First-Of-Its-Kind Human Trafficking Court in Florida

The 11^th Judicial Circuit of Florida’s Juvenile Court has created the GRACE Court (Growth Renewed through Acceptance, Change and Empowerment) to address the needs of young survivors of human-trafficking.

From 2007 – 2017 there were 2,940 cases of human trafficking reported in Florida. Human-trafficking is described by the National Center for State Courts as:

“Human trafficking may involve forced labor or the commercial sexual exploitation of a human being, where that person is treated as a commercial object used for sexual activity in exchange for money or other items of value. Our juvenile court has seen victims as young as age 11 being used for commercial sex.”

Given the unique circumstances pertaining to human trafficking cases involving children, the GRACE court was established, staffed with experts on such crimes where each child is appointed an attorney ad litem. Each child is evaluated for the appropriate services that are needed before the formal proceedings begin.

For a full overview of the GRACE court and more information on Human Trafficking statistics nationwide, follow the link HERE for the National Center for State Courts and navigate to the 2018 GRACE article.

For more information on the Florida courts, or if you have any questions regarding our other products and services, please contact us at 866-643-7084 or customerservice@courttrax.com