Every year, tens of thousands of children in the United States become victims of commercial sex exploitation (CSE). Yet depending on where they live, these children may be treated very differently by the justice system. Some states divert them into specialized programs designed to promote healing and reintegration into society, while others prosecute them as juvenile offenders. This disparity raises an important question: should a child’s access to justice depend on where they live? Specialized courtrooms such as Los Angeles County’s Succeeding Through Achievement and Resilience (STAR) Court, created to address this disparity, show that these children can be treated as victims rather than offenders. However, replicating this success nationwide demands more than simply copying its court model. That is, states must first enact strong safe harbor protections, specifically immunity paired with mandatory referral, and then commit the sustained funding and institutional coordination needed to sustain programs like this. 

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