1.13 Sex Trafficking Overview

Georgia State Seal

Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
Child Welfare Policy Manual

Chapter:

(1) Administration

Policy Title:

Sex Trafficking Overview

Policy Number:

1.13

Previous Policy Number(s):

N/A

Effective Date:

June 2026

Manual Transmittal:

2026-03

​Codes/References

O.C.G.A. § 15-11-130.1 Referral to Victim Assistance Organizations of Child Suspected of Being a Victim of Sexual Exploitation or Trafficking
O.C.G.A. § 16-5-46 Trafficking of Persons for Labor or Sexual Servitude
Title IV-E of the Social Security Act §§ 471(a)(9)(C), 471(a)(34)(A), and 475(9)
PL 113-183 Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act of 2014

​Requirements

The Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) will:

  1. Ensure that child and youth victims and those at risk receive the appropriate care, treatment, and services needed to heal and recover from sex trafficking/sexual servitude.

  2. Operate the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) Hotline.

  3. Develop and maintain the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services Human Trafficking Case Management Statewide Protocol, which establishes a uniform statewide approach for DFCS staff to identify, investigate, and respond to cases of human trafficking, particularly those involving commercially sexually exploited or trafficked minors.

  4. Report to law enforcement immediately, and in no case later than 24 hours after receiving information on children or youth who have been identified as being a victim of sex trafficking/sexual servitude. For the Purposes of the title IV-B and title IV-E of the Social Security Act, the term “sex trafficking victim” means a victim of:

    1. Sex trafficking (as defined in section 103(9) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000) as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining, of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act; or

    2. A severe form of trafficking in persons (described in section 103(8)(A) of such Act) in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person is induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age.

    Refer to the Forms and Tools: Maltreatment Codes of policy 3.2 Intake: Making an Intake Decision for Georgia’s statutory definition.

  5. Be authorized to provide emergency care and supervision to any child, without seeking a court order, for a period not to exceed seven days when the child is a victim of trafficking for labor or sexual servitude in accordance with policy 20.9 Special Circumstances: Short Term Emergency Care (Human Trafficking).

  6. Refer any child suspected of being a victim of sexual exploitation or trafficking to an available victim assistance organization, as certified by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, which provides comprehensive trauma-informed services designed to alleviate the adverse effects of trafficking victimization and to aid in the child’s healing, including, but not limited to, assistance with case management, placement, access to educational and legal services, and mental health services.

  7. Develop, in consultation with State and local law enforcement, juvenile justice systems, health care providers, education agencies, and organizations with experience in dealing with at-risk children and youth, policies and procedures (including relevant training for case workers) for identifying, documenting in agency records, and determining appropriate services for:

    1. Any child of youth over whom DFCS has responsibility for placement, care, or supervision and who the agency has reasonable cause to believe is, or is at risk or being, a sex trafficking victim (including children for whom an agency has an open case file but who have not been removed from the home, children who have run away from foster care and who have not attained 18 years of age or such older age as the State has elected under section 475(8) of the Act, and youth who are not in foster care but are receiving services under section 477 of the Act); and

    2. Youth formerly in foster care who are participating in extended foster care through the age of 21.

​Procedures

DFCS will:

  1. Operate a Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) Hotline that receives reports 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year from professionals, friends, family members, and concerned citizens who suspect child sex trafficking, or CSEC cases.

  2. Adhere to the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services Human Trafficking Case Management Statewide Protocol.

  3. Investigate intake reports screened in involving known or suspected child or youth victims of sex trafficking/sexual servitude.

  4. Report immediately (no later than 24 hours) to law enforcement any child or youth the agency identifies as a known or suspected victim of sex trafficking/sexual servitude.

  5. Assess a previously missing child or youth to determine their experiences while absent, including screening the child or youth to determine whether the child or youth is at risk or is a possible victim of sex trafficking/sexual servitude (see policy 19.22 Case Management: Missing Children).

  6. Provide services to sex trafficking/sexual servitude victims that is trauma-focused, strength-based, culturally sensitive, gender and developmentally appropriate, and informed by a comprehensive evaluation that includes physical and mental health assessments. Services may include:

    1. Case Management

    2. Permanency or temporary placements

    3. Medical and mental health treatment

    4. Reproductive and sexual health services

    5. Substance abuse treatment

    6. Access to educational and legal services

    7. Referral to immigration services and assistance as appropriate

  7. Empower child and youth victims of sex trafficking/sexual servitude by allowing their participation in decision-making.

  8. Assist sex trafficking/sexual servitude victims in accessing medical and health assistance, public housing, and other federal and state assistance for which they are eligible as sex trafficking victims.

  9. Support sex trafficking/sexual servitude victims to gain permanency through reunifying them with their families or other appropriate permanency options including fostering supportive connections.

  10. Provide training regarding sex trafficking/sexual servitude for:

    1. Child welfare professional

    2. Foster parents

    3. Room Board and Watchful Oversight providers (child placing agencies and child caring institutions)

  11. Work with community stakeholders through a multi-disciplinary approach to address and manage the work with children and youth identified as victims of sex trafficking/sexual servitude or those at risk of sex trafficking.

​Practice Guidance

Sex trafficking is one form of human trafficking. Human trafficking includes exploiting an individual by means of force, fraud, coercion, or deception to make them perform commercial sex or work and services through involuntary servitude. Human trafficking of a child for sexual exploitation includes all forms of commercial sexual activity with a child, including prostitution and participation in the production of pornography. Georgia child abuse definitions include sex trafficking so that DFCS can respond to reports of trafficking (regardless of who is in the caretaker role) and provide services to victims of trafficking.

Traffickers will identify a victim’s vulnerabilities and prey upon their normal desire for love, attention, or basic needs (food, clothing, shelter). Youth who are victims of sex trafficking are often seduced, coerced, and displayed some risk factors such as: history of childhood sexual abuse, significant conflict in the home (intimate partner violence, parental drug use, child abuse and neglect, etc.), runaway history, untreated emotional/psychological difficulties, and history in foster care. While many identified victims are girls and women, boys and men are also impacted and often underreported. Victims can come from all backgrounds, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and income levels, and are often controlled through assault, threats, false promises, perceived sense of protection, isolation, shaming, and debt.

Many victims of sex trafficking do not see themselves as victims and will make efforts to protect their traffickers. Sex trafficking victims may have suffered significant psychological, physical, and sexual abuse and may exhibit anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. Sex trafficking can result in complex trauma that can be immediate and long-term, resulting in substance abuse, mental health issues, and possible criminal activity. Experiences of sex trafficking victims may vary, and there may also be consequences to their relationships, physical and health outcomes, and emotional and psychological health. To meet their complex needs, DFCS uses a trauma-informed multidisciplinary approach to assess, address, and provide services to victims of sex trafficking.

​Forms and Tools

Human Trafficking Case Management Statewide Protocol