ACF Statement on National Human Trafficking Prevention Month

Today, Administration for Children and Families(ACF) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Meg Sullivan along with Director of the Office on Trafficking in Persons(OTIP) Katherine Chon issued the following statement in observance of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month :

Every person in this country deserves to live safely and free from exploitation.Human trafficking is a pervasive issue that affects not only individuals, but also families, communities and industries across the U.S. It poses a significant threat to our country's security, public health, and the rule of law. Our programs serve some of the Nation's most vulnerable children, youth, and families and we have a duty to foster their health and well-being.

January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month - an opportunity to heighten awareness, educate, and increase reporting while emphasizing the connections between human trafficking and other forms of violence. It is also a time to stress the importance of strengthening community and industry resilience to protect against human trafficking.

This year's theme - Connecting the Dots. Strengthening Communities. Preventing Trafficking - calls for collective action to strengthen prevention at every level-individual, relational, community, and societal. Our goal is to prevent exploitation before it occurs. It encourages cross-sector collaboration, including partnerships with individuals who have experienced trafficking. Together, we can strengthen our efforts to keep everyone safe from human trafficking.

With guidance from and collaboration with federal interagency partners and stakeholders, ACF is advancing tools, tactics, and techniques that prevent human trafficking. From a National Advisory Committee on the Trafficking of Children and Youth in the United Statesthat will provide guidance on preventing child trafficking to the Joint Forced Labor Working Groupstrengthening the resilience of public health supply chains to the Anti-Trafficking Leadership, Innovation, and Sustainability Project funding survivor-led anti-trafficking initiatives, ACF partners with survivors and partners across all sectors. ACF provides critical resources to connect survivors to services and equips communities with the tools to respond to human trafficking through the National Human Trafficking Hotline , National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance , and the Look Beneath the Surfacepublic awareness and outreach campaign.

Through a series of 2024 listening sessions, OTIP, the Administration on Children Youth and Families (ACYF) - including the Childrens Bureau(CB) and Family and Youth Services Bureau(FYSB) - the Office of Refugee Resettlement(ORR), and the Administration for Native Americans(ANA) gathered insights to improve responses to children missing from care and those at risk of human trafficking. These sessions brought together service providers, child welfare professionals, and law enforcement agencies to discuss key challenges in addressing these issues. Other ACF listening sessions intersecting with human trafficking included technology-facilitated abuses, child labor exploitation, and direct care services.

• OTIP coordinates with child welfare to strengthen coordination between federal, state, and local trafficking responses. OTIP and CB collaborate on resources to help state agencies and community providers strengthen the child welfare response to human trafficking. This includes trainings and resourcesto help human services professionals, including child welfare professionals, respond to and prevent human trafficking of children and youth at risk for, currently experiencing, or have previously experienced human trafficking. In 2023, 33 states reported supporting 800 children in child welfare systems who have experienced sex trafficking.
• OTIP funds local education agencies to develop and implement prevention education programs for educators, staff, students, and caregivers. This includes the development of a human trafficking school safety protocolto help schools identify students that may be experiencing or at-risk of experiencing trafficking and connect them to appropriate services. In the last three years, more than 1,700 schools trained 22,600 educators and 87,000 students and identified at least 258 students with a need for services.
• OTIP and ORR collaborate to prevent trafficking from occurring and strengthen protective factors among children and youth intersecting with refugee resettlement, unaccompanied children, and other youth-serving settings.
  • Connecting trafficking survivors to refugee programs - OTIP works with federal, state, and local government agencies that are required to report concerns of human trafficking experienced by foreign national children to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). OTIP assesses the child's situation by consulting with federal agencies and non-government organizations and issues Eligibility Lettersfor victims of trafficking eligible for refugee services and benefits (PDF). OTIP coordinates with ORR state refugee programs to connect children to case management, medical, food, housing and other assistance. In the last four years, OTIP issued more than 10,000 Certification and Eligibility Letters and funded services for 7,600 survivors of trafficking through a national network of community-based organizations.
  • Screening for human trafficking - ORR assesses all unaccompanied children in its care for potential trafficking concerns at intake, throughout the child's stay in care, and during the sponsor vetting process. ORR-funded case managers, teachers, doctors, youth care workers, and other staff promptly identify concerns and coordinate with OTIP if they suspect a child has experienced trafficking. If trafficking concerns arise during sponsor assessments, the case is referred for investigation to the appropriate investigative authorities and OTIP. Similarly, post-release services providers must report to ORR and law enforcement any concerns that come to light after a child has been discharged to a sponsor.
  • Enhancing child protection mechanisms - ORR requires a home study for any children with identified trafficking concerns and connects children to post release services following a home study to aid human trafficking prevention. ORR and OTIP also coordinate with many federal agencies, including a joint effort with the Department of Labor to address exploitative child labor and other coordinated action to ensure that suspected trafficking cases are thoroughly investigated, children receive support in a timely manner, and trends and risks factors are identified to inform prevention efforts.
  • Post-release services - ORR has expanded PRS to a historic level, from just over 20 percent of children offered access to PRS in FY 2021 to now 100% of children offered access for such services today.
  • Legal services - ORR may also fund direct legal representation for children, including those released from its care in certain cases. Direct legal representation not only improves children's understanding of the options available to them but also significantly increases appearance rates in immigration court, resulting in more efficient proceedings.
  • National Call Center (ORRNCC): Every child receives information on how to contact ORR's National Call Center (ORRNCC), which is often used by both children and sponsors to inquire about court dates and other immigration issues as well as questions about documents, school enrollment, etc. The children and sponsors also call the NCC to report any safety concerns, including trafficking risks or suspicions, and the NCC works closely with local law enforcement and reports any trafficking concerns immediately.
• ANA partners with multiple agencies, communities and families to address the ongoing crises of Missing and Murdered Indigenous peoples (MMIP). We are committed to protecting the public safety and well-being of American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander people and communities by addressing the recommendations of the Not Invisible Act Commission - a jurisdictional advisory committee composed of law enforcement, Tribal leaders, federal partners, service providers, family members of missing and murdered individuals, and survivors.
• FYSB programs serve children, youth, and families nationwide who have been impacted by extreme trauma and adverse experiences. Each of FYSB's programs work diligently to serve individuals who are at high risk for human trafficking or have been trafficked. FYSB's work integrates human trafficking prevention and intervention through the development of a wealth of resources such as a human trafficking assessment tool (PDF), tip sheets (PDF), webinars (PDF), and a positive youth development approach, to name a few.
• Additional ACF programs providing resources and support in alignment with human trafficking reporting and prevention include the Office of Family Violence and Prevention Services(OFVPS). OFVPS administers the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), the country's primary federal funding stream dedicated to supporting emergency shelters and related assistance for victims of domestic violence and their children. Appropriated funds are allocated through grant programs to states and territories, Tribes, and coalitions; competitive discretionary grants to national resource centers and specialized services for abused parents and their children; and national domestic violence hotlines. Human trafficking often simultaneously occurs in the context of intimate relationships between perpetrators of trafficking/domestic violence or dating violence and those who are victimized by such crimes. Given this overlap of experiences, all 1,600 FVPSA-funded programs are strongly encouraged to safely screen for and identify individuals who are experiencing human trafficking who are also experiencing domestic violence or dating violence and provide services that support their unique needs. Additionally, to continue to encourage services and supports for individuals experiencing human trafficking, FVPSA's notices of funding opportunities include survivors of human trafficking who are also experiencing co-occurring domestic or dating violence as examples of "underserved populations," which are a priority service population under the FVPSA statute. Human trafficking has been and will continue to be addressed at FVPSA grantee meetings and by FVPSA-funded technical assistance providers.
• OTIP also works closely with the Office of Human Service Emergency Preparedness and Response(OHSEPR) to help provide emergency managers and service providers with information to help prevent trafficking following disasters and continue providing life-saving services for trafficking survivors during and after disasters and other emergencies. The recently published quick reference guide for disaster management professionals (PDF)provides fact sheets and additional training and support services.

This month, across our programs we collectively renew our commitment to partner, listen, understand unique needs, and provide resources needed to support vital work in protecting and safeguarding the children and families we serve.

Sincerely,

Meg Sullivan
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families

Katherine Chon
Director, Office on Trafficking in Persons

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