Thank you so much Mr. Chairman. We are aware that nearly 150 years ago, our nation banned all forms of slavery through the passage of the thirteenth amendment, but the protection of that promise has eluded too many children who are enslaved, effectively, by really cruel masters. While there is not any one piece of legislation that will stop sex trafficking of children, we can’t allow complacency to stop us from doing everything in our power to put a stop to this.
Our first task in this Subcommittee, given our jurisdiction, is to ensure the child welfare system doesn’t become a pipeline to prostitution. The abuse and neglect that children suffer before coming into foster care already make them prime targets for those who prey on children. A sense of isolation that often comes when children are removed from their homes makes them even more vulnerable. And when children run away from home, the risk grows further still. Without the protection of the Foster Care System, abused and neglected children would be even more at the mercy of predators and sex traffickers. But, the system needs to become more cognizant of the problem and more forceful in developing strategies to stop it. I note one survey that was conducted by the Los Angeles Probation Department revealing that a majority of the juveniles arrested on prostitution were in the foster care system already, and that ought to set off an alarm for us.
Some policies that generally help foster children, such as better connecting them with relatives and helping them lead more normal lives, are important. This Subcommittee has held hearings on these issues and yesterday we passed bipartisan legislation to better promote the adoption of children in foster care. I expect that we will hear about the need for increased housing options for the victims of trafficking, improved coordination and collaboration among all the various agencies and programs that come into contact with children, and that we need to ensure that children who are trafficked are not treated like criminals, but the victims that they truly are.
In Texas, we have a number of champions who have worked on this. I look forward to hearing from Ashley Harris, who has come up from Texas with Texans Care for Children, and who has worked with State Senator Leticia Van De Putte, State Representative Senfronia Thompson, State Representative Dawnna Dukes, and other members of our legislature to deal with this problem at the state level.
I particularly look forward to hearing from all of our colleagues on their recommendations for what legislative initiatives we can take and how we can work collaboratively, on a bipartisan basis, to address this truly serious problem.
