Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Statewide Coordinating Committee

On Tuesday June 5, 2018 the Washington State Office of the Attorney General hosted the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Statewide Coordinating Committee. This committee was created by the Washington State Legislature in 2013 through Senate Bill 5308. Committee members included representatives from the Attorney General’s Office, the Washington State Legislature, state and local non-governmental agencies, criminal justice entities, advocacy organization, and survivors of commercial sexual exploitation.

The agenda for the meeting included local updates from the 11 Regional CSEC Task Forces in Washington State: Clark, Cowlitz, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Whatcom, and Yakima. These updates inform the Committee about the localized efforts across the state.

There was a detailed discussion about potential Safe Harbor Legislation led by Representative Tina Orwall, 33rd Legislative District, and informed by subject matter expert, Leslie Briner.

Dae Shogren, LGBTQ+/Disproportionality/Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC) Program Manager for DSHS – Children’s Administration provided an update regarding the internal Children’s Administration CSEC screening tool and the initial data collected.

Kim Justice, Executive Director of the Office of Homeless Youth for the Department of Commerce provided an update on the Budget Proviso for the Family in Need of Services legislation.

Finally, the Center for Children and Youth Justice (CCYJ), which provides staffing for the Committee, facilitated a discussion on current data collection methods in Washington State. Nicholas Oakley, Program Manager, and Kim Ong, Project Coordinator provided insight into the current data collection efforts across Washington State. If your organization would like to participate in data collection, please contact Kim Ong at CCYJ. She can be reached at Kong@CCYJ.org.

For more information about the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children Statewide Coordinating Committee, please contact Assistant Attorney General Kyle Wood at KyleW@ATG.WA.GOV or visit http://www.atg.wa.gov/commercially-sexually-exploited-children-statewide-coordinating-committee.