“We need to do a better job of supporting foster parents — those who are willing to step up,” Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Allen. “It’s not just about financial support, but also about providing emotional and practical assistance to foster families, especially when dealing with teenagers who have endured trauma.”

In addition to challenges with placement, there is also a growing concern over the ability to respond effectively to cases of trafficking and sexual abuse.

Officials noted that there is a lack of data on how many trafficking cases are being prosecuted or convicted, with many cases still not receiving the attention they need. They also highlighted the difficulties in following up on cases and the barriers to effective communication between various agencies working to protect children.

A critical issue identified was the lack of cohesion among the many stakeholders involved in child protection efforts. Multiple organizations, from local law enforcement to non-governmental organizations, are receiving funding to address these problems, but a lack of coordinated effort and communication has led to inefficiencies.

“People come with good ideas and projects to help the children, and we’re funding them, but they’re not collectively conversating on the child,” Cloud said. “Those kids continue to fall through the cracks, and the money that we’re investing to save them and change the trajectory of their life to protect them, it’s not going to them. It’s going to all of these entities, and the entities are not being all held accountable to actually protect the child.”