Bills
| 3.23.22

Bolstering the Child Welfare System's Response to Youth Trafficking (H.R. 5081)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 5081?

(Updated August 7, 2019)

According to the House Committee on Education & The Workforce, this bill would amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to:


  • Direct states to have procedures to identify and assess reports involving children who are victims of sex trafficking, and train child protective services workers on how to do so.
  • Require states to identify services that address the needs of children who are victims of sex trafficking.
  • Improve reporting on the number of children identified as sex trafficking victims.
  • Require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report on the type and prevalence of youth trafficking victims in the welfare system, a summary of state practices for serving youth trafficking victims, and any barriers in federal law that prevent identification and assessment of youth victims of trafficking.

Argument in favor

Provides means for strengthening the child welfare system's response to child trafficking.

Argument opposed

While still beneficial, many of these provisions are more reactive than proactive.

Impact

The bill focuses on the child welfare's system response to youth sex trafficking.

Cost of H.R. 5081

A CBO cost is currently unavailable.

Additional Info

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(Photo Credit: Mouthy)