July/August 2013Vol. 14, No. 6Federal Government Efforts Against Trafficking
In September 2012, President Obama commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation by announcing efforts to do more to combat human trafficking in the United States and around the globe. A White House factsheet outlines some of these new and enhanced efforts. Federal Government initiatives in the fight against trafficking include the following:
- Federal Strategic Action Plan for Serving Trafficking Victims
The White House released a framework for serving victims of human trafficking. The 5-year plan is a result of collaboration among several agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS), Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security. The plan is currently available for public comment. Coordination, Collaboration, Capacity: Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking in the United States is available here:
http://ideascale.com/userimages/accounts/91/912839/Victim-Services-SAP-2013-04-09-Public-Comment-B.pdf (519 KB) - Stronger Together
In April, George Sheldon, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, wrote a blog post about the Stronger Together campaign. Stronger Together is an online community where members of the public can submit ideas, agree with existing ideas, or add comments. The current featured topic on the Strong Together website is the Federal framework for serving victims of human trafficking. Participate in the discussion here:
https://acfstrongertogether.ideascale.com/ - Anti-Trafficking in Persons Program
This program at the Office of Refugee Resettlement leads the HHS Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking campaign. It aims to educate health care providers, social service organizations, law enforcement, and others who may encounter potential victims about the issue, how to recognize the signs of trafficking, and what questions to ask in order to help victims. More information is available here:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/programs/anti-trafficking - Technology Solutions
The White House Office on Science and Technology recently announced some innovative technological solutions to fight human trafficking. One such innovation is a new text messaging service of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC), which is funded by HHS. Victims can now text BeFree (233733) to get help. More information is available on the website of the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Administration for Children and Families:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/news/human-trafficking-victims-can-text-befree-to-get-help
The White House factsheet outlining new and enhanced efforts to fight trafficking is available here:
