{"id":137263,"date":"2026-01-30T05:09:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T05:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/137263\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T05:09:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T05:09:08","slug":"new-app-feature-aims-to-help-foster-youth-who-are-at-risk-of-human-trafficking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/137263\/","title":{"rendered":"New app feature aims to help foster youth who are at risk of human trafficking"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"App App for foster kids to report human trafficking<\/a> <\/p>\n

For some teens in foster care, \u201chome” isn\u2019t a bedroom \u2014 it\u2019s a backpack, and advocates say that instability can make young people more vulnerable to human trafficking. FOX 13’s Genevieve Curtis reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla. – For some teens in foster care, “home” isn\u2019t a bedroom \u2014 it\u2019s a backpack, and advocates say that instability can make young people more vulnerable to human trafficking<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, a new feature inside the Foster Power app<\/a> is trying to change that \u2014 putting resources, education and direct connections to help into the hands of the kids who may need it most.<\/p>\n

READ: LALA restaurant and bar owner accused of having child pornography<\/a><\/p>\n

Big picture view:<\/p>\n

Advocates say foster youth face higher risk. Mary Rose Maloney, the human trafficking project manager for Foster Power and an attorney with Bay Area Legal Services, said traffickers often target young people who are searching for stability and connection.<\/p>\n

“Traffickers look for vulnerabilities that they can exploit or take advantage of,” Maloney said. “So, that could be if someone is lacking stable housing or food. Traffickers might offer a place to stay or something to eat as a way to gain a victim\u2019s trust.”<\/p>\n

Maloney works with foster youth daily, including teenagers who have been trafficked or are at high risk.<\/p>\n

MORE: Tampa, St. Pete homicides, other crimes drop to lowest level in 50+ years \u2014 here\u2019s what helped<\/a><\/p>\n

Why you should care:<\/p>\n

A shortage of foster homes adds to instability, and Maloney said the risk increases when teens don\u2019t have a stable placement. Statewide, there are about 20,000 kids in foster care, but fewer than 9,000 licensed foster homes.<\/p>\n

“There is a huge lack of foster homes in Tampa, especially homes for older kids like teens, which make up a lot of the trafficking victim population in foster care,” Maloney said.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Because of the shortage, some teens end up in what\u2019s known as night-to-night placement, where they may not know where they\u2019ll sleep from one day to the next.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve had a client tell me who is on night to night, \u2018I just wanna have a dresser to put my clothes in,\u2019” Maloney said.<\/p>\n

READ: Mother charged with murder, accused of suffocating 4-year-old son: St. Pete Police<\/a><\/p>\n

Dig deeper:<\/p>\n

It’s why they added a new trafficking-focused section to an app called Foster Power this month. Maloney helped launch a specialized human trafficking section within the Foster Power app, designed to translate complex legal information into language young people can understand.<\/p>\n

The app doesn\u2019t just define trafficking \u2014 it includes information about grooming, warning signs and resources for teens who may be questioning whether a situation they experienced was unsafe.<\/p>\n

“The goal of that is not so much for youth to label themselves, but for youth to realize, \u2018Okay, I\u2019ve been through something that maybe was not normal or was not safe, and there are services available for me,\u2019” Maloney said.<\/p>\n

Advocates said the goal is simple: Help teens recognize red flags and know they\u2019re not alone \u2014 and that help exists.<\/p>\n

Advocates say community support still matters. While supporters call the app a major step forward, Maloney said lasting change also depends on the broader community \u2014 including more foster homes, more mentors and more adults willing to step in.<\/p>\n

“I wish the public knew that kids in foster care need help,” Maloney said. “They need a place to stay. They need mentors. They need safe and healthy people who care about them. There\u2019s a way for everyone to get involved.”<\/p>\n

The Source: The information in this story was gathered during an interview with an attorney, state data on foster care and previous reporting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Florida<\/a>Crime and Public Safety<\/a>Technology<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"App for foster kids to report human trafficking For some teens in foster care, \u201chome” isn\u2019t a bedroom…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[630,47,115,135,137,136,1576,628],"class_list":{"0":"post-137263","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-crime-publicsafety","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-tampa","12":"tag-tampa-headlines","13":"tag-tampa-news","14":"tag-technology","15":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}