Children’s Bureau/ACYF/ACF/HHS

800.394.3366 | Email: info@childwelfare.gov | https://www.childwelfare.gov

WHAT’S INSIDE

Background

Working with victims

Working with other 

systems

Conclusion

Additional resources

References

BULLETIN FOR 

PROFESSIONALS

July 2017

Human Trafficking and 

Child Welfare: A Guide for 

Caseworkers

Child welfare caseworkers can be an invaluable 

resource in helping communities respond to the 

human trafficking of children. Children involved 

with child welfare are at risk for being targeted 

by traffickers because of their potentially 

unstable living situations, physical distance from 

friends and family, traumatic experiences, and 

emotional vulnerability. Therefore, it is imperative 

that child welfare caseworkers be at the forefront 

of efforts to identify, respond to, and prevent 

human trafficking. This bulletin explores how 

caseworkers can identify and support children 

who have been victimized as well as children 

that are at greater risk for future victimization. 

It provides background information about the 

issue, strategies caseworkers can use to identify 

and support victims and potential victims, and 

tools and resources that can assist caseworkers.
Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers https://www.childwelfare.gov

2

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trafficking-caseworkers.

Child Welfare Information Gateway developed a 

companion guide to this publication to assist child 

welfare agencies in developing and coordinating 

a response to human trafficking. It includes a 

detailed discussion of Federal legislation and 

initiatives to address this issue. Human Trafficking 

and Child Welfare: A Guide for Child Welfare 

Agencies is available at https://www.childwelfare.

gov/pubs/trafficking-agencies.

Background

Although human trafficking is by no means a new issue, 

in recent years public agencies have strengthened 

their focus on its identification and prevention as well 

as treatment for its victims. The following provides 

information about the definitions of human trafficking, the 

scope of the problem, the connection with child welfare, 

risk factors, and the needs of its victims.

Definitions

Both U.S. citizens and foreign national children can be 

victims of human trafficking within the United States. 

Federal law generally categorizes severe forms of 

trafficking in persons into either labor trafficking or sex 

trafficking.

 Labor trafficking. Per the Trafficking Victims 

Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), which is part of the 

Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 

2000 (P.L. 106-386), labor trafficking is the recruitment, 

harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a 

person for labor or services through the use of force, 

fraud, or coercion in order to subject that person to 

involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or 

slavery. The definition of labor trafficking in the TVPA 

does not distinguish between children and adults, 

which means that children also must encounter force, 

fraud, or coercion to be victims of labor trafficking. 

Examples of labor trafficking include agricultural or 

domestic service workers and travelling sales crews 

that force children to sell legal items (e.g., magazines) 

or illegal items (e.g., drugs).

 Sex trafficking. The TVPA, as amended, defines 

sex trafficking as “the recruitment, harboring, 

transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or 

soliciting of a person for the purpose of commercial 

sex.” While adults must be compelled to perform 

commercial sex by force, fraud, or coercion in order 

for it to be considered a severe form of trafficking 

in persons, this is not the case for children. By law, 

children under the age of 18 who are induced to 

engage in a commercial sex act are considered victims 

of sex trafficking. In addition to a minor engaging 

in a sex act in exchange for money, examples of sex 

trafficking include a minor engaging in “survival” sex 

(i.e., the victim engages in sex in order to obtain basic 

needs such as food, shelter, or clothing, which are 

considered something of value) and participating in 

certain types of pornography.

Professionals in child welfare and related fields typically 

use the words “victims” or “survivors” to refer to 

individuals who have experienced or were experiencing 

human trafficking. The use of the term “victim” often has 

legal implications for foreign nationals in terms of their 

eligibility for services, legal standing, and rights, whereas 

the term “survivor” is frequently used to connote the 

strength and resilience of individuals who were exploited 

through human trafficking. Although the terms are 

sometimes used interchangeably in the field, this bulletin 

uses the term “victim” while still acknowledging the 

strength and resiliency of those who have been trafficked.

There are several common misperceptions about 

trafficking (Center for the Human Rights for Children & 

International Organization for Adolescents, 2011):

 Myth: Trafficking always involves transporting the 

victim across State, country, or other borders.

Reality: This is not included in the Federal definition 

of trafficking. An individual can be recruited and 

exploited for labor or commercial sex without having 

crossed any borders.

 Myth: All human trafficking victims in the United States 

are from other countries.

Reality: Trafficking victims may be U.S. citizens or 

foreign nationals.
Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers https://www.childwelfare.gov

3

 Myth: Individuals must be physically restrained or 

locked up to be a victim.

Reality: While some victims may be physically held by 

their trafficker, psychological means of control (e.g., 

trauma bonds, threats, coercion) are far more common. 

For more information about how States classify 

human trafficking, view Information Gateway’s 

Definitions of Human Trafficking at https://www.

childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/

statutes/definitions-trafficking/.

Scope of Human Trafficking

The exact number of child victims of human trafficking 

in the United States is unknown, and trying to determine 

the number is difficult. The number of exploited children 

or children at risk for exploitation varies widely from 

source to source, often due to differences in definitions 

and methodologies (Finklea, Fernandes-Alcantara, & 

Siskin, 2015). Challenges to data collection include victims 

of trafficking not self-identifying due to factors such as 

complex trauma, trauma bonds, and normalization of 

victimization. Additionally, victims may fear talking to 

authorities, distrust service providers, or may have been 

coached by their traffickers on what to say while talking 

to others. These factors, among others, often make it 

difficult for those screening for trafficking victims or 

collecting data to recognize victims. For a more thorough 

discussion of the issues surrounding data collection, see 

Chapter 2 of Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation 

and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States, a 

product of the National Academy of Science, at https://

www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/243838.pdf#page=58. 

Nonetheless, there are various studies and organizations 

that provide a glimpse at how many children may be 

victims of human trafficking.

 The National Human Trafficking Hotline, a resource 

supported by the Administration for Children and 

Families (ACF) within the U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services (HHS), received reports for 5,544 

potential cases of human trafficking in 2015, with 1,621 

of those cases referencing minors. For all cases, 75 

percent involved sex trafficking, 13 percent involved 

labor trafficking, and 3 percent involved both types 

(National Human Trafficking Resource Center, 2016).

 One in six of the more than 18,500 children reported 

to the National Center for Missing and Exploited 

Children (2017a) as missing were the victims of child sex 

trafficking. 

It is important to remember that existing national 

data are not reliable indicators of the prevalence of 

human trafficking. The true prevalence of sex and labor 

trafficking is unknown, and most service providers believe 

that these statistics underestimate the scope of the 

problem.

Intersection With Child Welfare

Children in out-of-home care are at a particularly high risk 

of being trafficked. Estimating the number of trafficking 

victims who are or were involved with child welfare faces 

similar challenges to determining the overall number 

of victims, but many studies have shown a strong 

connection. A 2013 report by the HHS Administration on 

Children, Youth and Families cited a number of alarming 

statistics, including several studies showing that 50 to 

more than 90 percent of children who were victims of 

child sex trafficking had been involved with child welfare 

services (HHS, ACF, 2013). 

A background of abuse and trauma—coupled with the 

impermanence of foster care or congregate care—can 

make children in out-of-home care especially vulnerable. 

A number of research and newspaper articles have 

pointed to the fact that traffickers target children in 

foster care because of their increased vulnerability (see, 

for example, Menzel, 2013). Traffickers exploit the fact 

that children in foster care—or those who have run away 

from care—may not be having their familial, emotional, or 

basic needs met. The traffickers promise to meet those 

needs—often using psychological manipulation and 

financial incentives to woo them—and then use violence 

or physical control to retain and exploit them (Innocence 

Lost Working Group, 2010).

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trafficking-caseworkers.
Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers https://www.childwelfare.gov

4

Risk Factors

Victims of human trafficking are as diverse a group as any 

other child welfare population. They may be of any race or 

ethnicity, be U.S. citizens or foreign nationals, or identify 

with any sexual orientation or gender. Additionally, human 

trafficking can occur in any type of geography (e.g., rural, 

urban). 

Although there is not a comprehensive set of 

characteristics that define who will be a victim of human 

trafficking, there are factors that increase a child’s risk 

(HHS, ACF, Family and Youth Services Bureau [FYSB], 

2017; Child Welfare Capacity Building Collaborative, 2016; 

Greenbaum & Crawford-Jakubiak, 2015):

 History of maltreatment at home, especially sexual 

abuse

 Involvement with the child welfare or juvenile justice 

systems

 History of running away

 Homelessness

 Financial problems

 Inadequate family or other relationships

 Self or familial substance use or mental health 

problems

 Identification as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender 

 Unmet intangible needs (e.g., love, belonging, 

affection, protection)

 Low self-esteem

 Lack of identity

The preceding risk factors are not exhaustive, and a 

child’s experience with one or more of these factors is 

not a definite indication that they have been or will be 

trafficked. Additionally, the absence of these risk factors 

is not an indication that a child has not been trafficked 

or is not at risk of being trafficked. If your agency does 

not require screening for trafficking in all cases, you can 

use these risk factors as an informal way of assessing risk 

and determining if additional screening or assessment is 

necessary.

How Victims Are Recruited and 

Controlled by Perpetrators

There is no single pathway for how children become 

victims of human trafficking. Victims of human trafficking 

may be coerced by peers, recruited by traffickers 

directly in-person or online, abducted, or sold or forced 

by family members (Ijadi-Maghsoodi, Cook, Barnert, 

Gaboian, & Bath, 2016). Some may be groomed by 

perpetrators, whereby the perpetrator seeks vulnerable 

children and coerces them using a variety of methods, 

such as gifts and compliments, normalizing the 

exploitation, providing drugs or alcohol, or establishing 

intimate “relationships” with them. Caseworkers should 

remember, however, that no child chooses to be 

exploited (HHS, ACF, FYSB, 2016). It is a situation into 

which they have been forced, coerced, or tricked.

Children may be kept in exploitative situations through 

the use of physical force or violence (e.g., beatings, rape, 

imprisonment), psychological coercion and intimidation 

(e.g., fear of violence toward themselves or loved ones), 

or dependence on the trafficker for housing, money, 

food, and other basic needs, as well as substances to 

which the child may be addicted (at times due to the 

trafficker forcing the child to take them). Additionally, 

some children may develop an emotional connection 

with their traffickers, which is often referred to as trauma 

bonding or Stockholm syndrome (Hardy, Compton, & 

McPhatter, 2013). This trauma bond may cause the victim 

to support or protect the trafficker, which may make it 

difficult for child welfare personnel, law enforcement, or 

other service providers to assist the victim in escaping or 

receiving services or to prosecute the perpetrator. In 

some cases, victims who have been removed from their 

exploitive situations make attempts to re-establish 

emotional or physical contact with the perpetrator, 

going so far as running away from their care settings to 

be with them (West & Loeffler, 2015). When child welfare 

caseworkers are aware of these types of bonds and work 

with foster families and other care and service providers 

to address them, they will be better able to ensure 

children remain safe in their placements.

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trafficking-caseworkers.
Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers https://www.childwelfare.gov

5

Understanding Victim Needs

Children who have been victims of trafficking have many 

needs similar to those of children who enter the child 

welfare system because of substantiated abuse or neglect 

by their parents or caregivers. For instance, children who 

have been trafficked need health care, mental health 

services, a safe place to live, help with education, and 

facilitated reconnections with family members, when 

appropriate. These are discussed below, along with 

some of the aspects that distinguish trafficking victims’ 

needs from those of other children receiving child welfare 

services.

Physical health. Children who have been trafficked often 

have experienced physical abuse, neglect (including 

medical and dental neglect), emotional abuse, and sexual 

abuse. Associated with this abuse, they may suffer from 

broken bones and other untreated internal and external 

injuries; sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV; 

and malnutrition. Their overall health may show the 

consequences of long periods of poor or no medical 

or dental care. Child welfare caseworkers can help by 

ensuring that victims have access to medical screenings 

and treatment to address both immediate and long-term 

concerns. Connecting with a trauma-informed health-care 

provider who has experience with victims of trafficking 

may also provide reassurance to victims who may be 

reluctant to seek care.

Behavioral health. Children who have been trafficked 

often have an array of complex behavioral health needs. 

Victims may have experienced regular beatings, sexual 

assault, and other acts of violence. Most children who 

have been trafficked have a need for long-term, intensive 

behavioral health services that can help them move 

forward into a new, healthier life. Studies have identified 

a number of mental health symptoms associated with 

trafficking, including posttraumatic stress disorder, panic 

attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized 

anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, dissociative 

disorders, and substance use (Williamson, Dutch, & 

Clawson, 2010). Screening by qualified behavioral health 

providers who have experience with youth who have been 

trafficked can be the first step to getting help. Screening 

can help determine the type of therapy that might be 

most useful, and child welfare workers can facilitate 

access to treatment providers. 

Housing. Children who have been trafficked and come 

into the care of child welfare almost always have an 

immediate need for a safe place to live. Their background 

may make them particularly vulnerable in a traditional 

foster care setting, and many foster families may be 

unprepared to parent a child who has been trafficked. 

Some localities have developed specialized foster home 

programs or provide training to foster parents about 

issues affecting victims of trafficking. Additionally, some 

shelters and group homes may develop their programs 

specifically for children who have been trafficked. 

Education. Children who have been trafficked may 

require educational screening and may also require 

remedial services. While some children may feel 

comfortable in a traditional school, others may prefer 

more nontraditional education options. Child welfare 

caseworkers can help by collecting records, exploring 

education options, and facilitating enrollment.

Employment. Youth who have been trafficked may need 

assistance obtaining employment, especially if they lack 

legal work experience or have not acquired a high school 

diploma or GED. They also may have been arrested for 

crimes committed while being trafficked, which could 

prevent them from passing background checks required 

for employment. Additionally, victims of sex trafficking 

may have had the experience of making a large amount of 

money in a short time period and may not view the pay in 

an entry-level position as a viable option (Lutnick, 2016). 

Caseworkers can seek out programs in their communities 

that connect youth with job training, job skills and 

application support, internships or externships, or other 

supports. 

Legal services. There are a number of circumstances 

that might require the child who has been trafficked to 

hire or otherwise secure legal assistance. Children need 

lawyers if they are charged with crimes as a result of their 

victimization. They may also need legal counsel to protect 

themselves from their pimps or traffickers or to establish 

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trafficking-caseworkers.
Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers https://www.childwelfare.gov

6

their legal identity. Some children involved with the justice 

system may require an attorney for victim advocacy, while 

those who are not citizens may require an immigration 

attorney.

Other needs. Youth who have been trafficked will often 

need help with basic life skills (e.g., opening a bank account, 

keeping medical records). For many, having a mentor or 

someone who is willing and available to provide guidance 

over the long term is often essential to ensure that the 

youth is able to pursue a life away from trafficking.

Working With Victims

Victims of human trafficking have already experienced 

a wide range of trauma and may be hesitant to speak 

with authorities, provide detailed information about their 

situations, or even self-identify as victims. To properly 

determine whether a child is a victim of human trafficking 

and which services they may need, caseworkers need to 

be able to build rapport and implement comprehensive 

screening tools. 

Building Rapport

Many of the same techniques and approaches to working 

with children involved with child welfare are applicable 

to working with children who are victims of human 

trafficking, such as active listening, being empathetic, 

using interpreters when necessary, being nonjudgmental, 

maintaining open body language, and mirroring the terms 

used by the child. There are some strategies to building 

trust and rapport, however, that may be particular to 

working with children who are victims of trafficking or that 

should be emphasized when working with them (Vera 

Institute of Justice, 2014; National Human Trafficking 

Resource Center, 2011; HHS, ACF, FYSB, 2017):

 Ensure the child feels safe and has his or her basic needs 

met

 Be prepared to build a relationship with the child over 

multiple meetings before he or she is ready to divulge 

details of the exploitation

 Recognize that many victims do not view themselves as 

victims

 Let the child know if you have experience with similar 

cases, as appropriate

 Be sensitive to any fears the child may have about 

retribution by the trafficker toward the child or the child’s 

family

 Ensure the child understands he or she is viewed as the 

victim and is not responsible for the exploitation or not 

leaving the situation

 Be aware that children who are victims of trafficking 

often are provided with a false story to tell authorities 

and are conditioned not to trust them

 Do not speak negatively about the exploiter, with whom 

the child may still have a complex relationship

Caseworkers can apply these techniques throughout their 

time with children who are victims of human trafficking—

or who are potential victims—including during intake, 

screening, investigation, and service provision. Additionally, 

caseworkers can partner with other organizations and 

individuals that may already have developed a trusting 

relationship with the victims, such as drop-in centers, sexual 

violence advocates, and survivor-led organizations. This may 

help victims, who may be distrustful of authority figures, 

develop a rapport with caseworkers.

A potential barrier to caseworkers building rapport is that 

some victims of human trafficking actively try to avoid 

contact with the child welfare system. Some victims of 

human trafficking have had previous negative experiences 

with child welfare and do not want to be involved again 

(Gibbs, Walters, Lutnick, Miller, & Kluckman, 2014). Even 

victims who have no previous child welfare involvement 

may view it as a system that will not improve their situations 

(Lutnick, 2016). Some victims may have been instructed 

by their traffickers to avoid the child welfare system or 

coached on what to say if they encounter representatives 

of the system. They may withhold information from child 

welfare caseworkers or other service providers in order 

to evade a child maltreatment report or to thwart a child 

welfare investigation. Similarly, child victims may avoid 

contact with shelters or other social services so they do not 

have to provide information that may attract the attention 

of the child welfare system (Gibbs, Walters, Lutnick, Miller, 

& Kluckman, 2015). This potential avoidance highlights the 

importance of caseworkers building trust with victims and 

assuring them that they can provide help and support. 

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trafficking-caseworkers.
Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers https://www.childwelfare.gov

7

Resources to Assist With 

Identifying Victims and Building 

Relationships

The following resources each offer screening tools 

applicable to child victims of human trafficking as 

well as tips for building rapport and interviewing 

victims:

 Comprehensive Human Trafficking Assessment 

(National Human Trafficking Resource Center): 

https://humantraffickinghotline.org/sites/

default/files/Comprehensive%20

Trafficking%20Assessment.pdf

 Rapid Screening Tool for Child Trafficking and 

Comprehensive Screening and Safety Tool for 

Child Trafficking (Center for the Human Rights 

for Children and the International Organization 

for Adolescents [IOFA]): http://www.luc.edu/

media/lucedu/chrc/pdfs/BCWRHandbook2011.

pdf#page=50

 Screening for Human Trafficking: Guidelines for 

Administering the Trafficking Victim 

Identification Tool (TVIT) (Vera Institute of 

Justice): https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/

grants/246713.pdf

 Intervene: Identifying and Responding to 

America’s Prostituted Youth (Shared Hope 

International) 

https://www.thresholdglobalworks.com/pdfs/

sex-trafficking-guide.pdf

A more comprehensive list of screening tools is 

available in the Child Welfare Capacity Building 

Collaborative publication titled Identifying Minors 

and Young People Exploited Through Sex 

Trafficking: A Resource for Child Welfare Agencies 

at http://go.usa.gov/x92Md. 

Identifying Victims

Many screening tools exist to help caseworkers and other 

professionals determine whether a child is the victim of 

human trafficking. Screening tools may be standalone and 

specific to human trafficking (sex, labor, or both), or they 

may be universal or broader tools that have questions 

related to trafficking. In a recent study by Casey Family 

Programs (2014), only 44 percent of respondents indicated 

their agencies had a policy to address child victims of sex 

trafficking. 

It is also important to know the potential indicators of 

sex or labor trafficking so that you can be aware of the 

possibility of a child being a victim even when you are 

not administering a formal screening. The following 

are examples of indicators of possible sex and/or labor 

trafficking (Center for the Human Rights for Children & 

IOFA, 2011; National Center for Missing and Exploited 

Children, 2017b):

 Is not allowed to speak while alone or seeks another’s 

approval before answering 

 Appears to have been coached about how to speak 

with law enforcement or other authorities

 Does not possess identification or lies about identity

 Describes inconsistent life events

 Cannot provide evidence of a legal guardian

 Is not enrolled in school

 Works long hours

 Uses terms related to sex work (e.g., “daddy,” “the 

life”)

 Possesses hotel keys, large amounts of money, or 

multiple cell phones

 Describes multiple unexplained trips to other cities or 

States

 Lives with employer or other “employees”

 Is paid little or nothing for work or services provided

 Mentions that “pay” goes toward a debt to 

“employer,” fees for travel, or housing provided by 

employer

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trafficking-caseworkers.
Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers https://www.childwelfare.gov

8

For a more complete set of indicators, refer to Building 

Child Welfare Response to Child Trafficking, which was 

developed by the Center for the Human Rights for 

Children at Loyola University Chicago and IOFA. The 

publication is available at http://www.luc.edu/media/

lucedu/chrc/pdfs/BCWRHandbook2011.pdf#page=40. 

For a glossary of sex trafficking-related terms that 

caseworkers may hear when talking with clients, visit the 

Shared Hope International website at http://sharedhope.

org/the-problem/trafficking-terms/.

Children Running Away From Foster Care

Children who have runaway, as well as those who are homeless, face an increased risk of becoming victims of 

trafficking (Countryman-Roswurm & Bolin, 2014). On September 30, 2015, more than 4,600 children in foster care 

were classified as having run away from placement (HHS, ACF, Children’s Bureau, 2016). Caseworkers should be 

aware of any protocols at their agency regarding steps to take in case a child in care runs away or is suspected of 

running away. Federal law requires agencies to have procedures in place to locate children missing from foster 

care and determine what the child experienced (e.g., trafficking) while away from care. It also requires agencies 

to report to law enforcement, within 24 hours, information on children who have been missing or abducted so it 

can be entered into the National Crime Information Center database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

A study of youth in foster care who had run away found that youth typically run away because they want to be 

with family or friends or they dislike their placements, often due to wanting more freedom, trust, respect, and 

fewer rules (Pergamit & Ernst, 2011). The study also reported that youth often do not feel supported by their 

caseworkers and believed that caseworkers should visit them more and take additional time to talk with the 

youth and understand their points of view, including why they may be displeased with their current placements.

Caseworkers also can help support foster parents, as well as residential center staff, who care for victims of 

trafficking. They can ensure care providers are aware of the unique experiences and needs of children who have 

been trafficked and know how to react if they suspect a child has run away from care.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has a microsite devoted to children missing from care. 

It includes information about how to report a missing child to the center. To view the site, visit http://cmfc.

missingkids.org/home. 

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trafficking-caseworkers.
Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers https://www.childwelfare.gov

9

Connecting Victims With Services

After determining a child is a victim of human trafficking, 

it is imperative for caseworkers to connect the child 

with services that can meet their complex needs. 

Caseworkers should seek out services and supports 

within their agencies and in the community that can meet 

the short- and long-term needs of this population. Two 

obstacles facing caseworkers, however, are the scant 

evidence base about how to serve this population and 

the lack of effective and available services (Institute of 

Medicine & National Research Council, 2013). Frequently, 

when services are available in communities, they are not 

specialized for victims of human trafficking.

The following information may help caseworkers when 

seeking out available resources or working with service 

providers to establish effective supports: 

 Although trauma-informed services were not 

necessarily developed for trafficking victims and have 

not been evaluated thoroughly for this population, 

many professionals believe they are critical to 

successful interventions with trafficking victims (Hardy, 

Compton, & McPhatter, 2013). Caseworkers should 

ensure that service providers use trauma-informed 

practices and are knowledgeable of issues related to 

trafficking.

 Children and service providers may not agree about 

what are the child’s most pressing needs. For example, 

a provider may view mental health services as the 

foremost need, but the child may prioritize “survival” 

needs, such as food, housing, and employment 

(Lutnick, 2016).

 Children are more likely to utilize services when they 

are provided in-house (i.e., where the child is placed) or 

are co-located with other services (Gibbs et al., 2015). 

This is particularly important because children may 

leave a service program if the services they desire are 

not immediately available (Lutnick, 2016).

 Children who have been trafficked often desire 

independence or view any restrictions placed on them 

as reducing freedoms to which they may have become 

accustomed (West & Loeffler, 2015). They may view 

these restrictions, including those designed to keep 

them safe, as being punitive, which could increase 

noncompliance or decreased utilization. One strategy 

to ameliorate this belief is to empower victims to be 

partners in their case planning. 

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trafficking-caseworkers.
Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers https://www.childwelfare.gov

10

Human Trafficking Training for 

Caseworkers

A variety of training resources about human 

trafficking, including supporting victims, are 

available online. The following training resources 

may be of particular interest to child welfare 

professionals:

 Capacity Building Center for States: Multiple 

trainings (free registration required) and 

webinars on a variety of human trafficking 

topics (https://capacity.childwelfare.gov/states/

focus-areas/preventing-sex-trafficking/) 

 Florida Center for Child Welfare: Multiple 

trainings on a range of human trafficking topics 

(http://centerforchildwelfare.fmhi.usf.edu/

SexualExploitation/SexualExploitation.shtml)

 National Center for Missing and Exploited 

Children: Multiple trainings on a range 

of human trafficking topics (http://www.

missingkids.com/NCMECUniversity)

 National Human Trafficking Hotline: 

Assortment of trainings on issues related to 

human trafficking (https://

humantraffickinghotline.org/

nhtrc-hhs-online-trainings) 

 National Human Trafficking Training and 

Technical Assistance Center: Training and 

technical assistance to inform and enhance the 

public health response to human trafficking 

(https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/training/nhttac) 

 Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services: 

Links to register for the S.O.A.R. (Stop, 

Observe, and Respond to Human Trafficking) 

training (https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/

training/soar-to-health-and-wellness-training)

Working With Other Systems

Preventing, identifying, and responding to human 

trafficking requires a multidisciplinary, communitywide 

approach. It is beyond the scope of a child welfare agency 

to serve all the needs victims of human trafficking may 

have. Any group or professional that comes into contact 

with children is a potential partner, but common partners 

in collaborations addressing the trafficking of children 

include law enforcement, district attorneys’ offices, 

juvenile justice agencies, court personnel, guardians 

ad litem, educators, health-care and behavioral health 

providers, policymakers, and community members, as 

well as survivors of human trafficking. 

Knowing that you will need to coordinate with multiple 

service providers and agencies, it is important to be 

familiar with your agency’s confidentiality and informationsharing policies. Some jurisdictions have established 

task forces or other groups to help develop and enhance 

relationships among staff from multiple agencies and 

organizations. These teams can help coordinate services 

for individual cases as well as set up a framework for 

addressing and preventing trafficking on a communitywide level. The Office for Victims of Crime Training and 

Technical Assistance Center within the U.S. Department of 

Justice developed a guide to assist agencies in creating 

and coordinating human trafficking task forces. The guide 

is available at https://www.ovcttac.gov/taskforceguide/

eguide/. Jurisdictions also may use multidisciplinary 

teams during the investigation of maltreatment, including 

trafficking, and utilize forensic interviewing techniques 

to gather information in a legally defensible manner. For 

more information about forensic interviewing, refer to 

Information Gateway’s Forensic Interviewing: A Primer for 

Child Welfare Professionals at https://www.childwelfare.

gov/pubs/factsheets/forensicinterviewing/.

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trafficking-caseworkers.
Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers https://www.childwelfare.gov

11

Conclusion

The scourge of human trafficking has recently garnered 

greater attention from social service providers, law 

enforcement, and the general public. Agencies and 

communities across the nation have been developing 

or enhancing their response to human trafficking, and 

research on the detrimental effects of trafficking and 

treatments to address them is growing. Child welfare 

professionals can play an essential role in identifying child 

victims of human trafficking and coordinating services 

that can support them. They can also assist in helping 

service and care providers better understand victims’ 

experiences and the complex trauma they may face. 

Additional Resources

 Human Trafficking (Child Welfare Information Gateway)

https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/

trafficking/

 Polaris [website]

https://polarisproject.org/

 National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 

[website]

http://www.missingkids.com

 Human Trafficking Awareness Month (National Child 

Traumatic Stress Network) 

http://www.nctsn.org/resources/public-awareness/

human-trafficking

References

Casey Family Programs. (2014). Addressing child sex 

trafficking from a child welfare perspective. Retrieved 

from http://www.casey.org/media/child-sex-trafficking.

pdf

Center for the Human Rights for Children at Loyola 

University Chicago, & International Organization for 

Adolescents. (2011). Building child welfare response to 

child trafficking. Retrieved from http://www.luc.edu/

media/lucedu/chrc/pdfs/BCWRHandbook2011.pdf

Child Welfare Capacity Building Collaborative. (2016). 

Identifying minors and young people exploited 

through sex trafficking: A resource for child 

welfare agencies. Retrieved from https://library.

childwelfare.gov/cwig/ws/library/docs/capacity/

Blob/106060.pdf?w=NATIVE%28%27SIMPLE_

SRCH+ ph+is+%27%27Identifying+ 

Minors+and+Young+People+Exploited+ 

Through+Sex+Trafficking%3A+A+Resource 

+for+Child+Welfare+Agencies 

%27%27%27%29&upp=0&order =native%28%27year 

%2FDescend%27%29&rpp=25&r=1&m=1

Countryman-Roswurm, K., & Bolin, B. L. (2014). Domestic 

minor sex trafficking: Assessing and reducing risk. 

Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 31, 521–538. 

doi: 10.1007/s10560-014-0336-6

Gibbs, D. A., Walters, J. L. H., Lutnick, A., Miller, S., & 

Kluckman, M. (2014). Evaluation of services for domestic 

minor victims of human trafficking: Final report. 

Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/

grants/248578.pdf

Gibbs, D. A., Walters, J. L. H., Lutnick, A., Miller, 

S., & Kluckman, M. (2015). Services to domestic 

minor victims of sex trafficking: Opportunities for 

engagement and support. Children and Youth Services 

Review, 54, 1–7. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.04.003

Greenbaum, J., & Crawford-Jakubiak, J. E. (2015). Child 

sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation: 

Health care needs of victims. Pediatrics, 135(3), 566–

574. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.

org/content/early/2015/02/17/peds.2014-4138

Hardy, V. L., Compton, K. D., & McPhatter, V. S. (2013). 

Domestic minor sex trafficking: Practice Implications 

for mental health professionals. Journal of Women and 

Social Work, 28(1), 8–18. doi: 10.1177/0886109912475172

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway. 

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trafficking-caseworkers.
Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers https://www.childwelfare.gov

12

Finklea, K., Fernandes-Alcantara, A. L., & Siskin, A. 

(2015). Sex trafficking of children in the United States: 

Overview and issues for Congress. Retrieved from 

http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.

cgi?article=2395&context=key_workplace

Ijadi-Maghsoodi, R., Cook, M., Barnert, E. S., Gaboian, S., 

& Bath, E. (2016). Understanding and responding to the 

needs of commercially sexually exploited youth. Child 

and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 

25(1), 107–122. doi: 10.1016/j.chc.2015.08.007

Innocence Lost Working Group. (2010). Commercial sexual 

exploitation of children: A fact sheet. Retrieved from 

http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/documents/CCSE_

Fact_Sheet.pdf

Institute of Medicine, & National Research Council. (2013). 

Confronting commercial sexual exploitation and sex 

trafficking of minors in the United States. Retrieved 

from https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/243838.pdf

Lutnick, A. (2016). Domestic minor sex trafficking: Beyond 

victims and villains. New York: Columbia University 

Press.

Menzel, M. (2013). Foster care sex trafficking: Pimps, 

labor contractors targeting youth in Florida foster 

care system. Retrieved from http://www.wptv.com/

news/state/foster-care-sex-trafficking-pimps-laborcontractors-targeting-youth-in-florida-foster-caresystem

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 

(2017a). Child sex trafficking. Retrieved from http://

www.missingkids.org/1in6

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 

(2017b). Child sex trafficking identification resource. 

Retrieved from http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/

documents/CST_Risk_Factors_and_Identification_

Fact_Sheet_May_2017.pdf

National Human Trafficking Resource Center. (2011). 

Comprehensive human trafficking assessment. 

Retrieved from https://humantraffickinghotline.org/

sites/default/files/Comprehensive%20Trafficking%20

Assessment.pdf

National Human Trafficking Resource Center. (2016). 

National Human Trafficking Resource Center 

(NHTRC) data breakdown: United States report: 

1/1/2015 – 12/31/2015. Retrieved from https://

humantraffickinghotline.org/sites/default/files/

NHTRC%202015%20United%20States%20Report%20

-%20USA%20-%2001.01.15%20-%2012.31.15_OTIP_

Edited_06-09-16.pdf

Pergamit, M. R., & Ernst, M. (2011). Running away from 

foster care: Youths’ knowledge and access of services. 

Retrieved from https://www.1800runaway.org/

wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Part-C-Youth-in-FosterCare.pdf

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 

Administration for Children and Families, Children’s 

Bureau. (2016). The AFCARS report: Preliminary FY1 

2015 estimates as of June 2016 (No. 23). Retrieved 

from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/

afcarsreport23.pdf

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 

Administration for Children and Families, Family 

and Youth Services Bureau. (2017). Bought and sold: 

Recognizing and assisting youth victims of domestic 

sex trafficking. Retrieved from https://ncfy.acf.hhs.

gov/publications/bought-and-sold-recognizing-andassisting-youth-victims-domestic-sex-trafficking

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 

Administration for Children, Youth and Families. (2013). 

Guidance to States and services on addressing human 

trafficking of children and youth in the United States. 

Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/

files/cb/acyf_human_trafficking_guidance.pdf

This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway.

This publication is available online at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/trafficking-caseworkers.
Human Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers https://www.childwelfare.gov

 

Vera Institute of Justice. (2014). Screening for human 

trafficking: Guidelines for administering the Trafficking 

Victim Identification Tool (TVIT). Retrieved from https://

www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/246713.pdf

West, A., & Loeffler, D. N. (2015). Understanding 

victim resistance: An exploratory study of the 

experiences of service providers working with 

victims of human trafficking. Journal of Applied 

Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children 

at Risk, 6(1), Article 5. Retrieved from http://

digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.

cgi?article=1231&context=childrenatrisk

Williamson, E., Dutch, N. M., & Clawson, H. J. (2010). 

Evidence-based mental health treatment for victims of 

human trafficking. Retrieved from https://aspe.hhs.gov/

sites/default/files/pdf/76116/index.pdf

Suggested Citation: 

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2017). Human 

Trafficking and Child Welfare: A Guide for Caseworkers. 

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services, Children’s Bureau.