CSEC Action Team
Assembling experts from across the state, including survivors dedicated to turning knowledge into action to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth in California
What is the CSEC Action Team?
Established in 2013, the California Child Welfare's CSEC Action Team is a multidisciplinary body, bringing together key stakeholders–community-based and grassroots organizations, public agencies, lived experience experts, service providers, parent partners, judges, lawyers, and interested community members to spur action to address the commercial sexual exploitation of children and youth. Meeting quarterly and providing additional learning opportunities, the Action Team aims to grow awareness about CSE, identify challenges facing California’s young people impacted by CSE and their families and caregivers, share promising practices, and develop tools and resources.
Executive team members that guide the Action Team’s work include co-chair Kate Walker Brown from the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL); co-chair Leslie Heimov from the Children’s Law Center of California (CLC); Maria Contreras, NCYL, Darla Chavez Chavez, NCYL; Vida Castaneda, Judicial Council of California, Sawan Vaden, Communities Against Sexual Harm; Susan Abrams, CLC; and Julie McCormick, CLC.
The CSEC Action Team works in tandem with an Advisory Board of lived experience experts to guide and inform the Action Team’s work.
What does the CSEC Action Team do?
CSEC Action Team develops policy guidance, recommendations and promising practices including:
- Recommendations on how to improve data collection regarding identifying and serving youth experiencing CSE
- Cell phone policy guidance for youth who are in out of home care
- Harm reduction guidance series for social workers, probation officers, law enforcement, caregivers, and the courts
- Model Memorandum of Understanding template to support multidisciplinary collaboration among youth-serving agencies
Advisory Board to the CSEC Action Team
First of its kind advisory board led by survivors.
The CSEC Action Team’s Advisory Board is a unique resource. Local agencies, counties, community-based organizations can consult and collaborate with the lived-experience experts of the Advisory Board to create policies at every stage from conception, development, planning and implementation.
Members of the Advisory Board are tasked with providing leadership and consultation to the Action Team, governmental agencies, community-based organizations and other stakeholders regarding how to improve state and local policy for children and youth who have been impacted by CSEC.