Children's Home Network teaches foster parents how to raise children vulnerable to trafficking

Children's Home Network teaching foster parents

Mark Wilson reports

TAMPA - January was Human Trafficking Awareness Month and one organization is working to protect vulnerable children by placing them in safe environments.

Through a program with the Children's Home Network called 'Chance,' foster parents go through a special course to help them raise children who have survived or are at risk of trafficking.

"Chance is a program that was designed to work with youth who had been victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation," said Jihan Omar, clinical psychologist with the Chance Program. "So it was based on our experiences in working with children who were in foster care, who were kind of vulnerable to this type of abuse."

Programs like this aim to break the cycle by offering these children not just shelter, but hope.

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What they're saying:

"I've learned a lot," said Rebecca Thornton, a foster parent. "I just want to be a support to the kids that are in this situation and see how what I have can help change a life."

Pictured: Rebecca Thornton, a foster parent.

The program equips foster parents with trauma-informed training, teaching them how to recognize the signs of trafficking, address complex emotional needs, and create a secure, supportive home.

"This is often a crime that's done very hidden," said Omar. "The victims don't often identify as being victims. So a lot of it is really working with them to engage them and help them recognize the trauma that they've endured."

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Big picture view:

Florida has one of the highest rates of reported human trafficking cases in the country.

"We're trying to eradicate human trafficking in our youth," Omar said. "I know it's a big goal, but we really can't stop until we actually see that this problem no longer exist," Omar stated.

Children's Home Network teaches foster parents how to raise children vulnerable to trafficking.

With their certificates in hand and hearts full of purpose, these graduates are now opening their doors and their homes to some of the most vulnerable children in our community.

The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Bryan Gray.

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