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OTIP Celebrates One Year of Combating Trafficking: June 2016

Published: June 30, 2016

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Message from the Director of Office on Trafficking in Persons



Katherine Chon, OTIP Director     Katherine Chon, OTIP DirectorDear Friends and Colleagues:

This month, President Obama issued a presidential proclamation commemorating June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.  At ACF, the theme was "We Serve Everyone," which commits to making sure access to our programs remains available to every community.

In light of this commitment, I want to thank Nat Paul, a member of ACF’s SOAR 2016 Technical Working Group, for sharing her thoughts on overcoming bias to serve LGBTQ trafficking victims.  Her advice to us is to develop inclusive services by opening up meaningful conversations, reminding us that it is difficult to help someone if we condemn them.  The LGBTQ community has had to deal with deep rooted bias and barriers to services and should be served in a manner that acknowledges the unique challenges they have faced.  The 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report, released today, also describes challenges in serving LGBT survivors of trafficking who suffer violence, experience discrimination, or face social marginalization.

Read more about the efforts of ACF and HHS to continue to make LGBT well-being an essential part of our work, and make our country a healthier place for all Americans.

OTIP's One Year Anniversary

 

Image of free woman, holding up her hands in hopeOTIP Celebrates One Year of Combating Trafficking

On June 10, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP).

ACF has a long history of engagement in efforts to prevent trafficking and provide help and services to victims.  The establishment of OTIP enabled us to coordinate our efforts, strengthen our research and communications, and institutionalize our commitment throughout ACF.  When ACF decided to establish a dedicated office on human trafficking, we recognized its potential to impact more lives, proactively drive and shape anti-trafficking policies, and create strategic partnerships to leverage a fuller set of resources across HHS and with other colleague federal agencies. 

Over the last year, ACF has seen significant progress towards reaching this potential as OTIP began to implement its vision, values, and strategic priorities:

  • We have experienced that government can innovate, pursue new ideas, and adapt to changing environments.  OTIP participated in the HHS Idea Lab’s Ignite program last summer to chart a new course in developing uniform data collection standards on human trafficking, winning the “Best Presentation” award.  Innovation also came through collaborations with the private sector, including efforts through the Partnership for Freedom and the “Rethink Supply Chains” challenge competition.
  • We never stop learning, understanding the importance of feedback from stakeholders and survivors of human trafficking.  OTIP has seen an increase in the number of victims served through the Certification and Eligibility process due to streamlining review processes, issuing new policy guidance, and building capacity for timely responses to requests for assistance based on initial stakeholder feedback. Technical Working Groups of experts and survivors informed the continued development of our SOAR training program for health and human service providers and data collection efforts. Listening sessions with housing providers and anti-trafficking service agencies continue to inform policy and program development within HHS and HUD.
  • We are stronger together, leveraging the depth of expertise across ACF and HHS to serve more survivors of trafficking, open communications with grantees, and strengthen the bridge between health and human service systems of care through the new HHS Task Force to Prevent and End Human Trafficking.  We continued to collaborate with numerous Federal partners to implement the Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking in the United States. We also partnered with Lovelight Foundation and the University of Miami to bring together government, philanthropy, and academia to pursue the public health framework of human trafficking.

Calling for Interest: National Advisory Committee on the Trafficking of Children and Youth in the United States


ACF announces an opportunity to advise the Secretary and the Attorney General on practical and general policies concerning improvements to the Nation’s response to the trafficking of children and youth in the United States.  The National Advisory Committee on the Trafficking of Children and Youth in the United States (Advisory Committee) is authorized by the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-183).

To be considered for participation in the Advisory Committee, please submit a completed Statement of Interest form by 5:00 PM EST on July 20, 2016.  The Statement of Interest Form, resume, and optional letters can be emailed to EndTrafficking@acf.hhs.gov.  Please contact Kate Cooper at 202-205-4554 with questions.

USDA & HHS Launch the Human Trafficking Awareness Outreach in Rural America Pilot Program


This summer, USDA and HHS are hosting a series of listening sessions via a pilot project to better understand the challenges facing rural communities when meeting the needs of human trafficking survivors.  Rural America continues to be a source of strength and opportunity for both the people who live there and for the nation as a whole.  It boasts significant natural resources, vibrant and diverse culture, and strong families.  Yet in too many rural and tribal places, kids and families are falling behind and have become a preferred target for criminals preying on individuals who have few economic opportunities and those struggling to meet basic needs. 

Through this pilot initiative, USDA and HHS seek to spark collaborative discussion, leverage existing community resources, and share best practices that help rural communities build awareness and collaborative responses to human trafficking.  Objectives include:

  • Provide an overview of current federal efforts to combat human trafficking;
  • Relate the need for additional information on trafficking in rural America;
  • Learn from stakeholders about their experience with trafficking in rural America to better inform federal efforts; and
  • Provide insight into available federal resources in the community and ask stakeholders to raise awareness of federal involvement and assistance.

The Louisiana events took place in this month.  The next Human Trafficking Awareness Outreach in Rural America events have been scheduled as follows:

  • North Dakota – July 7 & 8
  • Colorado – August 25 & 26

Grantee Spotlight: Sixty Trafficked Restaurant Workers Receive Restitution with Support of Legal Aid Community


Colorado Legal Services (CLS), a Rescue and Restore grantee, has conducted 645 outreach events, reaching 9,176 individuals since August 2014.  The White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable recently recognized the anti-trafficking efforts of OTIP and its grantee, Colorado Legal Services.  The goal of the Roundtable, established in 2012, is to raise federal agencies’ awareness of how civil legal aid can help advance a wide range of federal objectives, including serving trafficked clients.

The Roundtable highlighted the creation of OTIP and summarized its grant programs in a recent fact sheet.  It also featured a summary of a CLS case in which nearly 60 trafficked restaurant workers received restitution.  A CLS client also successfully appealed a denial of benefits for which he was eligible as a T visa holder with the assistance of the legal aid community.

Survivors of trafficking have a range of civil legal needs, including civil litigation, public benefits, immigration relief, family law, name changes and sealing/expunging criminal records related to the trafficking victimization. Civil legal remedies offer additional options for survivors to seek justice and rebuild their lives.

Region 8 Spotlight: Training Housing Grantees on Serving Victims of Trafficking in Denver


ACF’s regional office staff in Denver partnered with Homeland Security and the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance to train Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Communities of Care grantees last month.  The presentation included an overview of trafficking and discussed what HUD Communities of Care could do to help be part of the solution, including these promising practices:

  • Create housing opportunities independent from domestic violence shelters.
  • Build capacity around the 4 P’s: Prevention, Protection, Prosecution, and Partnerships. If communities assess stakeholders’ engagement, it helps to determine where gaps may be. In Colorado, seven coalitions to fight human trafficking have been established utilizing this model to bring people to the table.
  • Train multidisciplinary teams to address human trafficking, especially health care, law enforcement, human services, and school personnel.
  • Raise awareness and combat myths and stereotypes about the victims and the offenders.
  • Provide job opportunities for victims of trafficking.

OTIP Joins the Department of State in Celebrating the Release of the 2016 Trafficking in Persons ReportCelebrating the Release of the 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report
OTIP Joins the Department of State in Celebrating the Release of the 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report


OTIP and FYSB staff celebrated with the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons today on the release of their 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report.

"If there is a single theme to this year’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, it is the conviction that there is nothing inevitable about trafficking in human beings. That conviction is where the process of change really begins—with the realization that just because a certain abuse has taken place in the past doesn’t mean that we have to tolerate that abuse in the future or that we can afford to avert our eyes. Instead, we should be asking ourselves—what if that victim of trafficking was my daughter, son, sister, or brother?”                           -John F. Kerry, Secretary of State

HHS Open Funding Opportunities

  • The ACF Family and Youth Services Bureau’s Street Outreach Program provides prevention strategies to runaway, homeless, and street youth who have been subjected to or are at risk of being subjected to sexual abuse, prostitution, sexual exploitation, and severe forms of trafficking in persons.  Deadline for applications is July 5, 2016. 
  • The ACF Children’s Bureau Grants to Address Trafficking within the Child Welfare Population will continue the development of child welfare systems' response to trafficking. If the primary applicant is not the public child welfare agency, the application must document a strong partnership with the agencies and courts in the targeted geographical area. Deadline for applications is July 11, 2016.
  • The ACF Family and Youth Services Bureau’s National Human Trafficking Hotline Program will fund the National Human Trafficking Hotline that provides assistance, crisis intervention, and resource assistance 24 hours a day, every day of the year.  Deadline for applications is July 19, 2016.
  • The ACF Office on Refugee Resettlement’s Home Study and Post Release Services for Unaccompanied Children grant program will promote the safety and well-being of unaccompanied children after their release to a sponsor in the U.S. or referral for Post Release Services. Post Release Services are required for all UC who receive a Home Study. Deadline for applications is July 25, 2016.
  • The ACF Family and Youth Services Bureau's Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking Program will support the provision of specialized comprehensive victim services for United States citizens and lawful permanent resident victims of severe forms of trafficking regardless of age. Deadline for applications is August 24, 2016.

Other Federal Funding Opportunities

Fresh Resources 

Recent ACF Human Trafficking News

 

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Last Reviewed: July 1, 2016
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