Human Trafficking

Human trafficking includes forced labor and sexual exploitation and can affect individuals of any age, gender, or nationality. OPRE partners with the Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) and other ACF program offices on research and evaluation efforts to inform the development of anti-trafficking strategies, policies, and programs and to improve services for people who have experienced human trafficking. Projects include the Building Evidence for Trafficking Interventions and Response project, Human Trafficking Policy and Research Analyses Project, Domestic Human Trafficking and the Child Welfare Population project, Evaluation of the National Human Trafficking Hotline Program, Evaluation of Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking Program, and the Evaluation of Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking Demonstration Projects.

The Building Evidence for Trafficking Interventions and Response project will use multidisciplinary perspectives, including the active engagement of impacted communities, to guide rigorous research and evaluation, providing OPRE and OTIP with information needed to inform the development of anti-trafficking strategies, policies, and programs to prevent and respond to human trafficking. Two topics have been selected for study: (1) a two-stage formative and short-term outcome evaluation of the Aspire: Child Trafficking Victim Assistance Demonstration Program and Trafficking Victims Assistance Program (TVAP), and (2) a second phase evaluation of the National Human Trafficking Hotline and other federally sponsored hotlines.

The Human Trafficking Policy and Research Analyses project will conduct research to answer questions identified by OPRE and OTIP that will inform the development of anti-trafficking strategies, policies, and programs to prevent and respond to human trafficking. Three topics have been selected for study: (1) field testing methods for estimating the prevalence of human trafficking in the U.S.; (2) a process evaluation of OTIP’s Human Trafficking Youth Prevention Education (HTYPE) Demonstration Program; and (3) a formative evaluation of OTIP’s Demonstration Grants to Strengthen the Response to Victims of Human Trafficking in Native Communities (VHT-NC) Program.

The Domestic Human Trafficking and the Child Welfare Population project seeks to summarize current understanding of human trafficking and resources addressing human trafficking in the child welfare population in order to inform a research agenda. The project also supports practice-relevant research studies. The first study focuses on identifying risk and protective factors for, and context of, human trafficking victimization in the child welfare population. The second study focuses on child welfare efforts to identify human trafficking and subsequent service delivery.

The Evaluation of the National Human Trafficking Hotline Program will develop and execute an evaluation of the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH). Specifically, the evaluation will: describe the activities, procedures, and organization of the NHTH, including training, staff capacity, and service delivery; describe the customer service of the NHTH, for example, who contacts the NHTH and what assistance do they seek; and describe the immediate outcomes of the NHTH, specifically regarding the experiences of contactors and users.

The purpose of the Evaluation of Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking (DVHT) Program is (1) to examine and document the ways in which the DVHT grantees approached and accomplished the DVHT Program objectives and (2) to inform ACF on its efforts to improve services for domestic victims of human trafficking. The DVHT program’s purpose is to build, expand, and sustain organizational and community capacity to deliver trauma-informed, strength-based, coordinated case management; a system of referrals; direct services; and the formation of community partnerships. Services include housing options, substance abuse treatment, mental health counseling, educational opportunities, job training and skills development, legal advocacy, and financial advocacy and counseling.