HB 265 – Victims of Reform School Abuse
policy brief
Executive Summary
Human trafficking, often referred to as modern day
slavery, is one of Florida’s leading industries. For the
past five years, Florida has
ranked third, out of fifty, for
the highest number of human
trafficking cases reported to
the National Human
Trafficking Hotline. My
name is Olivia Chappell, I am
a social work student at
Florida Gulf Coast
University. I am here to advocate for the refiling and
passage of Senate Bill 154 during the 2021 legislative
session of the Florida Senate. I am writing to inform
members of the Florida House and Senate of the
importance of this bill. SB 154 is primarily focused
on human trafficking. The states’ current response to
the issue of trafficking is to criminalize all parties
involved, especially the victims. Instead of penalizing
victims, I recommend that lawmakers shift their focus
to awareness and education for minors.
Introduction
It is evident that Florida has a high rate of human
trafficking. Many methods, including the use of nonprofit
agencies, changes in legislation, and increased use of law
enforcement, have been used as the primary response to
the issue of human trafficking within the state. The goal of
Senate Bill 154 is to address the issue of human trafficking
education in Florida public schools. By introducing this
issue into the public-school system, further awareness
would be brought to those that are the most vulnerable to
human trafficking. If this bill were passed, there would be
requirement for class instruction on the dangers and
warning signs of human trafficking. This curriculum
would be integrated in the comprehensive health courses
as part of that requirement. The purpose of this bill is to
create legislation that insures all students in the Florida
public education system learn about human trafficking, its
dangers, and how they may be at risk of falling victim to
this cycle.
According to Finigan-Carr et al., human trafficking is
effected on societal, community,
relationship/interpersonal, and individual/intrapersonal
levels. The focus of anti-trafficking efforts, in Florida, is
on the societal level, through the legal system. There is a
slight focus on the community level with the current
human trafficking education requirements in the Florida
public school system. With the passage of SB 154 issues
of awareness of human trafficking can be reinforced at a
community level. This bill would create an effective
prevention method to the issue of human trafficking and
teach children about it age appropriate ways.
In this paper I will discuss how the legal system and
current policies do not fully address the aspect of
prevention when it comes to responding to human
trafficking.
Message
The current methods used by the state to address
human trafficking are the use of law enforcement and
legal processes to break up human trafficking rings,
and annual human trafficking education in Florida
Human Trafficking
Education:
A way to protect children and break
the cycle Florida Gulf Coast University Department of Social Work
public schools. Although these methods work to
address the issue, there is more that can be done. It
can take months for law enforcement professionals to
investigate human trafficking rings, and the yearly
presentation that is now required in schools has a
limited effect. This piece of legislation should be
supported because it provides the highest level of
preventative action, on behalf of the state, compared
to the options above.
One of the reasons that SB 154 provides better
prevention is because the education it would provide
would expose the dangers and warning signs of
trafficking. There are common attributes among
children that have been victimized through human
trafficking. In Human Trafficking of Minors and
Childhood Adversity in Florida, the data shows that
children with “six ACE’s (adverse childhood
experience) and composite ACE scores were
significantly higher in the sub-sample of youths who
had trafficking reports. If children were given a
thorough education on these risk factors, and why
traffickers choose children who have these
experiences to prey upon, there is a higher chance that
they would participate in preventative measure like
reporting these experiences to a school counselor,
teacher, or trusted adult in their lives. They would
also be more aware of people that fit these
descriptions in their surroundings. The infographic
on the left gives a description of those at risk for
trafficking.
Another
example of
why SB 154
would be
beneficial to
implement as
an effective
method of
prevention is
because of the
intensity and
extended
period that it
takes for law enforcement agencies to investigate and
detain individuals that are participating in this
activity. One example of this would be a multi-state
human trafficking case, with origins in Miami. The
investigation of this case began in 2017, when two
victims of a prolific trafficker came forward with
information of the operation. The FBI proceeded to
investigate this trafficking ring until late 2019 when
arrests were finally made. Even with the
apprehension of this man, and two of his
coconspirators, it is unknown how many women and
young girls came into his operation. Of the three
women that were willing to discuss their experience
in this trafficking ring, two of them stated that they
were recruited as minors. If there were methods of
prevention implemented through spreading
awareness to the public, especially children, then law
enforcement agencies may have better chance at
having victims and witnesses coming forward with
information on trafficking rings.
The work of the legal system and law enforcement
agencies is well appreciated in the fight against
trafficking; however, they would greatly benefit from
a knowledgeable public. The charts below show the
amount of human trafficking case convictions in
2018, and new cases reported in federal districts
across the state.
With the multitude of cases being reported, and so
few being brought to trial, it is evident that the
processes of the legal system are not enough to
effectively slow the rate of human trafficking within
the state of Florida.
There is also an issue of the legal system
revictimizing and discouraging victims of human
trafficking to come forward with information on their
experiences. With the current laws that are in place it
is common that the victims the legal system is
supposed to protect are the ones that end up with
harsh prostitution charges and long prison sentences.
Finigan-Carr et al. states, “ The criminalization of
prostitution exacerbates the vulnerability of women
and youth in the sex trade, as enforcement of the law
has primarily focused on the arrest of sex workers
(including trafficking victims and minors) for
prostitution-related offenses while their exploiters
(pimps, johns) are arrested and charged at much
lower rates.” If the focus of human trafficking was
shifted from persecuting victims to awareness
through education, then there would be a great change
in the cycle of human trafficking.
Policy implications
There are many conclusions that can be drawn after
reviewing this brief. The possibilities are to take no
action and let the current policies in place continue,
to create an entirely new bill on human trafficking, or
to refile and support this bill in the 2021 legislative
system.
The pros of not acting are:
The systems in place will continue to work
towards addressing the issue of human
trafficking in Florida.
Children will receive a limited education on
the dangers and warning signs of human
trafficking.
Continue to make convictions on human
trafficking rings after long term investigation.
The cons of not acting are:
Maintaining a moderately effective system.
Children will likely forget the information
they learn in an annual teaching of this
information, making them less aware.
Continuing to revictimize and discourage
victims of human trafficking from seeking
necessary treatment and working with law
enforcement to dismantle human trafficking
rings.
The pros of creating a new bill are:
A new bill may be easier to get pushed
through the legislation process because of
new information in it
Constituents may support a new bill
compared to one that has previously died
because of optics
The cons of creating a new bill are:
Legislators may not support a new bill
over an older one
It can take a long time to create a new bill
that addresses the same issues as a
previous one
The pros of supporting SB 154 are:
Children would gain a comprehensive
education on human trafficking
There would be a method of prevention of
human trafficking spread through
awareness
Children that belong to vulnerable
populations would be aware of their level
of risk in this situation
There could be lower rates of children
being coerced into trafficking because
they know the signs
The cons of supporting SB 154 are:
It is a bill that has previously died so it
may not be perceived as necessary
The current human trafficking education
policy may seem less intense for children
Recommendations
As previously stated, I recommend that lawmakers
focus on awareness and education of minors, as it
concerns human trafficking. Supporting this bill
would help raise awareness of a prominent issue that
our state has been dealing with for a long time.
Current policies are effective and do address this
issue, however, there is much more that can be done.
References
Finigan-Carr, N., Johnson, M. H., Pullmann, M. D.,
Stewart, C. J., & Fromknecht, A. E. (2019).
A traumagenic social ecological framework
for understanding and intervening with sex
trafficked children and youth: C & A C &
A. Child & Adolescent Social Work
Journal, 36(1), 49-63.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/10.10
07/s10560-018-0588-
Hotline Statistics- National Human Trafficking
Hotline. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://humantraffickinghotline.org/states
Litam, S. D. A. (2017). Human sex trafficking in
america: What counselors need to know. The
Professional Counselor, 7(1), 45-61.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/10.15
241/sdal.7.1.45
Marchante, M. (2019, December 16). South Florida
man created fake nonprofit to lure minors
into sex trafficking, FBI says. Retrieved
from
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/cri
me/article238352778.html
Nicol, B. R. (2019, December 10). Perry Thurston bill
outlining human trafficking curriculum in schools
OK’d by Senate panel. Retrieved from
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/313095-
thurston-human-trafficking-curriculum
Reid, J. A., PhD., Baglivio, M. T., PhD., Piquero, A.
R., PhD., Greenwald, M. A., M.P.A., &
Epps, N., M.S. (2017). Human trafficking of
minors and childhood adversity in
florida. American Journal of Public
Health, 107(2), 306-311.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/10.21
05/AJPH.2016.303564
Overview
A policy brief is a document that outlines the rationale for choosing a particular policy alternative or course of action in a
current policy debate. It is commonly produced in response to a request directly from a decision maker or within an
organization that intends to advocate for the position detailed in the brief. Depending on the role of the writer or
organization producing the document, the brief may only provide a targeted discussion of the current alternatives
without arguing for a particular position (i.e. those who adopt the role of ‘objective’ researcher). On the other end of the
scale (i.e. advocates), the brief may focus directly on providing an argument for the adoption of a particular alternative.
Nevertheless, as any policy debate is a market place of competing ideas, the purpose of the policy brief is to convince
the target audience of the urgency of the current problem and the need to adopt the preferred alternative or course of
action outlined, and, therefore, serve as an impetus for action. As with all good marketing tools, the key to success is
properly tailoring your message to your target audience. The most common audience for a policy brief is decision
makers, but it is also not unusual to use the document to support broader advocacy initiatives targeting a wide but
knowledgeable audience (e.g. journalists, diplomats, administrators, researchers). In constructing a policy brief that can
effectively serve its intended purpose, it is common for writers to ensure the brief is:
• Focused – All aspects of the policy brief (from the message to the layout) need to strategically focus on
achieving the intended goal of convincing the target audience of the need to implement your policy. For
example, the argument provided must build on what they do know about the problem, provide insight about
what they do not know about the problem, and be presented in language that reflects their values (i.e. using
ideas, evidence, and language that will convince them).
• Professional, not academic – The common audience for a policy brief is not interested in the research/analysis
procedures conducted to produce the evidence, but are very interested in knowing the writer’s perspective on
the problem and their analysis of potential solutions based on the new evidence.
• Evidence-based – The policy brief is a communication tool produced by policy analysts and all potential
audiences not only expect rational arguments but will only be convinced by arguments supported by evidence
showing the existence of the problem and the consequences of adopting particular alternatives.
• Limited – The focus of the brief needs to be limited to a particular problem or an area of problems to provide an
adequately comprehensive but targeted argument within a limited space.
• Succinct – The type of audiences targeted commonly do not have the time or inclination to read an in-depth 20
page argument on a policy problem. Therefore, it is common that policy briefs are succinct (i.e. usually around
3,000 words).
• Understandable – This not only refers to using clear and simple language (i.e. not the jargon and concepts of an
academic discipline), but also to providing a well explained and easy to follow argument targeting a wide but
knowledgeable audience.
• Accessible – The writer of the policy brief should facilitate the ease of use of the document by the target
audience and should subdivide the text using clear descriptive titles to guide the reader.
• Promotional – The policy brief should catch the eye of the potential audience in order to create a favorable
impression.
• Practical and feasible – The policy brief is an action-oriented tool targeting policy practitioners. As such, the
brief must provide arguments based on what is actually happening in practice with a particular policy and
propose recommendations that seem realistic to the target audience.
The policy brief is usually said to be the most common and effective written communication tool in a policy campaign.
However, in balancing all of the criteria above, many analysts also find the brief the most difficult paper to write.
As discussed above, policy briefs directly reflect the different roles that the policy analysts commonly play (i.e. from
researcher to advocate). The type of brief that we are focusing on is one from the more action-oriented, advocacy end
of the continuum. Although there is much variation even at this end of the scale, the most common elements of the
policy brief are as follows:
1) Title of the briefing paper
2) Executive summary
3) Context and importance of the problem
4) Description and critique of pre-existing policies or programs
5) Policy recommendations
6) Sources consulted or recommended
More specifically,
1) Title of the briefing paper: The title aims to catch the attention of the reader and compel him/her to read on, so
it needs to be descriptive, punchy, and relevant.
2) Executive Summary: This should be a short summary of the purpose of the brief and its recommendations. It
typically appears single-spaced on the cover of a brief or position paper. Because you are not really writing this
brief as part of your job, please indicate in a sentence who you are and the audience for whom the brief is
prepared (e.g., a particular government agency, a legislative committee, a particular NGO, a professional
association, etc.). Be as specific as possible. The executive summary aims to further convince the reader that the
brief is worth an in-depth investigation. It is especially important for an audience that is short of time to clearly
see the relevance and importance of the brief in reading the summary. As such, a one- to two-paragraph
executive summary commonly includes:
• A description of the issue addressed;
• A statement on why the current approach for addressing the issue needs to be changed;
• Your recommendations for action.
3) Context and importance of the issue: The purpose of this element of the brief is to convince the target
audience that a current and urgent problem exists which requires them to take action. The context and
importance of the problem is both the introductory and first building block of the brief. As such, it usually
includes the following:
• A clear statement of the issue in focus.
• A short overview of the background of the issue. Include only the essential facts that a decision maker
“needs to know” to understand the context of the problem. Assume that you have been hired to filter
through reams of information on behalf of a very busy and sleep-deprived person. Be clear, precise,
and succinct.
• A clear statement of the policy implications of the issue which clearly establishes the current
importance and policy relevance of the issue.
It is worth noting that the length of the problem description may vary considerably from brief to brief depending on the
stage of the policy process within which your policy issue is currently (e.g. there may be a need to have a much more
extensive issue description for policy at the evaluation stage than policy at the formulation stage).
4) Description and critique of pre-existing policies or programs: This element summarizes what has been done (by
others and the entity that you represent) about the problem thus far. Depending on your topic, some of the
information may have already been presented in #3. The objective of this element is to inform the reader of
policy alternatives that have already been pursued, if any. Note that no action may be considered a policy
decision. The aim of the description and critique is to recognize existing efforts in the debate of the issue and
detail shortcomings of the current approach to address the issue, and, therefore, illustrate both the need for
change and the focus of where change needs to occur.
5) Policy recommendations: The aim of the policy recommendations element is to provide a detailed and
convincing proposal of how the failings of the current approach to address your issue of choice need to be
changed. This is achieved by including:
• Identification of potential policy alternatives: This section delineates the possible courses of action or inaction
that your organization may pursue. Please provide the decision maker with policy alternatives based on peer-
reviewed research or research conducted by credible government entities (e.g., the U.S. Government
Accountability Office, USDA Forest Service, etc.) on your topic of interest. For example, if you want to propose a
policy alternative that would promote participation among private landowners in carbon sequestration
programs, you should discuss the findings in a peer-reviewed journal article or government document indicating
that the mechanism presented by the policy alternative increases landowner participation. In other words, your
policy recommendation must be supported by research and evidence.
• Advantages and disadvantages of identified policy alternatives: Write this section from the perspective of the
entity that you represent. For clarity, you may present the advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives in
bullet points or outline format. This may seem like stacking the deck as some alternatives may have only one
advantage and several downsides, but it is not always that obvious. These advantages and disadvantages are
often framed in terms of the consequences, both positive and negative, of your proposed policy alternatives.
The advantages, or positive consequences, are the reasons you want the policy alternatives to be implemented.
The disadvantages are the objections other constituencies or policy makers would make against your proposed
course of action. A typical strategy used to strengthen one’s argument is to systematically refute the argument
that underlies each of the negative consequences you have identified. These refutations should be based on the
peer-reviewed research or research conducted by credible government entities that informed your identification
of potential policy alternatives.
• Your Recommendation: After prioritizing the relative advantages and disadvantages of the above alternatives,
please recommend one alternative to your employer, basing your argument on the feasibility (or some other
criterion) of and need for the alternative. Yes, this may require going out on a limb on an extremely complex
issue that challenges your ethical instincts. However, if you have agreed to advise a particular agency or
organization, then you will be asked to make a recommendation on their behalf.
6) Sources consulted: This is more than just a list of references. It is essentially an annotated bibliography that, in
the event that the decision maker has the interest and time to read up on a specific issue, will allow them to do
so.
Each student will develop a policy brief that is characteristic of a solid policy brief as outlined above. Specifically, the
policy brief should include all of the following elements:
1) Title
a. No more than 12 words total
b. Appearing at the top of the first page of the policy brief in some fashion
2) Executive Summary
a. Provided as the first paragraph on the first page of the policy brief
b. Consisting of at least 100 and no more than 150 words total
3) Introduction Section
a. A thorough statement of the issue/problem that the selected piece of legislation seeks to address
b. The narrative in this section should be supported by the academic and/or public media sources
consulted**
4) Message Section
a. A thorough description and critique of existing policies or programs including if they are or are not
working to address the issue/problem
b. A statement as to why the selected piece of legislation should be supported/defeated/amended
supporting material for the introduction
c. The narrative in this section should also be supported by the academic and/or public media sources
consulted
5) Policy Implications
a. A brief discussion of alternative options, their effects, pros and cons, etc.
6) Recommendations
a. A direct statement of how you would like the intended reader to act in response to your position on the
selected piece of legislation
NOTES: Additional material such as boxes & sidebars, case studies, tables, graphics, etc. may be added as deemed
necessary as long as they are illustrative of the problem/issue the selected piece of legislation intends to address or if
the additional material supports the student’s selected position. DO NOT add extra material solely for the sake of
aesthetics or to take up space!
**Each student must include three (3) peer-reviewed academic references (journal articles) and three (3) public media
(newspaper articles, op-ed pieces, etc.) that support their position. The references do not need to be cited altogether as
in a literature review section. Rather, the references should be used as appropriate and properly cited according to APA
format throughout the policy brief to support the student’s chosen position. The reference list does not need to be
double-spaced. A reference list should be provided toward the end of the policy brief though not on a separate page.
The formatting of references in the reference list should be properly formatted according to APA style with the
exception being that the list does not need to be double-spaced.
Each student should thoroughly review the information provided above as well as the sample policy briefs before
beginning this part of the assignment. The policy brief should be four (4) pages total and should follow the basic format
of the sample policy briefs provided on Canvas.
- Policy Brief Assignment
Common structural elements of a policy brief
Specific Assignment Instructions