The Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) develops strategies, policies, and programs to prevent human trafficking; builds the capacity of health and human services to respond to human trafficking; increases victim identification and access to services; and strengthens the health and well-being of survivors of human trafficking. Inequity is inherently connected to the root causes and risk factors for human trafficking, including disproportionate impact of housing and economic instability, interpersonal violence and intergenerational trauma, displacement and disconnection from support, and discrimination.  

OTIP furthers the understanding of human trafficking and effective responses in collaboration with communities and individuals with lived expertise that reflect the diverse backgrounds and experiences of those at risk of human trafficking to improve equity within program outcomes. OTIP will identify and implement opportunities to advance equity within programs, policies, and research through data collection, evaluation, and sustained engagement with partners — including individuals with lived experience through the Human Trafficking Leadership Academy , National Advisory Committee on the Trafficking of Children and Youth in the U.S., and U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking . 

OTIP has made efforts to advance equity within and through programming by:

1. Incorporating demographic data on race, ethnicity, country of origin, and/or gender identity into relevant information collections to capture experiences and disparities within service delivery and outcomes to inform program improvement.  
2. Partnering with the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation and RTI International to develop an anti-trafficking learning agenda and special topics report exploring lessons learned and promising practices related to economic opportunity that can be applied to different populations vulnerable to human trafficking. The learning agenda and special topics report will explore how structural and environmental inequities increase the risk for human trafficking as well as how OTIP can better meet the needs of communities disproportionately affected by human trafficking.
3. Receiving technical assistance from subject matter experts to strengthen equity within grant programs, grant reviewer recruitment, and resources developed for organizations implementing prevention education programs.
4. Incorporating equity principles within Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) published in 2022.  For example, OTIP:
   • Included a requirement in all service delivery NOFOs for all staff funded through the grant to complete a minimum of ten hours of training each budget period on human trafficking that is inclusive of equity principles and practices (e.g., intersectionality between race, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, and/or forced criminality and experiences of human trafficking).
   • Encouraged applicants in all service delivery NOFOs to partner with organizations serving underserved communities, including Minority Serving Institutions like Historically Black Colleges and Universities, on program implementation and evaluation strategies.
   • Included bonus points to applicants that will conduct outreach within or in partnership with Migrant Health Centers in the Lighthouse: Services, Outreach, and Awareness for Labor Trafficking Demonstration Program NOFO, as migrant laborers have an increased risk for human trafficking due to language barriers, constraints of temporary work visas, and a general lack of awareness about worker’s rights in the United States.
   • Included bonus points for Human Trafficking Youth Prevention Education (HTYPE) Demonstration Program applicants funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) or applications that provide a plan of action detailing a consortium partnership with one or more BIE-funded schools to implement all activities.
5. Convening the Human Trafficking Leadership Academy through OTIP’s National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center to develop recommendations on Addressing Institutional Inequities and Barriers to Accessing Services for Survivors of Human Trafficking and Communities of Color  (May — September 2021), Assessing and Responding to Risk Factors Among Migratory Families to Prevent Labor Trafficking (October 2020 — February 2021) , and Leveraging Culture as a Protective Factor to Prevent Trafficking Among All Indigenous Youth (October 2019 — September 2020) . 
6. Supporting the development and dissemination of federal interagency efforts to publish a Request for Information on Conducting Anti-Trafficking Work Using a Racial Equity Lens  in February 2022 to identify areas for collaboration and improvement through the Senior Policy Operating Group under the President’s Interagency Task Force to Combat and Monitor Trafficking in Persons. 

From 2022 — 2024, OTIP will continue to advance equity through the following efforts by:

1. Exploring available hiring authorities, such as leveraging Presidential Management Fellows and Pathways, and resources with OPM to increase the pool of qualified applicants with lived expertise and/or experience working with underserved communities responding to federal employment solicitations within OTIP, as well as volunteer student internships.
   • Update as of September 2023: OTIP leveraged the U.S. Digital Corps Fellowship to onboard a Product Management Fellow.  The fellowship will support OTIP’s capacity to serve individuals who have experienced human trafficking by improving the reporting experience for anti-trafficking grant recipients, reducing barriers to services, informing more resilient National Human Trafficking Hotline operations, and disrupting the scalability of human trafficking schemes. 
2. Exploring opportunities and implementing strategies to expand equity and inclusion among peer reviewers for grant applications, including through increased outreach and compensation. 
   • Update as of September 2023: OTIP increased the compensation rate for grant reviewers and diversified the expertise codes used to select reviewers. 
3. Assessing existing grant and other program data to publish data briefs on who is receiving assistance through anti-trafficking programming.  The briefs will create a snapshot to begin exploring whether OTIP’s programs are being accessed by underserved communities at increased risk for human trafficking and identify the service needs or gaps of the communities being served by OTIP. 
   • Update as of September 2023: As part of the formative evaluation of the Demonstration Grants to Strengthen the Response to Victims of Human Trafficking in Native Communities, a brief, VHT-NC Program: An Overview of Participant and Service Characteristics (FY 2021 — FY 2022), was published describing participant characteristics and identifying service needs or gaps. 

From 2023 — 2024, OTIP will continue to advance equity through the following efforts: 

• Publish the National Human Trafficking Prevention Framework and HHS Human Trafficking Prevention Action Plan integrating research on violence prevention, public comments, recommendations from individuals with lived experience, and learnings from the National Human Trafficking Prevention Summit.   
• Review monitoring tools, explore opportunities to assess grant program implementation, and identify opportunities for technical assistance to strengthen equity components within anti-trafficking grants. 
• Partner with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to publish findings exploring risk factors for perpetration of child sex trafficking. 
• Partner with the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, on behalf of the Senior Policy Operating Group of the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, to convene a series of anti-trafficking racial equity roundtables with communities who have experienced systemic racial inequity, human trafficking, or both to inform the development, revision, and implementation of federal anti-trafficking policies, practices, and services. 

Please send any suggestions or comments on our plans to EndTrafficking@acf.hhs.gov. 

We will provide a semi-annual status update.

ACF is committed to making equity a central part of how we operate and deliver our mission.  In 2021, every ACF office committed to equity by creating an Equity Action Plan.  Please click here to learn more.