RECOGNIZING THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2026 AS "HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS MONTH" IN DELAWARE.

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. K. Williams & Sen. Poore on behalf of all Senators

Reps. Harris, Kamela Smith on behalf of all Representatives

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 86

RECOGNIZING THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2026 AS "HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS MONTH" IN DELAWARE.

WHEREAS, human trafficking is a grave violation of human rights and a form of modern-day slavery involving force, fraud, or coercion for labor or commercial sexual exploitation; and

WHEREAS, human trafficking is a growing national crisis, with the National Human Trafficking Hotline reporting nearly 12,000 trafficking cases and more than 21,800 potential victims nationwide in 2024, reflecting increased identification and reporting; and

WHEREAS, human trafficking remains a critical public safety, public health, and child welfare issue in the State of Delaware, requiring prevention, early identification, multidisciplinary intervention, and offender accountability; and

WHEREAS, children are among the most vulnerable to trafficking, and the 2024 Delaware Juvenile Trafficking Report identified the youngest suspected trafficking victim in the State as 4 years old; and

WHEREAS, early identification within healthcare settings is essential to protecting trafficked youth and interrupting exploitation; and

WHEREAS, Nemours Children’s Health has implemented behavioral health screening tools for youth ages 12 to 18, completing more than 32,500 screenings since 2020, identifying indicators of sexual exploitation, forced labor, and coercion, and demonstrating the value of clinical screening; and

WHEREAS, in Calendar Year 2025 alone, nearly 5,000 youth were screened, and 25 pediatric patients were treated by forensic nurse examiners at Nemours Children’s Health for human trafficking as a chief complaint; and

WHEREAS, child-serving systems play a critical role in identification and response; and

WHEREAS, in Calendar Year 2024, the Commercial Sexual Exploitation–Identification Tool (CSE-IT) was utilized across divisions of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, resulting in 124 youth screened statewide, including 92 Report Line intake screenings; and

WHEREAS, law enforcement remains a key partner in both victim identification and offender accountability; and

WHEREAS, the New Castle County Police Department’s Drug & Human Trafficking Investigations Team, within the past six months, conducted proactive operations resulting in the identification of 17 potential trafficking victims who received services, 7 criminal arrests, and the seizure of more than $16,000 in illegal proceeds; and

WHEREAS, state agencies continue to strengthen awareness and response capacity across all sectors; and

WHEREAS, the Delaware Department of Transportation reported that 456 employees completed Human Trafficking Awareness Training during Fiscal Year 2025, improving identification and response across agency divisions; and

WHEREAS, the General Assembly has taken legislative action to strengthen protections for trafficked children; and

WHEREAS, House Bill 42 strengthened Delaware’s response to child trafficking by requiring information sharing between the Child Protection Accountability Commission (CPAC) and the Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council (DATAC), mandating a multidisciplinary investigative response, and formally integrating child trafficking into Delaware’s child abuse framework; and

WHEREAS, House Bill 42 further established a CPAC review panel and oversight committee, staffed by the Office of the Child Advocate, ensuring alignment with federal law recognizing trafficked children as victims of abuse; and

WHEREAS, the Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council (DATAC) serves as the State’s multidisciplinary coordinating body, leading statewide training, policy development, data-informed strategies, and cross-agency collaboration to prevent trafficking and strengthen survivor-centered responses; and

WHEREAS, continued collaboration among law enforcement, healthcare providers, child welfare professionals, state agencies, community partners, and survivors with lived experience is essential to effectively combat human trafficking.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 153

rd

General Assembly of the State of Delaware, the Senate concurring therein, that the members of the Delaware General Assembly hereby recognize the month of January 2026 as "Human Trafficking Awareness Month" in order to bring awareness to the crime of human trafficking in this State.

SYNOPSIS

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes January 2026 as "Human Trafficking Awareness Month" in Delaware.