CINCINNATI — In the waning days of Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the Ohio Attorney General's Office launched new ways to report the crime to the state's Human Trafficking Hotline.
A text line, phone application and web form will join the phone line launched in October as ways to directly alert teams at the Ohio Bureau of Investigations of potential human trafficking operations.
Ohio's BCI will then bring in local and federal agencies to address reports.
Many of those agencies gathered Thursday at a human trafficking roundtable in Cincinnati hosted by ProKids and organized by the Hamilton County Juvenile Court.
Safe Harbor Coordinator Jodi Stanton said human trafficking was, sadly, a prolific problem in the region.
"I hate to say very prevalent, but last year we had about 65 kids who were brought to my attention as potential victims," Stanton said.
The court said 123 potential victims had been referred to the court with 22 confirmed victims since the beginning of 2023.
"That's just in Hamilton County, and that's just the ones that were brought to our attention in the court," Stanton said.
While heartbreaking, Stanton said it was important that the victims be found and referred to groups like ProKids where they can find assistance and resources.
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ProKids Executive Director Tracy Cook said it can be difficult to identify cases of abuse in daily life.
"Unfortunately, often the most vulnerable people in our community, often children, are often hidden from the larger community's view," Cook said.
In a statement, Attorney General David Yost urged people to take advantage of the additional hotline options to help expose as much as possible.
“These expanded reporting options help shine a brighter light on traffickers and steer victims toward what we call the ‘Highway to Hope,” Yost said. “We urge all Ohioans to join us in this important fight — everyone can play a role to end human trafficking.”
Cook said ProKids also needs volunteers to help them as they often deal with foster kids in the region, and foster children can be especially vulnerable to trafficking.
