California's Legislation on Children who have Experienced Sexual Exploitation: County Responses and System Performance

• Published in: Child welfare Vol. 102; no. 3; pp. 123 - 150
• Main Authors: Zucaya, Ivy, Magruder, Joseph, Prindle, John, Wiegmann, Wendy, Webster, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Arlington Child Welfare League of America, Inc 01.05.2024
• Subjects: Agency Cooperation; Case management; Case studies; Caseworker Approach; Child Abuse; Child sexual abuse; Child welfare; Children; Collaboration; Coordination; County government; County Programs; Data Analysis; Departments; Exploitation; Family (Sociological Unit); Feedback (Response); Focus Groups; Government finance; Human smuggling; Human subjects; Human trafficking; Law enforcement; Laws, regulations and rules; Legislation; Legislatures; Medical Evaluation; Prevention; Program Implementation; Safe harbor; Sexual behavior; Social policy; Social services; Victimization; Victims of crime; Welfare Services; Youth; United States; United States > US; California
• ISSN: 0009-4021

California's Senate Bill 855 (S.B. 855; 2014) provides child welfare agencies with funding, resources, and technical support to address commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) of children. This case study examines system performance and child-level outcomes following implementation of S.B. 855. Results describe CSE confirmation practices, document associations between agency collaboration and the timing of child welfare responses to CSE, and reveal a need to consider the integration of community-based and cross-sector agencies within CSE intervention efforts.