Legislative Update: 

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Federal

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SOAR ACT: Stop, Observe, Ask and Respond to Health and Wellness Act:

On February 26, 2018 The United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 767, the Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond (SOAR) to Health and Wellness Act of 2018.

The importance of this bill is that according to the Annals of Health Law report, 88% of sex trafficking survivors have contact with health care providers while they are being trafficked yet many of these providers have not been trained to recognize the signs of human trafficking. The SOAR Act would help health care providers identify potential human trafficking victims, refer victims to service agencies, and provide victims with care respectful of their special circumstances.

Please contact your U.S. Senators and urge them to make passage of the SOAR Act a priority.

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New York State in the 2018 budget (to be adopted by March 30)

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Increase funding for the Maternal Home Visiting programs that prevent the abuse and trauma that make children vulnerable for traffickers. Currently only 5% of eligible families have access to the program. The biggest program in the state, Healthy Families NY, has been flat-funded for more than a decade, meaning it can serve fewer people each year. We are asking for $5 million spread across existing sites and $13 million for two pilot sites where every eligible family could have a slot.

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Eliminate New York’s statute of limitations for child sexual abuse. Researchers have demonstrated that it takes survivors of child sexual abuse, on average, 21 years to disclose their abuse. New York’s current SOL on the crime keeps most victims from pressing charges on their 23rd birthday, which means it is impossible to convict most abusers, and without convictions it is impossible to properly vet adults entrusted to work with children. There is a version of the Child Victims Act in the Governor’s budget that is supported by advocates and has all essential components, and we are asking legislators to support it.

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Safe Harbour grants provide agencies that work directly with trafficked youth or youth at high risk of being trafficked with a lifeline. The grants enable recipient counties to provide direct services for this very high-need population and to gather data on the scope of youth trafficking. Cash-strapped counties are having difficulty making up the balance to maintain these programs after funding sunsets. We are asking for a provision to extend Safe Harbor funding for recipient counties.

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The budget is required to be adopted before March 30. Please contact your state Senator and Assemblymember to ask that they support these items in the budget. 

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Click here to see RRCAHT's complete NYS Legislative Agenda.

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