II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2136 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the implementation 

of curricula for training students, teachers, parents, and school and 

youth development personnel to understand, recognize, prevent, and respond to signs of human trafficking and exploitation in children and 

youth, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 17, 2021 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and Ms. SMITH) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 

the implementation of curricula for training students, 

teachers, parents, and school and youth development personnel to understand, recognize, prevent, and respond 

to signs of human trafficking and exploitation in children 

and youth, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Human Trafficking 

5 and Exploitation Prevention Training Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) According to the National Human Traf4 ficking Hotline, operated by the National Human 

5 Trafficking Resource Center, there is no single pro6 file for trafficking survivors—trafficking survivors 

7 include adults and minors from rural, suburban, and 

8 urban communities across the country. Survivors of 

9 human trafficking have diverse socioeconomic back10 grounds, varied levels of education, and may be doc11 umented or undocumented. According to the 2018 

12 Trafficking In Persons Report produced by the De13 partment of State, the Department of Justice, the 

14 National Human Trafficking Resource Center, and 

15 Youth.gov, vulnerable populations and risk factors 

16 for human trafficking include— 

17 (A) children in the child welfare and juve18 nile justice systems; 

19 (B) runaway youth; 

20 (C) homeless youth; 

21 (D) youth forced to leave home by parents 

22 or caregivers with no alternate care arranged; 

23 (E) unaccompanied children; 

24 (F) American Indians and Alaska Natives; 


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1 (G) migrant laborers, including undocu2 mented workers and individuals with temporary 

3 visas; 

4 (H) recent migration or relocation; 

5 (I) persons with disabilities; 

6 (J) LGBTI individuals; 

7 (K) people of color; 

8 (L) those with limited-English proficiency; 

9 (M) low literacy; 

10 (N) substance abuse; 

11 (O) mental health issues; 

12 (P) past trauma or violence; 

13 (Q) stigma or discrimination; 

14 (R) family conflict, disruption, or dysfunc15 tion; 

16 (S) community-level risk factors such as 

17 peer pressure, social norms, social isolation, 

18 gang involvement, and living in an under19 resourced school, neighborhood, or community; 

20 and 

21 (T) society-level risk factors such as lack 

22 of awareness of commercial exploitation and 

23 human trafficking, sexualization of children, 

24 and lack of resources. 


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1 (2) According to the National Human Traf2 ficking Resource Center, human trafficking survivors 

3 have been identified in cities, suburbs, and rural 

4 areas in all 50 States, and in Washington, DC. The 

5 3 States with the highest incidents of human traf6 ficking cases reported via phone calls, emails, and 

7 online tips to the National Human Trafficking Hot8 line in 2018 were California, Texas, and Florida, re9 spectively. 

10 (3) According to the National Human Traf11 ficking Resource Center, the top recruitment meth12 ods used by sex traffickers based on self-reported 

13 data from survivors involve an intimate partner or 

14 marriage proposition, family members, individuals 

15 posing as a benefactor, offers of employment, or in16 dividuals perpetrating fraud or offering false prom17 ises. 

18 (4) According to the National Center on Safe 

19 Supportive Learning Environments, traffickers may 

20 systematically target vulnerable children by fre21 quenting locations where children congregate—malls, 

22 schools, bus and train stations, and group homes, 

23 among other locations. Traffickers also use peers or 

24 classmates who befriend the target and slowly groom 

25 the child for the trafficker by bringing the child 


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1 along to parties and other activities. According to 

2 Common Sense Media, nearly all children age 8 and 

3 under live in a home with some type of mobile device 

4 and use it every day. This is especially concerning 

5 given that traffickers often recruit through social 

6 media platforms and other websites. 

7 (5) Those within vulnerable populations are 

8 often exploited or groomed for entry into human 

9 trafficking at a very young age. According to a 2005 

10 clinical report, ‘‘The Evaluation of Sexual Abuse in 

11 Children’’, published by the American Academy of 

12 Pediatrics, studies have suggested that each year ap13 proximately 739,000 children experience some form 

14 of sexual abuse, resulting in the sexual victimization 

15 of 12 percent to 25 percent of girls and 8 percent 

16 to 10 percent of boys before the age of 18. 

17 (6) Sex trafficking and exploitation can take 

18 many harmful forms, including a lesser-known but 

19 just as damaging form of uncoerced exploitation re20 ferred to as ‘‘survival sex’’, meaning the exchange of 

21 sex for basic needs including clothing, food, shelter, 

22 or other basic necessities. Survival sex does not in23 volve a third-party trafficker or exploiter, and often 

24 affects youth, including those who are homeless, 

25 runaways, or housing-insecure, who lack the finanVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2136.IS S2136

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1 cial resources, job readiness, support system, or op2 portunity to afford or access these basic necessities. 

3 (7) Training students, teachers, and school and 

4 youth development personnel to understand, recog5 nize, and respond to signs of human trafficking and 

6 exploitation in children and youth is invaluable in 

7 the effort to identify and prevent human trafficking 

8 and exploitation before it occurs. According to the 

9 National Human Trafficking Resource Center, the 

10 widespread lack of awareness and understanding of 

11 human trafficking leads to low levels of survivor 

12 identification by the people who most often encoun13 ter them. Survivors of human trafficking are often 

14 forced to work or provide commercial sex against 

15 their will in legal and legitimate business settings or 

16 underground markets. It is often the case that those 

17 who are being exploited or trafficked are in plain 

18 view and may interact with community members, 

19 underscoring the urgent need for the expansion of 

20 training programs to increase awareness and preven21 tion activities in communities across the United 

22 States. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT TO TRAIN STUDENTS, 

2 TEACHERS, AND SCHOOL AND YOUTH DEVEL3 OPMENT PERSONNEL TO UNDERSTAND, REC4 OGNIZE, PREVENT, AND RESPOND TO SIGNS 

5 OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND CHILD EX6 PLOITATION. 

7 Section 582 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 290hh–1) is amended— 

9 (1) by resdesignating subsections (j) and (k) as 

10 subsections (k) and (l), respectively; 

11 (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(j) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT TO TRAIN STU14 DENTS, TEACHERS, PARENTS, AND SCHOOL AND YOUTH

15 DEVELOPMENT PERSONNEL TO UNDERSTAND, RECOG16 NIZE, PREVENT, AND RESPOND TO SIGNS OF HUMAN

17 TRAFFICKING AND CHILD EXPLOITATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office 

19 on Trafficking in Persons of the Administration for 

20 Children and Families (in this subsection referred to 

21 as the ‘Director’) shall carry out a demonstration 

22 project for training students, teachers, school per23 sonnel at elementary schools and secondary schools, 

24 and other education personnel including community25 based partners, and afterschool or summer learning 

26 program staff, to understand, recognize, prevent, 


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1 and respond to signs of human trafficking and ex2 ploitation in children and youth. 

3 ‘‘(2) PROJECT ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the 

4 demonstration project under this subsection, the Di5 rector shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) approve vendors pursuant to para7 graph (3); 

8 ‘‘(B) award grants pursuant to paragraph 

9 (4); 

10 ‘‘(C) develop a reliable methodology for 

11 vendors and grantees to collect, and report to 

12 the Director, in a manner that prevents disclo13 sure of individually identifiable information con14 sistent with all applicable privacy laws and reg15 ulations, data on the number of human traf16 ficking survivors identified and served pursuant 

17 to this subsection, the number of students in el18 ementary school or secondary school or learning 

19 environment identified as being at risk of being 

20 trafficked or exploited, and the demographics of 

21 such survivors and students at risk; and 

22 ‘‘(D) assist entities, in conjunction with 

23 the appropriate State, Federal, and Tribal part24 ners, that are eligible for grants under paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2136.IS S2136

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1 graph (4) in developing proper protocols and 

2 procedures— 

3 ‘‘(i) that may allow such entities to 

4 work with law enforcement to report, and 

5 facilitate communication with, human traf6 ficking survivors and exploited children; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(ii) to refer human trafficking sur9 vivors and exploited children to appropriate 

10 social or survivor service agencies or orga11 nizations. 

12 ‘‘(3) VENDORS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

14 demonstration project under this subsection, 

15 the Director shall approve a list of nonprofit or16 ganizations as verified vendors— 

17 ‘‘(i) to develop or make available cur18 ricula for the training described in para19 graph (1); and 

20 ‘‘(ii) to implement such training in ac21 cordance with such curricula. 

22 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In approving 

23 vendors under this subsection, the Director 

24 shall give consideration to whether the non25 profit organization— 


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1 ‘‘(i) engages stakeholders, including 

2 survivors of human trafficking, and Fed3 eral, State, local, and Tribal partners, to 

4 develop the curricula; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) has a demonstrated expertise 

6 in— 

7 ‘‘(I) developing age-appropriate, 

8 culturally competent, and gender-re9 sponsive human trafficking and ex10 ploitation prevention curricula for stu11 dents, teachers, parents, or school 

12 personnel in elementary school and 

13 secondary school or community-based 

14 after school or learning programs; 

15 ‘‘(II) training students, teachers, 

16 parents, or school and youth develop17 ment personnel described in para18 graph (1); and 

19 ‘‘(III) creating a scalable, repeat20 able program that employs appro21 priate technology tools and methodolo22 gies, including measurement and 

23 training curricula. 

24 ‘‘(4) GRANTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

2 demonstration project under this subsection, 

3 the Director shall award grants to eligible enti4 ties to implement the training described in 

5 paragraph (1) in accordance with the curricula 

6 developed and made available by verified ven7 dors pursuant to paragraph (3). 

8 ‘‘(B) DIVERSITY OF GRANTS.—In award9 ing grants under this subsection, the Director 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) consult with the Director of the 

12 Bureau of Justice Assistance and the head 

13 of the Office of Partnership and Engage14 ment of the Department of Homeland Se15 curity to identify the geographic areas in 

16 the United States with the highest preva17 lence of reported human trafficking in18 stances for children, aged 5 through 17; 

19 ‘‘(ii) consult with the Secretary of 

20 Education, the Attorney General, and as 

21 appropriate, with the Secretary of Housing 

22 and Urban Development, the Secretary of 

23 Labor, and relevant agencies to identify 

24 the geographic areas in the United States 

25 with the highest prevalence and numbers 


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1 of at risk, vulnerable, or underserved popu2 lations, including homeless youth, foster 

3 youth, youth involved in the child welfare 

4 system, and runaways; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) give priority to eligible entities 

6 located in, or primarily serving, one or 

7 more areas identified pursuant to clause (i) 

8 or (ii). 

9 ‘‘(C) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDING.— 

10 The Director shall ensure that— 

11 ‘‘(i) 30 percent of the grant funds 

12 under this subsection are awarded to appli13 cants to serve elementary school students 

14 and teachers; 

15 ‘‘(ii) 40 percent of the grant funds 

16 under this subsection are awarded to appli17 cants to serve middle grades students and 

18 teachers; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) 30 percent of the grant funds 

20 under this subsection are awarded to appli21 cants to serve high school students and 

22 teachers. 

23 ‘‘(D) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

24 term ‘eligible entity’ includes a nonprofit orga25 nization, an elementary school, a local eduVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Jul 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2136.IS S2136

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1 cational agency, a secondary school, a State 

2 educational agency, an Indian Tribe, or a Trib3 al organization (as such terms are defined for 

4 purposes of the Indian Self-Determination and 

5 Education Assistance Act). 

6 ‘‘(5) DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall 

8 collect, and report to the Congress, data on the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(i) The total number of entities that 

11 received a grant under this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(ii) The total number of elementary 

13 and secondary schools and community14 based learning environments that estab15 lished proper protocols and procedures 

16 through program development. 

17 ‘‘(iii) The total number and geo18 graphic distribution of students, teachers, 

19 and school and youth development per20 sonnel trained pursuant to this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(iv) The results of pretraining and 

22 posttraining surveys to gauge increased 

23 understanding and recognition of signs of 

24 human trafficking and exploitation in chil25 dren and youth. 


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1 ‘‘(v) The number of human trafficking 

2 survivors and exploited children identified 

3 and served by vendors and grantees under 

4 this subsection, excluding any individually 

5 identifiable information about such sur6 vivors and children. 

7 ‘‘(vi) The number of students in ele8 mentary school or secondary school identi9 fied by vendors and grantees under this 

10 subsection as being at risk of being traf11 ficked or exploited, excluding any individ12 ually identifiable information about such 

13 survivors. 

14 ‘‘(vii) The demographics of human 

15 trafficking survivors, exploited children, 

16 and students at risk of being trafficked or 

17 exploited described in clauses (v) and (vi), 

18 excluding any individually identifiable in19 formation about such survivors, children, 

20 and students. 

21 ‘‘(viii) Any best practices identified by 

22 the grantees under this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(B) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Director 

24 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) submit a report under subpara2 graph (A) not later than 1 year after the 

3 date of enactment of this subsection and 

4 annually thereafter; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) prepare and submit each such re6 port in a manner that prevents the disclo7 sure of individually identifiable information 

8 consistent with all applicable privacy laws 

9 and regulations. 

10 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

11 ‘‘(A) The terms ‘elementary school’, ‘local 

12 educational agency’, ‘middle grades’, ‘secondary 

13 school’, and ‘State educational agency’ have the 

14 meanings given to those terms in section 8101 

15 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

16 Act of 1965. 

17 ‘‘(B) The term ‘parent’ shall have the 

18 meaning given such term for purposes of the 

19 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.). 

21 ‘‘(C) The term ‘school personnel’ includes 

22 school resource officers, school nurses, school 

23 counselors, school principals, school administra24 tors, and other school leadership personnel. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The term ‘trafficking’ has the mean2 ing given such term for purposes of the Traf3 ficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 

4 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.). 

5 ‘‘(E) The term ‘youth development per6 sonnel’ includes staff from youth development, 

7 community-based organizations, including after 

8 school or summer learning programs.’’; and 

9 (3) in subsection (k) (authorizing appropria10 tions), as redesignated by paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘There is authorized to be 

12 appropriated to carry out this section’’ and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

15 appropriated to carry out this section (other than 

16 subsection (j))’’; and 

17 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FUNDING.— 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

20 subsection (j) $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

21 2021 through 2025.’’. 

Æ 


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