Allegany County proclaims January Human Trafficking Prevention Month; Safe Harbor staff outline outreach and youth summit

Social Services Commissioner Don Horan told the Allegany County Board of Legislators on Jan. 22 that January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and outlined the county’s Safe Harbor efforts to identify and assist exploited children and youth.

Safe Harbor coordinator Melissa Tice, Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Bigelow and other county staff summarized recent outreach, training and a youth summit held in December 2024 with local school participation. Chairman W. Burke Harris read a proclamation declaring January as Human Trafficking Prevention Month for Allegany County.

The presentation described Safe Harbor as a programs-and-policy framework that offers legal protections and services to commercially exploited children. Horan said Safe Harbor implementation began statewide after the passage of the Safe Harbor for Exploited Children’s Act and related state funding, which launched program work in major counties in 2013 and expanded over the following years. Horan described human trafficking as “the practice of exploiting a person by the use of force, fraud, or coercion.”

Bigelow and staff reviewed a December youth summit organized by Safe Harbor, the Youth Bureau and Partners in Prevention in Allegany County. According to the presenters, 12 school districts participated and 66 tenth-grade students attended the event with social workers or guidance counselors. Summit workshops included mindfulness, healthy and unhealthy relationships, gambling and gaming harm prevention, drug and alcohol awareness, and alternatives to self-harm. Presenters included community partners such as Compelled To Be Well and the Officer Wellness Program.

Tice, introduced by county staff as the newly hired Safe Harbor coordinator, described statewide and local training activity. She said Safe Harbor trained “over 100” first responders and community program staff in 2022 to identify red flags and improve coordinated responses. Tice also described public education efforts and the role of media partnerships with local stations to inform the public.

The presentation included aggregate case information presented to the board: staff reported that, in a recent period, the Child Advocacy Center saw youth cases and that a subset of those met federal internet-exploitation criteria, with some categorized as high or moderate risk. Presenters said the majority of identified youth were female and that most victims knew their exploiter. The transcript contained an unclear numeric figure for total youth seen at the Child Advocacy Center; that figure is not specified in the public record excerpt provided to the board and is reported here as not specified.

Board chairman W. Burke Harris read a proclamation stating that human trafficking is a public health issue and crime that exploits vulnerable people and that Allegany County reaffirms its commitment to awareness, education, and support services. The proclamation included contact information for the National Human Trafficking Hotline (888-373-7888) and the Southern Tier Child Advocacy Center (716-372-8532). The proclamation was read into the record; no roll-call vote on the proclamation was recorded in the transcript.

County staff said they will follow up with summit participants to gather feedback and involve youth in planning future events. Safe Harbor staff encouraged legislators to refer agencies, schools and residents to county and Safe Harbor resources for training and reporting.

Acknowledgments at the end of the presentation named partnering organizations and sponsors, including the Allegany County Department of Social Services, the Allegany County Youth Bureau, the Child Advocacy Center, Partners in Prevention in Allegany County, Compelled To Be Well, Alleghany County Probation, Employment and Training, and other local providers.

The board proceeded to its other agenda items after the presentation and proclamation.