Child trafficking: a case study of the perceptions of child welfare professionals in Colorado

2013 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Human trafficking, or trafficking in persons, is a form of modern-day slavery and millions of people around the world, including children are victims of this crime (DeStefano, 2007). Data concerning human trafficking, particularly child trafficking, is severely limited. In child welfare, research suggests a lack of awareness, understanding, and training about child trafficking. This deficit of a knowledge base all too frequently results in misidentification, mislabeling, and improper care of child trafficking victims. Due to the lack of awareness and misconceptions, cases of child sex trafficking are often reported under more standard classifications of child maltreatment, such as sexual abuse. This mislabeling of victims directly affects the proper identification and handling of child sex trafficking cases, potentially further endangering the welfare of the child (Smith, Vardaman, & Snow, 2009). Using a qualitative, descriptive case study approach with semi-structured face-to-face interviews, the experiences of ten child welfare professionals in the identified geographic region of Colorado were explored. Data were collected primarily from an interview guide while demographic variables were gathered using a survey form. The study focused on determining the level of awareness of child trafficking; describing the meaning of child trafficking; and discovering the challenges associated with the identification of child trafficking victims from the perspective of child welfare professionals. In order to accomplish these objectives, the constant comparative analysis was selected as the most appropriate method to analyze the data. Originally described by Glaser and Strauss (1967), the constant comparative approach was utilized in this study to analyze the qualitative data and to determine significant themes through open, axial, and selective coding. Data collected from the interviews were analyzed for categories, emerging themes, and areas of agreement or disagreement to reflect the overarching research questions. Using a purposeful approach to the constant comparative method, Boeije (2002), comparison was conducted within one interview; across all interviews; and among demographic variables of the participants. Findings from the study reveal a connection between the lack of awareness, understanding, identification, and training, among the ten participants. From the three research questions, the following conclusions were identified: 1) there is a lack of awareness concerning child trafficking, the laws and statistics, the meaning and what it exactly entails, and how it is significantly different from child abuse/sexual abuse, exploitation, and prostitution; 2) the lack of understanding about child trafficking and the definition directly impacts the level of awareness, meaning, and the ability to properly identify victims; and 3) the major challenges in victim identification are due to the lack of awareness, ambiguous meaning, and absence of training regarding child trafficking. All of the findings relate to the three research questions, intertwined, and correspond to the main themes identified within the data. Analysis of the conclusions elicited implications for policy and practice for child welfare and child trafficking as well as recommendations for policy and practice and future research