Attorney General expands Human Trafficking Advisory Board

January 11, 2012|by Rebecca White | KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

(TOPEKA, Kan.) — The Kansas Attorney General’s office announced expansion of an state advisory board Wednesday that recommends improvements to Kansas laws and policies to combat human trafficking.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt made the announcement on National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which has been designated by the United States Senate as part of the global effort to raise awareness of human trafficking and the need to combat it.

“The buying and selling of human beings, whether for sex or for labor, is a reprehensible form of modern-day slavery that is unacceptable in the 21^st Century,” Schmidt said. “On this day aimed at raising global awareness of the problem, it is my pleasure to broaden our ongoing Kansas commitment to being part of the solution.”

First established in January 2010, the Attorney General’s Human Trafficking Advisory Board includes a range of representatives from law enforcement, prosecution, social services, advocates, victims of human trafficking and others engaged in combating human trafficking in Kansas.

Schmidt’s new appointments today expand the board to include more points of view including members of the legislature and representatives of state agencies. The new appointees are:

Anna Pilato, Deputy Secretary, Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, Topeka
Jim McCollough, Executive Director, Center for Peace and Justice, Topeka
Kathy Gill-Hopple, Director of Forensic Nursing Services, Via Christi Hospitals, Wichita
Jane Stueve, School Health Consultant, Kansas Department of Education, Topeka
Mike Gee, Acting Director, Unemployment Insurance Performance, Employer Services & Appeals Chief, Audit & Investigations, Kansas Department of Labor, Topeka
Capt. Eric Sauer, Kansas Highway Patrol, Topeka
Kirk Thompson, Director, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Topeka
Chad Bettes, Chief of Staff, Kansas Department of Revenue, Topeka
Mark Masterson, Director of Sedgwick County Department of Corrections, Wichita
Becky Tackett, Director of Client Services, Crisis Center, Manhattan
Sen. Marci Francisco, Lawrence
Rep. Steve Brunk, Wichita
Rep. Pat Colloton, Leawood

Schmidt said he will ask the 37-member Human Trafficking Advisory Board to work with the legislature and with the administration of Governor Sam Brownback to strengthen the Kansas response to human trafficking during the 2012 legislative session. He also said he will ask the advisory board to review reports of outside organizations made during the past year that were critical of the Kansas efforts and to try to identify steps to improve.

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