Introduction
Research Questions
- How did the HTYPE projects implement their primary activities across the 3-year period of performance?
- What were educator and staff participants’ experiences across program activities?
Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers have increasingly emphasized the importance of a proactive, multidisciplinary approach to human trafficking—one that involves all systems responsible for protecting children and youth, including schools. In 2020, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) established the Human Trafficking Youth Prevention Education (HTYPE) Demonstration Program and funded the first cohort of eight projects. The purpose of the HTYPE Demonstration Program is to fund local educational agencies to partner with a nonprofit or nongovernmental organization (NGO) to create, implement, and build the capacity of schools to deliver prevention education and skills-based training to educators and other school staff and students; and to establish a Human Trafficking School Safety Protocol (HTSSP, or “protocol”) that addresses the safety, security, and wellbeing of staff and students. Eight HTYPE Demonstration Program projects were awarded in September 2020, with a performance period of 36 months. In partnership with OTIP, the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) oversaw a process evaluation of the HTYPE Demonstration Program being conducted by RTI International.
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to summarize findings from three years of project activities conducted by the eight HTYPE projects. Specifically, this report provides:
- a cross-project synthesis describing program accomplishments, growth, and reach to intended audiences in its four primary activities: delivering student prevention education, delivering educator and staff prevention education, training qualified staff to deliver prevention activities, and creating and implementing an HTSSP;
- a summary of Year 3 project activities and accomplishments, including sustainability planning;
- a summary of educator and staff participant experiences and feedback in key program activities; and
- implications based on these findings for other school-based human trafficking prevention programs, including schools considering implementing prevention activities and creators of prevention education materials.
Key Findings and Highlights
- Grant recipients implemented HTYPE activities in more than 800 schools, delivering human trafficking prevention education to more than 10,000 educators and staff and 38,000 students. They did so in partnership with key community-based organizations, criminal justice and child welfare agencies, and people with lived experience.
- In Year 3, grant recipients continued implementing key program activities (delivering prevention education to students and educators/staff, training qualified staff to deliver prevention activities, and activating their respective HTSSPs). Additionally, grant recipients planned for continuing program activities after the end of the HTYPE Demonstration Program.
- Educators and staff who participated in program activities shared varying perspectives and experiences regarding student prevention education (e.g., who should deliver it, how instructors should be trained and supported to deliver it, and modifications to make during delivery), educator prevention education, and HTSSP training and activation.
Methods
The information in this report is informed by both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data sources consisted of both qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative data included semi-structured interviews with HTYPE project staff and partners in all eight project sites, interviewed at the conclusion of each project year; focus groups with educators and staff who participated in program activities; and interviews with educators and staff who used the HTSSP. The quantitative data consisted of a survey of educators and staff who delivered prevention education to students. Secondary data sources consisted of grant recipients’ performance progress reporting data, which they submitted quarterly to OTIP, and prevention education curricula materials (10 student prevention curricula and 5 educator and staff prevention education curricula).
Citation
Yu, L., Hendrix, J., & Rinderle, A. (2024). Process Evaluation of the 2020—2023 Human Trafficking Youth Prevention Education (HTYPE) Demonstration Program: Final Report, OPRE Report No. 2024-275, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Glossary
- HTSSP:
- Human Trafficking School Safety Protocol
- HTYPE:
- Human Trafficking Youth Prevention Education
- LEA:
- Local Education Agency
- ToT:
- Training of Trainer