The most effective response to fight human trafficking will require a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach through partnerships and collaborations at the local, State, and national levels.
The Office of Victims of Crime Training and Technical Assistance Center's Human Trafficking Task Force e-Guide provides a chapter on Forming a Task Force.
Examples of how States have approached the work of combat human trafficking are highlighted below:
State Reports
2019 State Report Cards – Protected Innocence Challenge
Shared Hope International (2020)
Provides report cards for all 50 States using 41 key legislative components addressed in State's laws aimed at responding to child sex trafficking crimes. The website also presents the Protected Innocence Challenge Toolkit (PDF - 4,096 KB), which describes the project as a study of existing laws designed to inform legislative efforts and address the implementation of enacted laws.
Human Trafficking Overview
National Conference of State Legislatures (2020)
Summarizes Federal and State efforts to prosecute human traffickers and provide services to victims. The website reviews State laws on trafficking, State services and funding for such services, how State policymakers coordinate the response, and State actions to build awareness and work to prevent human trafficking.
Human Trafficking State Laws
National Conference of State Legislatures (2020)
Explores State laws relating to human trafficking with information on topics that can be filtered. The information covers criminal penalties, judicial protections, funding and services, administration and cooperation, and awareness and regulation.
State and Territory Profiles: Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office on Trafficking in Persons (2018)
Provides information about each State's anti-human trafficking activities based on statistics from the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Arizona
Sex Trafficking Help
College of Public Service and Community Solutions at Arizona State University, Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research
Provides a list of services in Arizona for victims of human trafficking, as well as a list of State and national organizations and government agencies that address sex trafficking. The website includes research and materials for parents and professionals on the topics of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Connecticut
HART (Human Anti-trafficking Response Team)
Connecticut Department of Children and Families (2018)
Focuses on reducing the commercial sexual exploitation of children and domestic sex trafficking of minors in the State of Connecticut. Find newsletters, trainings, services, and publications on human trafficking and learn about the Governor's Task Force on Justice for Abused Children Committees.
Illinois
Illinois Human Trafficking Task Force Report (PDF - 958 KB)
Illinois Human Trafficking Task Force (2018)
Outlines the problem of human trafficking in Illinois and discusses the size and scope of the issue along with recommendations on how to combat human trafficking more effectively.
Minnesota
The Ain Dah Yung Center, "Our Home" in the Ojibwe Language
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Regional Operations
Describes the efforts of an agency in the Twin Cities area that provides services to runaway and homeless American Indian youth. The program provides a safe place for youth and their families, including a transitional living program and emergency shelter.
Minnesota Human Trafficking Task Force
Minnesota Department of Health Sexual Violence Prevention Program and the Minnesota Department of Health Safe Harbor Program (2020)
Works with organizations across the State in preventing and addressing human trafficking, including labor trafficking, sex trafficking, and other forms of sexual exploitation.
New York
Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation in New York State
New York State Office of Children and Family Services
Reviews information to help child welfare staff in New York identify potential child trafficking victims. Resources include a child trafficking public service announcement, a description of human trafficking types and elements, red flags, information about New York State laws as they relate to human trafficking, and palm cards professionals can use in the field.
Ohio
Ohio's Response to Human Trafficking: Toolkit for Serving Survivors of Trafficking in Ohio
Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force
Presents a toolkit to support survivors of human trafficking in Ohio. The toolkit covers how to raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking, ethical standards for serving victims, trauma-informed care, how to build a community response, screening for human trafficking, and more.
Utah
Child Protective Services Practice Guidelines (PDF - 1,341 KB)
Utah Division of Child and Family Services (2020)
Provides practice guidelines for providing child protective services for children in Utah, including human trafficking protocols.
Washington
Washington Trafficking Help
Directs human trafficking survivors in the State of Washington to services and resources by the type and location of the service needed. The website includes downloadable resources on human trafficking and information on human trafficking task forces throughout Washington.
Find more examples of State responses to human trafficking through Child Welfare Information Gateway's Library by choosing a topic below. Search results are updated continually and include documents from 2016 to the present.