Thurston County Board of Health on Jan. 14 adopted two proclamations: one designating January as Human Trafficking Prevention Month in Thurston County and another recognizing National Birth Defects Awareness Month.

Chelsea Keith, statewide coordinating body program manager for Innovations Human Trafficking Collaborative, spoke during the human-trafficking proclamation presentation and urged awareness of the local scope of trafficking. "Not everyone realizes that trafficking occurs on large and small scales," Keith said, adding that trafficking can occur within intimate-partner relationships as well as in labor contexts and that her organization provides intake, screening and case management for survivors.

Keith said Innovations currently serves more than 100 trafficking survivors across Thurston, Pierce, Lewis and Mason counties and described that ports and interstate routes can contribute to labor-trafficking cases. Board members asked about data and referral pathways; Keith said a program intake line and an online submission form are available for referrals and that she would provide additional data on request.

Bonnie Peterson, a public health nurse with Thurston County'9s Children with Special Health Care Needs program, presented the birth-defects proclamation and described screening and support systems for families. "I've been here for 45 years ... I've worked with children with special health care needs," Peterson said, summarizing the role of prenatal screening, newborn screening and local specialist referrals. She noted roughly one in 33 babies in the United States is born with a birth defect and described state surveillance and newborn-screening programs that identify rare conditions.

Both proclamations, read aloud during the meeting, reaffirmed the county'9s commitment to raise awareness, increase resources and support affected individuals and families; meeting minutes show both proclamations were adopted on Jan. 14, 2025.

Ending: Staff and presenters encouraged Board members to request follow-up data from Innovations on local survivor counts and for public-health nursing staff to share resources on prenatal care and newborn screening with partners.