RESOURCE COLLECTION

Partnering to Prevent Human Trafficking

Young people involved with child welfare are vulnerable to trafficking. Child welfare caseworkers must be at the forefront of efforts to identify, respond to, and prevent human trafficking. 

National Human Trafficking Prevention Month is an opportunity to highlight the importance of collaborating across multiple sectors and tribal nations to build human trafficking prevention initiatives that work.

Children in foster care or congregate care are at higher risk of experiencing trafficking and sexual exploitation. Youth who identify as LGBTQIA2S+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual, Two-Spirit, or other gender or sexual identity), are homeless, or run away from care are most vulnerable. Among the diverse populations affected by human trafficking, Indigenous peoples worldwide, particularly American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander women and girls, are at the highest risk.

Strengthening social connections and improving access to economic and concrete supports can create healthier communities and prevent risk factors for human trafficking. When individuals and families are well-connected within their communities, their health and well-being improve.

Implementing trauma-informed and healing-centered practices that acknowledge and address the impact of trauma on children and caregivers can lead to the best outcomes for family safety. By supporting entire families, these approaches can help promote their well-being and security.

“While addressing the root causes that contribute to human trafficking is not easy, we know what can move us in the right direction: keeping families together and strengthening communities to keep children and youth safe. We also know that it wouldn’t be possible without active collaboration across federal, state, and local agencies, as well as the leadership and dedication of child welfare professionals at all levels.”—Commissioner Rebecca Jones Gaston in Children's Bureau Express (CBX)

Federal laws, such as the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, and the Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act, help lay the groundwork for how child welfare and other agencies should respond and collaborate to establish prevention programs.

During National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, use these resources from Child Welfare Information Gateway to learn more about the risk factors and signs of trafficking and sexual exploitation and best practices in identifying, responding, and supporting children who are or are at risk of experiencing trafficking or sexual exploitation as well as their families. 

Publications

• Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers
• Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers [Spanish] (new!)
• Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Child Welfare Agencies
• Definitions of Human Trafficking
• Human Trafficking: Working With Faith-Based Groups
  
  

Resources

• Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation
• Reducing the Use of Congregate Care
• Trauma-Informed Practice
• Safety and Risk
• Prevention

Partner Resources

• Sex Trafficking Prevention (Capacity Building Center for Tribes)
  Explore different ways to respond and better understand sex trafficking with these tools, examples, and information for agencies.
  
  
• Interactive Tools to Support Child Welfare Workers in Their Response to Human Trafficking (The Administration for Children and Families)
  Access two new microlearnings developed for frontline professionals who work with children to strengthen screening for human trafficking and safety planning. These 30-minute modules are designed for quick, digestible, and interactive training.
  
  
• New Opportunities: A National Strategy to Prevent Homelessness (Chapin Hall)
  Learn about the long-term drivers of youth homelessness, the conditions that trigger it, missed opportunities, and recommendations for changes in policy, research, and practice with a national strategy informed by Chapin Hall’s Voices of Youth Count study to prevent homelessness.

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