Santa Cruz proclaims January 2026 as Orphan Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month

The City Council voted to adopt a ceremonial proclamation declaring January 2026 as Orphan Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month in Santa Cruz. Councilmember Gabriela Triguero read the proclamation and framed the action as a call for greater protections for children placed in residential care overseas and a push for state and federal regulation.

Triguero said the proclamation aims to emphasize that “the welfare of children must always come first” and that well-intentioned volunteer placements can produce harm when not accompanied by adequate child-protection safeguards.

Filmmaker Barack Laub, who attended the meeting, thanked the council and described orphan-trafficking as a form of childhood slavery. Laub cited estimates during his remarks that in institutional care the number of children is large and that many are not orphans — the transcript reports estimates (speaker citation) that roughly 5,400,000 children are in institutional care and that over 80% of those may have at least one living parent. He urged the council’s action as a platform to call on California and the United States to enact regulations and greater oversight.

The proclamation is ceremonial and the council’s action was framed as a public awareness and advocacy step. Councilmembers and attendees thanked the presenters and recognized the issue’s global scope; no binding policy or ordinance was enacted as part of the proclamation.