victim services

This research brief from SchoolHouse Connection looks at demographic and risk factor data of high school students experiencing homelessness compared with students not experiencing homelessness. It uses the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) results from 17 states during the 2016-2017 school year. High school students staying in homeless situations, such as motels, shelters, doubled up, or on the street, are disproportionately more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted compared with stably housed students. This brief provides action steps schools can take to prevent rape and sexual assault and help support survivors.

In 2014, the Children’s Bureau awarded nine grants to develop multisystem frameworks to respond to the needs of minor victims of human trafficking. In this brief, grantees share how they addressed the challenge of locating secure and appropriate housing for these victims. This brief presents three lessons learned from their experiences: identify a continuum of housing options, utilize existing therapeutic foster parents, and support the providers who support your housing program. It highlights one grantee’s approach to housing young trafficking victims.

This brief from the Children’s Bureau looks at how child welfare caseworkers can identify and support children and youth who are victims of human trafficking and those who are at increased risk for victimization. It provides background information about the issue, strategies caseworkers can use to identify and support victims and potential victims, and tools and resources to assist them in this effort.

This report from the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, outlines the service models developed by the three domestic victims of human trafficking demonstration projects from the second cohort. In 2015, the Family and Youth Services Bureau awarded these three two-year cooperative agreements in addition to the first cohort awarded in 2014. The second cohort includes the Tumbleweed Runaway Program in Billings, Montana; Youthworks in North Dakota and Clay County, Minnesota; and Multnomah County Department of Community Justice in Multnomah County, Oregon. The purpose of the demonstration program was to improve organizational and community capacity to deliver trauma-informed and culturally relevant services for domestic victims of human trafficking through coordinated systems of agency services and partnerships with allied professionals.

This report from the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, presents findings from the cross-site process evaluation of the second cohort of domestic victims of human trafficking demonstration projects. In 2015, the Family and Youth Services Bureau awarded three two-year cooperative agreements in addition to the first cohort awarded in 2014. The second cohort included projects in Billings, Montana; North Dakota and Clay County, Minnesota; and Multnomah County, Oregon. The purpose of the demonstration program was to improve organizational and community capacity to deliver trauma-informed and culturally relevant services for domestic victims of human trafficking through coordinated systems of agency services and partnerships with allied professionals.

The Office for Victims of Crime and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, both under the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), developed this resource to support local jurisdictions in their efforts to develop new or strengthen existing human trafficking task forces. This e-Guide provides strategies, case studies, and lessons learned from existing task forces. It also connects to other tools and resources. As a web-based publication, DOJ and its partners can periodically update the e-Guide with new resources and tools.