SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Put Trafficking Vic-
tims First Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. REPORT ON SAFE HARBOR LAWS. 
Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General, acting through the Di-
rector of the Office for Victims of Crime, shall issue a 
report to be posted on a publicly available website that 
includes— 
(1) the impact of State safe harbor laws and 
associated services on the re-victimization of victims 
of trafficking (as such term is defined in section 
103(15) of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence 
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102(15))), the 
recovery of victims, victim outcomes, and prosecu-
tions of traffickers; and 
(2) best practices and recommendations on the 
development and implementation of effective State 
safe harbor laws that promote full recovery of vic-
tims of trafficking and do not interfere with prosecu-
tions of traffickers. 
SEC. 3. TRAINING FOR PROSECUTIONS OF TRAFFICKERS 
AND SUPPORT FOR STATE SERVICES FOR 
VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 107(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the 
Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of
2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(b)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘(ii) 5 percent for training and tech-
nical assistance, to be provided in coordi-
nation with the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, including with respect 
to— 
‘‘(I) increasing capacity and ex-
pertise on security for and protection 
of service providers from intimidation 
or retaliation for their activities; 
‘‘(II) ‘‘investigating, prosecuting, 
and preventing human trafficking 
through a trauma-informed and vic-
tim-centered approach that provides 
services and protections for victims of 
trafficking; 
‘‘(III) facilitating the provision of 
evidence-based, trauma-informed care 
and mental health services to victims 
of trafficking; 
‘‘(IV) ensuring that all victims of 
trafficking, including United States 
citizens, lawful permanent residents,
and foreign nationals, are eligible for 
services; 
‘‘(V) ensuring that law enforce-
ment officers and prosecutors make 
every attempt to determine whether 
an individual’s participation in human 
trafficking is free from force, fraud, 
or coercion of any means before ar-
resting them for, or charging them 
with, an offense; 
‘‘(VI) effectively prosecuting traf-
fickers and individuals who patronize 
or solicit children for sex, and facili-
tating access for child victims of traf-
ficking to the same type of court pro-
cedures and legal protections acces-
sible to child victims of sexual assault, 
rape, child sexual abuse, or incest, 
and clarifying the right of child vic-
tims of trafficking to not be treated as 
criminals as a result of their victim-
ization; and 
‘‘(VII) encouraging States to 
identify the locations of victims of 
trafficking and serve those victims, in-
cluding through efforts that utilize 
internet outreach, through methods 
informed by survivors of human traf-
ficking, and by offering help and serv-
ices that are responsive to victims’ 
needs in their communities.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2017. 
SEC. 4. WORKING TO DEVELOP METHODOLOGIES TO AS-
SESS PREVALENCE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. 
(a) WORKING GROUP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 
of the National Institute of Justice, in consultation 
with the Director of the Human Smuggling and 
Trafficking Center, shall establish an expert working 
group, which shall include survivors of human traf-
ficking, experts on sex and labor trafficking, rep-
resentatives from organizations collecting data on 
human trafficking, and law enforcement officers. 
The working group shall, utilizing, to the extent 
practicable, existing efforts of agencies, task forces, 
States, cities, research institutions, and organiza-
tions—
(A) identify the methodological and prac-
tical barriers hampering data collection on sex 
and labor trafficking; 
(B) identify the information that should be 
collected, and how that information should be 
collected; and 
(C) recommend practices that could be 
standardized as replicable best practices to pro-
mote better data comparison, aggregation, and 
analysis. 
(2) PILOT TESTING.—Not later than 3 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Di-
rector of the National Institute of Justice shall im-
plement a series of pilot studies to test promising 
methodologies studied under paragraph (1). 
(b) REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 
of the National Institute of Justice, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity, and the Director of the Human Smuggling 
and Trafficking Center, shall submit to Congress a 
report, which includes—
(A) the efforts made in developing robust, 
comprehensive methodologies to estimate the 
prevalence of human trafficking at the national 
and regional levels; 
(B) best practices for determining the 
trends of human trafficking in the United 
States; 
(C) evaluations of the effectiveness of cur-
rent policies and procedures to address the 
needs of victims of trafficking, including appro-
priate housing and services from trained trau-
ma-informed care service providers; and 
(D) an analysis of the varying characteris-
tics of victims of trafficking in different regions, 
including age, gender, race or ethnicity, involve-
ment in the child welfare system, involvement in 
the juvenile or criminal justice system, the 
number of foster care placements, the number 
of congregate care placements, and whether an 
individual is a victim of sex trafficking or labor 
trafficking, and recommendations for how to 
address the unique vulnerabilities of different 
victims. 
(2) AVAILABILITY OF REPORT.—The report re-
quired under paragraph (1) shall be made publicly
available on the website of the Department of Jus-
tice. 
(3) INPUT FROM RELEVANT PARTIES.—In de-
veloping the report under paragraph (1), the Direc-
tor shall seek input from the United States Advisory 
Council on Human Trafficking, victims of traf-
ficking, human trafficking survivor advocates, serv-
ice providers for victims of sex and labor trafficking, 
and the President’s Interagency Task Force on 
Human Trafficking. 
(c) SURVEY.—Not later than 2 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the National 
Institute of Justice, in coordination with Federal, State, 
local, and tribal governments, and private organizations, 
including victim service providers and expert researchers, 
shall develop and execute a survey of survivors seeking and 
receiving services through a model agreed upon by service 
providers for victims of trafficking, government entities, 
and research experts to better understand where and how 
victims of trafficking are accessing services, how they are 
referred to services, including referrals by first responders, 
how assessment tools work to identify victims of traf-
ficking, and to help estimate the prevalence of human traf-
ficking and victim identification in the United States. Sur-
vey results shall be made publicly available on the website 
of the Department of Justice. 
(d) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—No additional funds 
are authorized to carry out this section. 
SEC. 5. REPORT ON PROSECUTORS SEEKING MANDATORY 
RESTITUTION IN TRAFFICKING CASES. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the 
Administrative Office of the United States Courts, shall 
submit to Congress a report on efforts to increase manda-
tory restitution orders and use of asset forfeiture to pro-
vide restitution to victims of trafficking that shall be post-
ed on a publicly available website, which shall include the 
following: 
(1) Information on the Department of Justice’s 
training programs on mandatory restitution and the 
use of asset forfeiture to provide restitution to vic-
tims of trafficking, and recommendations of nec-
essary additional training to ensure mandatory res-
titution is ordered in all relevant human trafficking 
cases. 
(2) An assessment of obstacles that continue to 
prevent Federal prosecutors and Federal courts from 
ordering restitution.
(3) An assessment of whether the asset for-
feiture provisions in the Justice for Victims of Traf-
ficking Act of 2015 and the amendments made by 
that Act have helped increase requests to transfer 
forfeited proceeds for restitution, including how 
many requests have been made and how many of 
those requests have been approved, and whether 
United States Attorneys offices are properly in-
formed about requesting transfers. 
(4) An assessment of how establishing trauma- 
informed, victim-centered investigative and prosecu-
torial procedures can help improve mandatory res-
titution orders, including by encouraging victims of 
trafficking to cooperate in criminal cases, equipping 
victims of trafficking with proper assistance during 
criminal proceedings, and helping victims of traf-
ficking secure mandatory restitution. 
(5) The annual number and percentage of Fed-
eral cases related to human trafficking, separating 
sex trafficking and labor trafficking, during the pe-
riod beginning on June 1, 2015, and ending on the 
date of the enactment of this Act, in which restitu-
tion was ordered, and the amount of restitution or-
dered in each case.
(6) Data on the participation and non-partici-
pation of victims of trafficking in criminal pro-
ceedings, data on the participation and nonparticipa-
tion of victims of trafficking in witness protection 
programs and services, and recommendations for en-
couraging the participation of victims of trafficking 
in such proceedings. 
SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS ENCOURAGING STATES TO 
ADOPT PROTECTIONS FOR VICTIMS OF TRAF-
FICKING. 
Congress recognizes and applauds the State legisla-
tive bodies that have taken tremendous steps to adopt pro-
tections and services for victims of trafficking. Congress 
encourages States to do the following: 
(1) Uphold the basic rights and dignity of 
human trafficking survivors. 
(2) Adopt a survivor-centered approach to ad-
dressing human trafficking that ensures the safety, 
confidentiality, and well-being of victims of traf-
ficking, while recognizing symptoms of trauma and 
coping mechanisms that may impact victims’ inter-
actions with law enforcement, the justice system, 
and service providers. 
(3) Implement screening mechanisms for all 
children entering child welfare services, the juvenile
justice system, or the criminal justice system to 
identify child victims of trafficking and connect them 
with appropriate services, including appropriate 
housing and services from trained trauma-informed 
care service providers, and to try to identify foreign 
nationals who may be victims of trafficking. 
(4) Ensure that child victims of trafficking are 
provided with a range of protections, including ac-
cess to child welfare services, trauma-informed pro-
gramming, and the same legal rights afforded to 
other children who experience sexual abuse, rape, or 
incest, including ensuring that— 
(A) criminals who exploit child victims of 
sex trafficking, including offenders who pur-
chase, solicit, or obtain a child for purposes of 
engaging in a commercial sex act, face serious 
penalties and sentences under sex trafficking 
laws, and are not given lesser sentences; and 
(B) child victims of trafficking are never 
referred to as ‘‘child prostitutes’’ or ‘‘underage 
sex workers’’ in law or official documents and 
proceedings. 
(5) Develop a 24-hour emergency response plan 
to provide victims trafficking with immediate protec-
tion and support when they are first identified,
which may include physically moving victims of traf-
ficking to a place of safety, attending to the imme-
diate medical and emotional needs of survivors, as-
sessing whether survivors are under risk for harm, 
retaliation, or intimidation, and directly connecting 
survivors with victim advocates, housing, and service 
providers. 
(6) Adopt protections for victims of trafficking 
that include the right— 
(A) to be treated as a victim of crime and 
afforded justice, respect, and dignity; 
(B) to protection if the victim’s safety is at 
risk or if there is danger of harm, retaliation, 
or recapture by the trafficker; 
(C) to comprehensive trauma-informed, 
long-term, culturally competent care and heal-
ing services oriented toward emotional, psycho-
logical, and family healing; 
(D) to evidence-based screening and as-
sessment tools, treatment plans, and therapy to 
address traumatic stress and associated mental 
health symptoms; 
(E) to safe and effective emergency and 
long-term housing; education, vocational, and 
job assistance and training; mentoring pro-
grams; language assistance; drug and substance 
abuse services; and legal services; 
(F) for child sex trafficking victims to be 
treated as children in need of child protective 
services and to be served through the child wel-
fare system, where appropriate, in place of the 
juvenile justice system; 
(G) for all victims of trafficking, including 
United States citizens, lawful permanent resi-
dents, and foreign nationals, to be eligible for 
services; 
(H) to have convictions and adjudications 
related to prostitution and nonviolent offenses 
vacated and such records cleared and expunged 
if offenses were committed as a direct result of 
the victim being trafficked, and protection for 
foreign nationals from being removed, being de-
termined to be inadmissible, or losing any im-
migration benefit because of such conviction or 
arrests; 
(I) to the same type of court procedures 
and legal protections accessible to victims of 
sexual assault, rape, child sexual abuse, or in-
cest, including the right to not be treated as a 
criminal; and
(J) to retain all rights regardless of wheth-
er the crime has been reported to law enforce-
ment. 
Passed the House of Representatives May 23, 2017. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 2473 
AN ACT 
To direct the Attorney General to study issues re-
lating to human trafficking, and for other pur-
poses.