By Thomas Lee, CEO, First Place for Youth

January was National Human Trafficking Prevention Month—a time to reflect not only on the harm caused by human trafficking, but on the choices we can make to prevent it. It’s past time to look closely at the systems designed to protect young people and to ask whether they are truly doing so—especially for those leaving foster care. 

The data is sobering. In 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that among more than 29,000 missing children cases it assisted with, one in seven were likely victims of child sex trafficking. For youth who ran away from foster care or state care, that number rose to nearly one in five. Research on youth experiencing homelessness—many of whom have spent time in foster care—found that almost 20 percent had experienced some form of human trafficking, often within just 48 hours of being on the street. 

These outcomes are not random. They follow a clear and predictable pattern. When young people exit foster care without stable housing, trusted adult support, or a realistic path toward adulthood, their vulnerability increases dramatically. Traffickers exploit exactly these conditions—instability, isolation, and unmet basic needs. 

This is why trafficking prevention must start long before a young person is missing or exploited. Prevention begins with stability and love. 

What Makes Young People Vulnerable—and What Protects Them 

Those of us who have worked closely with foster youth know what the research confirms: connection and consistency are powerful protective factors. Young people are far less vulnerable to exploitation when they have a safe place to live, adults who show up for them consistently, and support as they navigate education, employment, and mental health needs. Unfortunately, many young people in foster care experience the opposite. Frequent placement changes, disconnection from caring adults, and an abrupt transition out of care—often at age 18—leave them to navigate adulthood alone. For some, homelessness follows. Studies show that 31–46 percent of youth who age out of foster care experience homelessness by age 26, and among youth experiencing homelessness, most of the trafficking and survival sex occurs while they are unhoused. 
 
Traffickers recognize this vulnerability quickly. When a young person is sleeping on a couch, in a car, or on the street, an offer of food, shelter, or affection can feel like rescue—even when it leads to exploitation. 

Prevention Works When We Invest Early—and Long Enough 

True trafficking prevention does not begin with law enforcement, though their work is essential. It begins with housing, relationships, and long-term support. Rescue is critical—but rescue without prevention leaves young people cycling back into danger because their underlying needs remain unmet. 

Young people between the ages of 16 and 25 are still developing their identities, their goals, and their sense of belonging. This “launch phase” of life requires time, patience, and support. When young people are given a stable home, a trusted adult, access to education, and mental health services, their risk of exploitation drops dramatically. 

Research shows that extended foster care programs, which provide comprehensive support through age 25, lead to powerful outcomes: 

• Each additional year in care increases high school completion by 8 percent 

• College enrollment rises by nearly 12 percent 

• Arrest rates decrease by approximately 28 percent 

These programs directly reduce homelessness—the single strongest predictor of trafficking victimization. This is not theoretical. It is proven prevention. 

Building the Conditions Traffickers Cannot Exploit 

At First Place for Youth, an organization serving older foster youth, prevention is not a slogan—it is a model. By providing safe housing, caring adults, education and employment support, and mental health services through age 25, First Place creates the very conditions traffickers depend on being absent. 

Stability. Belonging. Opportunity. Time. 

When young people know they are not alone, when they have a place to come home to and someone who believes in them, exploitation loses its power. Prevention becomes possible—and measurable. 

A Choice We Can Make Together 

Human trafficking is not inevitable. We can choose to expand extended foster care programs nationwide. We can ensure every young person leaving foster care has access to housing and supportive relationships. We can equip foster families and caseworkers with the tools they need to support youth with complex trauma. We can fund what works. 

The alternative—continuing to intervene only after harm has occurred—is costly, ineffective, and devastating for young people. 

This National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we have an opportunity to shift our approach. To move upstream. To invest in prevention rather than reaction. To ensure that no young person has to navigate adulthood alone and afraid. 

By supporting organizations like First Place for Youth, we can help build a future where trafficking has fewer entry points—and where every young person has the chance to thrive. 

That future is not idealistic. 
It is practical. 
It is urgent. 
And it is within reach. 
__________________________________ 

Thomas Lee is the Chief Executive Officer at First Place for Youth, a nonprofit that provides housing, education, employment, and case management support to foster youth ages 18-24.  

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