Today, on World Day Against Child Labor, it’s crucial to reflect on the ongoing global efforts to eradicate child labor and protect young workers’ rights. Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) stands at the forefront of this mission, implementing programs designed to prevent labor exploitation and educate unaccompanied children about their rights in the United States. Unaccompanied children are especially vulnerable to labor exploitation; addressing and protecting them is critical to ensure their safety and well-being and to build stronger, safer communities.
KIND’s Labor Exploitation Prevention Programs (LEPP) are aimed at preventing labor exploitation among unaccompanied children and youth. LEPP educates and empowers young workers to learn their rights in the workplace and how to recognize exploitative practices. LEPP offers resources including short, animated films, printed materials in 16 languages, and audio files, and support to ensure that vulnerable youth are informed and protected as they navigate the workforce.
Through partnerships with community organizations and legal experts, LEPP also delivers workshops and direct assistance to those at risk of labor exploitation. LEPP’s materials are rights-based and child-centered so they empower youth with knowledge pathways to ask questions and seek assistance.
Animation to Educate and Empower
Recognizing the power of visual storytelling, the short, animated films KIND developed to educate children and young workers about their rights in the workplace simplify complex legal information so it is accessible and relatable to younger audiences. By illustrating real-life scenarios and providing clear guidance on recognizing and responding to labor violations, these videos serve as valuable tools in KIND’s educational outreach. LEPP’s new video “Working? What you need to know!” was just released to honor World Day Against Child Labor 2025, joining “Want to work? You have rights!”, released late last year. Both videos are available in English and Spanish and have been shared widely on social media.
“Children cannot advocate for themselves if they don’t know what their rights are,” said LEPP Senior Project Director Suzanne Tomatore. “It’s imperative that we educate them and empower them to speak up when they are not treated fairly in the workplace. KIND’s videos and other materials fill an essential gap in knowledge for young workers so they can seek safe and age-appropriate jobs.”
A Framework for Professionals
KIND also created a toolkit for those who work with unaccompanied children facing exploitative labor situations. KIND’s CARE: Connect, Assess, Respond, and Educate Intervention Toolkit: A Toolkit for Professionals Serving Unaccompanied Children Experiencing Labor Exploitation (“CARE Intervention Toolkit”) presents the CARE framework, developed by KIND, which encompasses four key components: Connect, Assess, Respond, and Educate, guiding professionals step-by-step on how to best support vulnerable children and youth. The toolkit is youth-centered, trauma-informed, and grounded in the principles of Psychological First Aid, an evidence-based intervention widely used by professionals to assist individuals who have experienced trauma. Through education, advocacy, and direct support, professionals can work together to create a world where every child and worker is free from exploitation.
Understanding World Day Against Child Labor
Established by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2002, the World Day Against Child Labor aims to raise awareness and prompt action to eliminate child labor exploitation worldwide and brings together governments, organizations, and individuals to highlight the plight of young workers and to discuss solutions for safe employment and to mitigate the exploitation of children.
The 2025 theme, “Progress is clear, but there’s more to do: let’s speed up efforts!” emphasizes the urgency of global action to fulfill promises made under international conventions and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which calls on the global community to “take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labor in all its forms.”
Tomatore added, “World Day Against Child Labor is key in raising awareness, but we must empower young workers to speak up and advocate for their rights in the workplace year-round.”
To learn more about KIND’s LEPP initiatives and access our educational resources, visit www.supportkind.org/worksafe or www.supportkind.org/trabajoseguro.
