SafetyNet Program

About the Program

Category: Children and Youth (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

SafetyNet is an inter-agency case review created by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office (DA) to improve the safety and outcomes of commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC) and those at risk for exploitation. Originally, this initiative consisted of five agencies: the DA’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, a forensic interview center, a rape crisis center, and a juvenile justice consultant. SafetyNet has now expanded to include medical professionals, mental health providers, victim advocates, county social services, and the juvenile probation department. SafetyNet utilizes a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach, in which members share confidential information with partner agencies to create both an immediate and long-term safety plan for sexually exploited youth. SafetyNet creates realistic and comprehensive safety plans tailored to the needs of individual victims. SafetyNet also gathers reliable data that offers a full picture of the challenges and needs unique to this set of crime victims. Now, having reviewed in excess of 550 cases, SafetyNet has a broad enough database to provide statistically relevant and accurate information to describe the population of locally trafficked youth. This, in turn, allows policymakers to make informed decisions as how best to allocate resources and create systemic change in an evidence-based fashion.