Prince William County Schools expanding human trafficking prevention program
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. - A Northern Virginia school district program to stop human trafficking is being expanded.
Officials in Prince William County tell FOX 5 they are adding a second human trafficking prevention specialist to work with students in public schools.
Prince William County Schools says student human trafficking cases are rare, with an average of one or two per year over the last decade in a school district of 91,000 students. Still, they say the cases they’ve identified are important, so they’re building on what they’ve started.
Beginning in the ninth grade, prevention specialists work to identify these students who might be victims of human trafficking — either forced labor or sex trafficking.
"It’s raising awareness to our students," said Tiffany DiBenedetto, a Prince William County Schools Human Trafficking Prevention Specialist. "They may not know the warning signs, they may not know or comprehend what human trafficking is, so it’s giving them an opportunity to have that education."
Officials say the staff also works to run prevention programs and help students identify signs of trafficking, and make them aware of services and interventions for those students who may need that help.
"This gives us an opportunity to expand our reach and support our students and their families and bring in community partnerships that are critical to what we do," said Prince William County Schools’ Supervisor of Social Workers Anthony Clark.
FOX 5 spoke with students and parents about the program.
"Our school district is really good and it could help like Loudoun, Fairfax and teach everyone about bad areas, you know?" said Tan Viar, a Prince William County high school senior.
The school district says the program was able to help a middle school student who was sold on Facebook at age 10. The student got mental health services and her traffickers were arrested.
Another middle school saw their trafficker get 81 years in prison. The program also led to an international ring that sold students for domestic work being broken up.
"I think it’s good," one parent told FOX 5. "Anytime you get results that are positive for the community and positive for the area, that children are learning what’s important and what’s not."
"I do think it’s especially [important] for these children and kids because you know they are at a developmental age, where everything is being soaked in," said another.
The county’s Board of Supervisors approved funding to expand the program in the latest school budget. Nearly 50,000 Prince William County public school students have participated in the anti-trafficking lessons in the past decade.