July/August 2013Vol. 14, No. 6Trafficking Response Handbook for Child Welfare
Despite the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in 2000, many child welfare and other social services agencies and organizations are not prepared or trained to support victims of human trafficking. To help enhance their capacity to respond, the International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA) and the Center for the Human Rights for Children (CHRC) at Loyola University developed Building Child Welfare Response to Child Trafficking.
The handbook includes a number of tools and resources for child protection and other service provider staff to use in their daily work with potential victims. In addition to background and statistics on human trafficking, the handbook provides information about identifying potential victims, screening, investigation, case management, legal protections and advocacy, and resources. A glossary of child trafficking terms, a summary of relevant legislation, case studies, and best practices also are presented in the book. Staff can use the tools, such as the checklists and screening mechanisms, during investigations. The authors suggest staff become familiar with glossary terms prior to using the handbook's tools.
The guide also may be useful for legal clinics, law enforcement, medical professionals, immigration professionals, and others who work with children who may be at risk for human trafficking.
Building Child Welfare Response to Child Trafficking is available on the CHRC website:
http://www.luc.edu/media/lucedu/chrc/pdfs/BCWRHandbook2011.pdf (2 MB)