My name is Amanda Lopez and I am a 2L interning with Shared Hope International in Arlington, Virginia. Through my work as a student staff member with the Center for Global Justice last semester, I had the privilege of working on a Shared Hope project, which opened the door to joining the organization on-site for the summer. I am currently working as a Law Clerk in its Legal Policy Office.
During my time here so far, I have had the opportunity to visit the Capitol for a discussion on the homelessness of our nation’s youth, as well as observing various webinars discussing human trafficking, and specifically child sex trafficking. Shared Hope specifically works with states to try to implement policies protecting and advocating for child sex trafficking victims.
My main project this summer is to research federal legislation pertaining to law enforcement reporting requirements for missing and located children and how states implement this federal legislation. Shared Hope creates ‘Report Cards’ for each state to evaluate the state’s compliance with federal legislation. Reporting requirements for missing and located children makes up Shared Hope’s Report Card component 6.6.
My goal is to assist Share Hope to ensure that component 6.6 is accurate and not duplicative of the federal legislation. It has been truly eye-opening to see how many states do not follow federal legislation. Organizations like Shared Hope strive to ensure such vital legislation is being followed, especially when this legislation seeks to assist such a vulnerable community within our society.
This post was written by a Center for Global Justice intern. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.
