Children of the Night provides a 24-hour hotline — 7 days a week. It is operated around the clock by trained staff who are knowledgeable about street life and capable of enlisting the support of police throughout the country if a child’s life is in danger. The Children of the Night home is open to child prostitutes throughout the United States, and the Children of the Night hotline staff is specially
trained to rescue these children directly from pimps anywhere is the country, any time of the day or night. Our hotline staff works closely with law enforcement to rescue children from vile, dominating pimps.

Our hotline receives telephone calls from children who have been raped, beaten, overdosed on drugs, and are trying to escape the streets. Children who call locally are counseled over the telephone while they wait for a taxi to transport them to our home.

Children calling from other states are rescued and placed in local shelters. In most cases, there is a lack of specialized services for child prostitutes, and many are brought
to Children of the Night from other states to benefit from our comprehensive services.

24-hour Hotline 1-800-551-1300
Office 818-908-4474
Se habla espanol

For many children who enter our home, it is the first experience of living in a loving environment where the importance of personal space is appreciated, and planned activities and emotional and educational support to excel in school are provided.
Many of our graduates tell us they had no idea they could ever do well at academic work and succeed in the social integration they achieved while living at Children of the Night. Staff members are always present and vigilant, always there to wipe away tears, offer encouragement to complete homework assignments, and available to present awards for children’s accomplishments. Children of the Night residents are allowed to have fun: to go snowboarding; play on a softball team; visit Six Flags, Disneyland, Chinatown, and other local attractions; to enjoy the fun of getting their hair styled. Children of the Night teaches children how to be children.

Our home is open to children 11 to 17 who have been involved in prostitution. We work very hard to provide a comfortable, homelike environment. Children have the option to go to other appropriate placements — in a foster home,
group home, drug program, mental health program, special education program, college dormitory, or jobs and our independent living program. Many children opt for temporary treatment in one of the above programs and then return for independent living or college placement. Others choose to stay for a year or longer to complete more than one program.

Children of the Night is a highly structured program that keeps children busy during their stay. PARTICIPATION IN SCHEDULED PROGRAM ACTIVITIES IS MANDATORY.

Children of the Night’s goal is to help child prostitutes re-enter mainstream society and go on to live healthy lives. When children enter our home, we work with each of them individually to develop a “life plan,” specifically suited to their needs — whether it’s foster placement, independent living, returning home, or placement in the dormitory of a four-year college. We teach our children how to set and obtain their goals. Each child is offered long-term support through our alumni program.

Many children voluntarily opt to stay for a year for optimum treatment; 13-yearolds may stay until they are 18. If children are placed in foster or group homes, they are normally placed in their hometowns, and we work with their probation officers or social workers to provide the extras children need in order to progress into adulthood: prom dresses, computers, clothes, driving lessons.

Above all, child prostitutes need to be prepared to cope successfully with longterm placement. Children of the Night gives them the time, tools, and care they need to build trust with responsible adults, to catch up on school credits, and to participate in normal activities typical of a normal childhood.

While Children of the Night is a voluntary program dedicated to working with child prostitutes who want help, we do report to courts on a regular basis. Judges have the power to keep cases active with a “want warrant” if a child skips the program. And we have the option to return children to courts, if they refuse to participate in our program.

Before Children of the Night was established by Dr. Lois Lee, these children had virtually nowhere to turn for help — they remained on the streets. Children of the Night pays for flights to our home — no matter from where in the United States the child is calling. And we have staff standing by at the airport waiting for the arrival of children who are entering the Children of the Night program.

Children of the Night is the only comprehensive organization in North America that works solely with child prostitutes, helping them to escape the danger of the streets and learn to function in mainstream society. We take on the role of a loving parent for
children who have never experienced a true sense of family.

Children of the Night’s 24- bed home, located in the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys, California, provides refuge, food, clothing, an on-site school, counseling, and emotional support for child prostitutes from all over the United States. Children of the Night is a VOLUNTARY program for children who want a way out, serving as a way station between the streets and a normal, healthy life.

24-hour Hotline 1-800-551-1300
Office 818-908-4474
Se habla espano

In 1979, Dr. Lois Lee abandoned a promising career as a scholar and social policy expert, devised a plan, and took action. Since that time, she has been rescuing America’s children from the ravages of street prostitution. Her single-minded efforts and dedication led to the development of Children of the Night, where she still serves as president.

In 1981, Dr. Lee opened the first drop-in center for children in Hollywood, pioneering the establishment of similar programs for children on the streets. Today, many traditional social service agencies across the country offer drop-in services to children on the street because of her early work.

Realizing that child prostitutes need more comprehensive care, Dr. Lee opened the Children of the Night home in 1992, now considered a prototype for programs dealing with child prostitution. Dr. Lee continues to lead the field in the treatment of child prostitutes, also passing the California Bar Examination in 1996 and becoming a member of the California Bar Association in order to pursue legal avenues to help child prostitutes.

Dr. Lee is an instructor at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Police Academy, training juvenile detectives in how to detect, treat, and rescue children involved in prostitution. She frequently serves as an expert witness for federal and state prosecutors enforcing laws against dangerous pimps. She first came to the attention of the news media and homicide detectives during the "Hillside Strangler" investigation, where her efforts led to the prosecution of Angelo Buono for these murders.

Her Ph.D. dissertation “The Pimp and His Game” is relied on by vice officers, district attorneys, and U.S. attorneys nationwide as a guide for their treatment of child prostitutes, for jury education, and for the prosecution of dangerous pimps.

Dr. Lee has received countless awards for her work, the most prestigious being the President’s Volunteer Action Award, which was presented to her by President Ronald Reagan at the White House in 1984. She has been profiled on national television, including CBS’ 60 Minutes, and her work was depicted in a CBS TV movie entitled Children of the Night. Her humanitarian work has been recognized with a National Caring Award and a permanent memorial portrait in the Frederick Douglass Museum and Hall of Fame for Caring Americans in Washington, D.C. Dr. Lee is an extraordinary woman who has utilized her courage, compassion, and wisdom to ensure that child prostitutes can get the help and hope they so desperately need.

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