I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 623 

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

of curricula for training students, teachers, and school personnel to 

understand, recognize, prevent, and respond to signs of human trafficking 

and exploitation in children and youth, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 30, 2023 

Mr. BUCHANAN (for himself and Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 

the implementation of curricula for training students, 

teachers, and school 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’’. 


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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 04:42 Feb 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H623.IH H623

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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 per4 sonnel to understand, recognize, and respond to 

5 signs of human trafficking and exploitation in chil6 dren and youth is invaluable in the effort to identify 

7 and prevent human trafficking and exploitation be8 fore it occurs. According to the National Human 

9 Trafficking Resource Center, the widespread lack of 

10 awareness and understanding of human trafficking 

11 leads to low levels of survivor identification by the 

12 people who most often encounter them. Survivors of 

13 human trafficking are often forced to work or pro14 vide commercial sex against their will in legal and le15 gitimate business settings or underground markets. 

16 It is often the case that those who are being ex17 ploited or trafficked are in plain view and may inter18 act with community members, underscoring the ur19 gent need for the expansion of training programs to 

20 increase awareness and prevention activities in com21 munities across the United States. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT TO TRAIN STUDENTS, 

2 TEACHERS, AND SCHOOL PERSONNEL TO UN3 DERSTAND, RECOGNIZE, PREVENT, AND RE4 SPOND TO SIGNS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING 

5 AND CHILD EXPLOITATION. 

6 Section 582 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 290hh–1) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsections (j) and (k) as 

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

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(j) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT TO TRAIN STU13 DENTS, TEACHERS, AND SCHOOL PERSONNEL TO UN14 DERSTAND, RECOGNIZE, PREVENT, AND RESPOND TO

15 SIGNS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND CHILD EXPLOI16 TATION.— 

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

18 on Trafficking in Persons of the Administration for 

19 Children and Families (in this subsection referred to 

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

21 project for training students, teachers, and school 

22 personnel at elementary schools and secondary 

23 schools to understand, recognize, prevent, and re24 spond to signs of human trafficking and exploitation 

25 in children and youth. 


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

2 demonstration project under this subsection, the Di3 rector shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) approve vendors pursuant to para5 graph (3); 

6 ‘‘(B) award grants pursuant to paragraph 

7 (4); 

8 ‘‘(C) develop a reliable methodology for 

9 vendors and grantees to collect, and report to 

10 the Director, in a manner that prevents disclo11 sure of individually identifiable information con12 sistent with all applicable privacy laws and reg13 ulations, data on the number of human traf14 ficking survivors identified and served pursuant 

15 to this subsection, the number of students in el16 ementary school or secondary school identified 

17 as being at risk of being trafficked or exploited, 

18 and the demographics of such survivors and 

19 students at risk; and 

20 ‘‘(D) assist entities that are eligible for 

21 grants under paragraph (4) in developing prop22 er protocols and procedures to— 

23 ‘‘(i) work with law enforcement to re24 port, and facilitate communication with, 


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1 human trafficking survivors and exploited 

2 children; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) refer human trafficking survivors 

4 and exploited children to appropriate social 

5 or survivor service agencies or organiza6 tions. 

7 ‘‘(3) VENDORS.— 

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

9 demonstration project under this subsection, 

10 the Director shall approve a list of nonprofit or11 ganizations as verified vendors— 

12 ‘‘(i) to develop or make available cur13 ricula for the training described in para14 graph (1); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) to implement such training in ac16 cordance with such curricula. 

17 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In approving 

18 vendors under this subsection, the Director 

19 shall give consideration to whether the non20 profit organization— 

21 ‘‘(i) engages stakeholders, including 

22 survivors of human trafficking, and Fed23 eral, State, local, and Tribal partners, to 

24 develop the curricula; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) has a demonstrated expertise 

2 in— 

3 ‘‘(I) developing human traf4 ficking and exploitation prevention 

5 curricula for students, teachers, or 

6 school personnel in elementary school 

7 and secondary school that is— 

8 ‘‘(aa) age-appropriate; 

9 ‘‘(bb) culturally competent; 

10 ‘‘(cc) evidence based; 

11 ‘‘(dd) validated by university 

12 research partners; 

13 ‘‘(ee) inclusive of K–12 stu14 dents; 

15 ‘‘(ff) adaptive to all regions; 

16 ‘‘(gg) inclusive of all chil17 dren; and 

18 ‘‘(hh) based on vetted and 

19 proven materials that have been 

20 tested over a 3-year run of suc21 cess; 

22 ‘‘(II) training students, teachers, 

23 or school personnel in identification 

24 and proper response to human trafVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 Feb 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H623.IH H623

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1 ficking described in paragraph (1); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(III) creating a scalable, repeat4 able ‘Train the Trainer’ program (de5 fined as a program that trains in6 structors who can teach material to 

7 other instructors) that employs appro8 priate technology tools and methodolo9 gies, including measurement and 

10 training curricula. 

11 ‘‘(4) GRANTS.— 

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

13 demonstration project under this subsection, 

14 the Director shall award grants to eligible enti15 ties to implement the training described in 

16 paragraph (1) in accordance with the curricula 

17 developed and made available by verified ven18 dors pursuant to paragraph (3). 

19 ‘‘(B) DIVERSITY OF GRANTS.—In award20 ing grants under this subsection, the Director 

21 shall— 

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

23 Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Adminis24 trator for the Office of Juvenile Justice 

25 and Delinquency Prevention, the Director 


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1 of the Office for Victims of Crime, and the 

2 head of the Office of Partnership and En3 gagement of the Department of Homeland 

4 Security to identify the geographic areas in 

5 the United States with the highest preva6 lence of reported human trafficking in7 stances for children, aged 5 through 17; 

8 ‘‘(ii) consult, as appropriate, with the 

9 Secretary of Education, the Secretary of 

10 Housing and Urban Development, the Sec11 retary of Labor, and the Attorney General 

12 of the United States to identify the geo13 graphic areas in the United States with 

14 the highest prevalence of at risk, vulner15 able, or underserved populations, including 

16 homeless youth, foster youth, youth in17 volved in the child welfare system, and 

18 runaways; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) give priority to eligible entities 

20 located in, or primarily serving, one or 

21 more areas identified pursuant to clause (i) 

22 or (ii). 

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

24 The Director shall ensure that all grant funds 


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1 under this subsection are awarded to applicants 

2 who serve K–12 students. 

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

4 term ‘eligible entity’ includes a nonprofit orga5 nization, an elementary school, a local edu6 cational agency, a secondary school, and a State 

7 educational agency. 

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

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

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

11 following: 

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

13 received a grant under this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(ii) The total number of elementary 

15 and secondary schools that established 

16 proper protocols and procedures through 

17 program development. 

18 ‘‘(iii) The total number and geo19 graphic distribution of students, teachers, 

20 and school personnel trained pursuant to 

21 this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(iv) The results of pretraining and 

23 posttraining surveys to gauge increased 

24 understanding and recognition of signs of 


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1 human trafficking and exploitation in chil2 dren and youth. 

3 ‘‘(v) The number of human trafficking 

4 survivors and exploited children identified 

5 and served by vendors and grantees under 

6 this subsection, excluding any individually 

7 identifiable information about such sur8 vivors and children. 

9 ‘‘(vi) The number of students in ele10 mentary school or secondary school identi11 fied by vendors and grantees under this 

12 subsection as being at risk of being traf13 ficked or exploited, excluding any individ14 ually identifiable information about such 

15 survivors. 

16 ‘‘(vii) The demographics of human 

17 trafficking survivors, exploited children, 

18 and students at risk of being trafficked or 

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

20 excluding any individually identifiable in21 formation about such survivors, children, 

22 and students. 

23 ‘‘(viii) Any best practices identified by 

24 the grantees under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Director 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) submit a report under subpara4 graph (A) not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of enactment of this subsection and 

6 annually thereafter; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) prepare and submit each such re8 port in a manner that prevents the disclo9 sure of individually identifiable information 

10 consistent with all applicable privacy laws 

11 and regulations. 

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

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

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

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

16 meanings given to those terms in section 8101 

17 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

18 Act of 1965. 

19 ‘‘(B) The term ‘school personnel’ includes 

20 school resource officers, school nurses, school 

21 counselors, school principals, school administra22 tors, and other school leadership.’’; and 

23 (3) in subsection (k) (authorizing appropria24 tions), as redesignated by paragraph (1)— 


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

2 appropriated to carry out this section’’ and in3 serting the following: 

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

5 appropriated to carry out this section (other than 

6 subsection (j))’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(2) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT FUNDING.— 

9 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

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

11 2024 through 2028.’’. 

Æ 


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