IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v7y2018i8p135-d163436.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Inequalities in US Child Protection: The Case of Sex Trafficked Youth

Author

Listed:
  • Lisa Werkmeister Rozas

    (School of Social Work, University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT 06103, USA)

  • Jason Ostrander

    (Department of Social Work, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT 06825, USA)

  • Megan Feely

    (School of Social Work, University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT 06103, USA)

Abstract

This article demonstrates how structural social work theory and critical consciousness development can be used to help facilitate a transition from a deficit model approach to an inequities perspective in a child welfare system that was working to improve the identification of and services for domestic minor sex trafficked youth (DMST). The response of Connecticut’s child welfare system to the issue of DMST is provided as an example of how a child welfare systems could apply an inequities perspective to a population involved in and at risk for exploitation. Structural social work theory helps illustrate how neo-liberalist social structures in the United States perpetuate and maintain social inequity based on race, gender, age, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status for youth at risk for DMST. Through critical consciousness development, youth can be recognized as victims of intersecting forms of oppression, rather than criminals. These theories can be combined to increase individual awareness of the risks and oppression of youth across the population, and to identify how child welfare services can be leveraged to decrease inequities and improve child well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa Werkmeister Rozas & Jason Ostrander & Megan Feely, 2018. "Inequalities in US Child Protection: The Case of Sex Trafficked Youth," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-14, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:7:y:2018:i:8:p:135-:d:163436
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/7/8/135/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/7/8/135/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fong, Rowena & Berger Cardoso, Jodi, 2010. "Child human trafficking victims: Challenges for the child welfare system," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 311-316, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Havlicek, Judy & Huston, Shannon & Boughton, Seth & Zhang, Saijun, 2016. "Human trafficking of children in Illinois: Prevalence and characteristics," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 127-135.
    2. Pate, Symone S. & Anderson, Valerie R. & Kulig, Teresa C. & Wilkes, Nicole & Sullivan, Christopher J., 2021. "Learning from child welfare case narratives: A directed content analysis of indicators for human trafficking," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    3. Salina Mostajabian & Diane Santa Maria & Constance Wiemann & Elizabeth Newlin & Claire Bocchini, 2019. "Identifying Sexual and Labor Exploitation among Sheltered Youth Experiencing Homelessness: A Comparison of Screening Methods," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-16, January.
    4. McMahon-Howard, Jennifer & Reimers, Birthe, 2013. "An evaluation of a child welfare training program on the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC)," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 1-9.
    5. Hancock, Katy, 2019. "Sheriff perceptions of juvenile trafficking and juvenile trafficking services," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 366-373.
    6. Jill R. McTavish & Christine McKee & Masako Tanaka & Harriet L. MacMillan, 2022. "Child Welfare Reform: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-24, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:7:y:2018:i:8:p:135-:d:163436. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.