HB 1043: Georgia Trauma Informed Child and Youth Trafficking Response Act; enact

Georgia currently lacks a single coordinated system for responding to child and youth trafficking, and survivors often move through hospitals, schools, the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), law enforcement, and courts without any coordination. This bill, called the Georgia Trauma Informed Child and Youth Trafficking Response Act, creates the Georgia Child and Youth Trafficking Care Coordination Office inside the Department of Human Services to fix that gap. The office would run a statewide hotline, assign regional navigators to coordinate cases, and set up multidisciplinary teams in every region combining DFCS, police, prosecutors, courts, hospitals, and schools. Hospitals would have to adopt written trauma informed protocols and could not contact police to arrest a child victim. DFCS would treat trafficking by a family member as aggravated child abuse. Counties, cities, and school boards would have to adopt aligned policies and training. Child victims could not be prosecuted for trafficking-related offenses. The law would take effect July 1, 2026, subject to state funding being appropriated.

• Creates the Georgia Child and Youth Trafficking Care Coordination Office within the Department of Human Services to run a statewide hotline and reporting portal.
• Requires the office to divide the state into regions, assign regional navigators, and maintain multidisciplinary teams that include DFCS, police, courts, hospitals, and schools.
• Directs DFCS to treat trafficking by a parent or caregiver as aggravated child abuse and allows emergency removal of the child, with reunification barred absent clear and convincing evidence of safety.
• Bars prosecution of child victims for offenses resulting from trafficking and prohibits hospitals from calling police to arrest a child trafficking victim.
• Requires hospitals, counties, municipalities, and school boards to adopt written trauma informed protocols, training, and local coordinators aligned with the new law.
• Requires the Department of Human Services to submit an annual report on referrals, familial trafficking data, and compliance to the Governor and legislative leaders by December 31 each year.

Child and youth trafficking survivors and their families, hospitals and emergency room staff, public school boards, counselors, and social workers, county and city governments, DFCS caseworkers, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, courts, and the Department of Human Services, which would run the new statewide office.

Trafficked children currently move through hospitals, schools, DFCS, and courts with no shared coordination, which can mean repeated trauma or missed cases. This bill would set statewide protocols, staff training, and a dedicated office meant to standardize how victims are identified, protected, and connected to services, while shielding child victims from prosecution.

• Section 3 adds new Code Section 16-5-48 defining key terms including familial trafficking, human trafficking, and trauma informed approach.
• Subsection (b) creates the Georgia Child and Youth Trafficking Care Coordination Office within the Department of Human Services, subject to appropriations, to run a hotline, data system, and training programs.
• Subsection (c) and (d) require the office to appoint regional navigators and maintain at least one multidisciplinary team per region to coordinate investigations and service plans.
• Subsection (f) directs DFCS to treat familial trafficking as aggravated child abuse and requires clear and convincing evidence of safety before reunification.
• Subsection (g) bars prosecution of child victims for offenses arising from their trafficking.
• Subsection (h) requires designated healthcare facilities to adopt written trauma informed protocols and bars contacting law enforcement to arrest a child victim.
• Subsection (i) and (j) require counties, municipalities, and school boards to adopt aligned response protocols, local coordinators, and staff training.
• Subsection (l) and (m) require an annual report to the Governor and legislative leaders by December 31 each year, posted on the Department of Human Services website.

1. 2026-01-29House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-28House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-27House Hopper (House)

• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)Primary sponsor
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)
• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)
• Debra Bazemore (D, HD-069)
• Kimberly Alexander (D, HD-066)
• Rhonda Taylor (D, HD-092)

• human trafficking
• child welfare
• school safety
• hospital protocols
• DFCS reform