
Introduction
Research Questions
- What are current practices among child welfare agencies nationally for screening for human trafficking?
- What considerations impact screening tool selection?
Human trafficking of children and youth, defined as the exploitation of minors for forced labor or commercial sex, is increasingly recognized as a public health and social justice concern. In recent years, federal lawmakers have highlighted the important role of child welfare within a comprehensive systems-level response to human trafficking. Several federal policies have defined the child welfare system’s role in identifying and responding to human trafficking involving children and youth. Yet, our understanding of how child welfare agencies identify youth who have experienced human trafficking (or are at increased risk for experiencing human trafficking) is somewhat limited.
In an effort to address this knowledge gap, the Identifying and Addressing Human Trafficking in Child Welfare Agencies (IAHT) study conducted interviews with state child welfare leaders from 25 states about how their agencies work to identify and serve children and youth who have experienced or are at increased risk of trafficking.
The IAHT study was conducted by RTI International through a contract from OPRE, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with ACF’s Children’s Bureau. The IAHT study is being implemented as part of the Domestic Human Trafficking and the Child Welfare Population project.
Purpose
Although state child welfare practice is evolving rapidly in response to the previous legislation (Pub. L. 113-183, Pub. L. 114-22, and Pub. L. 115-123), a recent report to Congress indicates substantial variation in screening approaches and tools. Overall, there is a limited amount of information on promising practices for implementing trafficking screening within child welfare agencies. Because of this, many states look to other state child welfare agencies to learn from each other’s experiences in identifying and serving this population.
Therefore, the purpose of this brief is to describe human trafficking screening tools currently being used by state child welfare agencies that participated in the IAHT study, as well as key themes that arose from interviews with these state child welfare leaders regarding considerations for screening tool selection and protocols.
Key Findings and Highlights
- About half (13) of participants’ agencies use at least one tool that screens for labor trafficking. The remaining 12 participants’ agencies use tools that only screen for sex trafficking. Most participants’ agencies use screening tools developed internally by the agency or state. Only six participants’ agencies are utilizing validated screening tools, most commonly as optional tools or as an in-depth assessment after a non-validated pre-screening tool.
- Participants described a need for more inclusive screening tools, including those that include indicators of labor trafficking and familial trafficking and are appropriate for younger (under 13) and male-identifying youth.
Methods
The IAHT study used semi-structured interviews to address the previously stated aims. RTI conducted primary data collection via one-time, cross-sectional qualitative telephone interviews with experts who lead human trafficking efforts in their state child welfare agencies across 25 states.
All data were collected between March 2021 and February 2022. Prior to their interview, participants were asked to share any material related to screening tools and protocols, case management protocols, descriptions of specialized services or placement resources, and training materials. Interview guides were structured to streamline data collection wherever possible by referencing information from the provided materials. The interviewer summarized this information and requested that participants update or clarify it as needed. Interview questions were open-ended.
To analyze the response data, RTI used a qualitative content analysis approach, in which key points were summarized and organized by questions and domains. The results of this study are not designed to be representative of or generalizable to a given subpopulation.
Citation
Charm, Samantha, Latzman, Natasha, Gilot, Bethany & Dolan, Melissa. (2022). Screening for Human Trafficking in Child Welfare Settings: Tools in Use. OPRE Report # 2022-86, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Glossary
- CPS:
- Child Protective Services
- CSEC:
- Commercial sexual exploitation of children
- DHTCW:
- Domestic Human Trafficking and the Child Welfare Population
- IAHT:
- Identifying and Addressing Human Trafficking in Child Welfare Agencies Study
- PSTSFA:
- Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act
- TVPA:
- Trafficking Victims Protection Act