationship looks like. This would be a great opportunity for peers or other youth to speak with peers both with and without disabilities about what red flags would be in friendships along with physical relationships. The misconception that youth with disabilities do not have or are not interested in sex is false and should never be assumed. If youths are not educated on healthy relationships in both the romantic and even workplace situations, a trafficker may be able to convince the youth that they are not a victim but employee, girl or boyfriend, or friends. And so nothing or illegal or bad is happening. Youth with disabilities require the same level of training that we give youth without disabilities. And all education should, of course, be accessible to accommodate a whole variety of learning needs. It goes without saying that youth with disabilities should also be educated on human trafficking. They should know what it is, why it is a crime, and what to look for. They should also be educated on how report this crime and how to get help if they are involved already om a trafficking situation. Please be sure to reiterate that trafficking is a crime and not the youth's fault no matter what. The youth who is trafficked is a victim of a crime, but also a survivor. Our many individuals with disabilities understand their rights and serve as advocates to empower others in the community. Youth with disabilities may be less likely to know what their rights are. Without this information, a trafficker can say anything to the potential victim and justify it as, quote, normal, unquote, or fair for someone like them. These include legal rights, occupation supports, and the rights of all people. An example of this, especially in labor trafficking. Is their right to be paid the same as anyone else. This brings me to the last box we'll cover on this slide, which is education and the value of labor. Youth with disabilities, especially those who are 15 or 16 and beginning to look for their first job, need to understand that they must be paid under the law, along with what a typically wage would be for the job to which they are applying. It is essential to talk about labor laws and describe what a typical workday looks like, including breaks and meals. All people should know what they're worth, and the sad reality is that many do not. This includes adults and youth. Helping youth with disabilities to learn more about the labor market, how to interview for a job, what to expect in the workplace, and more will set them up for a truly successful future, while avoiding dangerous-- criminal dangers, criminal situations, like labor trafficking. We just covered some areas where we as providers may be lacking in how to serve youth with disabilities. There are also risk factors that are related to the supports we do provide, as these are also known to traffickers, and many may be exploited as any opportunity. Let's start with communication. Some agencies are highly accessible and provide interpreters, translators, speech and language pathologists. And other team members that can communicate in a variety individual ways in order or the unique challenges and experiences by some youth with disabilities. In both labor and sex trafficking, the trafficker is always in control. They control documents, , money. Emotions. And situations, as I'm sure you're aware. When youth live with a disability affecting their communication, the trafficker may very well present as an interpreter, possibly even stating that the youth speaks a language or signs in a way that no other interpreter can handle. The trafficker controls aspects of communication, but also, support in general. Any youth that needs an assistive device to communicate or manage sensory and mobility needs will be at risk for exploitation by a trafficker. Initially, the trafficker may try to relate to the youth by saying that they don't care if the youth has a wheelchair. Or that it's totally cool if the youth has a hearing aid. They might shame other people for bullying the youth or their abilities or for their differences. And treat the youth as if they are the same person who will never see them as different, or the less valuable. Once a bond is created between the youth and the trafficker, having the need for any kind of assistive support may be exactly what the trafficker expects. If you does not do as they are told, a trafficker can then threaten to not allow the youth access to what they need in order to see, hear, walk, communicate, or other needs until they comply. Personal care may also be a need for some youth with disabilities. And this goes back to the importance of educating youth about safe touch and physical boundaries. A trafficker may abuse or allow others the opportunity to abuse a youth requiring personal care. They may also withhold necessary personal care, such as changing a soiled brief, eating, or moving from the bed to a chair. The last three boxes you see here on the bottom also very much related. Youth with disabilities are entitled to a fair education safe housing and benefits to pay for whatever supports they may need to live successful happy. Lives A the community a trafficker may exploit these supports, especially with regard to benefits. They may set up a direct deposit to collect a youth's social security benefit check or force the youth to sign checks over to them in exchange for living in a house run by the trafficker. They may also owe the youth. They don't deserve to go to school, or that they will be caught. I read it as a criminal. If they tell anyone about their job or living arrangement. A youth living in a group home that is unhappy, there may be offered a better living arrangement. Trafficker. And then not allowed to leave. JODY HASKIN: Now that we've discussed some of the risk factors that place youth with disabilities and situations at high risk for trafficking, let's talk about who a trafficker might be in the disability community. Some people with disabilities may be isolated from others and have most of their direct contact through the caregiver. Caregivers can be family members, a professional who makes home visits, or a staff member in a residential facility. Caregivers can use their role of authority and trusted relationship with a youth to break down barriers and to groom them as they bathe, dress, and assist them with other hygiene needs. Let's take a look at a case that highlights this. Here, the trafficker was the survivors mother and full time caregiver. Her 14-year-old daughter lives with mental and physical disabilities. The mother was charged with sex trafficking her daughter in exchange for money and cocaine. In this case, the trafficker is both a family member and a caregiver. The youth's multiple disabilities and dependence on care from her mother made it more likely for her to be targeted for trafficking and less likely for her to be able to leave her situation. Young people who depend on a parenteral caregiver may also be isolated from others much more easily, as they already live with their trafficker who also happens to have control of their documents, their mobility, and more. Even if they are abused, it does not mean that the youth is not able to form a bond with their mother or caregiver, and this makes it much harder to leave even if they could. The trafficker may use coercion through threats that the young person might be taken away from their home and also taken away from the only caregiver they've known and may love if the young person were to tell anyone what is actually happening. Traffickers often engage youth with disabilities online because it is an anonymous, low-risk place to begin the process of building trust with a young person. Youth with disabilities may feel comfortable online and are often looking for friendship and a safe community. Traffickers take advantage of this, and will often present themselves as potential friends, romantic partners, or employers. In the online environment, they may also present as peers or youth with similar interests. As we all know, trafficking can happen anywhere, not just online, and it's most likely to happen in a place where many youth would be available on their own, such as the mall. Sometimes, places like social security offices are especially key for older youth and young adults if they may have to pick up a check or the trap the trafficker may be interested in coercing the young person to cash the check for them, on top of what other whatever other labor services or commercial sex services they're exploiting them for. Youth with disabilities may require more advanced care than their family is able to provide. And because of this, they may have grown up or currently live in group homes or placement for youth with disabilities. So with this information, a trafficker can learn from the youth that they do not like living their living situation. The trafficker can then offer them a better one. Group homes are often targets for traffickers because youth may be unhappy there, and they're often not fully supported. We'll look at a case next where traffickers target group homes in rehabilitation centers. In this case, three traffickers targeted and befriended young men at a home for youth with developmental disabilities and a substance abuse rehabilitation program. Once a target was identified, the traffickers would get to know the young man and gain necessary information so they could determine what would be easiest to exploit. At this point, they were also gaining the trust of the young man and they ended up offering the young men drugs. After the youth had been using the drugs, the traffickers began to force the youth to perform sex acts in exchange for money to pay off the debt for the drugs that the traffickers gave to them. The traffickers continued this sex trafficking ring for many years and targeted over 20 young men throughout the years. Given the number of victims and the number of years this went on, consider how some of the larger structures and programs that are meant to assist these young men let them down in order for this crime to continue for so long. Now, let's look at another case. And this is an example of a trafficker controlling a young person who depends on medication. A trafficker could to pay for the medication, which may be very expensive, and then tell the youth that they will not give them the medication unless they perform a sex act or a labor act that they've demanded. This withholding of medication may also be used in control or threats of damage to the youth adaptive equipment. In earlier slides, you will recall learning about how traffickers exploit communication differences and may withhold assisted devices that may be a youth with disabilities only method of communicating with others. Many youth with disabilities find themselves isolated from their peers and looking for friendship and love. And it's important to remember that. Because of the stigma that's often placed on the disability community, these young people may have been cast out by their families if their care needs became too great for the family to handle. In situations like these, the traffic or maybe even be the first person to tell a youth with disabilities the words I love you. Gaslighting or convincing something that is untrue is factual is also commonly seen in trafficking and can be also seen with youth being told that because you have a disability, no one will believe you anyway. This ties back into the idea that youth, especially those who live with disabilities, are often seen as having less power in our society. In convincing youth that they will not be believed or even arrested for being complicit in the crimes of their trafficker, they may be convinced to be less likely to tell someone what's happening to them. JAE JIN PAK: So now that you may have identified a trafficking situation involving a youth with disabilites, let's talk about our role as a provider and review what you can do. Before anything else, prevent. This is accomplished through education and awareness. The next row is identification. Having knowledge of risk factors and red flags to watch for will help you fulfill this task. All youth that you serve have been identified as at risk or involved in the trafficking already. But have you identified any functional support needs the youth may require so they can thrive in the community? Next, please remember to follow your agency's protocol as you report trafficking. Your protocol should include safety procedures and mandated reporting requirements. If your agency's protocol does not include information about how to support youth with disabilities, we encourage you to consider revising with your disability in mind. You can contact the National Trafficking Hotline and Resource Center or the National Human Trafficking and Disabilities Working Group to review any protocols or inclusivity and guidance. Finally, you will offer support and referrals. Support youth by identifying them, and let them know you care, and will do what you can to support them. Let them know it's not their fault. Refer them to appropriate services for themselves and any non- offending family members. Make sure that all support services are accessible or any disability-specific needs the youth may have. In the next few slides, we'll review red flags, reporting, and discuss how you can ensure that your agency is accessible to youth and disabilities. JODY HASKIN: You may see these red flags as the typical identifiers of trafficking that is applicable to all youth. We know that these red flags can also be applied to youth with disabilities. As we start to learn more about how this crime presents in the disability community, we hope to be able to add unique identifiers for youth with various disabilities. In the meantime, we know that screening for existing red flags can be adapted to determine potential trafficking of youth with disabilities. These red flags can be something that you witness directly. They might be reported by the youth. Or they might be observed by you or other staff. While these red flags are not exclusive to youth with disabilities, they are some of the more commonly seen red flags in this group that we know of so far. The most important thing to look for are changes. Understanding the youth that you work with and the changes that they present will help to identify red flags. And in the next few slides, we'll cover behavioral, physical, and situational. In these cases, think of the individual youth and decide if there has been a change from their specific behavior patterns in appearance. Is there an explanation for what you see? Is there something that you need to dig a little deeper on? Let's talk about behavioral changes first. So missing school or not being home is a red flag at all you. If the youth is normally home at a certain time, and now they don't show up until hours later, How did they explain that behavior to you? If the youth does not usually have a pattern of missing school, it's important to also look at truancy. Another significant red flag is reduction or change in the way a youth communicates. Did the youth demonstrate a reduction or change in communication with trusted family, friends, or caregivers? For youth with disabilities, this may be challenging to determine. However, if you notice that a youth previously was open with you and now they're not, it is important to find out why. Something to think about that is specific to youth with developmental disabilities or which tasks they have achieved. If a youth who has achieved toilet training, for example, is now having accidents, that should warrant further assessment. If the youth is suddenly asking questions about their bodies or explicit questions about sex and relationships when it is not age appropriate for them to do so, that may also be a red flag. It is important to recognize that youth with disabilities can be and are connected to each of these situations. This ability does not exclude the risk of leaving home, of abuse, or engaging in at-risk activities. In some ways, engaging in these activities could be linked to the youth attempting to rebel against being labeled with a disability identity. So as mentioned previously, you'll want to be sure that any agent or any agency protocols are accessible, and it's important to consider the needs of all types of youth. Safety should be the highest priority. And if the youth or staff are in imminent danger, it's important to call emergency services or 9-1-1. If you are a mandated reporter, it's important to explain to the youth what mandated reporting is, why you must do it, and who you're required to share disclosed information to. This is very important that you do this prior to any disclosure so that the young person can understand what you're what you're required to do, and you can maintain the trust of the youth through your transparency. It's important for you to check for understanding as you explain this process and to take your time. The purpose of sharing your mandated reporting requirements early on is so the youth can choose what they want to share with you. If they begin to disclose something and you remind them of your mandated reporting requirements, if they don't want to continue that conversation, then they don't have to. A youth with disabilities might disclose trafficking, or you may suspect it. In either case, it's important to be ready. It's important to have everything that's to be accessible for them, such as translators, assistive technology, mobility devices, and any other potential support devices accessible to you if possible at any time so the youth can have this and this already difficult conversation with you free of barriers. If the youth does decide to continue the conversation, use trauma-informed language that is supportive and empowering. Do not make promises to them that you're unable to keep, such as offering help that you cannot provide. The conversation may need to take time, and the youth deserves patience and empathy during this process. It's important not to push a youth to disclose, and we will discover-- or we'll talk about this in greater detail when we talk about referring youth with disabilities to supports. But in your conversations with youth, it is a good idea to consider any barriers they might encounter in the community, especially upon referral, and what supports might be required in order for referrals to be accessible. If you require any assistance during this process, please remember that you're not alone. We know that it takes a community mindset to support young survivors of trafficking, and we understand that there are many resources available. Part of the reason that we bring together all of these resources in this presentation is so more service providers will have access to additional resources in the community. Please contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline if you need further assistance for referrals or resources. On the next slide, we'll explain how to contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline and what the service can provide for you. JAE JIN PAK: Supporting youth with disabilities. What are ways which you can support youth with disabilities? Have staff training that addresses working with youth with disabilities. Connect with community supports. who support youth with disabilities. Be proactive in acquiring assistive technology. Put myths and stereotypes and misperceptions aside. Make eye contact. Ask how you can help, wait for acceptance, and follow their instructions. Follow the lead of the youth. Respect a person's equipment. Be sure your attitude is accepting and welcoming. This list is not exhaustive, but it is a starting point. How comfortable do you feel in supporting a youth with a disability? You saw, you know-- I'm sorry, you may have worked with youth who had less visible functional support needs and did not know it. It is vital to focus on not only the trafficking aspect of the youth in front of you, but also their uniqueness and individual situation. These are merely guidelines. And so we encourage you to reach out to other members of the community who support youth with disabilities for additional training at your organization in order to consider your own organization disability-inclusive. You must make sure that you are accessible at all levels and have access to supports to assist with a variety of functional needs. Becoming disability-inclusive is in line with providing trauma- informed care, and collaborating with your colleagues in the community will be to the benefit of all that you serve in your role as a service provider for youth survivors of human trafficking. So here is the referral of youth with disabilities. So let's go into more details or more deaths about the referral process as it applies to you. As mentioned previously, it takes an entire community of connected groups and individuals to support a youth with disabilities who has been trafficked. And you can help by ensuring that all referrals are accessible and appropriate to the needs of the individual you are referring. Youth with disabilities who have been trafficked will have the same complex needs as other peers. All services for youth with disabilities should be trauma-informed, survivor-focused, youth- friendly, and accessible. This list includes some other supportive needs a survivor of human trafficking might require. We encourage you to access the resources you refer to for these needs for accessibility. Or I'm sorry, I meant to say we encourage you to assess the resources you refer to for these needs for accessibility While this list demonstrates some of the services a youth may need, there could potentially be many more. Please get to know your community, and be sure to have a way to assess accessibility when you call out to new services or community support. It is important to note that some group homes, transportation services, and more may not be able to accommodate the youth you wish referred. So be sure to call ahead to confirm available services for the youth's individual needs, having prior relationships with community-based based supports can help ensure timely referrals and successful warm hand-offs. We know the National Human Trafficking Hotline provides many referrals and resources within our area that are specific to needs for trafficking survivors. In the next few slides, we will introduce you to some community-based supports that can collaborate with you to provide supports to meet the needs of youth with disabilities in general and who have been trafficked. We will start with centers for independent living. CILs, or Centers for Independent Living, are a great referral to connect youth and non-offending family members with disabilities to resources. They offer information, referral services, deals training, peer counseling, and advocacy services to ensure the youth is able to successfully transition into the world we live in. We encourage you to search and connect with your local center for independent living in your area. The next support, community support, is protection and advocacy centers. As you likely know, youth who are survivors of trafficking may have complex legal accessibility needs depending on their specific situation. For a youth survivor with disabilities, there are protection and advocacy or P&A centers that can provide legal assistance and advocacy support. They exist in every state and US territory, including three Native American tribal nations. Define your state's being P&A center. You can access the list on the link provided or simply by googling protection advocacy center in your state. The next community support, your regional ADA centers. These are agencies in each region scattered throughout the US that are great resources on technical assistance around compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. They are a great resource to help your agency determine how accessible your views or programs and services and agency are, and also get ideas on if there are additional ways of being accessible, EA Center can give you technical assistance and guidance on how you can be even more accessible. The next community support are vocational rehab or rehabilitation abilities. Every state in the US has a vocational rehabilitation organization whose sole job is to assist individuals disabilities or to school or obtain employment. All their services are free, and again, you can just Google Vocational rehab for your state, then you can get information on how to contact them. And next report are advocacy programs. One of them is the Siblings Leadership Network, which is a national-wide network of siblings of Individuals with disabilities. They provide siblings with individual W a lot of support and information, and a variety of different tools and guides. So again, for non-offending family members of individuals with disabilities. This can be a great resource of support. Additionally, another support, any support system, is the Arc of the United States. The Arc of the US is a non-profit organization that provides services and different types of classes and supports for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. They also do some research and other resources. It is a national organization, and almost every state has a local state chapter of the ARC. And again, you can just search out of your state, and you can find your local park resource. Also a resource that's really great for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities is self advocates being empowered or saved. This is a national organization of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I provide a variety of leadership development, trainings, information referrals, and other additional supports and resources to go. JODY HASKIN: Here are some resources that are likely familiar to you through your anti-trafficking work. And these include the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, where you can find resources to refer to not only organizations that provide basic needs, but also disability organizations within your community Next is the HEAL Trafficking Network for health care professionals. Be sure to sign up for their listserv to get emails and updates on a daily basis. Also, there is a free network for Nationwide Support. And finally, the National Human Trafficking and disabilities working group. This is a collaboration of professionals, self-advocates, and survivors from across the country who work to identify gaps and to improve services, policy research, and trainings on adults and children with disabilities who have experience trafficking. We invite anyone to become involved with the work that we do. It's free to join, and we encourage you to learn more or apply by emailing an HTWG@iofa.org. And we thank you for attending this introductory webinar and supporting youth with disabilities who may have experienced trafficking. And we hope this information helps you consider some of the ways that you may improve your services to be open and accessible to youth with disabilities. We at iofa are always more than happy to answer any questions you may have about the content of this training. Please feel free to contact us at info@iofa.org with questions or for more information. And finally, we'd like to thank our partners for the opportunity to create and coordinate this material, to advance the work. You all do for youth with disabilities. You may experience trafficking. And these partners include the National Resource Center for Reaching Victims. In vision 2021, ABC funded projects. Jae Jin and I would like to thank you again for watching, and have a great day. JAE JIN PAK: Thank you, everybody.