OTIP aims to develop a culture of data-informed policy. Policy resources include information memoranda, fact sheets, program instruction, and other policy documents on a variety of topics ranging from clarification of legislation and its impact on programs, to systemic issues that affect populations at risk of trafficking, to expanded details of OTIP programs and services.
Policy Documents
- Fact Sheets (FS) provide brief information on programs, services, and special topics
- Information Memorandum (IM) provide basic information to stakeholders and the public about OTIP program activities, initiatives, partnerships with other agencies, research findings, and special topics of interest
- Program Instruction (PI) provide information to grantees and other stakeholders on policies, procedures, and processes for policy and program implementation
- Questions and Answers (QA) provide questions and answers on OTIP program policies
- Federal Register Notices are published in the Federal Register, providing information or invite comment on issues under consideration
Recent Policy Documents
This guide is intended to provide OTIP grant recipients with answers to frequently asked questions.
This resource provides definitions of terms for the purpose of Office on Trafficking in Persons Notices of Funding Opportunities Announcements.
These documents provide OTIP funding recipients with information on how to submit a non-competing continuation request.
These documents provide OTIP funding recipients with information on how to submit a no-cost extension request.
How-To Guide: Change of Authorizing Official, Principal Investigator, or Program Director
These documents provide OTIP funding recipients with information on how to submit a carryover request.
These documents provide OTIP funding recipients with information on how to submit a budget revision request.
The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 established the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking (“the Council”) as a formal platform for individuals with lived experience to provide advice and recommendations to the Senior Policy Operating Group and the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking (PITF). As a member of these coordinating bodies, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) implements the Council’s agency-specific recommendations and those for PITF agencies at large. This Information Memorandum summarizes the Council’s past recommendations and overviews implementation efforts by the HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The status of each recommendation relating to ACF is available in the Appendix.
In December 2021, the White House released the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (“National Action Plan”), which calls on agencies to “strengthen efforts to identify, prevent, and address human trafficking in product supply chains and ventures.” The National Action Plan’s emphasis on supply chains reflects lessons learned from COVID-19, echoing the National Strategy for a Resilient Public Health Supply Chain (PDF) (“National Strategy”), published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in July 2021. Among other objectives, the National Strategy aims to “ensure equitable labor conditions by promoting best practices and U.S. adherence to child labor and forced labor laws and regulations” in health supply chains.
The goal of this information memorandum is for all stakeholders in the healthcare and anti-trafficking fields to better understand how the federal government has enforced forced labor laws through criminal prosecution, how health professionals who have experienced trafficking have used civil litigation to seek justice, and how federal courts have handled cases involving forced labor in healthcare settings.
This information memorandum provides an overview of federally funded programs, training, and other resources to increase access to housing and employment for people who have experienced human trafficking. It was created in collaboration with the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration and members of the Federal Interagency Human Trafficking Housing Workgroup for federal agencies, regional offices, anti-trafficking service providers, and other advocates.
Federal Laws on Human Trafficking
Legislation
- Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-386 (PDF))*
- Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-21 (PDF))
- Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-193 (PDF))*
- Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-164 (PDF))*
- William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-457 (PDF))*
- National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 (P.L. 112-239 (PDF))*
- Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-4 (PDF))*
- Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-183 (PDF))*
- Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-22 (PDF))*
- Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-164 (PDF))
- Abolish Human Trafficking Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-392 (PDF))
- Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-393 (PDF))*
- SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-398 (PDF))*
- Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-425 (PDF))*
- Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017 (P.L. 115-427 (PDF))
(* impacts HHS programs)