REMARKS OF SUFFOLK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY DANIEL F. CONLEY: MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING SIGNING FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER OF BOSTON October 25, 2006 Good morning. It's my honor to be your host this morning as we celebrate a milestone in the work of the Teen Prostitution Prevention Project of Suffolk County. Today, as we sign this Memorandum of Understanding, we will bring the combined efforts of 39 public, private, and non-profit agencies to bear on what experts have called "the nation's least recognized epidemic" - the prostitution and sexual exploitation of children. Today, in this room, we are making a collective commitment to helping those exploited children, prosecuting the adults who prey upon them, and employing a response model that puts the well-being of the victim above all else. As any of these signatories can tell you, the Teen Prostitution Prevention Project is a ground-breaking partnership among professionals in the fields of criminal justice, child protection, legal advocacy, youth outreach, community safety, and public health. Each of us, and each of our respective agencies, knows that only genuine collaboration can deliver positive outcomes for prostituted youth. Our goal in this alliance has always been to afford increased safety and well-being for the forgotten victims of exploitation while holding the exploiters accountable. Police, prosecutors, advocates, and outreach workers see every day that prostitution is not a victimless crime. They see that entering prostitution is not a choice. They see the impact that it has had on so many adult women, and they see the depth of physical, emotional, and psychological injury that it has on the young girls who are recruited into it. To put it bluntly, they see that the prostitution of teenage girls is child abuse. Yet, until the creation of the Teen Prostitution Prevention Project, this form of child abuse was virtually unrecognized; its victims seemingly invisible to both professionals and the community. The Project has spurred conversations among agencies charged with protecting and serving vulnerable children: law enforcement, criminal justice, child protection, youth services, street outreach and others. Early conversations grew into action, and with seed funding from the Executive Office of Public Safety in 2004 and the Department of Social Services, the Teen Prostitution Prevention Project began. Child abuse "best practice" is premised upon the philosophy that no single agency can do it alone. Yet exploited youth were not receiving the benefits of a comprehensive response. Nor were professionals who were mandated to report child abuse notifying the Department of Social Services of these child victims. Additionally, ongoing conversations revealed misperceptions and historical disagreements between agencies about how the child might be treated - or mistreated - if entered into the "system." The Teen Prostitution Prevention Project is changing the system. We have forged solid and unprecedented partnerships between prosecutors and defense attorneys, social workers and probation officers, street workers and police. My office has made a public commitment to respond to prostituted youth as victims - with the goal of pursuing the adults who exploit these young girls. I would personally like to acknowledge the dedication and persistence of my staff in the Family Protection and Sexual Assault Unit and the Children's Advocacy Center, especially Leora Joseph, Amy Paradis, Jackie Lamont, Susan Goldfarb and Kerry Seitz. We have created a community-wide response model that is built upon mutual understanding, trust, and the belief that youth empowerment and offender accountability are not mutually exclusive. Today we are here to celebrate our work thus far and to affirm our commitment moving forward. This Memorandum of Understanding and the project's guidelines provide step-by-step information for professionals when they encounter a prostituted youth. Together - and thanks to each of the agencies and individuals here today - we are increasing our capacity to empower girls to leave the street and to target the pimps who exploit them.