Last week, our U.S. Programs Director, Erin Williamson, presented in a National Listening Session hosted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office on Trafficking in Persons and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime. This session focused on Preventing Online Child Sexual Exploitation. Erin talked about the fact that right now, we’re online more. For youth, increased Internet use is critical for education.

​It’s keeping youth (and all of us) connected with friends. All of that is important. But being online more also has risks. Now is NOT the time for us to shame youth who are using the internet — but it IS the time for us to talk to youth about online safety. Erin, along with government leaders and other experts in the field, shared about the risks online and specific steps practitioners, parents, and others can take to reduce youth’s risks of online exploitation. It was a powerful and insightful time for professionals to connect on the topic and ask questions.

We work with a lot of young people who met their traffickers online. Right now, youth and predators are spending more time online, presenting an increased risk, and cybertips to law enforcement are spiking. Last month, we released a Public Service Announcement (PSA) video called “Creeps Can Seem Nice at First,” specifically raising awareness about predators grooming youth online during COVID-19.

​The video has been seen over 20,000 times and has been run by several networks. Twitter also generously gave us a $5,000 Ad Grant to spread this safety message. Please share this message and the practical safety tips that accompany it with youth in your life.

Love146 Not a #Number is a national program affiliated with the Children's Coalition.

These days, everyone’s taking serious steps to keep you safe from getting (or spreading) this crazy new virus, and you’re not even really supposed to leave your house. So you’re spending a lot more time online: hanging out with friends, listening to music, watching videos, gaming, even doing a little schoolwork, waiting for all this to blow over. Just like in real life, there’s good stuff and bad stuff that can happen to you on the Internet. And just like with COVID-19, you can take steps to protect yourself.

Here’s the deal: there are creeps out there who are looking to take advantage of people (and they’re spending more time online right now, too). They may pretend to be your age and act like they’re your friend. They might ask you to send pics. You might reveal something private to them — only to have them threaten to share what you told them unless you do what they want. (This happens. It’s real. It’s called “sextortion.”) They may even want to meet up with you. It could seem cool at first, and then things can turn bad. Bottom line: If you’re under 18, and someone gives you something in exchange for anything sexual, that’s trafficking. We work with a lot of youth who met their traffickers online, many on Facebook, even. 

Many parents are aware of sex trafficking, but think it can never happen to their child. Pamela Samuels Young, attorney-turned-writer and advocate, wants to dispel that myth. "If your child has a cell phone, predators have direct access to them," Young says. 

Misconceptions 
Young stresses the importance of awareness. Any child is accessible, the problem is not exclusive to foster kids or runaways. Predators are no longer lurking around schools, but instead utilizing social media to find vulnerable young people. When parents learn to navigate changes that occur with new technology and new risks, children are safer.

How To Help
In order to protect your child, Young gives solutions. For example, know how your child might be groomed by adults, either romantically or forcefully. Be aware of who your kids are friends with, what they're doing online, and raise your girls to have self-esteem. 

Children's safety depends on a parent's awareness and involvement. The more you engage with your child, the easier it becomes to advocate for them. Knowing how problems and dangers have changed generationally is one of the toughest parts of parenthood, but could save your child's life. 
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Time to Talk is produced with the Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana and BayouLife Magazine.

It's no secret that technology has tremendously evolved over the past decade. David Ferris, section chief of Cyber Crime Unit with the Louisiana Department of Justice, encourages parents to have open discussions with their children about internet safety. 

On what parents should be on the look-out for when their children use the internet
The internet, itself, is not what you need to afraid of. Computers are not what you need to be afraid of. Computers are an inanimate object and the internet is a great thing, but it can also be a very dangerous thing. If we aren’t properly monitoring what our children are doing online, that thing [internet] that can be used for amazing things can also be used for some very evil things. 

As a parent, you need to understand what your kids are doing online. It’s a really hard situation for parents to navigate. When we grew up it was, “Hey mom or dad, how do I stop the VCR from blinking?”, not “How do I work Kik and FaceTime?” The first suggestion I would give is to have an understanding of the apps that your children are using and what they’re capable of doing on them. 

On how parents can make their children aware of potential dangers of the internet
There’s no silver bullet. You know your child. You know when it’s the right time to speak to your child. You know the maturity level of your child. What I will say is this: if you don’t have the conversation you don’t get to decide who influences your children with providing that information to them. 

When we were growing up we were always told to watch out for the guy in the park with the trench coat. We were taught to be careful of “stranger danger” type things. If kids aren’t in the park anymore, why would predators go to the park to look for children? Kids have moved to the internet and so have predators. 

On what parents can do if they suspect danger for their children
The first thing I suggest is to have conversations with your child. You can’t expect to have an open, honest relationship if it’s a one-time thing. You need to have a regular conversation – open those doors of communication. You think there’s something going on in their phone? Take their phone and take a look at it. You can always contact us if something doesn’t look right to you. We’d be glad to sit down and talk to you as a parent to investigate the issue. 
If parents suspect anything, they can call the Louisiana Department of Justice at 1-800-256-4506. From there, you can go to our website which is agjefflandry.com and you can contact us through there as well. We’ll be more than happy to help. If you feel that it is an emergency, call 911.

Time to Talk is produced with the Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana and BayouLife Magazine.

More than 250 middle and high school students learned about making a positive impact in their school and the community Tuesday.  

Motivational speaker Logan Weber urged the group to use encouraging language, expect opposition, but never give up on their goals.  "It is choosing to use positive words to speak to people in and around your life, that makes a difference," he tells the attentive crowd.
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West Monroe ninth-grader Kayla Herrington told her mom she wasn’t sure if she was the right person to be a part of the Ouachita Youth Leadership Summit.  "I expected my friend to get in and my mom said not to put myself down.  After hearing what he had to say, I don't feel down.  I feel like I can do anything," said Herrington.

The session invited applicants from over 20 local schools to participate.  The future leaders were reminded of self-awareness, creating good relationships, and finding ways to serve.  Herrington has one group in mind she hopes to be a part of during her high school years. "The Civitan Club, where they do a lot of community service," she said.
Fellow freshman Sam Gray feels he can lend support to those struggling with school work.  "If people needed help with math, I could help tutor them."

The summit puts a focus on inspiring and instructing students about the value of leadership and volunteering.  Speakers share their knowledge about key issues in relationships and substance abuse, as well as health and nutrition. 
Children’s Coalition Youth Development Coordinator Jan Daniels says most students have questions when it comes to being an example among their peers.  "What children are asking for and what they're needing is leadership skills.  They are wanting to learn how to handle certain situations."

The coalition cites the website DoSomething.org in noting 93 percent of youth want to volunteer, but do not know how to begin the process.  The students learn about developing a personal action plan for community service.  

A balance of service and knowing your individual strengths is an essential part of the process.  "I think probably the key point is self-awareness," says speaker Melanie Massey.  She wants the students to realize their individual skills and abilities, and how it benefits a group as a whole.  

Massey includes a strengths test for students to discover those traits.  "Some will really take this to heart today, and go home and be really excited about it.  Others might go back to school and encourage their teacher, or club leader, to let others take it and see how they can best use their gifts," she said.

The summit was coordinated to take place in October, which is recognized as Volunteerism Awareness Month.