Foster parents step up to create safe havens for human trafficking victims

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — According to a report from the Florida Department of Children and Families, Hillsborough County had the highest number of reports of human trafficking from the fiscal year 2023 to 2024.

Now, one group of foster parents is working to combat those numbers.

The Children's Home Network is offering a new program in Hillsborough County called C.H.A.N.C.E. It teaches foster parents everything they need to know about human trafficking victims and creates safe homes for children who are victims of this crime.

Kerri Pedersen with the Children's Home Network said, “A lot of people don’t realize how prevalent human trafficking is. As I mentioned, our youth are very vulnerable.”

Pedersen said children in the foster system are often targets of human trafficking. They are now working to combat that statistic and create safe homes for children in the Bay area. A group of foster parents are going through weeks of training to learn how to detect trafficking and how to help children heal from it.

Pedersen said, “We educate them on human trafficking. The different forms and how our youth are susceptible and vulnerable and what they can do to support these youth when they're placed in the home.”

Kayla Story is one of the many foster parents working to protect these children.

Story said, “I love them. They are my babies.”

Story has gone above and beyond the past several years, fostering more than 500 children, welcoming them into her home, and showing them what it feels like to be loved.

“They are really sweet, and they still need a family, and they still need love,” Story said.

She said she has stayed in contact with all the children who came through her home. Among her 500 kids, she has hosted several who are victims of human trafficking.

“The biggest difference for those kiddos is it’s harder for them to trust you, but when they do it is really cool,” Story said.