Published in Children’s Voice, Volume 35, Number 1

by Dr. Beth Bowman and Megan Lundstrom

It is a well-known statistic that children involved with child welfare systems are at risk of sex trafficking in all its forms (Bowman & Kinnish, 2024). But what if you screen every babysitter, have few or no sleepovers, only enroll children in well-monitored summer camps, and have trusting and honest communication with the child you are caring for, and they still get trafficked? The internet could hold the key to a whole world of exploiters that many parents never saw coming. With the passage of the REPORT Act in 2024, the legal obligation for online platforms to report suspected instances of child sex trafficking to the Cyber Tipline operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the volume of reports surged overnight. During 2025, the first year after this Act was in place, NCMEC saw more than 113,500 reports of possible child sex trafficking, with 93% of these reports coming from online companies. This immediate jump in report volume suggests that significant prevalence has long existed but has not been adequately addressed.

Child sexual abuse material (CSAM), formerly known as child pornography, is defined as “any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a person less than 18 years old” (U.S. Department of Justice, p. 1, 2023). While CSAM is often discussed as a product created, sold, or traded, or as a crime investigated by law enforcement, in this context it is more accurately understood as an outcome of a grooming process that unfolds over time. Online predators identify children who are seeking connection, validation, or relief from loneliness or distress, and use digital spaces such as social media, gaming platforms, or private chats to build trust, normalize sexual content, and gradually lower a child’s boundaries (Kloess, Beech, & Harkins, 2014). What may begin as attention, sharing of interests, or emotional support can escalate into sexualized conversations, requests for images or videos, and pressure to keep secrets. In this way, a child’s unmet emotional needs can be deliberately leveraged into compliance, secrecy, and exploitation.

All children have some level of vulnerability, and predators target and exploit these natural weaknesses (Pasca et al., 2022). Due to their age and naivete, children do not always recognize when an adult is being manipulative or has a sexual intent—and therefore, they should not be expected to anticipate these sorts of motives. Caregivers, rather, should be aware of signs such as sudden changes in behavior, secretive online activity, or distress related to digital interactions that may indicate online exploitation. Understanding these indicators enables timely protective responses.

The Unique Needs of Youth Involved with Child Welfare

Trauma and attachment issues.
Children who have experienced trauma, especially complex trauma linked to insecure attachment, face disrupted self and relationship development, which can increase vulnerability to abuse and interaction with online predators (Baird & Connolly, 2019; Hargreaves-Cormany & Patterson, 2016; Hopper, 2017). Supportive connections can buffer risks and foster resilience (Kloess et al., 2014; Knight et al., 2023). Developing healthy relationships with caregivers, peers, and oneself is vital protection against online exploitation.

Supervision and the Internet.
Children’s online access varies across placement stability, caregiver practices, and settings. Do you monitor device access, use parental controls, or make sure that apps have safety features? Unmonitored private chats pose a high risk. Digital literacy gaps can increase the risk of grooming, especially when youth are unprepared to recognize coercive behaviors. Caregivers shape online safety through norms, supervision, and guidance.

Disability status.
Many children who are involved with child welfare have disabilities, raising exploitation risks, especially for those children with cognitive delays (Bowman et al., 2025). Difficulties recognizing manipulation or boundary violations can heighten vulnerability online.

Group home and congregate care.
These settings, including psychiatric facilities, pose risks due to limited supervision and lack of primary caregivers for secure attachment (Child Welfare Information Gateway, CWIG, 2023). Seeking connection, youth may turn to online spaces where predators exploit limited over-sight to groom or seek images.

Frequent placements and being viewed as a “money maker” can impact self-concept.
The Child Welfare Information Gateway (2023) highlights how this internalized view may lower resistance to sexualized or transactional online interactions.

Distrust in adults and systems.
Due to past disruptions, many youth distrust caregivers and institutions, which can reduce their likelihood of disclosing online exploitation. Predators exploit this by appearing safer or more understanding, reinforcing secrecy and escalating grooming.

Warning Signs for Online Abuse or Grooming
The following behaviors may signal early grooming or boundary violations, particularly when multiple signs appear together or represent a change from a child’s baseline.

  • Sudden secrecy about online activity, staying up late or waking at night to use devices, quickly closing screens, or hiding devices.
  • Emotional changes include anxiety, withdrawal, irritability, and shame.
  • Increased agitation or mood swings when online time is interrupted.
  • Strong attachment to an online “friend” who they won’t allow the caregiver to contact.
  • Distress when messages go unanswered and fear of losing phone or Internet access.
  • Repeating phrases like “they’re just a friend” or “you wouldn’t understand.”
  • Regression signs such as bedwetting, nightmares, and clinginess.
  • New sexual language or knowledge beyond age.
  • Unexplained gifts, money, or new accounts.
  • Reduced interest in school, hobbies, or in-person friendships.
  • Use of multiple accounts or altered age/gender presentation.

High-risk Warning Signs
The following indicators suggest elevated risk or active exploitation and warrant immediate assessment and response.

  • Evidence of requests for photos or videos.
  • Possession of sexually explicit images of self.
  • Use of disappearing messages or multiple platforms.
  • Attempts to arrange offline meetings.
  • Explicit threats or blackmail to share images, messages, or personal information.
  • Coaching the child on what to say to adults. nPressure to move conversations to private or encrypted apps.
  • Child expressing fear about “getting in trouble” if someone finds out about their online interactions.
  • Abrupt changes after device confiscation or monitoring (panic, rage, dissociation, or extreme distress).
  • Use of coded language, emojis, or acronyms.
  • Sudden acquisition of a new or additional device.
  • Disclosure framed as consensual or “my choice” (especially when paired with age-inappropriate sexual behavior).


Recommendations for Caregivers

Keep open and safe communication a regular part of your relationship.
Make regular check-ins that are calm and curious, with a focus on listening rather than interrogating. Avoid strong reactions that can shut down disclosure.

Consistency across caregivers and placements.
Whenever possible, ensure that expectations around device use, supervision, and disclosure are consistent across caregivers, placements, schools, and service providers.

Know what apps and devices a child can access.
What are the parental controls available for a child’s devices? Does an app itself have built-in safety features such as “no private chat” or monitoring in chat spaces?

Avoid “taking the phone” as a default punishment.
When children fear losing their primary means of connection, they may be less likely to report concerning interactions in the future. Whenever possible, frame safety responses as collaborative problem-solving rather than punishment.

Encourage friendships at school and in the community.
Reducing risk doesn’t mean isolating a child from the world. In fact, isolation can increase their risk of online predation. Take your child to after-school or extracurricular activities. Make sure they can attend playdates and birthday parties with friends from school or in the community. Give them opportunities to make friends in real life to reduce the desire to spend time on devices.

Learn the signs of online grooming and predatory behavior.
If you are monitoring your child’s devices, you will need the tools to know what you find. Attend online safety training and use the safety features available to you. Talk to other caregivers and child welfare providers. Stay informed.

Teach recognition of manipulation, not just “stranger danger.”
Help children recognize common grooming tactics. Understanding how manipulation unfolds equips youth to identify risk even when the person feels trusted, kind, or familiar.

Normalize and rehearse response pathways.
Discuss what will happen if something unsafe happens. Help children understand who they can tell, what steps adults will take, and what will not happen (e.g., automatic punishment, placement change, loss of all device access). Emphasizing predictable, supportive responses increases the likelihood of disclosure and reduces the power of secrecy inherent in grooming.

Reduce vulnerability through accommodations.
f applicable, make sure that your child’s disability accommodations are provided at school and at home. This might mean learning sign language, installing a wheelchair-accessible bathroom, or advocating for IEP services. This serves two functions:

  • The child will have a stronger connection and the ability to thrive because accommodations are meant to level the playing field, allowing them to develop within normal limits.
  • They may feel more connected and supported knowing that an adult is advocating for their needs to be met.

The importance of relationships in creating resilience and reducing risk cannot be overstated.

Identify safe adults beyond the caregiver.
Ensure that children know at least one additional trusted adult, such as a mentor, therapist, school counselor, or advocate who understands online exploitation and can serve as a safe point of disclosure. Multiple disclosure pathways reduce isolation and reliance on a single relationship.

Leverage platform safety and reporting tools.
Caregivers should be familiar with reporting mechanisms on commonly used platforms and understand when concerns should be escalated to mandated reporters or national reporting systems. Platform accountability is an important complement to family-level prevention. Effective prevention and intervention are not about constant surveillance; they are about relationships, predictability, and shared responsibility across caregivers, systems, and digital environments.

 

Children and youth in foster care have multiple risk factors that can leave them vulnerable to online predators and exploitation. Prevention works best when it emphasizes not just constant supervision but also building strong, supportive relationships and setting consistent expectations. Safe connections, resources, and support are critical in bolstering childhood resilience and in the fight against exploitation. Caregivers armed with the right tools can reduce risk factors in the digital world and help children in foster care to grow and thrive.

 

 

Elizabeth “Dr. Beth” Bowman, PhD, LICSW, LCSW-C, is an Associate Professor at Gallaudet University in the Department of Social Work. Dr. Bowman earned her doctoral degree from the Catholic University of America in 2020 and her MSW from Gallaudet University in 2009. She holds clinical social work licensure in four states and is fluent in American Sign Language. She is also a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200) and utilizes expressive arts in a holistic approach to well-being and mental health. Dr. Bowman specializes in trauma-informed care and earned her Advanced Clinical Trauma Certification in 2021. She is a survivor of both CSEC and DMST and founded a nonprofit in the Washington, DC, area to support survivors of sex trafficking, the Restoring Ivy Collective.

Megan Lundstrom is the CEO of Polaris and a nationally recognized expert on human trafficking, systems reform, and survivor-led prevention strategies. Drawing on her own lived experience and a decade of applied research and direct service provision, her work focuses on understanding how trafficking and exploitation occur across digital, institutional, and relational contexts and how caregivers, systems, and communities can reduce risk before harm occurs. She has contributed to national research and policy efforts on trafficking prevention and response and regularly translates complex data into practical guidance for practitioners, caregivers, and service providers. She holds an MA in applied sociology and a bachelor’s in finance, both of which inform her systems-level approach to prevention and accountability.


Resources

Prevention protocol:

  • The National Crime Agency: https://www.ceopeducation.co.uk/parents/
  • Children and Screens: https://www.childrenandscreens. org/learn-explore/research/online-sexual-exploitation-grooming-and-extortion-of-youth/

Legal assistance:

Lived experience advising resources:

Training and technical assistance:

 

References

Baird, K., & Connolly, J. (2021). Recruitment and entrapment pathways of minors into sex trafficking in Canada and the United States: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(1), https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380211025241

Bowman, M.E. & Kinnish, K. (2024). Child welfare and human trafficking: Intersections and implications for practice. Child Welfare, 102(3), 1-24.

Bowman, M.E., Kobek-Pezzarossi, C., & Crowe, T. (2025). Deaf populations and human trafficking: Risk and protective factors for consideration. Journal of Human Trafficking, 11, 1-17. 10.1080/ 23322705.2024.2426936

Boustani, M. M., Frazier, S. L., & Lesperance, N. (2017). Sexual health programming for vulnerable youth: Improving knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Children and Youth Services Review, 73, 375-383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth. 2017.01.013

Calvete, E., Orue, I., & Gámez-Guadix, M. (2022). A preventive intervention to reduce the risk of online grooming among adolescents. Psychosocial Intervention, 31(3), 177-184. https://doi.org/10.5093/pi2022a14

Calvete, E., Orue, I., Echezarraga, A., Cortazar, N., & Fernández-González, L. (2022). A growth mindset intervention to promote resilience against online peer victimization: A randomized controlled trial. Computers in Human Behavior, 135, 107373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107373

Chiu, J., & Quayle, E. (2022). Understanding online grooming: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of adolescents’ offline meetings with adult perpetrators. Child Abuse & Neglect, 128, 105600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105600

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2023). Human trafficking and child welfare: A guide for child welfare agencies. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau.  https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trafficking-agencies/

Hargreaves-Cormany, H., & Patterson, T. (2016). Characteristics of survivors of juvenile sex trafficking: Implications for treatment and intervention initiatives. Aggression and Violent Behaviors, 30, 32–39. doi:10.1016.j.avb.2016.06.012

Hopper, E. K. (2017). Polyvictimization and developmental trauma adaptations in sex trafficked youth. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 10(2), 161-173.