Issue Position: Foster Care & Human Trafficking

Issue Position

Foster Care & Human Trafficking
Virginia ranks high in the nation for supporting biological families with children who are at risk of being placed in foster care. However, Virginia ranks very poorly for foster youth who age out of foster care without a permanent family situation. Children in foster care are among the worst for falling prey to human trafficking -- nearly 60 percent of child sex trafficking victims have a history in the child welfare system. As a foster and adoptive parent, D.J. has a great passion for child protective services and improving the lives of children in foster care. For four years, D.J. served on the State Board of Social Services, which oversees the Virginia foster care system. He believes that Virginia should ensure that law enforcement, public schools, social services, charities, and the business community must work together to serve foster kids, and also prevent vulnerable children from being trafficked.

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