Inequalities in US Child Protection: The Case of Sex Trafficked Youth

Lisa Werkmeister Rozas, Jason Ostrander and Megan Feely
Additional contact information
Lisa Werkmeister Rozas: School of Social Work, University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT 06103, USA
Jason Ostrander: Department of Social Work, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT 06825, USA
Megan Feely: School of Social Work, University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT 06103, USA

Social Sciences, 2018, vol. 7, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: This article demonstrates how structural social work theory and critical consciousness development can be used to help facilitate a transition from a deficit model approach to an inequities perspective in a child welfare system that was working to improve the identification of and services for domestic minor sex trafficked youth (DMST). The response of Connecticut’s child welfare system to the issue of DMST is provided as an example of how a child welfare systems could apply an inequities perspective to a population involved in and at risk for exploitation. Structural social work theory helps illustrate how neo-liberalist social structures in the United States perpetuate and maintain social inequity based on race, gender, age, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status for youth at risk for DMST. Through critical consciousness development, youth can be recognized as victims of intersecting forms of oppression, rather than criminals. These theories can be combined to increase individual awareness of the risks and oppression of youth across the population, and to identify how child welfare services can be leveraged to decrease inequities and improve child well-being.

Keywords: inequities; domestic minor sex trafficking; child welfare; structural social work theory; critical consciousness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/7/8/135/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/7/8/135/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:7:y:2018:i:8:p:135-:d:163436

Access Statistics for this article

Social Sciences is currently edited by Ms. Yvonne Chu

More articles in Social Sciences from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().