The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) awarded $2.5 million through two grant programs to engage multiple sectors in a prevention and intervention-focused, public health response to human trafficking. The funding, through the Office on Trafficking in Persons at ACF, is in addition to $8.5 million announced last week for trafficking survivors and will strengthen human trafficking prevention and intervention efforts using a multidisciplinary approach, preparing individuals to address human trafficking in educational, health care, behavioral health, public health and social service environments.
The SOAR to Health and Wellness Training Demonstration Program, a new pilot program grounded in ACF’s SOAR to Health and Wellness framework, will equip professionals in clinical health and social services settings to identify, treat and respond to patients and clients impacted by human trafficking by delivering culturally responsive, trauma-informed and patient-centered care. Grant recipients will expand access to critical health services by working within their local communities to assess service delivery gaps, engage individuals with lived experience and establish strategic partnerships.
“People who have experienced human trafficking require a wide range of services to support their recovery, beginning with disclosure or identification of need from a trusted place,” said ACF Assistant Secretary for Children and Families January Contreras. “These awards represent a bridge between public health and human services, supporting local communities to coordinate comprehensive anti-trafficking strategies to provide accessible care for longer-term health and well-being.”
Through the Human Trafficking Youth Prevention Education Demonstration Program, schools will partner with a non-profit organization with expertise in human trafficking to focus on prevention, identification and addressing students’ risk for human trafficking through skills-based curricula and referrals to supportive services. Students will learn to identify and respond to recruitment tactics, access help and build resiliency to human trafficking and other forms of violence. Schools will also establish a protocol for handling suspected and confirmed cases of trafficking in coordination with local law enforcement, child welfare and service providers.
“The past two years have been especially difficult for teachers and students, but they have shown incredible resiliency,” said ACF’s Office on Trafficking in Persons Director Katherine Chon. “We are committed to working closely with school districts as they develop and implement prevention programs that are responsive to the needs of their student populations. With these programs in place, schools will be able to strengthen the safety, security and well-being of students.”
Today’s announcement is part of ACF’s ongoing efforts to support the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government response to human trafficking, as outlined in the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking . These awards will enhance collaboration with multiple areas that regularly interact with individuals and communities most directly impacted by human trafficking. By developing and tailoring localized strategies that acknowledge unique and diverse needs, frontline professionals can proactively prevent and address human trafficking among students in classrooms and patients in various clinical settings.
What recipients are saying...
“Our goal at RWJBarnabas Health is to ensure our teams are well equipped to identify trafficked individuals in health care settings and appropriately assist with trauma-informed patient care and services,” said Suzanne Spernal, DNP, APN-BC, RNC-OB, C-ONQS, Vice President of Women’s Services at RWJBarnabas Health and leader of the Human Trafficking Response (HTR) Program. “As New Jersey’s largest, most comprehensive academic health care system we are proud to have been chosen as a grant recipient for the new SOAR to Health and Wellness Demonstration Program. This grant will support the training and education of over 38,000 employees and volunteers within our health care system along with our community partners across New Jersey.” — RWJBarnabas Health
“We are delighted that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children has recognized and chosen to invest in our School of Social Work, Center for Human Trafficking Research and Training. This 5-year demonstration grant, one of only two awarded nationally, will enable our program and gifted Professors Hogan, Brazeal, and Hurst, to do transformative work to move our state, region and nation closer to eliminating the horrific occurrences of human trafficking. The focus of this work in developing response protocols and systems of care within south Mississippi health care systems will be a game changer. I am continually proud of the vision and good work of our faculty in the School of Social Work at The University of Southern Mississippi.” — Joseph S. Paul, Ph.D., President, The University of Southern Mississippi
“Educational Service Unit 2 is excited to share this skills-based learning opportunity with our rural districts and communities. We view protecting the vulnerable from human trafficking is of the upmost importance.” — Educational Service Unit 2
Recipients
Five-Year SOAR to Health and Wellness Training Demonstration Program
- University of Southern Mississippi — Hattiesburg, MS — $497,442
- Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health — Oceanport, NJ — $500,000
Five-Year Human Trafficking Youth Prevention Education Demonstration Program
- Region One Education Service Center (recipient), 3Strands Global Foundation (non-profit partner) — Edinburg, TX — $500,000
- City of New York Board of Education (recipient), UNITAS (non-profit partner) — New York, NY — $500,000
- Educational Service Unit 2 (recipient), The Set Me Free Project (non-profit partner) — Fremont, NE — $500,000