# ORR State Letter

**\#** 08 -- 09 **Date:** July 15, 2008

TO: STATE REFUGEE COORDINATORS

WILSON-FISH AGENCIES

REFUGEE HEALTH COORDINATORS

OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES

FROM: David H. Siegel

Acting Director

Office of Refugee Resettlement

SUBJECT: Notification to State Refugee Coordinators and Refugee Health
Coordinators of Issuances of Certifications/Eligibility letters to
Victims of a Severe Form of Trafficking in Persons

The Trafficking Victim Protection Act (TVPA), Pub. L. No. 106-386,
Division A, 114 Stat. 1464 (2000), designates the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) as the agency responsible for helping
victims of human trafficking become eligible to receive benefits and
services so they can restore and rebuild their lives safely in the
United States. The TVPA mandates that adult victims of severe forms of
trafficking who have been certified by HHS are eligible for benefits and
services to the same extent as refugees.[^1] Victims of severe forms of
trafficking who are under 18 years of age are also eligible for benefits
to the same extent as refugees but do not need to be certified.[^2] The
TVPA was reauthorized and amended by the Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2003 (TVPRA), Pub. L. 108-193, resulting in the
provision of eligibility for federally funded or administered benefits
and services to certain family members of certified victims.[^3]

HHS is the sole Federal agency authorized to certify adult victims of
human trafficking. Similarly, it is the sole Federal agency authorized
to provide Eligibility Letters to minor foreign victims of human
trafficking. Certifications and Eligibility Letters are issued by the
Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) directly to victims.[^4] To ensure
security of the information and the safety of the victim, ORR addresses
the letters in care of carefully identified service providers,
custodians, legal counsel, or other appropriate intermediary entity.

Victims who have been issued certification letters by ORR often need the
assistance of the State refugee program to obtain services. It is
important that State programs have a thorough understanding of the
causes and consequences of human trafficking and the needs of
trafficking victims to fully and successfully assist certified victims
obtain the federally funded or administered benefits and services that
Federal law makes available to them. Additionally, State refugee
programs need to receive notice of additions to their caseload.
Therefore, **[following the issuance of a Certification or Eligibility
Letter, ORR will notify the State Refugee Coordinator and Refugee Health
Coordinator about the trafficking victim within their
State]{.underline}***.* ORR will provide the State Refugee Coordinator
and Refugee Health Coordinator (or their designees) with the name,
organizational affiliation, and contact information of the victim's
service provider case manager or other appropriate intermediary entity,
and provide a copy of the certification letter ORR sent to the victim.

**Roles of State Refugee Coordinators and Refugee Health Coordinators in
Assisting Victims of Trafficking**

Victims of a severe form of trafficking may already be receiving
assistance through different channels, including ORR-funded services,
prior to receiving certification;[^5] however, the majority of victims
may not have had contact specifically or directly with the State refugee
program offices. Victims may request the types of assistance that are
available through the State refugee programs; however they may not be
aware of the benefits and services available to them or know how to
initiate contact with the refugee program, or they may choose not to
enter into the refugee services program.

To ensure victim confidentiality and the individual's sense of security
and privacy, **the State Refugee Coordinator and Refugee Health
Coordinator should not pro-actively contact a victim for whom they have
received copies of a certification letter,** but they are encouraged to
contact the victim's case manager or other intermediary entity.
Moreover, all State Refugee Coordinators and Refugee Health Coordinators
should ensure that refugee program staff and all cooperative offices are
fully informed of the eligibility status of certified victims of human
trafficking. If the State refugee program encounters difficulty
enrolling eligible victims into appropriate benefit programs and/or
services, please notify the victim verification line immediately at
1-866-401-5510.

If you have questions about any of the information in this State Letter,
please call Maggie Wynne, Director of the ORR Anti-Trafficking in
Persons Division, at 202-401-4664.

[^1]: \"\[A\]n alien who is a victim of a severe form of trafficking in
    persons shall be eligible for benefits and services under any
    Federal or State program or activity funded or administered by any
    \[Federal agency\] to the same extent as an alien who is admitted to
    the United States as a refugee under section 207 of the Immigration
    and Nationality Act.\" §107(b)(1)(A)

[^2]: Although children do not need to be certified, "certify" and
    "certification" will refer to both adults and children for ease of
    reading throughout the rest of this State Letter. In relation to
    children, "certified" in this State Letter will mean that the child
    was found to be a victim of a severe form of trafficking and
    received an Eligibility Letter from ORR.

[^3]: For more information on the eligibility of victims of severe forms
    of trafficking for federally funded or administered benefits and
    services, see ORR State Letter #01-13 (May 3, 2001),
    <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/policy/sl01-13.htm>, as
    modified by ORR State Letter #02-01 (January 4, 2002),
    <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/policy/sl02-01.htm>, ORR State
    Letter #02-25 (July 23, 2002),
    <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/policy/sl02-25.htm>, and ORR
    State Letter #04-12 (June 18, 2004),
    <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/policy/sl04-12.htm>.
    <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/policy/sl02-25.htm>, and ORR
    State Letter #04-12 (June 18, 2004),
    <http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/policy/sl04-12.htm>.

[^4]: ORR has the responsibility for conducting certification of
    non-U.S. citizen or non-lawful permanent resident victims of a
    severe form of trafficking in persons.

[^5]: The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003
    (TVPRA), Pub. L. 108-193, permitted the Secretary of Health and
    Human Services to provide such benefits and services that assist
    potential victims of trafficking in achieving certification and to
    assist minor dependent children of victims of severe forms of
    trafficking in persons or potential victims of trafficking.