[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6743977,"mediaKeyId","5873062-b082f9b17b068b4a37a8bd0ce6e426c1","parentId",5873062,"title","Human-trafficking task force maps gaps in shelter, legal aid and long-term care; agencies report new grants and expanded navigation","audioSeconds",2810,"startMs",18414000,"endMs",21224000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5873062-b082f9b17b068b4a37a8bd0ce6e426c1&start=18414&end=21224","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5873062-b082f9b17b068b4a37a8bd0ce6e426c1/thumbnail_18414000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6743977/North-Dakota/Human-trafficking-task-force-maps-gaps-in-shelter-legal-aid-and-long-term-care-agencies-report-new-grants-and-expanded-navigation","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6743977-e13542d9fd0cb8e044235dec4887544c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770485465&Signature=YimSEMKZzmWPOpMc7rIydJEUrjspBy~gbLid67O9-xtVT5YSzjeKgkSB-nESiA883dfvRtIpp09wBbG2KQdsoaKTQJd1JAZ6Xk30VTbuQC9Omg49AqRhxSAbWwnrT9XsuZzP71PnqjAr0Z32WqhcsRoqBlvKWtObmy0hRjrFPwyJHFoIradTlKhKZceRymyHKEDcz4jkL0LTta2cShQecVjrek5Sl7v0buvNTsMkqRtfCxeUWa1CXZfwrv0p3E3HEtjWrdNrvVjPHUWcEdSR2G27d9B7NTyiYbp9EBfqtsVhipEh-vOOiqDniL0ZY1hdAnVPc3aJq5EK-ol6dRP0zw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","North Dakota Legislature","date","2025-09-30T00:00:00Z","article","The Legislative Management Study Committee heard a series of presentations on Sept. 30 on human-trafficking victim services, grant awards and service gaps in North Dakota.

Legislative staff summarized the federal statutory framework and North Dakota's chapter 12.1-41 implementing the Uniform Act on Prevention and Remedies for Human Trafficking. The Attorney General's Office described the 2023'025 human-trafficking grant awards and the reimbursement process for subgrantees.

YouthWorks, 31A Project, the YWCA, and other subgrantees described operational needs and service activity. Anna Frizzell (YouthWorks) said the organization has provided navigation, short-term shelter and transitional housing for youth victims; she recommended creating additional long-term residential placements or evidence-based community services so children can be maintained in their home communities when appropriate.

\"When you have a minor child and you have any kind of commercial sexual activity, you have a trafficking victim,\" Frizzell told the committee, summarizing the state's safe-harbor approach for minors and the practical complexity of cases involving familial trafficking.

Stacy Schafer of the 31A Project described public education, a \"Bravery Backpack\" program for children who arrive at police stations with few personal items, a survivor mentorship program and a demand-reduction diversion course for buyers. Schafer said 31A's mentorship work served more than 60 survivors in 2024 and that the demand-reduction course has had 33 participants to date; she reported no documented reoffenses among course completers.

Caitla Page, the task-force coordinator, provided preliminary task-force statistics and needs: during a recent quarter the task force reported serving 238 clients (70 new) in victim services and documented that 35 percent of clients identified as Indigenous. Page urged a standardized statewide data framework to track tips, referrals and outcomes and said the task force will produce an annual report.

The Attorney General's office said the Drug and Violent Crime Policy Board reviewed requests in the last biennium and recommended allocations to multiple subgrantees for shelter, legal services, navigators and clinical services; grantees must submit documentation to receive reimbursement. Staff emphasized the need to return unspent funds at the end of the biennium if expenses are not submitted.

Committee members asked for follow-up on the new safe-harbor provisions, whether additional shelter beds for males could be funded, and whether grant reporting could be consolidated to provide uniform, searchable statewide data.

No formal vote was taken; staff said they would provide the committee with the grant award breakdown and the task force's annual report.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","69th Legislative Interim - Protection and Victim Services Committee Sep 30, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","State and nonprofit providers told the interim committee that North Dakota needs more shelter space, longer-term trauma-informed care, consistent data and expanded legal assistance to serve trafficking victims and to respond to emerging online recruitment patterns.","taxTitle","Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28306,"location","North Dakota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6743980,"Clinical testimony: modern online pornography fuels compulsive sexual behavior disorder and harms youth development, expert says",1596,14827000,16423000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5873062-b082f9b17b068b4a37a8bd0ce6e426c1&start=14827&end=16423","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5873062-b082f9b17b068b4a37a8bd0ce6e426c1/thumbnail_14827000.jpg","/articles/6743980/North-Dakota/Clinical-testimony-modern-online-pornography-fuels-compulsive-sexual-behavior-disorder-and-harms-youth-development-expert-says","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6743980-a1d37fa76e1ad522f2e0d70d46ff12de/orig.mp4?Expires=1770485465&Signature=FKFnDmZBwCQEjgOojfipcYYBNz0byuLgYWr0YjWACYlCrZdru0xcyK1jsqpfzhbvHlyqtOvZ74iBk7tnOEOx1Ncz-sDWdeDqAFKzVXP6PtKii~d58UmUzX~YwZ8-FvH3nAvTCdHfEzaGankc52IsdOniPrXMU5aB4ciL5mJuI5xJBgaF4hAwwD0LNzfjT20bHWQwNnJkt1q8CBGbQMSRy9G1bVzFs2CBB33u4-RFl0qAoXrGtwMhUqKK551bGxWTjEN2xm4whD3CsMKHUe-XjvlGUis-Cot~pMs5GlnMXu0D3K0uE2DRFgexG3pnV~ziva0mBFHh9l0f9Crm7m53~g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A licensed marriage-and-family therapist told the Legislative Management Study Committee on Sept. 30 that modern, internet-delivered pornography differs from earlier eras in its accessibility, anonymity and neurological impact and should be treated as a public-health issue.

Dr. Jill Manning, a clinician who testified remotely, summarized peer-reviewed studies and international diagnostic updates. She said compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) is now recognized in the World Health Organization's ICD-11 and that recent U.S. research places the lifetime prevalence of compulsive sexual behaviors at roughly 8.6 percent of adults.

\"Childhood is the exact worst time for someone to be exposed to pornography,\" Manning testified, citing laboratory research that finds short exposures can shift attitudes and beliefs and longitudinal work linking early exposure to earlier sexual debut, relationship dysfunction and lower empathy.

Manning described a set of mechanisms that increase risk: the internet's affordability, high-speed accessibility and anonymity (which she called the AAA effect), the image-first nature of the medium, and reward-based reinforcement that accelerates learning. She said modern content is \"interactive, lifelike and multilayered,\" and that those qualities raise the likelihood of compulsive use and faster desensitization.

She recommended stronger age-verification systems, expanded treatment capacity for CSBD and public-health campaigns to help parents and schools limit early exposure. She cited recent Supreme Court precedent and state-level age-verification laws as legally sustainable approaches and noted the importance of accurate clinical screening and insurance coverage for effective treatment.

Committee members asked about the evidence on whether criminal restrictions or public-health interventions would be more effective; Manning said the evidence supports a layered approach, including age verification, parental controls, education and clinical services for compulsive behavior.

No committee action was taken. Several members requested the presentation slides and references for follow-up review.","A clinical expert testified that modern online pornography acts as a potent, rapid-learning stimulus that increases risk of compulsive sexual behavior disorder, alters brain development and raises public-health concerns for children and relationships; she recommended strengthened age verification and expanded treatment access.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6743985,"Children's advocacy centers and prosecutors urge law changes: rename CSAM language, study AI images and criminalize grooming",210,8188000,8398000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5873062-b082f9b17b068b4a37a8bd0ce6e426c1&start=8188&end=8398","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5873062-b082f9b17b068b4a37a8bd0ce6e426c1/thumbnail_8188000.jpg","/articles/6743985/North-Dakota/Childrens-advocacy-centers-and-prosecutors-urge-law-changes-rename-CSAM-language-study-AI-images-and-criminalize-grooming","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6743985-b173f433fe103a72a1e5fad2dbea1a1b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770485465&Signature=o-ivDN0eSgHvothiZxORfa~4neUcDLlJ6zCjuVQwk08-QSWVTU8LKAzGpHHhnU0isAtUByWz7rvNPKH139N5tai9S2oQTHaItvnuCbLZ~GKJZvnlo3N34P6oZZwFpcxb2M1ajtOoQdgkm-AQkecVA54dQnbvFAo-rbzFQd4fonQ8j6L8tj-Yvih1B9yawG1Exxca40S2wEoHl8mA~0nJ-Pz6ww~nL5nQYM2GDH~RRKZZ6N9DcDwth378QmTmse1i4n-JXoCXgIla2ijkXIK8cjf7OHY~mA1zif64TXBGEOP5qBWX3hyqfxqxOSKgvNaCzhFQHv9izncbkMsohZgO~Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Children's advocacy centers and prosecutors told the Legislative Management Study Committee on Sept. 30 that North Dakota statutes and practice need updates to keep pace with online technologies and evolving patterns of abuse.

Greg Kosowski, executive director of Children's Advocacy Centers of North Dakota, presented ten recommendations the centers developed with prosecutors and other partners. He urged an audit of chapter 12.1-27.2 to remove the outdated phrase \"sexual performance by a minor\" and replace it with \"child sexual abusive material\" (CSAM) to align statutory language with modern prosecution and public understanding.

\"If you open up 12.1-27.2 right now, you see ‘sexual performance of a minor' as how we refer to child sexual exploitation,\" Kosowski told the committee. \"That phrase is outdated and carries problematic connotations. Replacing it with child sexual abusive material gives a more accurate representation of the gravity of the crime.\"

Kosowski also asked the committee to monitor the implementation of House Bill 1386, which added a computer-generated image definition to state law and increased penalties for possession of certain virtual images. He suggested the state evaluate whether additional prosecutorial or law-enforcement guidance is needed now that the new definitions took effect.

The centers flagged two digital-era threats needing policy attention: sextortion (coercion of victims into sending sexual images) and an emergent category the presenter described as \"sadistic online exploitation,\" where online networks coerce or manipulate minors into violent or dangerous acts on camera. Kosowski said the FBI currently has hundreds of open investigations nationally for that phenomenon and recommended further study and awareness training for investigators.

Hiring and screening policies in schools and youth-serving organizations were singled out for change. \"Perpetrators are often transient,\" Kosowski said. \"We recommend standard questions about prior misconduct in hiring processes and stronger contact with former employers to avoid repeat hires who move from place to place.\" He also proposed revisiting complaint-investigation windows and called for targeted protections where homeschool environments have been used to conceal abuse.

Kosowski suggested states consider criminalizing certain grooming behaviors — conduct used to manipulate children before abuse — a measure already enacted in some other states. He also urged scrutiny of non-disclosure agreements in civil settlements that can silence victims, and urged lawmakers to consider bans on child-sex dolls and to continue dialogue about a juvenile-adult code alignment that better reflects youth-specific responses to crime.

The committee did not take formal action; members asked Kosowski for written language and evidence to support the proposed statutory changes and for follow-up briefings on how HB1386 is being applied by prosecutors in practice.","Children's advocacy centers and prosecutors asked the interim committee to modernize Century Code language that currently uses the phrase 'sexual performance by a minor,' to review penalties and enforcement for AI-generated images and growing sextortion threats, and to consider stronger hiring and homeschool safeguards.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6743990,"North Dakota task force urges statewide child abuse prevention network, resource guide and grooming bill draft",1559,1703000,3262000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5873062-b082f9b17b068b4a37a8bd0ce6e426c1&start=1703&end=3262","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5873062-b082f9b17b068b4a37a8bd0ce6e426c1/thumbnail_1703000.jpg","/articles/6743990/North-Dakota/North-Dakota-task-force-urges-statewide-child-abuse-prevention-network-resource-guide-and-grooming-bill-draft","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6743990-77c6c65ca8701332b7d275cbcc96bb0d/orig.mp4?Expires=1770485465&Signature=Uby1pv-nbry3Q975K20QGjRYV2uLCYCERCG64WMCqC9cIXuco4lufTIWcdBEl6g7SymbHnWxum7nG4RxK2OXDkleojn~efWSjjO8bmDCYeYRbtrB5maVW4ucrkgU67De-z1WL9f~b3rZczueA-CvmCf87ly66AZeGj3ZFKBc~6lpNjDmGQ7DhZ7NdtNIuw-3484KlbCsEk-Slwk2ZZgEiV7AdVvkIZ8a2OuYhmeDNpDxc0kO2kVHJdy8-Y35hmPK69e~2d0Q0lJ324q2nxukIpCG3NDAz4UbT0BSYatPAUTX7e0owLWLRXXHSiCgfWbLcicQ9CrbJ3o8ej9e~969jw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A legislative interim committee in Bismarck on Sept. 30 heard the final report from the North Dakota Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Task Force, which documented an eight-year review of services, a year-long Richland County pilot and a set of recommendations to expand prevention, training and data-sharing statewide.

The task force, led by Dr. Christopher Johnson, chief executive officer of the Abuse Crisis Center of Fargo-Moorhead, and Lindsay Burkhart, director of prevention initiatives at Families Flourish ND, told the committee that the work produced a statewide resource guide, a caregiver guide and pilot outcomes showing measurable improvements in protective factors for children.

\"Over half of the respondents reported that they do not provide child sexual-abuse education to children, staff, or volunteers,\" Burkhart told the committee, summarizing an environmental scan that gathered more than 200 responses from schools, child-care providers and youth-serving organizations.

The Richland County pilot, funded with a $130,000 Otto Bremer Trust grant and implemented in 2022, provided multi-level prevention: classroom education for children, adult trainings, a public-awareness campaign and local data analysis. Task-force members said 387 children received prevention education during the year and 142 adults — school staff, law enforcement and community organizations — completed training. Pre/post surveys showed many children added a trusted adult to their safety network.

The task force recommended that the state sustain the prevention pillars it used during the study, embed a full-time child-prevention position in the Department of Health and Human Services to oversee grants and programming, and establish a statewide advisory committee that will meet regularly. \"That was a tremendous win for all of us,\" Johnson said of placing a prevention position in state government, naming Kara as the new DHHS employee who will oversee the work.

The task force also described barriers to wider adoption of prevention education, including a lack of consistent curriculum, limited time and discomfort among adults discussing the topic. To address curriculum gaps, the group compiled the North Dakota Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Resource Guide and a caregiver-focused companion booklet to help parents and caregivers talk with children about safety and body autonomy.

On policy, the task force recommended further work on criminalizing grooming behaviors and provided a draft bill the authors intend to refine for potential introduction in 2027. \"Research confirms that grooming is a near-universal tactic to facilitate abuse and silence victims,\" Burkhart said, citing peer-reviewed literature and the task force's research.

Committee members pressed staff on safeguards for early-childhood education and how schools obtain parent consent. Burkhart said the task force piloted two curricula in Richland County — the Abuse Crisis Center's Red Flag, Green Flag program and the Empower Me curriculum from the Jacob Wetterling Foundation — and emphasized that the programs emphasize body autonomy and identifying trusted adults rather than explicit sexual content.

The task force also urged policymakers to prioritize services for populations at elevated risk, including Native American youth, LGBTQ+ youth and families living in extreme poverty, and to continue integrating emerging research and best practices.

The report and resource guide were presented to the committee for consideration and to inform future legislation and budget recommendations.","A bipartisan interim committee heard the final report from North Dakota's Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Task Force, which recommends a statewide prevention network, a resource and caregiver guide, continued primary-prevention funding and work toward a criminal grooming draft to be introduced in 2027.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Human-trafficking task force maps gaps in shelter, legal aid and long-term care; agencies report new grants and expanded navigation

Clinical testimony: modern online pornography fuels compulsive sexual behavior disorder and harms youth development, expert says

Children's advocacy centers and prosecutors urge law changes: rename CSAM language, study AI images and criminalize grooming

North Dakota task force urges statewide child abuse prevention network, resource guide and grooming bill draft