U.S. flag
      An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.
        Here's how you know
      Here's how you know**Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
      **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** (
            A locked padlock
            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Menu

      
        close

            
            
                                              About NIJ
        
                    
  
          About NIJ
      
    
          The NIJ Director
          How NIJ Is Organized
          Mission and Guiding Principles
          Research and Development Process
          Strategic Framework
          Assessments of NIJ
          Annual Reports & Reports to Congress
          Staff Directory
          Funding & Awards
        
                    
  
          Funding & Awards
      
    
          Current Funding
          Forthcoming Funding
          Expired Funding
          Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
          Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
          Fellowship & Student Programs
          Travel Scholarships
          NIJ Challenge Program
          Library & Multimedia
        
                    
  
          Library & Multimedia
      
    
          NIJ Journal
          Podcasts
          Publications Listing
          Multimedia Listing
          Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
          Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
          Software & Databases
          Datasets
          Patents
          Topics
        
                    
  
          Topics
      
    
          Article Listing
          Corrections
          Courts
          Crime Prevention
          Crimes
          Drugs and Crime
          Equipment and Technology
          Forensic Sciences
          Youth Justice
          Justice System Reform
          Law Enforcement
          Tribal Crime and Justice
          Victims of Crime
          Events
        
                    
  
          Events
      
    
          NIJ 2024 Research Conference
          Scheduled Events
          On-Demand Events
          Research Meetings & Workshops
          NIJ-Hosted Online Training

                            
                                About
          Contact Us
          Subscribe
          Topics A-Z
                  Share
FacebookXLinkedInRedditPinterestEmail Home
                            Funding & Awards
 Evaluation of a Service Provision Program for Victims of Sex Trafficking
Note:
              This awardee has received supplemental funding. This award detail page includes information about both the original award and supplemental awards.
Award Information
Awardee
              Trustees of Boston University, BUMC
Award #
              2014-R2-CX-0005
Funding Category
              Competitive
Location
                    Boston, MA
Awardee County
              Suffolk
Congressional District
              7
Status
              Closed
Funding First Awarded
              2014
Total funding (to date)
              $728,467
Original Solicitation
              NIJ FY 14 Research and Evaluation on Trafficking in Persons
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2014, $247,093)
The proposed research is an impact and cost effectiveness evaluation of the My Life My Choice (MLMC} program. MLMC provides services to appoximately 40 unique survivors of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) each year. MLMC also provides 1 0-session Sexual Exploitation Prevention groups to youth at-risk for DMST (-400 youth per year). MLMC clients are 99% female, 80% are youth of color. All youth in this evaluation will be 14-17 years old.
This research is important because DMST is prevalent, consequential and costly, but the U.S. lacks sufficient evidence-based, cost-effective programs to provide DMST prevention and intervention services. We will investigate whether the MLMC program is effective, and if so, what aspects of the program appear to drive the success, and the cost of providing the program per participant. We will also explore whether the program benefits some youth (such as those who are highly engaged with MLMC services) more than for others. The relevance of the proposed research to human trafficking policy, practice and theory is that it will provide new evidence about whether it is possible to prevent at-risk youth from being trafficked domestically within a year of prevention group services, and whether the theoretical basis of MLMC (i.e., resilience theory, mentorship)produces successful results for minors who have been trafficked. The cost-effectiveness data will be particularly useful for determining if it is worthwhile for the U.S. to invest in such programs.
The research design will be quasi-experimental, longitudinal, and mixed methods. We will compare outcomes for those who receive both a "high dose" and a "low dose" of MLMC services. We will also compare outcomes for youth who are in the survivor advocacy services group and for youth who are in the at-risk prevention group. We will follow all youth from baseline to 12 months with a six month interim assessment. We will also interview a randomly selected subset of MLMC participants in order to get qualitative information about DMST experiences and service needs. The proposed impact evaluation and cost-effectiveness study is novel because, to our knowledge, MLMC is the only agency in the U.S. that is currently providing both survivor advocacy and prevention programming for DMST. A cost-effectiveness evaluation of a DMST program has never been carried out previously. The research team is ideally prepared and highly qualified to carry out the proposed project, as they are experts in the conduct of research on highly sensitive topics with youth, in program evaluation, and violence-related program cost effectiveness analyses. In the first year, we will accomplish the following:
(1)  IRB approval and privacy certificate approval
(2)  Hiring of research assistant; research assistant training
(3)  Preliminary preparatory meeting with the New Jersey and Boston sites (to prepare for participant recruitment)
(4)  Establish tracking system and database for cost effectiveness analysis
(5)  Recruit and collect quantitative data from 180 participants (baseline); this breaks down to 165 from the secondary prevention group, and 15 from the tertiary prevention group
(6)  Collect six month follow-up data from an anticipated 120-180 participants
(7)  Collect qualitative data from 40 participants
(8)  Two Advisory Board meetings
ca/ncf
Supplemental Award 1 (Fiscal Year 2015, $481,374)
The proposed research is an impact and cost effectiveness evaluation of the My Life My Choice (MLMC} program. MLMC provides services to appoximately 40 unique survivors of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) each year. MLMC also provides 1 0-session Sexual Exploitation Prevention groups to youth at-risk for DMST (-400 youth per year). MLMC clients are 99% female, 80% are youth of color. All youth in this evaluation will be 14-17 years old. This research is important because DMST is prevalent, consequential and costly, but the U.S. lacks sufficient evidence-based, cost-effective programs to provide DMST prevention and intervention services. We will investigate whether the MLMC program is effective, and if so, what aspects of the program appear to drive the success, and the cost of providing the program per participant. We will also explore whether the program benefits some youth (such as those who are highly engaged with MLMC services) more than for others. The relevance of the proposed research to human trafficking policy, practice and theory is that it will provide new evidence about whether it is possible to prevent at-risk youth from being trafficked domestically within a year of prevention group services, and whether the theoretical basis of MLMC (i.e., resilience theory, mentorship)produces successful results for minors who have been trafficked. The cost-effectiveness data will be particularly useful for determining if it is worthwhile for the U.S. to invest in such programs. The research design will be quasi-experimental, longitudinal, and mixed methods. We will compare outcomes for those who receive both a "high dose" and a "low dose" of MLMC services. We will also compare outcomes for youth who are in the survivor advocacy services group and for youth who are in the at-risk prevention group. We will follow all youth from baseline to 12 months with a six month interim assessment. We will also interview a randomly selected subset of MLMC participants in order to get qualitative information about DMST experiences and service needs. The proposed impact evaluation and cost-effectiveness study is novel because, to our knowledge, MLMC is the only agency in the U.S. that is currently providing both survivor advocacy and prevention programming for DMST. A cost-effectiveness evaluation of a DMST program has never been carried out previously. The research team is ideally prepared and highly qualified to carry out the proposed project, as they are experts in the conduct of research on highly sensitive topics with youth, in program evaluation, and violence-related program cost effectiveness analyses. In the first year, we will accomplish the following: (1) IRB approval and privacy certificate approval (2) Hiring of research assistant; research assistant training (3) Preliminary preparatory meeting with the New Jersey and Boston sites (to prepare for participant recruitment) (4) Establish tracking system and database for cost effectiveness analysis (5) Recruit and collect quantitative data from 180 participants (baseline); this breaks down to 165 from the secondary prevention group, and 15 from the tertiary prevention group (6) Collect six month follow-up data from an anticipated 120-180 participants (7) Collect qualitative data from 40 participants (8) Two Advisory Board meetings
This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law.
nca/ncf


  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      A Longitudinal Evaluation of a Survivor-Mentor Program for Child Survivors of Sex Trafficking in the United States
                  Evaluation of a Service Provision Program for Victims of Sex Trafficking
                  Evaluation of a Multi-Session Group Designed To Prevent Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors: The "My Life My Choice" Curriculum
                  Ethical and Practical Considerations for Collecting Research-Related Data From Commercially Sexually Exploited Children

  
Date Created: September 16, 2014
    
          Side navigation
  

        

  
  
              Current Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Forthcoming Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Expired Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
    
      
            
            
            
      Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
    
      
            
            
            
      Fellowship & Student Programs
    
      
            
            
            
      Travel Scholarships
    
      
            
            
            
      NIJ Challenge ProgramSimilar Awards
        
                      Quantification of psychotropic cannabinoids in newly emerging hemp-derived products and evaluation of their stability and interconversion during storage
                  Accuracy, Efficacy, and Reproducibility of Muzzle-to-Target Distance Determination using Gunshot Residue
                  "Examining the Effects of Back-End Release Discretion on Prison Populations and Length of Stay: A State-by-State Analysis"
 Top

      National Institute of Justice

        
        
                        About NIJ
                    About NIJ
      
    
                  How NIJ Is Organized
      
    
                  NIJ Director
      
    
                  Research Disclaimer
      
    
                  Funding & Awards
                    Funding & Awards Home
      
    
                  Awards Listing
      
    
                  Current Funding
      
    
                  Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
      
    
                  Resources
                    Events
      
    
                  Podcasts
      
    
                  Publications
      
    
                  Topics
      
    
                  Multimedia
      
    
                  Reuse Policy
      
    
                  Contacts
                    Contact NIJ
      
    
                  Staff Directory
      
    
                  Submit a FOIA Request
      
    
                  File a Civil Rights ComplaintFacebook
          
                      X
          
                      YouTube
  

      810 7th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20531
      
              Secondary Footer link menu
            Accessibility
              Plain Language
              Privacy Policy
              Legal Policies and Disclaimer
              No FEAR Act
              Freedom of Information Act
              USA.gov
              Justice.gov