white paper
We are a group of experts in child welfare and child protection who have become increasingly concerned that proposed policy development in child exploitation has largely failed to address prevention, support law enforcement, or make the critical connection between digital and real-world exploitation of children. While most critics of some proposed legislation have rightly focused on serious constitutional concerns and unintended consequences, there has been little discussion of how to prevent harm, stop the cycle of abuse by predators, and support law enforcement support to ensure meaningful and effective child protection.
The authors
Maureen Flatley
Maureen is an expert in government reform and oversight involving children. She has spent decades advocating in the US and abroad for children who are victims of abuse, neglect, and exploitation on and offline. She has been an architect of a range of bills in Congress that dramatically reformed systems that serve children. In 2006 in the interests of amplifying civil justice for victims of online exploitation she was instrumental in the creation and passage of Masha’s Law, a bill that tripled the civil penalty for downloading CSAM. She continues to work to ensure effective, consistent, actionable policy development to protect children wherever they are.
Susan Grundberg
Susan has spent more than 30 years in human services and has successfully conceived of and implemented system and organizational reforms in both nonprofit and government leadership capacities, including four years as Associate Commissioner for Child Welfare Programs with NYC’s Administration for Children’s Services. Susan now serves as an advocacy, implementation, and capacity building consultant, partnering with organizations and jurisdictions working to design and implement innovative solutions to the most complex challenges.
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Susan S. Jacobs
Ambassador Susan S. Jacobs (Retired) was appointed the first Special Advisor for Children’s Issues at the Department of State by Secy. Hilary Clinton, a position in which she served from 2010 until her retirement in 2017. During her tenure, she traveled to more than 40 countries to discuss and implement effective child protection policy. In addition, she led U.S. delegations to international conferences and commissions concerned with issues effecting children. Throughout her career, she held various overseas postings including Israel, India, and El Salvador. Prior to her appointment as Special Advisor, Ambassador Jacobs served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs and as Ambassador to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. As the chair of the International Social Service governing board, she continues to dedicate her life to improving the condition of children around the world
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Felicity Sackville Northcott, PhD
Felicity Sackville Northcott, PhD has more than 20 years of experience working on a range of issues related to child welfare, child protection, and the nexus of international law and social work. Dr. Northcott has trained hundreds of judges, lawyers, social workers, and other stakeholders on their responsibilities under various international conventions related to cross border child protection. Most recently she served as the Director of Global Missing Children’s Issues at ICMEC.
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Agatha Tomasik
Agatha A. Tomasik, CFRE serves as the Executive Director of Stop Child Predators. She has more than 20 years of experience in advocacy for children and victims of crime, work with the criminal justice system, and nonprofit management. She has presented at conferences on public policy, nonprofit advancement, and victimology. A graduate of American University’s School of Public Affairs and a certified domestic violence advocate, Agatha resides in Washington, DC.
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Authors' note
We are a group of experts in child welfare and child protection who have become increasingly concerned that proposed policy development in child exploitation has largely failed to address prevention, support law enforcement, or make the critical connection between digital and real-world exploitation of children. While most critics of some proposed legislation has rightly focused on serious constitutional concerns and unintended consequences, there has been little discussion of how to prevent harm, stop the cycle of abuse by predators, and support law enforcement support to ensure meaningful and effective child protection.
facts and figures
63%
of child sex trafficking victims were previously in the child welfare system
<1%
of CSAM reports from the Cyber Tipline that law enforcement had capacity to investigate.
85%
of survivors of child sex trafficking in LA County were previously in the child welfare system
41%
of those who were sex trafficked had at least one out of home placement in their lives