ACF Program for Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking: What Have We Learned So Far?
“The needs are multifaceted. Sometimes you just need to wait and let them build some rapport and you realize that they’re not going to tell you right away necessarily every single little thing that they need help with….” -Case manager
In 2014, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) began to fund comprehensive case management services for domestic victims of human trafficking. ACF provided grants for a demonstration program intended to build organization and community capacity to identify victims and provide assistance through referrals to community partners. The evaluation study of the first cohort of grantees presents findings on how the projects expanded community capacity to identify and respond to human trafficking, the characteristics and experiences of survivors served by the projects, how projects provided comprehensive victim services, and the cost of case management.
The report provides lessons learned on how a runaway and homeless youth organization, a refugee and immigrant organization, and a court-based services program distinctly implemented the goals of the grant program. The grantees had diverse backgrounds, target populations, and partners which shaped unique service models in each state.
Over the two-year project period, grantees assisted 341 domestic victims of human trafficking in Arizona, New York, and Utah. Of clients reporting experience of human trafficking, 95 percent were sex trafficked and 25 percent were labor trafficked. Case managers provided crisis intervention, safety planning, emotional support, legal services, victim advocacy, transportation, and life skills to nearly all clients who needed it. Although the projects met many clients’ needs, some services were difficult to provide (e.g. substance abuse treatment, dental health, employment, education, financial assistance, and housing).
The evaluation was led by the ACF Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) with key partners at the ACF Family and Youth Services Bureau and Office on Trafficking in Persons. Access the report for the rest of the story: Evaluation of Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking Demonstration Projects: Final Report from the First Cohort of Project, OPRE.
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