Minnesota has made ground-breaking strides in legislation and service provision for sexually exploited and trafficked youth. However, victims of sex trafficking often have a variety of needs and encounter significant structural barriers in accessing services (Gibbs, et al., 2015). In 2018, the state initiated a project, led by the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA), to coordinate multidisciplinary teams working to develop community-specific protocols to improve the systems response to survivors of sexual exploitation and trafficking. Using the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) model, a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to improving the response to sexual assault in local communities, can be used effectively to coordinate services for victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking (Vietor & Hountz, 2018). This interactive presentation will describe the protocol development process for responding to sexually exploited and trafficked youth, including successes and lessons learned from the field. The presenter will focus on practical skills and techniques for developing tailored protocols that reflect the unique needs of each community, as well as best practices for team formation and coordination.
Sarah Florman is the Trafficking Policy Coordinator at MNCASA. She provides training and technical assistance to organizations and multidisciplinary teams working to develop their system’s response to sexually exploited youth. Sarah has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota.