Evaluation of Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking Demonstration Projects and Program
Creators: name: Hardison Walters, Jennifer
name: Krieger, Kate
Publisher: name: Open Science Framework
Year: 2022

description: The overall purpose of this multi-phase evaluation project is to inform the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) on its efforts to improve services for victims of human trafficking. Evaluation of the Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking Demonstration Projects In 2014, ACF’s Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) awarded three grants to carry out demonstration projects to provide coordinated case management and comprehensive direct victim assistance to domestic victims of severe forms of human trafficking. In 2015, FYSB awarded three additional demonstration project grants. The intent of the grant program is to improve organizational and community capacity to deliver trauma-informed, culturally relevant services for domestic victims of human trafficking. The grantees are expected to build and sustain coordinated systems of agency services and partnerships with allied professionals in community-based organizations, such as runaway and homeless youth, domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking victim services programs. Each grantee will conduct a community-specific assessment related to victim service needs, gaps, and referral options, and an organizational capacity assessment to determine what resources, training, technical assistance, and partnerships are needed to meet the needs of domestic human trafficking victims in their communities. To meet the needs identified, grantees will expand their partnerships with relevant organizations and agencies, and they will expand their existing case management services to include all aspects of a fully comprehensive victim assistance model. The demonstration projects will be implemented in Salt Lake City; New York City; the metropolitan areas of Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Multnomah County (Portland), Oregon; six counties in North Dakota as well as Clay County, Minnesota; and Yellowstone County (Billings), Montana. Working closely with FYSB, OPRE is overseeing a cross-site process evaluation of these new demonstration projects. RTI International is carrying out the evaluation. Key questions of interest are related to the use of the community needs assessment, the necessary conditions for partnership expansion, factors associated with the provision and receipt of comprehensive victim-centered services, survivors’ experiences with the program and their short-term outcomes, and the costs of program components. Additional project activities include working with grantees to improve performance measurement and informing ACF’s decisions regarding future evaluation activities. Future activities may include developing instruments and planning and executing additional evaluation activities. Evaluation of Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking Program Building off of the previous Demonstration Grants for Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking, in 2016 ACF’s Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) in conjunction with ACF’s Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) awarded thirteen cooperative agreement grants to implement the Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking (DVHT) Program. The DVHT Program is focused on providing comprehensive case management, direct services and assistance, and referrals to domestic victims of severe forms of human trafficking. Services include, but are not limited to, long-term housing, substance abuse treatment, mental health counseling, educational opportunities, job training and skills, and legal and financial advocacy. Programs must integrate survivor engagement into their case management and service delivery strategies. The intent of the DVHT Program is to build, expand, and sustain organizational and community capacity to deliver trauma-informed, strength-based, and victim-centered services for domestic victims of severe forms of human trafficking through coordinated case management, a system of referrals, and the formation of community partnerships. Working closely with OTIP and FYSB, OPRE is overseeing an evaluation of the DVHT Program. RTI is carrying out the evaluation. Key objectives are to assess grantee site policies, practices, and services, including the focus of this grant program on access to long-term housing options, substance abuse treatment, and integration of survivor-informed services. The evaluation may also develop recommendations for expanding and enhancing services for domestic victims of human trafficking on a broader scale. Additional project activities include working with grantees to improve performance measurement.