Residential instability, running away, and juvenile detention characterizes commercially sexually exploited youth involved in Washington State's child welfare system.

Background: Federal policy in 2015 expanded the definition of "child abuse" to include human trafficking. As a result, child welfare agencies are newly responsible for identifying and providing services for youth in state care who are or at-risk of commercial sexual exploitation.

Objective: To describe the demographics, state-dependent living situations, and juvenile detention usage of state-dependent commercially sexually exploited youth.