Since the Coalition’s inception in 2003, advocates have played a critical role in responding to trafficking issues in the bay area. Domestic violence and sexual assault agencies are uniquely positioned to support human trafficking victims because of their service philosophy, service focus, collaborative networks, and confidential communication privilege. In Santa Clara County,  the collaboration amongst servivce providers was made possible due to existing relationships under the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Advocacy Consortium (DVAC). Over the years, stand-alone human trafficking service providers joined the Coalition’s Victim Service Provider network. Santa Clara County Victim Service Providers support domestic and foreign born victims of sex and labor trafficking of all ages and gender identities.

• Trauma-informed care is an approach to engaging people with histories of trauma that recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the role that trauma has played in their lives. –National Center for Trauma Informed Care (NCTIC, www.samsha.gov/nctic, 2013)
• Victim-Centered –The provision of culturally appropriate and immediately available services based on the unique needs and circumstances of victims and survivors. Services are specific, client-focused and driven by the individuals who have been impacted by the abuse/assault/exploitation. – Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs
• An Empowerment –Based philosophy means that we believe that survivors of abuse/exploitation are competent and should have the freedom to be independent. Our clients have just come from a situation where they were controlled. It is not our job to replace one form of control with another. Empowerment means focusing on clients’ strengths and believing that they can make a difference. Empowerment means never judging clients’ decisions and never making them feel like they need to hide things from us.

The Coalition Victim Service Providers are committed to identifying and addressing different forms and intersections of abuse. The Service Needs Screening Tool was developed by the Victim Service Providers s to ensure the identification of three frequently co-occurring forms of violence: intimate partner abuse, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Our primary goal is to provide the highest quality of advocacy and supportive services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.

Advocates provide confidential supportive services related to screening, crisis intervention, emergency, transitional, and long-term housing, case management, advocacy, safety, goal planning, as well as linkage and referral to other services. To ensure all potential human trafficking victims are connected to an advocate as soon as possible following identification, the Coalition established a Point Agency system. The purpose of the Point Agency System is to route all referrals for victim services to one organization – the Point Agency. The Point Agency will then assign an advocate based on the client’s: (1) culturally and linguistic needs; (2) safety concerns; (3) client’s geographic location; and (4) service agencies’ individual capacity at the time of the referral. In Santa Clara County, Community Solutions is currently the Point Agency. For more information regarding the Point Agency system, please email PointPersonReferral@communitysolutions.org.

Currently, the Coalition Victim Service Providers are:

Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI)

Bill Wilson Center

Community Solutions

International Rescue Committee

Maitri

YWCA Silicon Valley

Legal Advocates for Children and Youth (LACY)

Love Never Fails 

Advent Group Ministries

Crisis intervention includes in-person response to the police department or a public, safe location for the purpose of ensuring potential human trafficking victims have access to basic needs, including: food, emergency shelter, access to medical/mental health care, transportation to a safe location, advocacy to obtain emergency protective orders, etc.

A survivor’s journey towards healing and reintegration is not always linear – the process can include great strides forward and painful setbacks. Best practices in case management involve meeting survivors where they are and providing advocacy and support based on the client’s place in their journey.

 

Case managers are trained in the adapted Stages of Change specific to CSEC developed by GEMS-NY. This framework helps staff identify and understand the stage of change survivor might be in and to work with them from that perspective. Case managers utilize motivational interviewing techniques to support survivors by achieving steps that will help them move towards their goals. Case managers work collaboratively to address challenges through a harm reduction approach. They provide non-judgmental space for survivors to discuss concerns that may arise. Case managers engage in conversations around reduction and provide a continuum of options for survivors to choose from. They provide options to reduce harm and rather than expect zero tolerance.

 

Case managers work with survivors to develop and pursue a case management plan (which can include personal advocacy, legal advocacy, systems advocacy, employment assistance, and/or housing advocacy).  Our human trafficking case management model focuses on three unique phases of case management: crisis, stabilization, and sustainability.

Survivors may need emergency, transitional, and/or long-term housing. Pursuant to SB 855, in California the Department of Family and Children Services is responsible for placement of minor human trafficking victims. Victim Service Providers work closely together to ensure adult survivors have access to safe housing based on their needs.

Emergency Shelter –Ensuring emergency housing is a critical first step in ensuring survivors’ physical and emotional wellbeing. Emergency housing lasts up to two months.

Transitional Housing –Human trafficking survivors, particularly when foreign born, typically require housing for an average of six to eight months. Transitional housing affords survivors the time and support they need to establish self-sufficiency. Transitional housing can last up to eight months.

Long Term Housing – refers to housing beyond eight months. Long-term housing for clients means the survivor(s) is established in permanent housing situation, including: renting a room, studio, apartment, or home; reunited with family; repatriated to home country. Housing within a shelter or transitional housing program is not considered long term housing.

Often, the same vulnerabilities that increase an individual’s risk of being exploited or trafficked become the barriers that prevent them from seeking support. For foreign born survivor, these vulnerabilities/barriers can include relation to the trafficker(s), language barriers, lack of legal status, cultural dynamics, fear of authority/police, historical trauma, extreme poverty, lack of work history, etc. Domestic survivors often struggle with relation to their trafficker(s), historical trauma, systems-involvement, exposure to violence, lack of educational attainment, substance use/abuse, etc.

Safety planning is a fundamental piece in increasing safety for survivors. Our safety planning approach was adapted from Jill Davies’ Safety Planning with Battered Women: Complex Lives/Difficult Choices. According to Davies, effective planning with intimate partner abuse survivors includes assessing for and addressing both batterer-generated and life generated risks. In human trafficking cases, advocates work with survivors to identify and safety plan around trafficker and life-generated risks. Risks generated by the trafficker include physical, pscyhological, and financial harms, as well as threats to family members and children. Life-generated risks include vulnerabilities that the trafficker can exploit to harm the victim, such as: lack of legal status, housing needs, physical or mental disabilities, discrimination, financial needs, etc.

Effective case management requires setting clear expectations regarding the advocate’s scope and role early on in the client-advocate relationship. Advocates work in partnership with survivors to develop individualized SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevent/realistic, and time-bound) goals pertaining to case management focus areas, including: housing, emotional and physical wellbeing, financial needs, legal needs, vocational/educational goals, and other objectives related to client long term safety, healing, and sustainability.

Many human trafficking survivors become isolated due to their trafficker’s abuse and control. Increasing survivors’ support networks is critical to reducing isolation and augmenting wellbeing and self-sufficiency. Since no one individual or organization can provide for all survivor needs, establishing strategic partnerships is critical to increasing client safety and sustainability. Advocates work closely with survivors to identify individual needs and then link survivors to partner organizations based on said needs.