Interview with Angel Magallanes, C.A.S.E coordinator with San Bernardino County Childrens Network

This month's focus will be an interview with Angel Magallanes C.A.S.E coordinator with San Bernardino County Childrens Network and the current coordinator for the Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation for the County of San Bernardino. 

Transcript

Don  00:05

Hello, my name is Don English Director of Children Deserve Success and Executive Director of the San Bernardino County Wide Gangs and Drugs Task Force. And I want to welcome you to our Children Deserve Success Podcast. Monthly we will be sending out these recordings regarding all things related to child welfare and attendance, School Attendance Review Board, foster youth services, McKinney Vento Homeless Programs in our county and the San Bernardino County Wide Gangs and Drugs Task Force. This month's focus will be an interview with Angel Magallanes C.A.S.E coordinator with San Bernardino County Childrens Network. Angel, so wonderful to have you here today. And if you would, please introduce yourself and tell us about children's network and what your organization does in the county.

Angel  00:55

Well, thanks for having me today. Don, it's good to see you. As he said, my name is Angel Magallanes. I'm the current coordinator for the Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation for the County of San Bernardino. I'm currently employed with the Department of Children and Family Services, but I'm out sourced and stationed at what we call here at the county children's network. And children's Network is an agency that is all about child abuse prevention. So our primary mission and focus is creating campaigns, doing trainings, getting the community educated in regards to everything that is about preventing child abuse and growing a healthier, happier community. So that's what we do. And that's why C.A.S.E. myself the program that I coordinate for is station there because C.A.S.E. is centered around trafficking, and we're about prevention and the prevention of trafficking minors within our county. So that is a form of child abuse prevention.

Don  01:50

Outstanding. So within the children network, the Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation C.A.S.E., can you tell us a little bit about how that came to be?

Angel  02:01

So back in 2009, our former district attorney was trying to find resources to service the minors that were being currently exploited. Previously, before January of 2017, the law stipulated that minors that were involved in quote unquote, prostitution or trafficking or pandering, were being charged criminally which I don't understand how you can charge a child with prostitution. But then in January 2017, the law changed and so C.A.S.E.s initial focus was really about providing those legal services Supportive Services, helping those minors navigate probation, the district attorney, the the the public defender's office, and all of the charges, helping them kind of resolve those and getting them supportive services to hopefully get them out of being further exploited. Then when the shift changed in 2017, our coalition became much more victim centered. And we are more about helping the minors navigate the systems that are trying to keep them in education, keep them healthy, keep them growing, address their mental health issues, keep them you know, integrated in the community in a positive way, and more not so on the punitive side. So that's kind of what we do. We do a multidisciplinary team response, that we have a meeting twice a month that I facilitate and navigate. And we also provide direct services through our county partners. So any youth that is system involved, which would be under the jurists of Department of Children, Family Services, the public defender's office, the district attorney's office, or through probation, those are the primary minors that we service through C.A.S.E..

Don  03:42

Well as an educator and my primary focus being on chronic absenteeism and alleviating chronic chronic absenteeism. You talk about a shift from punitive to prescriptive in essence, that's what you're saying. And so we try to do that as it relates to school attendance, Review Board hearings, and other issues with with youth. So I really appreciate you saying that and the other thing you said that I think is vitally important is being inclusive of these kids who really are being taken advantage of making certain that they feel like they have a place on our campuses, where they're wanted, and where they feel they can be nurtured. 

Angel  04:20

Absolutely. 

Don  04:20

So Angel, human trafficking is a billion dollar business globally. In San Bernardino County, where does trafficking fall into criminal business? And what has been done in our county to combat them?

Angel  04:33

So there's a couple of different things that are happening. So we have since 2013, we created Human Trafficking Task Force, and it's varied in officer officers anywhere from three at a time to up to upwards of 10 officers that are voluntary put on this task force so we can combat the street activity, right. So the actual street prostitution, and then there's the side that C.A.S.E. takes and that's more of an educational and a direct service. approach. So we service those minors that are being, you know, currently exploited, we provide services. And then we want to educate the community. So the community can, you know, call in those reports and be supportive and be, you know, well versed in what trafficking looks like. So we teach law enforcement, we teach educators, we go to faith based communities, we have conversations with youth. So there's all those kinds of things to make the community much more aware. So we combat it in that sense. So we have the task force going after the actual perpetrators and trying to stop, you know, the street prostitution and online exploitation with that, that's a whole nother conversation, we'd have to have a separate podcast for that. And then also, we're trying to educate those people that do provide those services and the community at large about what it looks like and how we can provide services to those that are, are falling victim to that, that particular lifestyle.

Don  05:54

I just know that it's super important to bring awareness to just various issues that our youth have in our communities. I think that oftentimes people don't know. And when they say what you don't know, won't hurt you. I do not believe that whatsoever. I don't think you do, either. I've heard you say in the past that sex trafficking can happen to anyone. 

Angel  06:13

Yes. 

Don  06:14

What does grooming for sexual exploitation look like?

Angel  06:18

When it comes to minors, it's about building trust in the person that they're trying to groom. So grooming looks like building that relationship. So typically a perpetrator, which would be whether it's a potential trafficker, whether it's going to be somebody that wants to hurt them a pedophile, any of those kind of, I would just say perpetrators, they want to build a relationship with that particular miner, and, and once they get their trust, then they may exploit them either through images on the internet, they may actually get them involved in the life of trafficking, they might force them to do things that they don't want to do, maybe perform crimes and maybe do some kind of illegal stripping, you know, work in strip clubs do something like that. There's also those labor issues, too, we don't want to forget that. And it's not just about sexual exploitation, we can also exploit individuals labor. So they can be working, you know, illegally in any kind of form, whether it be a cleaners, or whether it be in a construction site, or any of those jobs where we don't really see people that are behind the scenes, somebody can be played, be paid under the table or not be given benefits on so we have peddling rings when it comes to our young folks. So maybe at a you know, ampm, somewhere you pull up and a young person runs up to you with a box of candy and says, Hey, can you buy one of these candy bars for $6. And then you kind of look at the youth and you say, But wait a min, I can go in this this store and purchase for $1.50. You know, that could be a potential begging ring or peddling ring where somebody is taking the other $5 or the $4 and keeping it for themselves, but has that youth you know, selling that candy under a false pretense saying that maybe we're you know, selling this candy to take a trip, or maybe I'm raising money for the church or something of that nature, when they're really not that money is being taken by the person that's having them be out there. So there's a lot of different ways that young people can be exploited.

Don  08:11

Wow, is there you know, people typically will think that there's a certain profile as it relates to predators, or a typical place where traffickers target kids, is that true? Or can you shed some light on that?

Angel  08:30

So there is no profile? We have seen? Every every income, every nationality, the age ranges, from, from females to males. There's no real cookie cutter answer when it comes to those people that are perpetrating on our young folks. And what was the second part of your question?

Don  08:52

The second part was where were these youth targeted?

Angel  08:56

Oh, so anywhere that youth congregate, especially youth that could potentially be at risk. So the Juvenile Hall areas, the parks, where people, there could be potential homeless youth shelters, our group home facilities, we have a lot of peer on peer recruitment. So that's one of the things that that isn't really talked about. It's not just the adults that are potential perpetrators, but we're seeing peer on peer recruitment. So young folks that have already been introduced into the life of trafficking or that are already being exploited by potential traffickers are now becoming aggressive and recruiting other youth within schools, within group homes within you know, anywhere that these young people that congregate, and young folks are really looking for acceptance. And so that's also part of that grooming process, you know, they're going to find other youth that can relate to these, these young victims and bring them in and say, hey, you know, we have a house party we can go to, or we have this hotel room that we rented. Come on over and I introduce you to my friends, and then that's when things start to turn south so seen. There's a million scenarios and a million stories that we've heard but But there is no cookie cutter answer as to what those perpetrators look like. Because they're across the board. We've seen doctors, we've seen law enforcement, we've seen other youth perpetrate on on youth. So it's really quite the wide spectrum of those that are ready to prey on the innocent of those people that are vulnerable.

Don  10:20

So Angel, How long have you been doing this? And then kind of, can you? How'd you get involved in this work?

Angel  10:28

So as I mentioned at the beginning, that I am currently employed with the Department of Children Family Services, so I'm an active CFS social worker. So I've been with the department about nine and a half years. And so initially, I was a C.A.S.E. carrying social worker actively on the line in the department, and then I was transitioned over to this particular position about five and a half years ago as the human trafficking coordinator for the county. So I've been doing this a little while. And there's so many different things that we do. You know, it's not just about the C.A.S.E. management of it, because I said, you know, we I do facilitate and run our multidisciplinary team, which those are the act, actual hands on boots on the ground, individuals that service these minors that have been exploited. But I also do a ton of education I belong to, here in our county, our gangs and drugs Taskforce, I sit on the executive board, I sit on two state committee committees for human trafficking, I am the point of contact within our California area for each county has to have a human trafficking CSEC coordinator and see CSEC is the commercial sexual exploitation of children. So I am the human trafficking CSE a point of contact for our county, so I wear many different hats. But I think that this has been one of the greatest jobs that I've ever had in the sense that I've learned and I've grown, and I've experienced so many different things that I now teach, and I now try to educate others about and I think that I never know, knew that coming in to be a social worker that I would be, you know, training on trafficking, or being able to help youth in a way that I never thought was possible. You know, this is a really underserved population. And we don't talk about it much. It's kind of like the hush hush, that we don't want to talk about how many youth are being trafficked, you know, with C.A.S.E. since our inception in 2009. When we were created, you know, we've serviced and provided direct services to over 600 Minors since 2009. Until now, and that's a large amount of minors that have been exploited within our county. And those that doesn't count the ones that we didn't have under our juris, you know, we do a lot of consultations with local hospitals, local law enforcement families, those who have minors that are being trafficked, and we can't provide direct services to so we can only assist them with resources that we can provide to them to help them get through that struggle of their minor being exploited.

Don  12:57

I know I learned a ton from you during this time. And you know, people think they really know a lot about this exploitation. But you know, we really only know the surface level, like you said, it's something that I don't think people really not only don't delve into, but really don't want to delve into. But there are certain things that we we have to do. I'm entering my 30th year, almost my third decade as an educator. And I just recently one of my kids turned 18 and the others, a freshman, as a parent, and for parents who want to be better equipped to see what's happening with their child. What signs could they kind of look for, as it relates to sex trafficking, or any signs that will will really guide them or steer them in the direction of understanding that their kid may be involved in this kind of activity?

Angel  13:58

Well, first of all, I want to say thank you for your service. 30 years, thank you for being an educator, because we appreciate you doing that we really do. We need more educators. By the way. What parents need to look for is the sudden change in behavior. So whether they become withdrawn, if they start to change the way they look, the way they dress, certain language, their language starts to change if they talk about you know, my quote unquote boyfriend or if they talk about being in the life. That's one of the slang terms that they use being in the life coming out of the life. It's all about trafficking. Also about the friends that they keep, you know, or if they start to be gone for long periods of time or overnight. Truancy, you spoke to that about, you know, chronic absenteeism. That's one of the signs if a youth is being dropped off at school and then just not going to classes and then coming back at the end of the day. Where are they going during that time when they're not in school, especially on the week And, you know, have young people that are actively in the life and they, you know, leave their their home or their placement, you know, on Friday and don't come back until Sunday, you know, where is that that time that they're absent. So just really being in tune with your young folks seeing what's on their phones, you know, us if parents forget that we pay that bill, so they should know who they're talking to, they should have access to that what kind of apps make sure they're not putting their their pictures online, you know, because you can be exploited online just as simply as you can being actually, you know, in a in a hotel or something and being physically exploited, you can be virtually exploited the same way. So there's a lot of different things that parents need to be aware of, it's really tough to be a parent nowadays. And you know, they can go on Polaris Project, they can look on the internet, and they have all kinds of signs, all kinds of supportive stuff for parents to look at. And then of course, if they want to reach out, you know, to C.A.S.E. they can, and we do trainings within the community, to make parents aware of so please, you know, invite us out, and we can come talk to your parent group or something like that and, and make you more educated and have that conversation.

Don  16:01

Virtual exploitation. I mean, that's a whole nother podcast, as you said earlier, we can go in so many different areas. And I do encourage you all to, to have C.A.S.E. out in anyone who wants to contact Miss Magallanes on this can contact me, and I'll give you that information later. Last question I have for you if you had a magic wand, and you could you have one wish for our county for San Bernardino County as a whole? What wish would that be as it relates to us as a community, better serving our students and families in this crisis?

Angel  16:41

Well, it wouldn't be a crisis if we attack and we could get rid of the demand. Because like you said, it's a billion dollar industry, it's a business, if we could attack the demand, make stricter laws for those johns and those individuals seeking, seeking young people to have sex with and to exploit. It's really about attacking the demand. And then that would be a safer community all together. So if I could wave my wand and wake up tomorrow, there would be no demand. And then that would make a safer, healthier community and less of our youth would be at risk. 

Don  17:16

Wow, you know about root causes and all kinds of stuff I can tell. Well, Angel, you know what, it's been my pleasure to be here with you today. And I appreciate you coming down and spending your time with us. You are a wealth of knowledge. I appreciate what you've taught me over the last few years and and those of you who may not understand we we really have to step up to the plate as it relates to taking care of all of our kids being aware of this crisis, and then again, getting to the root cause, which is demand. I love that, you know, really eradicating the demand. Thank you for listening. We hope you find this information valuable. If you have any topics or questions that you would like addressed, please email them directly to CWA@SBCSS.net. As always, we hope you stay well and continue to transform lives through education.