By admin 
California state agencies will draft new solutions for identifying and connecting victims of human trafficking to resources within the next two months, according to an executive order Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Monday.
Read more Rumsey Fire in area north of Yolo-Colusa County line spreads, Cal Fire says
The executive order requires a handful of agencies like the California Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, Department of Social Services, Department of Public Health, and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Management to propose guidelines for preventing and identifying signs of people forced into sexual labor and other kinds of exploitation.
That includes potential solutions like training teachers and counselors to identify such signs, and coordinate communication among local governments, child welfare agencies schools, shelters and other agencies that work with at-risk populations like LGBTQ+ youth, Indigenous youth, homeless and housing-insecure youth, and youth who have been incarcerated or had other contact with the justice system.
Newsom announced he had signed the executive order after a roundtable with First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and City of Refuge, a Sacramento nonprofit that offers transitional housing to women and families exiting homelessness and/or fleeing abuse.
“California is committed to public safety — preventing human trafficking, holding perpetrators accountable, and standing with survivors,” Newsom said in a statement. “Grateful during today’s roundtable to hear from the people doing the invaluable, day-to-day work supporting survivors.”
Read more Player lands ‘incredible’ six-figure Pai Gow jackpot at Sacramento-area casino
The order also requires state agencies to develop a coordinated strategy for addressing human trafficking and provide the Governor’s Office and First Partner’s Office with a monthly report summarizing their efforts, starting in August and ending in October.
Newsom has previously cited human trafficking as a part of his overall public safety agenda. Last year, he signed a controversial bill from Assemblymember Maggy Krell, D-Sacramento, that reinstated misdemeanor punishments for loiterers whom law enforcement suspected of engaging in sex work and levied felony punishments for adults who buy sexual services from 16- and 17-year-olds.
Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, previously fought for both laws to be struck in 2022, citing police use of loitering laws to accuse gender-nonconforming people of engaging in sex work, and because age-of-consent laws are frequently used against LGBTQ+ teens who engage in consensual relationships with slightly older people.
In March, Sacramento police said they arrested 121 people after a 16-day sting operation targeting people looking to patronize sex workers on Stockton Boulevard in south Sacramento. That effort was part of a regional task force made up of state, local and federal authorities that last year began cracking down on human trafficking in the Sacramento metro area.
Read more Live Oak man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in gas station stabbing