Child Trafficking: Addressing Challenges to Public Awareness and Survivor Support
Fast Facts
This Q&A report reviews issues—like public misperception and insufficient support—that impact child trafficking survivors.
Trafficked children detained by law enforcement may not be seen as victims, and so may not get counseling or other services. Also, service providers and others told us there isn't enough support available for certain groups of trafficked children, such as victims of forced labor.
The Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services collaborate to assist trafficking survivors, but primarily partner on child issues on an ad hoc basis. We recommended the agencies improve their collaboration on child trafficking issues.
Highlights
What GAO Found
Various challenges exist to raising public awareness of child trafficking and supporting child survivors, according to GAO's interviews with federal officials and 13 stakeholders. For example, public misperceptions exist about which children are trafficked, how children are trafficked, and what supports child survivors need. Stakeholders reported other challenges as well. For example, children who are detained by law enforcement may not receive the services they need to help address their experience with trafficking. Stakeholders also discussed a lack of services for certain populations (e.g., boys, survivors of labor trafficking, and foreign national children), and limited data and research on child trafficking and programs to combat it.
Officials from the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and the Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) collaborate to help address human trafficking. However, their collaboration mechanisms broadly focus on individuals of all ages who have experienced trafficking. The offices do not have a collaboration mechanism dedicated to child trafficking; however, officials acknowledged that children have distinct needs. For example, OVC officials said that children's needs are different from adults' needs due to developmental differences, which may require specialized counseling to help address. In addition, OTIP officials told GAO that child trafficking survivors often require more time, attention, and resources than adult trafficking survivors. Establishing a collaboration mechanism focused solely on efforts to combat child trafficking would better enable the offices to overcome challenges specific to children and meet the distinct needs of child trafficking survivors.
Both offices have set strategic goals to help measure the success of their anti-trafficking programs for children. OTIP is also developing performance goals, but OVC has no plans to do so. By establishing performance goals, OVC would be better positioned to define what its programs are trying to achieve and its progress in helping combat child trafficking.
Why GAO Did This Study
Human traffickers can target children in the U.S. to exploit them sexually, force them into labor, or both. Children can be targeted due to their age and other factors that make them vulnerable. Children experiencing poverty, homelessness, and juvenile justice or child welfare involvement, along with foreign national children who arrive unaccompanied to the U.S. may be at greater risk of victimization.
GAO was asked to review federal efforts to address child trafficking. This report examines challenges related to raising public awareness of child trafficking and supporting survivors, collaboration among federal agencies to address child trafficking, and agencies' efforts to measure the performance and effectiveness of their anti-trafficking programs for children. GAO focused this report on OVC and OTIP, as these are the primary offices administering domestic anti-trafficking grant programs specifically for children. GAO reviewed documents (e.g., grant solicitations) and interviewed officials from the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services. GAO also conducted interviews with 13 nongovernmental organizations with expertise in child trafficking, such as service providers and researchers.
Recommendations
GAO is making three recommendations, including that OVC and OTIP establish a mechanism to guide their collaboration efforts to combat child trafficking, and that OVC develops performance goals for its anti-trafficking programs for children.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Justice | The Attorney General should ensure that OVC, in coordination with OTIP, establishes a mechanism—aligned with leading collaboration practices—to guide the offices' collaboration efforts to combat child trafficking. (Recommendation 1) |
In January 2024, we reported on issues affecting child trafficking survivors, and federal efforts to assist those children (GAO-24-106038). We found that DOJ's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and HHS's Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) did not have a collaboration mechanism dedicated to child trafficking and noted that establishing such a mechanism would better enable the offices to overcome challenges specific to children. Consequently, we recommended that OVC, in coordination with OTIP, establish a mechanism--aligned with leading collaboration practices--to guide the offices' collaboration efforts to combat child trafficking. In April 2024, the two offices signed a memorandum of understanding for the two offices to develop a working group dedicated to collaborating on programming and activities related to child trafficking survivors. The memorandum states that the working group must convene bi-monthly meetings and report progress to OVC and OTIP leadership no less than semi-annually. These efforts will better position OVC and OTIP to meet the distinct needs of child trafficking survivors. As a result, this recommendation is closed as implemented.
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| Department of Health and Human Services | The Secretary of Health and Human Services should ensure that OTIP, in coordination with OVC, establishes a mechanism—aligned with leading collaboration practices—to guide the offices' collaboration efforts to combat child trafficking. (Recommendation 2) |
In January 2024, we reported on issues affecting child trafficking survivors, and federal efforts to assist those children (GAO-24-106038). We found that DOJ's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and HHS's Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) did not have a collaboration mechanism dedicated to child trafficking and noted that establishing such a mechanism would better enable the offices to overcome challenges specific to children. Consequently, we recommended that OVC, in coordination with OTIP, establish a mechanism-aligned with leading collaboration practices-to guide the offices' collaboration efforts to combat child trafficking. In April 2024, the two offices signed a memorandum of understanding for the two offices to develop a working group dedicated to collaborating on programming and activities related to child trafficking survivors. The memorandum states that the working group must convene bi-monthly meetings and report progress to OVC and OTIP leadership no less than semi-annually. These efforts will better position OVC and OTIP to meet the distinct needs of child trafficking survivors. As a result, this recommendation is closed as implemented.
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| Department of Justice | The Attorney General should ensure that OVC develops achievable performance goals for its anti-trafficking programs for children that reflect leading practices, such as being objective, measurable and quantifiable. (Recommendation 3) |
In January 2024, we reported on issues affecting child trafficking survivors, and federal efforts to assist those children (GAO-24-106038). We found that while DOJ's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) had set strategic goals for its anti-trafficking programs, OVC had not established performance goals for anti-trafficking programs for children. As of May 2024, OVC developed performance goals for its anti-trafficking programs focused on children. In addition, OVC reported that it will establish performance targets for these programs, following the collection of two years of baseline data from program grantees. By establishing this baseline data, OVC will be able to assess what level of performance can be reasonably expected for these programs. Through these efforts, OVC is better positioned to define what its programs are trying to achieve and its progress in helping combat child trafficking. As a result, this recommendation is closed as implemented.
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