CSTT Archived Webinars
Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth (CSEY) Advocacy: Texas' Strategy to Support the Long-Term Healing of CSEY
Presented on September 25, 2024
The Office of the Governor's Child Sex Trafficking Team and various statewide partners delve into the critical need for specialized advocacy for youth who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation. Learn what CSEY advocacy entails and its significance in fostering healing and resilience among affected youth as well as learn how to access CSEY advocacy for children and transition-aged youth. Lastly, the webinar highlights how CSEY advocates collaborate with other specializaed advocates to create a cohesive support network.
Lived Experience and Lifelong Advocacy Leads to the CASA ACT (Anti-Child Trafficking) Framework at Texas CASA
Presented on August 28, 2024
Rhonda Kukendall, a survivor of familial trafficking, shares her lived experience and how she has taken exposure to child sex trafficking at the age of ten years old to empower survivors and equip direct service providers on how to best advocate with survivors of child sex trafficking. Rhonda also shares information on the intersectionality of human trafficking and the child welfare system. Texas CASA created the Texas CASA ACT (Anti-Child Trafficking) to better equip CASA volunteers and staff across the state.
Towards a Safer Texas: Combating Sexual Violence Through Prevention, Intervention, Collaboration, and Policy Change
Presented on July 31, 2024
Members of the Office of the Governor's Public Safety Office (PSO) present and discuss Texas' response to sexual violence as seen through the lens of three statewide initiatives overseen by the PSO: the Child Sex Trafficking Team, the Sexual Assault Survivors' Task Force, and the Sexual Violence Prevention Workgroup.
Care Coordination: An Essential Component of the Texas CSEY Care Continuum
Presented on June 27, 2024
An in-depth presentation and convesation presented by the Office of the Governor's Child Sex Trafficking Team, The Children Assessment Center, and Harris County Resources for Children and Adults, focused on the Texas Model for Care Coordination, an essential component of Texas' strategy to serve commercially sexually exploited youth (CSEY) through early-intervention, active investigation, and long-term follow-up care.
Keeping You Safe: Protecting Your Physical and Online Safety
Presented on April 23, 2024
Linsay Tomlinson and Aurora Garcia of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services' Worker Safety Support Division discuss creating physical safety in the workplace, including planning for safe client interactions, and handling potentially dangerous situations. Additionally, they address the significance of online safety and ways to safeguard personal information from unauthorized access.
Human Trafficking and Persons with Disabilities: Intersections and Opportunities for Prevention, Intervention, and Healing
Presented on January 31, 2024
The Texas Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities and Tiffany Lee Consulting, LLC, joined the Child Sex Trafficking Team to explore topics such as vulnerability to exploitation for persons with disabilities, the often disabling health impacts of trafficking, disability resources and rights in Texas, and improving service accessibility and programming for clients with disabilities.
2023 Archived Webinars
Updates from the 88th Legislative Session
Presented on August 30, 2023
The Child Sex Trafficking Team and Brody Burks, Assistant Attorney General with the Office of the Attorney General's Human Trafficking and Transnational/Organized Crime Division, take a deep dive into important human trafficking updates from the 88th Legislative Session.
Fentanyl: How it Effects Those We Serve
Presented on May 24, 2023
Toni McKinley, Executive Director of Magdalene House, presents the dangers of fentanyl, the barriers that exist to receiving help, and the solutions that are needed to help survivors of trafficking.
When Does Trauma Therapy Become Traumatizing?
Presented on March 30, 2023
Sarah Hall of the Texas Alliance of Children and Family Services and Julie Prudhome of Garth House provide thoughtful discussion for service providers to consider when referring survivors of trauma to and/or supporting them with various therapeutic interventions.
The Value of Collaboration in Addressing Commercial Sexual Exploitation, from Prevention and Awareness to Supporting Healing and Everything in Between
Presented on January 24, 2023
Lubbock organizations One Voice Home, Open Door, and Voice of Hope as they discuss how they have partnered to elevate awareness about Human Trafficking in the area and through this partnership are providing victim-centered,trauma-informed services to survivors.
2022 Archived Webinars
TABC's Response to Human Trafficking
Presented on April 7, 2022
TABC plays a key role in stopping human trafficking from taking place within licensed alcohol retailers such as bars, nightclubs, and convenience stores. During this webinar, you will learn how TABC is addressing human trafficking and how communities can support those efforts.
2021 Archived Webinars
First Spouses' Global Human Trafficking Summit
Presented on October 14, 2021
First Lady of Texas Cecilia Abbott and First Lady of Louisiana Donna Edwards have partnered in the past year to educate other first spouses along with key stakeholders across the country on anti-human trafficking efforts and resources they can bring back to their own states. The latest educational summit in October 2021 was hosted by the Texas Governor’s Child Sex Trafficking Team and focused on the growing crime on online exploitation of children and solutions to prevent it. Featured in this recording of the summit are:
- First Lady Donna Edwards of Louisiana
- Andrea Galliano Sparks, Director, Governor Abbott's Child Sex Trafficking Team
- Special Agent Jack Station, Homeland Security Investigations
- Belinda Swan, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
- Kristen Abrams, McCain Institute - REAL Friends Don't
- Sonya Ryan, Carly Ryan Foundation - Not on Our Watch, Texas
- And a special message from First Lady Abbott
Human Trafficking Updates from the 87th Legislative Session
Presented on July 15, 2021
Todd Latiolais, Prevention & Policy Administrator with the Governor’s Child Sex Trafficking Team, provides an overview of new legislation impacting the issue of human trafficking.
Business Doing Good - Engaging Businesses to Hire and Empower Survivors
Presented on June 10, 2021
Shannon Deer and Cheryl Miller present on an evidence-based economic empowerment model based on six principles. This model is already gaining the attention of organizations and corporations, leading to partnerships that create employment opportunities with good wages and benefits for women overcomers.
What Are We Learning from Research About the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Youth (CSEY)
Presented on May 13, 2021
Child Sex Trafficking Team’s (CSTT) Director, Andrea Sparks, and North Texas Regional Administrator, Tomi Grover, present on how research informs our strategies to prevent and recognize the commercial sexual exploitation of youth, effectively recover victims and support their healing, and bring justice to their exploiters. For the past 2 years, CSTT has been curating relevant research from peer-reviewed journals, and providing helpful summaries of, and links to those full research reports on its website. CSTT also funds research on child sex trafficking and evaluations of innovative anti-trafficking programs and encourages collaboration by scholars in the field to amplify research efforts. This webinar will provide an overview of CSTT’s efforts re: research and what we are learning so far.
Rebecca Bender Moved to Texas!
Presented on February 11, 2021
Rebecca Bender is CEO of the Rebecca Bender Initiative and Founder of Elevate Academy. Rebecca is a leader, advocate and consultant who equips individuals and organizations to identify and fight human trafficking in their own backyards. She was appointed to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, regularly testifies as an expert witness in court, and has trained over 100,000 professionals, including FBI. The Rebecca Bender Initiative is committed to changing the way Americans see and respond to human trafficking in their communities and empowering the survivors.
Disrupting the Demand for Commercial Sex in Texas – Progress and Lessons Learned So Far
Presented on January 14, 2021
Jamey Caruthers, the leader of the CEASE (Cities Empowered Against Sexual Exploitation) Texas team and CHILDREN AT RISK Senior Staff attorney, shares what we’ve learned over the past year of CEASE work including new data on regional buyer disruptions and ad tracking during COVID, as well as a look at what the next year holds for anti-demand. Buyer trends are changing and our tactics are changing as well. Learn more about our new approach to interacting with buyers, our next CEASE expansion cities, and how we are working to ensure maximum sustainability for all CEASE programs.
2020 Archived Webinars
Rethinking Representation: Reframing Human Trafficking for Responsible Outreach & Awareness Efforts
Presented on December 10, 2020
Leanne McCallum, Strategic Projects Manager, Louisiana Association of Children’s Advocacy Centers and Former Task Force Coordinator for the Greater New Orleans Human Trafficking Task Force, will help your organization accurately and ethically portray the realities of human trafficking in messages, language, images, and interactions with survivors.
Trauma-Informed Recipe for Emergency and Long-Term Residential Services—the Secret Ingredient that You Didn’t Know You Already Have
Presented on October 8, 2020
Tara Roussett, CEO of SJRC, discusses her agency's emergency and long-term residential programs for pregnant and parenting CSEY, lessons learned so far, and how their simple yet profound approach works.
Healthy v. Harmful Dance for Children
Presented on September 10, 2020
Mary Bawden, Founder & CEO of Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited (DA:NCE), will share information from experts on the effects of sexualized dance, including sexual exploitation, on young children and teens and what we can do to help curb this practice.
The Attorney General of Texas’ Role in Investigating and Prosecuting Human Trafficking
Presented on August 13, 2020
Cara Pierce and her team from the Texas Attorney General’s Human Trafficking and Transnational/Organized Crime Section (HTTOC) discusses lessons learned in her career prosecuting trafficking and her team’s strategy to increase prosecuting in Texas.
Legal Representation for CSEY and Former Foster Youth
Presented on July 9, 2020
Mary Christine Reed with the Texas Rural Legal Aide’s Foster Youth Justice Project discusses legal services available to youth who have aged out of the foster care system and other vulnerable youth, including sexually exploited youth.
No Buyers No Business - CEASE Texas
Presented on June 11, 2020
Jamey Carthuers with CHILDREN AT RISK discusses the basics of CEASE (Cities Empowered Against Sexual Exploitation) Texas and how it operates, a “sex market landscape” for each of the CEASE regions, and explore how the attitudes and actions of both exploited individuals and sex buyers are changing in the face of COVID-19.
Familial Trafficking Investigations
Presented on March 12, 2020
Sergeant Jason Lundquist with the Waco Police Department Crimes Against Children Unit discusses The State vs. Trey Allan Cartwright case and lessons learned from a complex trafficking investigation.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission’s Strategies and Partnership Opportunities
Presented on February 13, 2020
Members of TABC discuss their role in combatting human trafficking by identifying criminal activity in TABC-licensed establishments and shutting them down. The 86th Legislative Session amended the Alcoholic Beverage Code to make combatting human trafficking and related practices, TABC’s #1 priority.
2019 Archived Webinars
Project 180 – A Pilot Project to Divert Exploited Persons from Prostitution Prosecutions and to Identify and Prosecute Traffickers
Presented on December 12, 2019
Johna Stallings with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office discusses insights learned from Project 180 in its first 18 months, including 1) Are people arrested for prostitution (selling) responding positively to the diversion program and accessing help to get out of “the life”? 2) What is the impact of shifting resources from prostitution cases to prosecuting traffickers? And 3) Based on what we’ve learned so far, what tweaks should be made to the pilot in the next 18 months to improve.
Ending Child Exploitation in Texas: Progress, Hope and What We've Learned So Far
Presented on November 14, 2019
Andrea Sparks, Director of the Child Sex Trafficking Team, discusses the progress made and lessons learned from the first 3 years of operation in addressing the sexual exploitation of child and youth.
Human Trafficking Legislative Updates
Presented on October 3, 2019
Todd Latiolais with the Office of the Governor’s Child Sex Trafficking Team discusses information about laws passed during the 86th Legislative Session, which impact the issue of human trafficking.
University of Texas Study Webinar
Presented on April 4, 2019
This recording provides a briefing of research released by the University of Texas in March 2019. The study explores the life experiences of survivors of child sex trafficking.
Request Access to these Archived Webinars
Gang Trafficking of Youth – Identification and Interdiction
This webinar contains images of violence inflicted by gangs. To access the webinar video, please contact us.
Sexual Exploitation of Boys: How to Prevent, Recognize and Prosecute It and Provide the Services Survivors Need
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Texas Department of Public Safety’s New Standard Operating Procedures for Human Trafficking Investigations
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Trauma-informed Interviews of Sex Trafficking Survivors
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