Officer Stanley Kaluza talked about how helpful and important the partnership with Juvenile Court Judge Dumas has been to his investigations during the interview we filmed with him: “Judge Lori Dumas has helped me numerous times where I recover a juvenile 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. in the morning. Who’s awake? I am, my squad is…. But who else is awake to help me? I call her [and she] doesn’t even complain. She’s like, ‘What can I do for you, Officer Kaluza?’ ‘I [Kaluza] have a juvenile. I need to put her in some kind of protective custody because she’s been trained so well that if I put her anywhere else…she’s gonna walk out [of] there and I’m gonna lose her. I might not find her again. That guy might kill her because he might be afraid that she gave up information or is going to.’ Not batting an eye, she’s like, ‘I’ll make a phone call. I’ll have her put into protective custody, and I will see her in my court.’ And at least she is now safe. We saved one were female. And that is the world to me.”
Judge Dumas has served as a Common Pleas Court Judge in the Philadelphia Family Court, Juvenile Division for 13 years, where she helped to develop and leads Philadelphia’s first Human Trafficking Court. This innovative judicial program, W.R.A.P. (Working to Restore Adolescent Power), is one of only two courts like in in the nation. W.R.A.P. Court employs a multidisciplinary team approach to identify and address the unique needs of each child.
Her desire to help sex trafficking victim survivors extends beyond the time they spend in the juvenile court system. Judge Dumas told us about her goal in partnering with the Salvation Army and Dr. Waller, which is to be able to refer young women who are sex trafficking victim survivors that “age out” of the juvenile court system long-term care and help through the Salvation Army’s Montgomery County aftercare home.
As a mother of two daughters, the issue of sex trafficking has reached beyond the courtroom and into her heart. Identifying and helping sex trafficking victims as well as raising awareness about this issue has become a personal passion and mission. The commitment that Judge Dumas has to children and families is reflected in the many young lives she has touched and helped and has been recognized in the many awards she has received, including “NCJFCJ Innovator of the Year.”
The time we spent with Judge Dumas was inspiring to say the least.
