Domestic Human Trafficking and the Child Welfare Population

2016 - 2022

This project will help the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Children’s Bureau to identify and better assist children and youth served by its programs who are victims of, or are at risk of, domestic human trafficking. The project will summarize current understanding of human trafficking and resources addressing human trafficking in the child welfare population. The project will also support practice-relevant research studies. ACF’s Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) and RTI International are partnering with the Children’s Bureau on this effort. Stakeholders and expert consultants will provide input and guidance at various stages of the project.

A variety of activities will inform the research designs, including:

  • Conducting a literature review to examine risk factors and trajectories for human trafficking among children who have experienced maltreatment;
  • Compiling a compendium that summarizes state child welfare policies, training efforts, screening tools, services, and data resources related to human trafficking in the child welfare population;
  • Summarizing existing survey datasets and national data systems relevant to child welfare and human trafficking; and
  • Conducting a critical review of promising approaches that would benefit from further evaluation and data resources that could support additional research.

A Report to Congress based on these activities, “The Child Welfare Response to Sex Trafficking of Children,” was published in 2019.

The first study will focus on identifying risk and protective factors for, and context of, human trafficking victimization in the child welfare population. The second study will focus on child welfare efforts to identify human trafficking and subsequent service delivery.  

This work is being conducted through a contract to RTI International.

Point(s) of contact: Mary Mueggenborg and Christine Fortunato.

The studies from this project are registered on the Open Science Framework under the titles

Information collections related to this project have been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under OMB #0970-0546 and #0970-0563. Related materials are available at the

The most currently approved documents are accessible by clicking on the ICR Ref. No. with the most recent conclusion date. To access the information collections (E.g. interviews, surveys, protocols), click on View Information Collection (IC) List. Click on View Supporting Statement and Other Documents to access other supplementary documents.

Related Resources

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation’s (OPRE’s) Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: Scope of Agency Authority reviews how state child agencies define the extent and range of their authority as it relates to human trafficking.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation’s (OPRE’s) Screening for Human Trafficking in Child Welfare Settings: Tools in Use describes human trafficking screening tools currently being used by state child welfare agencies that participated in the Identifying and Addressing Human Trafficking in Child Welfare Agencies study.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation’s (OPRE’s) Recommendations for Child Welfare System Support from Youth Currently and Formerly in Foster Care describes recommendations from youth currently and formerly in foster care who were at increased risk for human trafficking about the most important ways the child welfare system could support youth leaving foster care.

Children and youth who run from foster care placements are a growing concern among policymakers and practitioners. A large number of youth in foster care run away from their placement at least once, and many do multiple times. Running from care is associated with a range of serious negative consequences, including human trafficking victimization.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation’s (OPRE’s) Identifying and Addressing Human Trafficking in Child Welfare Agencies Final Report describes how child welfare agencies select and implement human trafficking screening tools, train workers on their use, and connect youth identified as having experienced trafficking or at increased risk of trafficking to services.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation’s (OPRE’s) Survey of Youth Currently and Formerly in Foster Care at Risk for Human Trafficking Findings Report describes information collected from youth currently and formerly in foster care who were at increased risk for human trafficking based on their demographic characteristics, maltreatment allegations, and removal and placement history.