“Unfortunately, we know that human trafficking is underreported,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in the press release. “By implementing these efforts, we will identify more children who are being trafficked and help them recover from their trauma.”
For 50 years, Daybreak has served the Dayton community by caring for homeless youth ages 10-24.
“This partnership allows us to expand the work we are already doing for vulnerable youth. Early intervention is critical to help us understand why young people go missing and to connect them quickly with the right services,” said Courtney Patel, CEO of Daybreak.
The missing youth initiative is modeled after Denver’s Runaway, Outreach, Notification and Intervention (RONI) Project to support at-risk youth and reduce repeated departures from home or congregate care. The Ohio Department of Children and Youth, the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS), the Dayton Police Department, and Daybreak will partner to implement this program.
The reports of runaway children will come to Daybreak through Montgomery County Regional Dispatch.
“We will provide the immediate supports there, depending on what that looks like for the young person,” Patel said.
This won’t be for all reports of children who have runaway, Patel said.
“If there is a concern of active, serious harm or there are some very significant medical issues, the Dayton Police Department is still going to respond to those calls,” Patel said.
Dayton police would also respond if, after the child goes through Daybreak’s screening methods, the child is at risk of human trafficking or another type of victimization, she said.
“If that is the case, then we will link back with DPD to do sex trafficking investigations, but outside of that, then we will follow up to ensure the person has housing and doesn’t become unhoused and we’ll provide additional supports to wrap around them in other ways,” Patel said. Those services could be related to behavioral health or family reunification.
It’s also Daybreak’s goal to keep children from being associated with a crime or to keep from from falling victim to human trafficking, she said.
“We want to recognize that they’re victims, and so our goal is to around them in that sense, but also one of the key pieces of this program is to provide them with resources so that they can stay housed, so that they don’t become victims of sex trafficking, or become involved in other criminal activity,” Patel said.
Daybreak is receiving a $550,000 grant from the state of Ohio to operate this program over two years, Patel said. This initiative will also add about four new jobs to Daybreak.
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