Mayor's Task Force on Human Trafficking - August 28, 2013 - Meeting Minutes

 

Attendees:                                                                             

DEPARTMENT	STAFF
Board of Supervisors	Dyanna Quizon, Carol Mo
District Attorney’s Office	Tara Anderson, Marianne Barrett
Human Services Agency	John Tsutakawa
Juvenile Probation	Ana Villagran
Labor Standards Enforcement	Donna Levitt
Mayor’s Office	Shahde Tavakoli (in lieu of Paul Henderson)
Police	Capt. Jason Fox, Lt. Michael Dudoroff
Public Health	Cindy Comerford, Cristy Dieterich, Alison Lustbader
Status of Women	Dr. Emily Murase, Minouche Kandel, Stephanie Nguyen

 

1. Welcome, Introductions, & Agenda Review

Dr. Emily Murase, Department on the Status of Women, welcomed the members of the Mayor's Task Force on Human Trafficking (Human Trafficking Task Force).  Attendees briefly introduced themselves and approved the meeting agenda and minutes from the July 24 meeting.

 

2. Strategic Planning

 

1. Inclusion of Additional City Agencies and Community Partners

Tara Anderson, District Attorney's Office, pointed out several areas of responsibility shared by both the Human Trafficking Task Force and the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking (SFCAHT) and the need to avoid duplication.

 

Dr. Emily Murase, Department on the Status of Women, emphasized the need for both bodies and described the key differences in the work that they each do.  She stated that the main focus of SFCAHT thus far is public outreach, particularly during Human Trafficking Awareness Month in January.  The Task Force, on the other hand, is designed to push policy agendas forward.

 

Ms. Kandel provided an overview of the last Human Trafficking Task Force meeting and announced that the 3 subcommittees have been set up.  She is in the process of inviting both city agencies and community partners to participate in these meetings.  She announced that the Massage Parlor Subcommittee has established its first meeting to be held on Friday, September 6, 2013 from 12:30 pm to 2 pm.

 

Ms. Kandel also announced the notice of additional funding to support human trafficking work in the city.  She suggested that the recipient agency of this funding be invited to join the Task Force.

 

2. Review of the Task Force Roadmap & Projected Goals

Committee members jointly reviewed the Roadmap.

 

After review of the Roadmap, Jason Fox, San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), stated that both the District Attorney's Office and SFPD believe that the goals and responses established therein are realistic.  Mr. Fox stated that his department has training, policy, and protocols in place to support victims of trafficking and can provide support both internally and externally.  Mr. Fox added that external parties are able to consult with SFPD for additional information and support.

 

Alison Lustbader, Department of Public Health, stated that youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems are incredible targets of trafficking, particularly between the ages of 11 and 13.  They possess a myriad of risk factors that make them vulnerable to traffickers and experience difficulty receiving services or help.

 

Ms. Villagran stated that, up until now, when young girls get arrested for prostitution, JPD holds them for their own safety to keep them away from their pimps.  What appears to be a penalty is really a protocol established to ensure the safety of the victims.  As of now, it is their only solution until a better alternative with more individualized treatment is established.

 

Ms. Lustbader and Marianne Barrett, District Attorney’s Office, added that youth are retained and/or arrested with the goal of providing a secure setting to receive services rather than for any punitive purposes.

 

Mr. Fox thanked Ms. Villagran and JPD for the work that they do.  He stated that girls that SFPD receives are only able to be released to a few individuals and agencies, like JPD.  When the youth are very young, SFPD is strictly bound by law to only release them to competent caregivers.  Officers of SFPD refer the girls to JPD because of the multitude of options available to the girls once in JPD's custody.

 

Ms. Lustbader stated that current alternative models, such as those used at Larkin Street Youth Services and Huckleberry Youth Programs, are not working that well because the allure of the streets is stronger.  Although these programs work to provide wonderful services, they are insufficient in meeting the needs of the young survivors.  Dr. Murase suggested continuing discussion on this issue, along with other cross-cutting issues, at the Child Sex Trafficking Subcommittee meeting.

 

Ms. Kandel also reported that a major recommendation of the SFCAHT Conference on Child Sex Trafficking that took place earlier this month was to have training protocols established prior to the 2015 Superbowl.  Advocates felt then would be vital time to conduct outreach because of the anticipated influx of visitors to San Francisco.

 

Dr. Murase stated that advances in technology have facilitated the retrieval and support of missing and exploited youth.  She reported that all photographs uploaded to popular social media sites, such as Facebook, are checked against a large database of missing and exploited children.  Advocates can then utilize this data to locate and reunite the children with their families.  The integral role of technology in addressing this issue has become very apparent.  Several members of the Human Trafficking Task Force proposed conducting trainings in Silicon Valley to connect and collaborate with data scientists there.

 

John Tsutakawa, Human Services Agency, Family and Children Services division (HSA/FCS), suggested developing and establishing inter-agency protocols for supporting survivors of trafficking.

 

Cristy Dieterich, Newcomers Health Program, agreed about the necessity of additional training but stressed that we must first assess who is currently facilitating trainings.  She stated that there are several agencies that do trainings year-round already, and that some do as many 24 trainings a year to health and service providers.  Dr. Murase suggested doing a benchmark exercise of available resources and training at future meetings.

 

Dyanna Quizon, Office of Supervisor Katy Tang, asked if the Human Services Agency should be included as part of the “Law Enforcement Response.”  Ms. Kandel responded that it is not currently a part of a legal coordinated response.

 

Ms. Anderson stated that the number of prosecutions is a very poor measure of the work being done to address this issue as prosecution is the very end of a long history of failures to a young person or adult.  There are better measures of success.  The numbers of services provided to victims is where a great deal of the work will be represented.

 

With regards to training and public awareness, Ms. Anderson announced that there are several nations who have entered into an agreement with San Francisco to shed light on this issue.  For nations that cannot enter into a formal agreement, they are still able to participate in provided trainings.

 

In addition to making the changes proposed at and after the previous Human Trafficking Task Force meeting, Ms. Kandel also added a new category: the “Child Welfare System Response.”

 

Dr. Murase stated that a state-wide action team has been established to address child sex trafficking in California.  Although DOSW was not chosen to be part of the action team, it was invited to participate in subcommittees held in the future.

 

3. Data Systems & Collection:

Ms. Kandel thanked SFPD for sending in their data.  She requested additional submissions of relevant data to the DOSW via email or in-person at Human Trafficking Task Force meetings.

 

Donna Levitt, Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement, stated that her department has had no labor trafficking cases in its history.  OLSE was trained by SFPD on the warning signs of human trafficking and since then has only referred one potential victim.  Although OLSE has been available and accessible to survivors of trafficking, no survivors have come forward to report potential cases of labor trafficking to them.  Fear seems to be a major reason behind why victims do not report when they are being exploited, added Ms. Dieterich.

 

Mr. Fox offered to provide any relevant data and resources as requested.  He stated that SFPD must comply with particular state mandates that require the department to collect specific data.  Mr. Fox brought up one point that he noticed when reviewing data provided by both SFPD and the California Attorney General’s report on human trafficking related to issues with referral.  There are many trafficking cases, particularly labor trafficking, that are pursued civilly but not criminally.

 

Mr. Tsutakawa stated that there are 45-50 youth supported by the Human Services Agency suspected of being trafficked at any moment in time.

 

Ms. Lustbader stated that DPH has data but is working now to correlate and synthesize it.  She stated that she will send the data once that process is complete.

 

Ms. Dieterich stated that she will send the data available from the Newcomers Health Program to the DOSW.  She added that one issue that might arise with data collection is the duplication of clients.  Ms. Dieterich clarified that the Newcomers Health Program has identification data for all individuals served (such as the country of origin, if they are a trafficking victim, health history, and current health data) but does not always have specific trafficking history or background information that case managers at non-profit organizations like SAGE, APILO, and AWS collect.

 

Ms. Villagran stated that JPD has served a total of four girls arrested for prostitution in the last 3 years.  The department only has data on bookings.  There is currently no data on how many cases were filed and prosecuted on and does not account for charges of prostitution.  There is also no data on male victims.

 

4. Legislative Updates:

Ms. Quizon provided an update on legislation Supervisor Katy Tang is working on that would codify penalties that are currently regulations at the Department of Public Health.  If passed, this legislation would prohibit sex, drugs, and alcohol within massage parlors and require therapists to wear their licenses at all times.  The penalties would also be directed at massage establishment owners, rather than the victims who engage in the illegal services.  This ordinance would provide DPH with punitive measures to better address trafficking in San Francisco massage parlors.  Her office is now working closely with the California Massage Therapy Council to see how San Francisco can strengthen its ordinances to combat this issue.

 

Ms. Quizon announced that they will go to a Small Business Commission on September 9, 2013 and hope to be seen by the Health Commission shortly after.

 

5. Department Updates & Announcements:

Ms. Lustbader brought up the difficulties of providing services utilizing a harm reduction model when the action in itself is against the law.  Mr. Fox responded that SFPD and the City have taken great strides in implementing measures of harm reduction, such as decriminalizing having many condoms on one’s person and supporting the City’s needle exchange program.

 

Ms. Kandel announced the theme of the SFCAHT 2014 Poster Contest.  The theme for this year's contest is “No One Owns Me.”

 

6. Next Steps:

 

1. Next Meeting Date

The next meeting of the Mayor's Task Force on Human Trafficking will be on Wednesday, September 25, 2013, from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm.  This meeting will include invited city agencies as well as community partners.

 

2. Proposed Agenda Items for Next Meeting:

Ms. Kandel stated that she will continue to collect feedback on the Roadmap.

 

She also proposed conducting a community mapping exercise, proposed by Paul Henderson at the previous Task Force meeting, to see what services are currently available to survivors and where needs lie.

 

Ms. Kandel stated that the Department on the Status of Women will provide a draft agenda for review prior to the next meeting.

 

The meeting adjourned at 3pm.