Template Helps California Counties Access Funding To Address CSE Of Youth

NCYL was instrumental in the development of a critical document template that makes it easier for counties to opt into a voluntary California program that provides funding to municipalities to combat the Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) of youth and implement services that address the needs of those youth.

The State Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Template, a 35-page customizable document, is the result of many months of research and collaboration between the California Child Welfare Council CSEC Action Team, the California Department of Social Services, specifically the Child Trafficking Response Unit, and the multi-disciplinary participants on a special workgroup. 

In addition to streamlining the MOU process for counties, the template also aims to synthesize the legal requirements outlined in California’s CSEC Program and the Federal Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act. 

How it works

The MOU template provides a model for counties opting into the CSEC Program, which requires that counties create a multidisciplinary process for serving youth impacted by CSE.

The MOU template covers key areas that each county’s multi-disciplinary process must address, including identification, reporting, service provision, and cross-system responses at key intervention points. It prompts counties on the information they need to fill in, with examples of responsibilities of the partner agencies that can be adapted for their own purposes.

All counties, regardless of whether they previously opted into the CSEC Program, can utilize the template to fulfill new and pre-existing requirements, and to develop an interagency approach to better serve the children at risk of CSEC in their jurisdiction. To date, 47 of 58 counties have opted into the Program, many of which have utilized the template. 

The template is one of many resources developed and/or supported by NCYL and its CSEC Initiative.