Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation, INN-CASE

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

San Bernardino County has recently developed the INN-CASE program, a collaborative partnership among child serving agencies to address the sexual exploitation of children in its communities. Through the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding, signed by several local agencies and county departments, the County has been able to obtain funding, assign staff and develop protocols for identifying and treating children who are “at risk of” or are identified as being sexually exploited through prostitution, pornography, or other forms of child, sexual enslavement. A steering committee of representatives from these departments has created an INN_CASE Task Force consisting of a coordinator, a Clinical therapist, a Probation officer and a CFS Social Worker to respond, county-wide, to requests for assistance from law enforcement, the public and other agencies, to assess children suspected of being sexually exploited and provide case management to assist them in addressing the legal, social and therapeutic issues related to this form of abuse. The INN-CASE Steering Committee has further dedicated significant resources to providing education and outreach to increase awareness throughout the communities, the law enforcement agencies, public schools, child welfare, non-profit agencies, fait-based organizations and therapeutic treatment providers. Participants from all these areas meet regularly to develop training and outreach programs.