Human Trafficking could happen anywhere. Here's how we can be equipped to respond.

By jessica l. peck, Katherina Hettenhaus, Kelcey King, and Kelley Rigby

Headlines inflaming fears about human trafficking of children dominate news outlets and community social media discussions. Parents are terrified of scary strangers lurking in grocery store parking lots. They feel compassion for victims they perceive as threatened by traffickers prowling United States borders, kidnapping children from a foreign country into a hidden life of slavery. Well-intentioned neighbors are vigilant for young girls who might be sending secret help signals, waiting for rescue. The uncomfortable truth lies much closer to home. In reality, parents should be more afraid of the thousands of strangers regularly invited into the bedroom of unsuspecting children each night through social media in a world where trafficking is moving from the street to the smartphone.

All children in the United States are at risk for being groomed, forced, defrauded, or coerced into a human trafficking situation. Contrary to frequently portrayed media stereotypes, trafficking is happening in the most ordinary kinds of communities with all kinds of children. With lucrative financial gain of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual income, traffickers patiently seek vulnerabilities to exploit. Often children being abused in trafficking are also going to school regularly. Such was the case with our survivor advocate for the project behind this article, who was trafficked from the ages of 11-14 years old by a schoolmate’s mother. In a place she thought she was safe, she was deceived into playing what appeared to be a game that was easily normalized. Her parents were caring, engaged, and vigilant, but completely unaware, as is the case in many trafficking situations.

This article demonstrates the need for school nurses to be aware of and equipped to respond to human trafficking in their community. Much like an active shooter situation, no one ever wants to face the horrors of human trafficking but if plans are not made in advance with careful consideration, no one in such a situation would be safe or well-served by trying to figure something out in the moment. Human trafficking is a high-stakes situation that is very dangerous with high potential for harm. Just as school nurses have risen to the occasion time and time again in the face of new threats for children, opportunity lies here to do the same. School nurses are well equipped to recognize and respond to abuse but more importantly, opportunity exists to recognize risk and respond early with a framework of prevention. In 2022, a large scale web search yielded only 10 resources for schools to respond to trafficking, and only two of those mentioned the school nurse. With a newly released federal toolkit for schools to respond to trafficking, the time is now to engage and respond.

In the fall of 2023, three pediatric nurse practitioner students from Baylor University agreed to undertake a journey of creating a protocol for a large school district in Oklahoma. The community coalition building that occurred here was excellent as knowledge sharing, agreements on language, and protocols were developed with robust interprofessional support from organizations including public, private, and governmental entities. Since the protocol creation, several children have already been identified at risk in the community. School nurses are ideally situated with a skillset to engage and equip their communities of interest while serving the children in their care. It is our sincere hope as project leads and authors that school nurses will accept the challenge issued here to ensure their school is prepared to respond not if, but when human trafficking occurs in their district.

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Article Details
Empowering School Nurses: Enhancing Child Trafficking Awareness and Preparedness in American Public Schools
Jessica L. Peck, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC, CNE, CNL, FAANP, FAAN; Katherina Hettenhaus, DNP, CPNP-PC; Kelcey King, DNP, CPNP-PC; Kelley Rigby, BSN, RN
First published May 22, 2024 Research article
DOI: 10.1177/10598405241245955
The Journal of School Nursing

About the Authors

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Dr. Jessica Peck is a Clinical Professor of Nursing at Louise Herrington School of Nursing at Baylor University in Dallas, Texas. She is past president of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, where she created the Alliance for Children in Trafficking. Dr. Peck was a key advocate of House Bill 2059 in Texas, requiring all direct care providers in Texas to take continuing education for human trafficking and becoming the first state to adopt an educational mandate with content standards. She also worked with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to create the first federally issued core competencies for human trafficking response in health systems. Dr. Peck is an author for parents and hosts a daily radio show prescribing hope for healthy families.

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Katherine, Kelley, and Kelcey are dedicated nursing professionals specializing in pediatric care, social justice, and advocacy. Recently, they earned their Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degrees as pediatric nurse practitioners. Their journey into advanced practice nursing has been defined by a profound commitment to addressing pediatric patients' complex multifaceted health challenges. Their doctoral project, which focused on human trafficking prevention, identification, and response by leveraging the pivotal role of school nursing in the public school system, underscores their passion for advocacy and social justice. Through partnerships with government agencies, non-profit organizations combating human trafficking, law enforcement, and school administrators, they initiated survivor-informed educational programs and community outreach initiatives tailored specifically to combat child trafficking. They've also shared their expertise at national conferences and contributed to peer-reviewed journals. Now as doctorally prepared pediatric nurse practitioners, Katherine, Kelley, and Kelcey apply their clinical and advocacy skills in pediatric primary care and academia. They remain dedicated to ensuring high-quality care and support for every child, blending clinical excellence with a passion for social justice.