January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month , an opportunity to raise awareness on how we can all prevent and respond to human trafficking. Our theme for Human Trafficking Prevention Month 2023 is Partner to Prevent, highlighting the importance of partnerships and collaboration in strengthening anti-trafficking efforts. When we #Partner2Prevent, we can stop human trafficking before it happens and provide access to critical services for survivors.
This week, we are spotlighting social service providers, the important and diverse roles they play in preventing human trafficking, and the tailored resources they can use to support those they serve. People experience human trafficking for varying reasons, and they often have ongoing, complex needs. Social service providers in a variety of settings are well-positioned to identify, support, and protect clients through their work. Below are tailored resources that, coupled with other foundational resources , social service providers can use to strengthen their support for those in their care at risk for, currently experiencing, or who have experienced human trafficking.
Children and Youth
Children involved in child welfare systems, including foster care, and those who have run away from home are at increased risk for human trafficking because of their potentially unstable living situations, disrupted connection with family and friends, prior abuse and neglect, and emotional vulnerability.
- In “Increased Reports of Human Trafficking from Child Welfare Systems Indicate Progress and Point to Prevention,” OTIP Director Katherine Chon discusses human trafficking trends among children in child welfare and provides resources for strengthening prevention efforts.
- The Responding to Human Trafficking among Children and Youth in Foster Care and Missing from Care information memorandum overviews resources available to assist states in meeting legal requirements intended to protect children and youth, particularly those in the child welfare system, from negative outcomes associated with human trafficking.
- SOAR Online: Responding to Human Trafficking Through the Child Welfare System trains providers to strengthen services for children and youth at risk for or who have experienced human trafficking.
Disaster Management
Natural disasters can increase the risk for human trafficking by creating new and compounding existing vulnerabilities for individuals, families, and communities, including causing people to lose their homes, jobs, and transportation and disrupting support systems.
- Fact Sheets: Human Trafficking Programming During Disasters and Emergencies provide emergency managers and service providers information to help prevent trafficking and continue operations during disasters and emergencies, including by delivering remote services and technical assistance.
- Fact Sheets: What Disaster Responders Need to Know and What Disaster Responders Need to Do help emergency managers and other professionals working in a disaster area understand and prepare for increased risks and signs of human trafficking during disasters.
- In “Preventing and Addressing Human Trafficking in the Wake of Disasters,“ OTIP Director Katherine Chon and Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response Director Natalie Grant discuss the relationship between natural disasters and human trafficking and provide resources for disaster management professionals.
- The SOAR Online: Disaster Management: Preventing and Responding to Human Trafficking training equips disaster management professionals with the information and resources they need to prevent, identify, and respond to human trafficking during and after disasters or emergencies.
Housing and Economic Mobility
Stable housing is a foundational resource that protects people from human trafficking by providing opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency and economic mobility. Long-term, permanent housing is also crucial for people fleeing a trafficking situation, as it provides the safety and security those in crisis need to obtain stability and rebuild their lives.
- Collaboration Strategies to Help Survivors of Human Trafficking Overcome Barriers to Economic Mobility overviews non-traditional partnerships that may strengthen local service networks and expand access to housing and employment opportunities for people who have experienced human trafficking.
- Federal Housing and Economic Mobility Resources information memorandum overviews federally funded programs, training, and other resources to increase access to housing and employment for people who have experienced human trafficking.
- Federal Housing and Homelessness Programs for Human Trafficking Survivors provides a detailed summary of how people who have experienced human trafficking may meet the eligibility requirements for federally funded housing and homelessness programs.
- Innovative Solutions to Expand Housing Options for Survivors of Human Trafficking outlines strategies to expand housing access for people who have experienced trafficking through housing programs and federal grants and cooperative agreements and provides training and resources to increase awareness of housing options.
Learn more about National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and view additional resources.