(1) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Adult with lived experience of sex trafficking” means any person age 18 or older who was a person who has been forced or coerced to perform a commercial sex act including, but not limited to, being a victim of offenses defined in RCW 9A.40.100, 9A.88.070, 9.68A.101, and the trafficking victims protection act of 2000, 22 U.S.C. § 7101 et seq.; or a person who was induced to perform a commercial sex act when they were less than 18 years of age including but not limited to the offenses defined in chapter 9.68A RCW.

(b) “Healing, support, and transition service provider” means an entity or person that provides healing and transition services that meet the self-determined needs of adults with lived experience of sex trafficking ages 18 and older.

(c) “Healing, support, and transition services” means safe and trauma-informed services that are tailored to the self-determined needs of each individual. Healing, support, and transition services include:

(i) Advocacy;

(ii) Safety planning;

(iii) Housing and related support including support related to relocation;

(iv) Substance use disorder treatment;

(v) Medical and behavioral health services and other trauma-informed services;

(vi) Legal advocacy, which may include immigration system support, vacatur support, or other civil legal assistance;

(vii) Translation and interpretation;

(viii) Education;

(ix) Job training;

(x) Employment support;

(xi) Outreach; and

(xii) Emergency financial assistance.

(d) “Office” means the office of crime victims advocacy established under RCW 43.280.080.

(2) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the office shall administer funding for healing, support, and transition services for adults with lived experience of sex trafficking. At least one of the healing, support, and transition service providers must be located east of the crest of the Cascade mountains, and at least one of the healing, support, and transition service providers must be located west of the crest of the Cascade mountains. Law enforcement, service providers, the department of children, youth, and families, and other state or local organizations may refer adults to healing, support, and transition services or adults may self-refer.

(3) The healing, support, and transition service providers receiving funding under this section must:

(a) Offer healing, support, and transition services designed to enhance safety and reduce and prevent further trauma;

(b) Provide ongoing services for adults with lived experience of sex trafficking;

(c) Provide culturally, developmentally, and linguistically informed and responsive services with priority given to underserved populations in the region, which are most impacted by sex trafficking. Depending on the region, underserved populations may include people who are African American, Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, American Indian, Alaska Native, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, two-spirit, intersex, asexual, other identities that fall outside of cisgender and heterosexual paradigms +, or Latine;

(d) Incorporate into the program leadership from communities with unique risk factors for sex trafficking, sex trafficking survivor leadership, survivor-informed services, and survivor mentorship;

(e) Meet core needs, provide long-term services, and offer skill training to increase the range of options available to participants, including transition services;

(f) Not require proof of identification in order to access services or that an individual self-identify as a sex trafficking victim in order to initially access services;

(g) Regularly participate in coordination meetings for healing, support, and transition service providers;

(h) Provide training and information to law enforcement officers, prosecutors, service providers and other first responders, and communities with culturally specific risk factors for sex trafficking on how to engage and refer individuals to these services; and

(i) Report data on outcomes of the healing, support, and transition services to the office, collected on a quarterly basis from clients who may be compensated for survey participation.

(4) The office shall:

(a) Prioritize funding for healing, support, and transition service providers located in underserved areas of the state that have a need for healing, support, and transition services;

(b) Provide additional funding to one statewide organization led by adults with lived experience of sex trafficking for the purpose of providing coordinating support and convening statewide coordination meetings, no less than quarterly, for healing, support, and transition service providers and related service providers following a request for proposals;

(c) Issue a request for proposals for healing, support, and transition service providers by September 1, 2023;

(d) Include the following stakeholders in the development of the request for proposals and prioritization of funding:

(i) Diverse community representatives who have lived experience of transitioning out of sex trafficking; and

(ii) The secretary of the department of children, youth, and families, or their designee;

(e) Collect the following data:

(i) Nonidentifiable demographic data of clients served, including whether clients are current or former foster youth;

(ii) Data on trafficking and trauma verification, including the number of clients that have been verified as adults with lived experience of sex trafficking based on information self-disclosed by the client or a referring entity, the type of trafficking, and prior trauma history;

(iii) Data on the services provided to clients; and

(iv) Data on outcomes of the healing, support, and transition services, collected on a quarterly basis from clients;

(f) By December 1, 2024, submit an initial report to the relevant committees of the legislature that includes the following information by service providers:

(i) The number of clients served;

(ii) Nonidentifiable demographic data of the clients served, including whether clients are current or former foster youth; and

(iii) Data on the services provided to clients; and

(g) Beginning December 1, 2025, submit an annual report to:

(i) The relevant committees of the legislature that includes the following information by service provider:

(A) Nonidentifiable demographic data of clients served, including whether clients are current or former foster youth;

(B) Data on trafficking and trauma verification, including the number of clients that have been verified as adults with lived experience of sex trafficking based on information self-disclosed by the client or a referring entity, the type of trafficking, and prior trauma history;

(C) Data on the services provided to clients;

(D) Data on outcomes of the healing, support, and transition services, collected on a quarterly basis from clients; and

(E) Any recommendations for modification or expansion of the healing, support, and transition services; and

(ii) The department of children, youth, and families that includes data on current and former foster youth provided healing, support, and transition services. The department of children, youth, and families shall use this data for coordination with its liaisons for commercially sexually exploited children.

Findings—Intent—2023 c 268: “(1) As the first state in the nation to pass a human trafficking law, Washington has consistently been at the forefront of work to address and prevent human trafficking. The legislature is continuing this leadership by prioritizing the delivery of services for adults with lived experience of sex trafficking by developing a long-term, coordinated, and supportive network of services.

(2) The legislature finds that numerous sex trafficking victims are moved throughout the state of Washington by their traffickers, established by the following:

(a) In 2020, the national human trafficking hotline ranked Washington 11th in the nation for reported cases of human trafficking.

(b) In 2020, 819 survivors of sex trafficking were served by human service agencies in Washington.

(c) In 2020, the highest numbers of likely sex trafficking victims were identified or served in King, Pierce, Benton, Franklin, Clark, Snohomish, Spokane, and Thurston counties.

(3) The legislature finds that the trauma of sex trafficking often starts in childhood and continues into adulthood, established by the following:

(a) A local study of sex trafficking victims in King county estimated 500-700 youth experiencing exploitation in King county alone.

(b) According to data from the national hotline, among likely sex trafficking victims in Washington who reported their age of entry into exploitation, 89 percent reported that they were children when first exploited.

(4) The legislature finds that vulnerable black, brown, indigenous, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, two-spirit, intersex, asexual, and other identities that fall outside of cisgender and heterosexual paradigms are disproportionately trafficked for sex, including that:

(a) While King county’s population is seven percent black, 45 percent of children involved in sex trafficking cases are African American;

(b) Black females currently represent about 13 percent of the United States population but represent 40 percent of suspected human trafficking victims;

(c) While King county’s population was .9 percent indigenous in 2020, 10 percent of people receiving services for trafficking and sexual exploitation identified as Native American;

(d) One case worker in Pierce county reported that over the past two years, 78 percent of the missing and murdered indigenous women and persons cases she worked on involved missing women who had indicators of human trafficking.

(5) In order to reduce the trauma, violence, and disproportionate impact of sex trafficking, the legislature intends to create a network of healing, support, and transition services for adults with lived experience of sex trafficking tailored to the self-determined needs of each individual.” [ 2023 c 268 § 1.]