Public Safety Announces New Human Trafficking Data Dashboard

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) - During today's annual meeting of the Governor's Human Trafficking Task Force, the Ohio Department of Public Safety announced the launch of a new human trafficking dashboard that combines data from several state agencies into a centralized location to increase accessibility for the public, policy makers, and researchers.

The announcement comes during National Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

The dashboard, available on the DataOhio Portal, houses the human trafficking data previously maintained separately by the Ohio departments of Children and Youth, Developmental Disabilities, Mental Health and Addiction Services, Rehabilitation and Correction, and Youth Services. Public Safety will add its data in the coming months. Each agency is a member of the Governor's Human Trafficking Task Force.

"Combining this agency-specific data for the first time helps to identify and connect survivors to services in a more comprehensive way," said Governor Mike DeWine. "The new dashboard will also help develop a more accurate picture of the number of survivors by addressing duplicates in data."

The state agencies worked with InnovateOhio to pool the human trafficking data.

Other benefits of the data project include raising awareness about human trafficking, improving outreach, and devoting appropriate resources where needed.

Users can access anonymous data about potential and confirmed survivors of human trafficking, filter information by demographics to better understand the characteristics of survivors served in state systems, and view a statewide and county perspective of human trafficking.

"The new dashboard will help identify gaps in system screening and reporting," said Kelli Cary, State Anti-Trafficking Director within the Office of Criminal Justice Services at the Ohio Department of Public Safety. "That added capability will bring to bear the collective resources of the participating state agencies to better serve survivors that we are missing."

Governor DeWine dedicated $9 million in funding to combat human trafficking in Ohio's most recent operating budget. In addition to funding the creation of the dashboard, this historic investment is also being used toward additional local and statewide projects and to expand the Governor's Human Trafficking Task Force, which prioritizes a holistic approach to responding to human trafficking by identifying gaps in prevention, victim services, and prosecution.

As part of this new human trafficking budget investment, the Governor announced in February $4.6 million in funding to help victim service agencies meet the needs of human trafficking survivors.