Santa Cruz County let its required child-sex-trafficking case team stop meeting while its reports to the state listed monthly meetings.
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What happened
A June 30, 2025 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury report found the county Family & Child Services' commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC) multidisciplinary team, which state law requires CSEC-funded counties to convene, had not met since November 2023, even though county documentation submitted to the state in February 2025 listed 'monthly or emergency multidisciplinary meetings' among its duties. In a September 24, 2025 response the Board of Supervisors confirmed the meetings were not held between November 2023 and June 2025 and resumed July 21, 2025, but partially disagreed, saying its report to the state described meetings held monthly only when new referrals came in and that emergency case consultations continued; it said the future meeting schedule needs further evaluation. The grand jury's spring 2025 survey also found only 10 of 144 businesses required to post state trafficking-hotline signs had done so, with enforcement left to police and the sheriff.
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Response
Contacted and made an on-record admission — exact wording not on record.
Contacted and made an on-record admission — exact wording not on record.
What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.