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Course Outline: |
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Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) and sex-trafficking is rampant in New Jersey and across the country. Youth workers will have frequent contact with CSEC victims and those especially at high risk for CSEC, victims of child sexual abuse. In fact, one out of every three teenage runaways get lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home, and 300,000 children are believed to be at high risk for CSEC in the United States. The intense physical and psychological impact of CSEC include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), rape, homeless- ness, self-blame and self loathing. Thus, working with CSEC victims present difficulties and challenges like to other.
The good news is that New Jersey is home to a growing movement to confront this issue. Learn about victim-centered language, pathways, and precursors to CSEC, effective strategies for intervention, and the steps you can take to bring the battle against sexual exploitation and human trafficking to your community. |
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Presenter |
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Jim Halfpenny is the Director of Youth Services in Atlantic County Division of Intergenerational Services Department of Human Services. He has been serving youth and families in Atlantic County for 25 years. In his current position, he is responsible for the supervision of the County Youth Services Shelter, the Family Crisis Intervention Unit and the TRY-IT Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program.
He has a bachelors degrees in Psychology and Environmental Studies from the Richard Stockton College and a masters degree in Psychology from Rowan University. He has also earned Family Therapy Certification for the Philadelphia Child guidance clinic. He is a 1999 recipient of a Child Assault Prevention (CAP) award and a standing member of the county Youth Services Commission and the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative core group. He is currently also serving as the co-chairman of the Anit0-Trafficing Taskforce of Atlantic County . (ATTAC). |