Foster Care: A Pipeline to Trafficking

Every day, an average of 55 children go missing from the United States Foster Care System. 20,000 kids every year, gone with little to no effort in bringing them home. Too often, these disappearances are written off as brief episodes of rebellion, when in reality vulnerable youth end up in the hands of traffickers. Designed as a protective system, foster care has, in too many cases, become a pipeline to child sex trafficking.

What Is Child Sex Trafficking?

Child sex trafficking (CST) is a form of child abuse that occurs when any minor is advertised, solicited or exploited through commercial sex. Commercial sex refers to when anything of value (money, drugs, gifts, a ride, food, clothing, shelter, safety, etc) is exchanged for any sexual activity. For example, a minor trading sex for a meal or a place to stay is a victim of sex trafficking.

Traffickers can be anyone who profits from the selling of a child for sex, including family members, foster parents, gangs, and perceived trusted adults or romantic partners. Some youth are exploited by buyers without any middleman, especially when their needs go unmet by the system meant to protect them. For instance, if a child runs away, a buyer may exploit the child’s need for food and shelter by offering to provide that in exchange for sex.

The Scope

Child sex trafficking is not a rare occurrence—it is a systemic crisis.

• As of 2025, over 400,000 children are in U.S. Foster Care.

• An average of 55 children disappear from the U.S. Foster Care system per day. Missing foster children are gone for more than 50 days on average. This adds up to 20,00 children a year.

• 1 in 7 of the more than 29,000 cases of children reported missing to NCMEC in 2024 were likely victims of child sex trafficking.

• Out of all the children reported missing who are likely sex trafficking victims, 60% were in foster care or group homes when they ran away.

• 33% of at-risk youth said their first trafficking experience occurred after running away or being kicked out of placement.

Why are Foster Youth So Vulnerable?

Foster care creates an environment where, at its worst, a child is primed to be a victim of sex trafficking because they already see themselves as a paycheck for foster parents; trained to move from place to place, without having control over their lives. Traffickers are ready to exploit this dynamic.

Instability and lack of support are a default of the system. Frequent placement changes, disrupted relationships, and the absence of permanent family bonds leave foster youth isolated with no support system in place. This leaves them alone, confused, fearful, and especially vulnerable to grooming, which you can read more about here.

Even before youth are part of the child welfare system, they too often have a history of trauma and abuse. These experiences, known as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), are broken into 3 categories:

Abuse

1. Physical abuse

2. Emotional abuse

3. Sexual abuse

Neglect

4. Physical neglect

5. Emotional neglect

Household Dysfunction

6. Parent or caregiver with mental illness

7. Parent or caregiver with substance use

8. Domestic violence toward a parent

9. Divorce or separation of parents

10. Incarcerated household member

4 or more ACEs is the threshold where risk for negative outcomes like chronic illness, substance use, incarceration, and suicide dramatically increases. Nearly half of foster youth reported 4+ ACE scores, compared to only 17% of adults in the general population. One study of specifically women who were in foster care as children reported an even higher prevalence of ACEs, with:

• 97% of respondents reported experiencing at least one ACE.

• 70% reported experiencing five or more ACEs.

• 33% reported experiencing eight or more ACEs.

Even placement into a foster or group home can be seen as an additional trauma. Enduring these experiences of abuse, neglect, and loss can normalize mistreatment or lower self-worth, making foster youth vulnerable to the coercion and grooming of traffickers.

The combined impact of instability and past trauma increases the likelihood that foster youth will run away in an attempt to escape the very system meant to protect them. Once youth are on the streets, they are incredibly vulnerable because they lack basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, etc.) Youth who lack safety, or even those who age out of foster care with little to no resources, may resort to survival sex and fall victim to trafficking.

Additionally, Black, Indigenous, Latino, and LGBTQ+ youth are overrepresented in both the foster care and trafficking populations. Without stable relationships, access to trauma-informed care, and supportive life skills development, foster youth are disproportionately vulnerable to manipulation, exploitation, and silence.

Traffickers Exploit the Systemic Gaps

It comes as no surprise that the foster care system has critical weaknesses that traffickers are quick to exploit. Because there is a lack of appropriate placements, there is an over-reliance on congregate care (group homes or shelters). Group homes and shelters often lack the staffing, training, and security needed to keep youth safe. With minimal supervision, these facilities become prime recruitment grounds for traffickers who can approach, groom, and even remove youth with little resistance. Youth in these settings frequently report feeling unseen and unprotected, which increases their susceptibility to manipulation.

Even when youth return after going missing, their needs continue to be unmet. In fact, a federal audit in five states found no evidence of required trafficking screenings in 65% of case files of missing foster children who were later found. This lack of screening, alongside the general lack of standardized training for foster parents, caseworkers, and educators, means these children are often returned to unsafe environments or mislabeled as runaways, missing vital chances for intervention.

How Traffickers Target and Groom Foster Youth

A vulnerable foster youth without stable family support can be quickly pulled in by a trafficker’s calculated kindness. Traffickers use a variety of tactics including:

Targeted Recruitment: Parks, malls, shelters, schools, and group homes are common stalking grounds.

Grooming: Study a child’s needs (hunger, shelter, or low self-esteem) and temporarily fill those voids.

Manipulation and Violence: Threats, coercion, and shame trap youth in exploitative cycles. Traffickers might say, “You owe me,” then force the youth into trafficking.

Digital Exploitation: Social media is a primary grooming tool, often used while the youth is still in state care.

Lived Experience: T. Ortiz

An Overcomer who spent her childhood in foster care, “T” was trafficked between ages 12–18 while under the system’s watch. She recalls that some foster caregivers were in it only for the stipend, “These caregivers will say, ‘You’re not my child... as long as you’re not dead, I’ll get my paycheck’”, effectively teaching youth that they are nothing but a commodity. This early objectification groomed her for traffickers: “It’s not far from the foster home to the streets,” Ortiz noted, as she and her peers saw little difference between bringing money into a foster home and earning money for a pimp.

In foster care, she never had a consistent adult truly care for her, tragically, “the most consistent relationship I ever had in care was with my pimp and his family,” she testified. Ortiz eventually escaped and now advocates to reform the system that failed her, emphasizing trauma-informed care and making missing kids visible.

The Signs:

• Repeated runaways or sudden placement changes

• Physical injuries, sleep issues, or unexplained health problems

• Older boyfriends or new "friends" with expensive items

• Fearfulness, secrecy, hypervigilance

• Tattoos, branding, or references to being "owned"

• Involvement with law enforcement or gang activity

For a more comprehensive understanding of the signs, request a training session about human trafficking from Project Mona’s House here.

Prevention & Intervention

Not all hope is lost. There are proven prevention and intervention methods that not only end the cycle of trauma and exploitation, but empower youth to be the next generation of leaders. Prevention requires systemic change and proactive care. Trauma-informed training equips foster parents, caseworkers, and teachers to respond to behavioral issues with empathy and awareness, rather than punishment. Youth must also be educated about trafficking, online safety, and healthy relationships through survivor-informed, age-appropriate programming.

Effective prevention also depends on collaboration. Schools, law enforcement, child welfare, and community-based organizations must share information and create coordinated interventions for identifying and supporting at-risk youth. Just as important is addressing youth’s basic needs: stable housing, consistent mentorship, access to mental health care, and the opportunity to thrive. When a young person feels seen, safe, and supported, the risk of exploitation diminishes significantly.

What You Can Do

Each of us has a role to play. Educators can foster safe spaces in schools, teach trafficking awareness, and build relationships with students in care. Social workers should learn the signs, screen all youth who return from running away, reduce placement disruptions, and advocate for trauma-informed services. Community members can volunteer with local organizations, attend trainings, and amplify survivor voices. Legislators and advocates must push for stronger laws, more funding for wraparound services, and accountability measures that protect youth.

Change happens when communities unite to protect their most vulnerable. Whether you’re a teacher, neighbor, social worker, or legislator, your attention, compassion, and action matter. Stopping the foster care-to-trafficking pipeline isn’t about fixing kids. It’s about fixing systems. Youth in care don’t need punishment; they need protection. They don’t need suspicion; they need trust. When we listen, intervene, and believe in their worth, we give them what traffickers never can: freedom and a future.

Sources & References

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), 2024

Polaris Project, 2022 National Survivor Study

U.S. HHS OIG Audit, 2022

Children’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023

SAMHSA, Trauma-Informed Care (TIP 57), 2014

U.S. Department of Justice, TVPA, 2000

Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2022

Casey Family Programs, 2021

Thorn, 2023

Children’s Advocacy Centers, 2022

Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (JVTA), 2015

TVPRA, 2022

Ortiz Walker Pettigrew, W. (2013, Oct 23). Testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means.

Gen Justice (2020). Disappearing and Dying: Why 20,000 Kids Disappear from Foster Care Every Year and How to End This Crisis.