On May 25, 2023, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families January Contreras; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Hild; Katherine Chon, Director of the Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP); and Pete Weldy, Regional Administrator for Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Region 9 visited Asian Health Services (AHS) in Oakland, California, to attend a roundtable listening session with local health care and human service partners, ACF-funded award recipients, and individuals with lived experience in human trafficking. Convened in recognition of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) Heritage Month , participants discussed how community health centers can help prevent human trafficking, and how effective health and human service partnerships can strengthen supports for AA and NHPI communities impacted by human trafficking.
Human trafficking can cause many adverse physical and behavioral health issues, including chronic pain, malnutrition, depression and post-traumatic stress, and substance use and/or co-occurring disorders. Studies indicate that most people experiencing human trafficking have engaged one or more healthcare providers while still in their trafficking situations, signaling their critical role in identifying and addressing human trafficking concerns among their patient populations. OTIP frequently partners with health care, behavioral health, and additional frontline professionals to build their capacity to effectively serve people at risk for, currently experiencing, or who have experienced human trafficking and their families through its National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center.
AHS is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that provides comprehensive primary care with integrated behavioral health, specialty mental health, and oral health services to communities disproportionately at risk for human trafficking, including those experiencing linguistic isolation and poverty. AHS is one of the first FQHCs to establish policy and programming to prevent and address human trafficking among its patient population. AHS also provides subject-matter consulting expertise and partnership to the Health Resources and Services Administration-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Partner .
Participants emphasized the importance of ensuring all patients have access to culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) , as people from all races and cultures are impacted by human trafficking. HHS will address human trafficking among AA and NHPI populations through the National Strategy to Advance Equity, Justice, and Opportunity for AA and NHPI Communities as outlined in its Agency Plan (PDF), including by developing programs to deliver CLAS and increasing access for AA and NHPI-serving organizations to apply for grants to implement these services.
OTIP will use lessons learned from the listening session to strengthen partnerships with healthcare organizations and further invest in CLAS standards as part of its comprehensive approach to advancing health equity.