G.R.A.C.E Court: where trafficked kids are understood.

'The affected kids are from all neighborhoods. You may know some of these girls and boys'

The 13-year-old girl would not look the judge in the eye.

Eleventh Circuit Judge Maria Sampedro-Iglesia welcomed her up to the bench for a down-to-earth sidebar chat.

"Please look at me while I'm talking to you," the judge said, gently.

Finally, the girl looked straight at the judge, revealing that her eyelids had been tattooed.

"The pimps brand the girls. 'Gigantic.' 'King.' 'Gucchi.' Those are the popular ones," Judge Sampedro-Iglesia said.

At a recent child-welfare summit, child advocates learned that tattoos that symbolize stars inked on certain parts of the body signify the child is a "highest earner."

This girl's tattoos were removed, thanks to donated services. The girl underwent extensive mental-health therapy. There was hope. Three years later, recently, the girl's mother came to court to discuss the fate of her 16-year-old daughter, who is "back in the life."

"I don't want to see my daughter in a coffin," the mother told Judge Sampedro-Iglesia.

It's another heart-wrenching story among 101 cases on the current docket of G.R.A.C.E. Court. Officially launched in July (after Chief Judge Bertila Soto signed an administrative order in 2015) G.R.A.C.E. is the first specialty court in the nation devoted solely to help juvenile victims of human trafficking, according to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center.

Because there is stigma and shame associated with the words "human trafficking," the acronym was created for Growth Renewed through Acceptance, Change and Empowerment.

Whenever a child is identified as a victim of human trafficking--whether it is in dependency, delinquency, or family court--that case is transferred to G R A C E. Court. Most of the cases are the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

They have been recruited for the sex trade as young as 9. Most are 14- or 15-year-olds who say they began being traded sexually when they were 12. A few of the trafficking cases are labor-related, but they are often hidden from view. Most victims are girls, and 85 percent were sexually abused before they became victims of human trafficking.

Because they have more freedom and stay out later at night, it's harder to identify the boys, says Yinay Ruiz, project manager of Miami CARES that holds the contract to shelter children in foster care.

"We don't look deep into the boys' cases, unless something tragic happens. That is something we need...