Warnath Group is working with community-based multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) in Costa Rica, called Local Subsystems of Protection (SSLPs), to strengthen their capacity to conduct preliminary identification, referral, and protection of child trafficking victims. As the frontline in local protection efforts, MDT practitioners also support the recovery and reintegration of child trafficking victims in their communities.
This work with MDTs, which commenced in early 2022, is ongoing and will expand over the course of the IACT Program. Warnath Group meets regularly with the SSLPs in the cantons of Carrillo, La Cruz, and Santa Cruz to provide specialized training and technical assistance. Through these strengthened SSLPs, possible child and adolescent trafficking victims are being preliminarily identified and referred for formal identification and assistance by the Immediate Response Team (ERI) and through the National Coalition Against the Smuggling of Migrants and Trafficking in Persons (CONATT) referral mechanism.
In 2023, the IACT program will expand its work with the SSLPs to nine more cantons for a total of six cantons in Guanacaste and six cantons in Puntarenas.
The IACT Program is funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP). Activities with the SSLPs are being implemented with the assistance of the National Child Welfare Agency (PANI) and the National Commission Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents (CONACOES).