As all of you know, twenty years ago, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act was signed into law. We celebrate that anniversary today and recognize how it has guided our efforts as we seek to prevent the scourge of human trafficking.
Good afternoon, everyone. We all know that combating human trafficking is an incredibly important priority for the Trump Administration and I appreciate the hard work each of you does to support these efforts.
I especially want to recognize the work of Secretary Pompeo and Ivanka Trump for their tireless work to combat this threat in the U.S. and throughout the world.
As all of you know, twenty years ago, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act was signed into law. We celebrate that anniversary today and recognize how it has guided our efforts as we seek to prevent the scourge of human trafficking.
I want to briefly highlight three ways in which HHS has been actively engaged in fulfilling that law’s objective, seeking to stop human trafficking, and offering hope and the chance of independence for survivors. We’ve been modernizing our efforts, placing survivors at the center, and bolstering prevention partnerships.
First, modernizing our anti-trafficking programs has decreased burden for the public, generated efficiencies, and expanded our reach.
For instance, easier, expanded access to our accredited Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond training program on human trafficking has now reached more than 2 million health and human service providers.
We’ve also expanded options to seek help through the National Human Trafficking Hotline with call, text, and online chat options. Over the past four fiscal years, the hotline identified more than 38,000 potential trafficking cases, received more than 26,000 communications directly from survivors, and made more than 44,000 referrals to local services.
Case management has also played an integral role. The new HHS Shepherd online case management system cut request for assistance submission times by 75 percent and reduced case processing times by up to 10 hours per case. We were proud that this new system received the 2020 Digital Experience Award from the Government Information Technology Executive Council.
Second, we’ve put survivors at the center of our work.
As just one example, in support of Operation Lady Justice, HHS has invested in new programming to support American Indian and Alaska Native survivors of human trafficking. We’ve invested in leadership development of indigenous survivors of trafficking and allied service providers, launched a victim assistance program working with six tribes and organizations, and are currently developing a culturally specific public awareness campaign.
Finally, as we move into the future, we will invest in partnerships to reduce the risks for trafficking and strengthen the ability of individuals, families, and communities to prevent human trafficking. I’ll mention a couple of ways we’re doing this.
First, earlier this month, HHS launched a new national prevention education grant program, partnering with eight local school districts to train school staff, provide age-appropriate skills-based education for students, and establish school safety protocols on human trafficking.
Second, we will also implement new support for federally qualified health centers to respond to human trafficking and intimate partner violence.
This initiative will expand health centers’ use of electronic health records to support interventions, increase collection of relevant data, and strengthen the use of health IT to connect health center patients to services—improvements that can improve our ability to combat human trafficking at more than 13,000 healthcare delivery sites across America, often located in vulnerable communities.
These are truly significant accomplishments, and they are a credit to not just our team at HHS but all of our partners and everyone involved in our government-wide efforts.
I look forward to hearing the updates and recommendations from members of the task force and other stakeholders here today, as we continue to work together to put an end to the horrific crime of human trafficking. Thank you.
