Senate Approves $10 million for Services for Survivors of Human Trafficking

SACRAMENTO – California Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) today announced that the Senate has passed legislation that appropriates $10 million in fiscal year 2018-2019 to provide services for survivors of human trafficking.

The budget funding is enabled by Senate Bill 862, passed on the Senate and Assembly floors this week.

“Human trafficking remains an extremely serious problem in California, and survivors of this heinous crime need specialized assistance as they recover from their trauma,” Atkins said. “The budget funding approved today will allow organizations and advocates dedicated to providing care to victims to continue their heroic work.”

From 2014 to 2017, the state appropriated $25 million for the Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Fund. These resources were distributed, through a competitive grant process administered by the California Office of Emergency Services, to qualified nonprofit organizations throughout the state that provide services to survivors of human trafficking. Twenty-one organizations across California have received funding through this process.

This year’s funding will augment the Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Fund and allow these organizations to continue to offer specialized services such as case management, counseling, legal assistance, social services, shelter and housing assistance.

One organization that has received grant funding in the past is North County Lifeline, which provides services to youth and adult survivors of human trafficking throughout San Diego County. The funding enabled North County Lifeline to better collaborate with other local service agencies to ensure that all areas of the region are covered. It also helped the organization increase capacity for receiving and responding to hotline calls and participating in first response to engage survivors with services.

“Ten million dollars going to survivor services is welcome news for all of us involved in the fight against human trafficking,” said Mary-Ellen Barrett, chair of San Diego County’s Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Advisory Council. “Survivors of human trafficking require many different resources including housing, counseling and job training. This money will bolster those services and help the survivors of human trafficking to heal after being victimized from this brutal crime.”

Human trafficking has been a major focus of the state Legislature during the past few years, and Senate pro Tempore Atkins has been on the front lines of the effort, beginning when she served as Speaker of the Assembly and oversaw a series of bills aimed at bringing traffickers to justice and providing recovery assistance to survivors.

That focus has continued into Atkins’ tenure in the Senate. In 2017, she authored, and Governor Jerry Brown signed, Senate Bill 230, which makes it easier for prosecutors to convict traffickers. In 2018, she authored Senate Bill 970, which requires hotels and motels to train employees how to spot the signs of human trafficking and report them to the authorities.

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