Kern County speakers urge schools to expand human-trafficking education; county office to coordinate trainings

Summary

Survivors, law enforcement and advocacy groups told the Kern County Board of Education that human trafficking and online exploitation are widespread and that schools should offer age-appropriate prevention training. County staff and local partners committed to coordinate trainings and share resources with districts.

Speakers at the Kern County Board of Education meeting on Feb. 18 urged the county and local school districts to expand student-facing human-trafficking education and sextortion prevention after presentations from survivors, law enforcement and anti-trafficking advocates.

The presentations, organized by local volunteers and the Kern County Coalition Against Human Trafficking (KCAT), detailed how traffickers recruit and exploit children, highlighted rising online threats and called for countywide training for students, parents and school staff. Presenters asked the Kern County Office of Education to act as a coordinating hub for trainings and resources.

The board heard from Sergeant Dustin Gutierrez, co‑director of the Kern County Coalition Against Human Trafficking, who reviewed local trends and said California remains the state with the highest trafficking activity. “Unfortunately, he is correct. We have always been the leader in human trafficking,” Gutierrez said, citing Kern County’s role as a corridor for traffickers in part because of transportation routes.

Survivor and Kern High School District counselor Odessa Perkins told the board she was trafficked as a child and said online grooming and…

Kern County speakers urge schools to expand human-trafficking education; county office to coordinate trainings

Summary

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