NEED HELP? Call CAST’s 24-Hour Hotline    
888-KEY-2-FREE (888-539-2373)    
In April 2014, CAST’s excellent work was honored by President Obama with the Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons. CAST is the first NGO to receive this award.

Services & Programs

CAST's client services programs offer support all along the continuum of a human trafficking survivor’s journey, including: emergency response, counseling and skills training, shelter, legal advocacy and survivor leadership.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

A call to CAST’s toll-free 24/7 human trafficking hotline is a first step towards freedom.

888-KEY-2-FREE | 888-539-2373

The hotline provides around the clock response to victims of human trafficking, healthcare providers, and law enforcement and serves as a resource to the community for referrals and technical assistance. The emergency response team provides immediate, short-term services to ensure the safety and well-being of victims when they first escape their trafficking situation.

Report Human Trafficking

SOCIAL SERVICES

CAST's intensive case management program offers a client-centered, trauma-informed approach to helping survivors along their journey to freedom and independence. The program begins with a comprehensive assessment to determine goals and necessary next steps. Services include basic necessities, safety planning, supportive counseling, medical, education, life skills training, employment, transportation, applying for state/federal benefits and more.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SOCIAL SERVICES

ENGLISH SPANISH KOREAN SIMPLIFIED CHINESE FRENCH TAGALOG

SHELTER

CAST’s shelter provides physically and psychologically safe housing for trafficking survivors. Through a host of supportive programs and services, it is designed to help clients establish independence and self-sufficiency, to build community and to expand their own supportive networks.

The shelter serves up to 10 women (18 and older) and offers 12+ months of transitional housing, case management, a financial savings program, social and cultural activities, group therapy, supportive counseling and more. Shelter residents are also taught skills in conflict resolution, job training, independent living and financial planning. The shelter is also home to an outdoor sanctuary filled with fruit trees and a garden where residents can plant herbs and spices to use in their cooking and provide a taste of home. Admission is based on safety, current needs and the availability.

Learn about the shelter’s greatest
needs and how to donate

YOUTH PROGRAM

CAST recognizes the specialized needs of minor and transition age youth (TAY) survivors of human trafficking and developed specific youth-focused programming. Youth services include monthly group activities focused on empowerment, positive experiences and education; comprehensive case management with interventions geared towards youth; and individual assistance navigating various systems, including the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services and Probation Department, when necessary. In addition, the program offers internships for Transition-Aged Youth (TAY), which seek to build job skills and professional development through direct work experience and mentorship.

Read more about
Youth Program Highlights

Read the Executive Summary:
Practice Implications for
Commercially Sex Trafficked Youth
Read the Full Report:
Practice Implications for
Commercially Sex Trafficked Youth

Cast Youth Programs: English Cast Youth Programs: Spanish

SURVIVOR LEADERSHIP

CAST’s work is directly informed by the real experiences of the clients it serves. The survivor leadership programs, Survivor Advisory Caucus (launched in 2003) and National Survivor Network (launched in 2011), bring together a community of survivors of human trafficking for peer-to-peer mentorship and survivor-led advocacy. Their voices on policy and public awareness have led to the development of stronger protections for victims in both California and federal anti-trafficking laws. By connecting survivors across the country, CAST supports and encourages survivors to realize their own leadership qualities and to value their insight, not just as survivors, but as experts in the field.

The accomplishments of the members of the Caucus and NSN, both individually and collectively, over the past year are tremendous. In 2016, nine members were appointed by President Obama to the newly established U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. The 11-member council advises the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF) and offers survivor-centered policy recommendations to both the White House and U.S. Congress on federal efforts to combat and prevent human trafficking.

Members also participated in policy advocacy efforts at the federal, state and local levels, including: Congressional hearings on the long-term impact of criminalization of human trafficking survivors, state Senate hearings on behalf of CAST-sponsored criminal justice reform legislation and government oversight board meetings on lost income compensation. In addition, CAST's staff and survivor leaders were invited by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) to develop the "Survivor Professional Development Training Curriculum," which aims to strengthen the impact survivor advocates across the country can have in the anti-trafficking movement.

Equally impressive is the group's media advocacy. Members have shared their unique experiences, impressive accomplishments and remarkable expertise through opinion editorials for CNN, expert commentary on MSNBC and featured profiles by the BBC.

Learn about or become a member
of the National Survivor Network

PARTNERSHIPS & OUTREACH

CAST is committed to strengthening its partnerships with leading anti-trafficking organizations and coalitions around the country, as well as forging new relationships with local service providers to meet the increase in demand for social and legal services in Los Angeles County.

In 1999, CAST established the Los Angeles Slavery and Trafficking Task Force, the first anti-trafficking task force in the U.S. The group eventually grew into the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area Task Force on Human Trafficking in 2005. CAST’s leadership on the Metro Taskforce has since expanded to a countywide multi-agency partnership spearheaded by CAST and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD). The Los Angeles Regional Human Trafficking Task Force (LARHTTF) provides trauma-informed care to trafficking victims and investigates high-priority trafficking crimes. Its 90+ partner agencies have been actively collaborating on emerging cases, developing protocols for advancing task force objectives and implementing best practices in addressing the pervasiveness of human trafficking in Los Angeles County.

Community outreach is the most effective way to find victims and educate people on the issue of human trafficking. CAST provides vital training to law enforcement, service providers, government agencies, health care partners, law firms, corporations, faith-based organizations and community groups. It is the go-to resource for media, policymakers and the philanthropic community to access information about modern slavery.

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TRAINING & TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

CAST’s Comprehensive Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) program is designed to provide expertise and training for service advocates on the full spectrum of legal remedies available to human trafficking victims through individualized technical assistance, in-person training and regular working group calls. CAST TTA is now offering free support to attorneys and social service providers assisting trafficking survivors with legal needs in the following areas of law: immigration, criminal re-entry, reporting to law enforcement, ethics, criminal victim witness advocacy, program support, referrals, civil and more.

Through this program, CAST's TTA team established a toll-free hotline and dedicated email to respond to breaking requests for technical assistance from both legal and social service providers. For case specific questions or individualized technical assistance for attorneys and social service providers, contact TTA through the online "Technical Assistance Request Form". We try to respond to TA requests within 72 hours. If the volume of requests is high response may be up to 7 days.

Technical Assistance Request Form


The TTA team also coordinates working groups for the legal and social services communities and hosts the following weekly (legal) and monthly (social) training calls.

The Legal Anti-Trafficking Working Group

The Legal Anti-Trafficking Working Group is an informal opportunity for attorneys and legal service providers to ask questions and share experiences about handling human trafficking cases. This is also an opportunity to get technical assistance at no cost from legal professionals across the country. As an added benefit, you will have access to updates in anti-trafficking legal and policy issues.

The call is every Wednesday from 12-1 PM PST/3-4 PM EST.
Sign up to join the group

The Social Services Technical Assistance

The Social Services Technical Assistance call is an opportunity for social service providers and case managers to speak with attorneys to learn about best practices in working with legal service providers such as protecting privilege/confidentiality, working with attorneys, accessing public benefits and potential legal remedies for your clients.

The call is every fourth Thursday from 12-1 PM PST/3-4 PM EST.
Sign up to join the group

Learn more about
CAST's legal resources
and training

ADVOCACY & PUBLIC POLICY

Drawing from nearly two decades of direct experience with victims of human trafficking, CAST has catalyzed first-of-its-kind legislation and has won the respect and partnership of a diverse group of policy leaders. CAST begins all its policy initiatives by engaging its main constituents – survivors themselves. These initiatives center on survivor experiences and highlight survivor advocacy. CAST not only introduces anti-trafficking legislation, but also works hard to ensure policy implementation.

Learn more about
CAST's policy initiatives