We Urgently Need Your Help

It has come to our attention that the Florida Safe Harbor bill will not currently be heard by committees because of fiscal constraints. We need strong letters of support to our sponsors in the House and Senate. Would you please consider sending a letter of support to the sponsors? Hearings begin March 1, so time is of the essence. Thank you in advance for taking the time to send this very important letter. Please see a draft letter of support below. There is also a link to the letter in Google Docs in the upper right hand corner of this blog.

Honorable Erik Fresen
Representative, District 111
6255 Bird Road
Miami, Fl 33155

Senator Jeremy Ring
5790 Margate Blvd.
Margate, Fl. 33063


Dear Representative Fresen and Senator Ring:

This letter is written in strong support of Florida HB 535 and SB 1700, the proposed Florida Safe Harbor Act. Thank you so much for taking a stand in Florida against a phenomenon that the US Department of Justice calls one of the most obscure and egregious forms of child abuse in the United States and North America today.

At any given time there are between 200,000 and 300,000 US citizen children listed as runaways, most of these children will be approached by a pimp luring them into a life of prostitution within 72 hours of hitting the streets. It is very hard to determine how many children are victims of sexual exploitation in Florida. There are an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 preteen and teenage runaways in Florida. A common mistake for first responders is to misidentify children as “runaways”, when they are, in fact, victims of sexual exploitation. The current system in Florida, and around the nation, is not designed to address the issue of the sexual exploitation of children. Traditionally these children are viewed not only as runaways, but as throwaways, bad kids, and juvenile delinquents.

Setting up a system within the Department of Children and Families that addresses the needs and concerns of sexually exploited youth will allow the state to identify these youth, prosecute their abusers (pimps), and transition the victims back into main stream society. Without the intervention of the Safe Harbor Act, these children will continue to cycle in and out of the foster care system as chronic runaways, enter our criminal justice system as delinquent youth, and develop long term dependency on the State of Florida due to drug dependency, mental and physical health issues, and criminal behavior.

The proposed HB 535 and SB 1700, modeled after the New York Safe Harbor Act passed in 2008, address the specific needs of sexually exploited children by creating specialized short term and long term Safe Houses and wrap around services. Currently, it is unknown how many children will need a bed in a Safe House, therefore, the statute provides for DCF to provide to the legislature data regarding numbers of children needing placement, children on a wait list, and other relevant information. Resources that are currently being expended by law enforcement, juvenile justice, and DCF protective investigations can be redirected to these Safe Houses having the dual benefit of saving our children and saving the State of Florida’s financial resources.

The commercial sexual exploitation of American youth is an unspeakable crime in which Florida is a magnet and playground for traffickers and buyers alike. HB 535 and SB 1700 will put the state of Florida on the map, nationally, taking a stand against this heinous crime, and putting Florida in position for significant federal funding. For all these reasons we strong urge you to continue to fight for the passage of this legislation.