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TJJD Implements Human Trafficking Course for All Direct Care Staff in February

Human trafficking has been a prominent training topic in Texas and nationally for several years, a trend likely to continue as more information and statistics become available on trafficking and exploitation, especially related to children.  Over the last few years, TJJD and local juvenile probation departments have worked with a number of entities including the Attorney General’s Office, Department of Public Safety, Traffick911, Allies Against Slavery, and International Hope, to seek professional development in this area as a proactive measure for staff to enhance  awareness and responsivity to the needs of these youth in our system.


State legislation mandated human trafficking training for all juvenile correctional officers, along with trauma informed care training.  TJJD curriculum developers recently completed a new 2-hour human trafficking course that will be implemented into the new hire schedule for all incoming juvenile correctional officers beginning in February.  This course is an introduction to human trafficking where a discussion of definitions and terms, myths and facts, and characters and processes are provided.  This course also instructs staff on how to recognize the signs and symptoms of victims or traffickers within TJJD facilities as well as the reporting processes once they have been identified.   In addition to providing this new course to all new hires, TJJD will also provide this training to all tenured staff.  Juvenile probation departments may request this training at any time by the Juvenile Justice Training Academy, or while coordinating regional training.


For additional information on this training course, please contact Kristy Almager at 512.490.7125 or Chris Ellison at 512.490.7245.

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